HOLIDAY HOT STOVE - NEW YORK STYLE

Holiday Greetings. Jay from "On The Sportslines" here with a little Holiday Hot Stove - New York style for you.

Around this time of year Santa and MLB GM's have a lot in common. Both are checking their list and checking it twice. Both have the goal of bringing joy to others this season. The difference is that while Santa is checking to see who's been naughty and who's been nice; GM's are checking to see who's still available to fill the holes on their team.

This year's Winter Meetings were productive and so far this off-season there has been a decent amount of activity and player movement either by trade or Free Agent signings. That said, there is still a wide gap between baseball's Haves and Have Nots. Nowhere is that more evident than in my own backyard.

The Yankees (who quite literally play in my backyard of The Bronx) have not stood pat in the aftermath of their 27th World Series title. They identified positions that needed to be addressed, upgraded, changed, what have you and set about making it happen.

They felt a need to upgrade their outfield, so they worked a multi-team deal that got them Curtis Granderson - an All-Star Centerfielder in the prime of his career who can hit, hit for power, run, throw, catch and cover the expansive acreage that is Yankee Stadium's outfield. In exchange they gave up some spare parts at both the Major and Minor league level.

They felt the need to upgrade their starting rotation. They didn't feel Chein Ming Wang would be the same so they let him go. They dabbled in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but in the end decided to go with a Plan B option and they traded for Javier Vasquez. Vasquez didn't have a great first go around with the Yankees, but that was 5 years ago and since then he is one of only two pitchers with 1,000 innings and 1,000 strikeouts. The other is Johan Santana. He'll eat innings, strike guys out (238 last season - second only to Tim Lincecum) and keep the Yankees in the games he pitches. What more could you want from a 4th starter? The cost? Again, nothing the Yankees couldn't afford to lose. Melky Cabrera? I'll miss the Melk Man, but Granderson took CF away from him. LF? Brett Gardner can handle that. Other options? Well, the Yankees have their eye on super-sub Mark DeRosa who would be a nice addition to the team.

The Yankees also said good-bye to Series MVP Hideki Matsui (who signed with the Angels and should nicely fill the DH role vacated by Vlad Guerrero leaving as a Free Agent) and look like they will let Johnny Damon find employment elsewhere. Both will be missed by the fans, but letting both go are sound baseball decisions. Matsui is on his last legs (literally - his knees have been shot for awhile now) and Damon's spot can be filled by Gardner or another more cost-effective option.

The second go-around for Nick Johnson has me skeptical. When healthy, Johnson had a line-drive, gap-to-gap swing and a slick glove at 1B. But staying off the DL has been a problem for this once-promising pinstripe prospect. He wouldn't have been my first choice as primary DH and back-up 1B, but Brian Cashman has earned my respect so I'm willing to have an open mind about it.

None of these moves broke the bank or cost the Yankees a ton of prized prospects - both of which are things the Yankees have been guilty of in the past - and all have the potential to improve a team that had the best record in baseball last season.

All of this stands in STARK contrast to what's NOT going on in Queens. What has happened to the Mets over the last 2-3 years has been tragic. This is a team loaded with solid players. 3B David Wright, SS Jose Reyes and CF Carlos Beltran are among the best players at their respective positions in all of baseball. Johan Santana is one of the PREMIER starting pitchers in the game and Frankie "K-Rod" Rodriguez is an All-Star closer. Not a bad nucleus to build an annual playoff contender around.

But herein lies the problem. The Mets - namely GM Omar Minaya - don't seem to be doing any building. Look, I'm willing to give the Mets a pass on last season due to the RIDUNKULOUS number of player games lost to injury, but come on Omar, you can't seriously tell me that when you look at your team you can honestly say that if everyone is healthy the NL East is the Mets to lose.

The Mets have holes almost everywhere. Some small, some GAPING. 1B needs a Carlos Delgado in his prime upgrade. Daniel Murphy is a likeable kid with some potential, but he's not the long-term answer there. K-Rod needs a set-up man. JJ Putz seemed to be the answer, but he got hurt and now the Mets have let him go. And in the head-scratching-est move of the off-season, the Mets seemed to sign every Free Agent BACK-UP catcher out there. Sorry Omar, quantity isn't going to give you quality there.

But all of that pales in comparison to the Mets plan to acquire an outfielder with a big bat. What plan you ask? EXACTLY! It's no secret that the Mets are in dire need of a power hitting corner outfielder and this offseason two All-Stars are available. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are a couple of guys who can give you 25-30 homers and 90-110 RBI. They'll hit somewhere between .280 (Bay) and .315 (Holliday) and play a pretty decent outfield to boot. Both are perfect fits on paper for the Mets.

And yet for some reason only Omar's psychic knows, the Mets have been more passive than Ghandi in their pursuit of these two. News flash Omar, you and the Mets no longer have the luxury of just sitting back and waiting for guys like Bay and Holliday to fall into your lap. You may reside in New York. You may have plenty of Wilpon money to throw around. You may have a nice new ballpark. But you're no longer one of baseball's HAVE's! You have to WIN, or at least be consistently competitive in order to be so arrogant as to just sit back expect the cream of the Free Agent crop to just show up on your doorstep asking to come and play. Sorry, but what's happened to the Mets over the last three years has hurt their property value as a prime neighborhood for A-Listers.

And if that's not bad enough, the Mets - who like most teams, could use another decent starter - didn't even extend an offer to Jason Marquis! Marquis is a decent 3rd or 4th starter who can eat innings and keep your team in games he pitches; and here's the kicker: HE ACTUALLY WANTS TO PLAY IN NEW YORK! For the Mets! As a New Yorker born and raised, it's all he ever wanted. But no, Omar didn't even consider it.

In a nutshell, that's the difference between the Yankees and the Mets. The Yankees know how to build a house, keep it in good shape once it's finished and make home improvements when the need arises.

The Mets need to take a few pages out of the Yankees playbook. Houses don't build themselves Omar. Especially when the supposed architect doesn't seem to have a blueprint.