For Red Sox Fans, Real New Year's Countdown Will Begin In January

Nick Cafardo provided a Santana update today. According to Cafardo, once New Year's celebrations are over, the Twins will "get down to the nitty-gritty". They'll ask for final offers from the Red Sox, and other other team that will listen, and then it's expected that they will select an offer and deal Santana.

And by all appearances, that team is likely to be the Red Sox. Now, whether the talk of the Twins taking final offers is reality, or simply a negotiation ploy is yet to be seen. But given how drawn out the Santana talks have become, I'd like to think it's a reality.

I'm not sure which would be more exciting, celebrating a new year, or celebrating the acquisition of the best pitcher in baseball. It would be a shame for the Red Sox to be the favorite for Santana for so many weeks, only to see another team step up their offer at the last second.