More optimism from Mets Land today. Matthew Cerrone’s MetsBlog points us to AaronGleeman.com and the Phillies blog Beer Leaguer for some reaction to the Star-Tribune‘s report today that the Mets could be close to acquiring Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins.

Aaron Gleeman, who writes for The Hardball Times and Rotoworld.com and is also a Twins fan, writes on his blog that while a Phil Hughes-led offer from the Yankees would be enticing to Minnesota, a Mets package that includes Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber would “blow [the Yankee offer] out of the water.

Meanwhile, all this Santana discussion isn’t sitting too well with Phillies fans. Writes Jason Weitzel of Beer Leaguer:

“There’s no way to sugarcoat the strong possibility that Santana, the top prize, will be a Met next season, and possibly the next six. He would swing the balance of division power back over to the Mets. Head-to-head, it would be a nightmare. Maybe I’ll take up gardening this summer. Or woodworking. Have a nice day. It’s been real.”

It’s enough to make a fan giddy. In fact, according to a MetsBlog poll, nearly 70 percent of fans would ship out the five aforementioned prospects in exchange for Santana.

As the day grows longer, I’m beginning to think that the Star-Tribune’s report, if accurate, has practically forced the Mets hand here. If management takes a pass in order to hold onto a prospect that is two or three years away from the majors, it will be a near impossible sell to the fan base in the wake of the ’07 collapse.