The Mets finally have a new closer in Braden Looperafter dumping sad sack Armandogeddon the Mets have, in essence, traded Benitez for the three minor leaguers they got from the Yankees, plus a new closer in Looper. In his final two outings of the regular season, and throughout the playoffs, Looper regained his effectiveness as a setup man. He had two excellent performances against the Mets to close out the regular season, then went 2-0 with a save in the playoffs.

Looper's 1-2/3 shutout innings in Game 4 of the World Series against the Yankees particularly piqued the Mets' interest. In the outing, he escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 11th.

Perhaps the biggest laugh is that the Marlins think they've solved their closer problems by signing Armandogeddon, but the truth is, the problems have only just begun.

"That was probably the last piece of this team that was really in need, and we took care of it," Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest said Sunday, a day after the hard-throwing right-hander accepted a $3.5 million, one-year deal with the World Series champions.

It was only last July that the Marlins were heavily rumoured to trade right-handers Nate Bump, Justin Wayne and Blaine Neal and Double-A left-hander Ryan Snare among the primary bait to grab Benitez from the Mets. As we know, Armandogeddon Sweepstakes were "won" by the Yankees, who lived to regret it and the Marlins, who never had to suffer Armandovision in the post season, later went on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series.

In forsaking the Marlins and helping them win the World Series, the Mets got, above all, Jason Anderson
On the other hand, given the general apathy of Marlin fans when the Marlins aren't World Champions, ole Armando might do just fine in a Florida climate of indifference before 8,000 fans every night.