The Johan Santana Block Party – also known as basebal’s winter meetings – is a once-in-a-generation event, a chance for any team who wants a two-time Cy Young Award Winner in his prime to make an offer the Minnesota Twins can’t refuse.

If the Seattle Mariners could, it wouldn’t matter.

They can’t, so they lose out in the Santana Derby no matter how well-intentioned general manager Bill Bavasi is.

What the Twins want is ready-for-the-majors starting pitching, and about the best offer Seattle can make is one that includes outfielder Adam Jones, pitcher Brandon Morrow and catcher Jeff Clement.

The Twins don’t need a catcher, and their scouts aren’t as high on Jones or Morrow as the Mariners and their fans are.

It gets worse.

Even if Bavasi and company came up with an offer the Twins were panting over, it’s unlikely they’d land Mr. Santana. He has a no-trade now, and has told the team he much prefers the East Coast to the West.

And if he allowed the trade, he could still refuse to sign a contract extension with the Mariners beyond 2008.

On the eve of the meetings, the Twins like offers from the Red Sox and Yankees better than anything the Mariners can put together – and New York, desperate not to let Boston get Santana, may up it’s deal.

The Mariners? They’ll have to content themselves with pursuing other avenues for pitching, including their on-the-table four-year, $44 million offer to Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.