In anticipation of the coming baseball season, we will be previewing all 30 teams over the next month. To see all of our team previews, please click here.
This year, The Mets come to camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida having to deal with the stain of two straight September collapses. Omar Minaya went out and made wholesale changes by adding K-Rod, J.J Putz and Oliver Perez. Wait, they had Ollie already. They just overpaid him. Anywho, The Mets come into the season with the World Champions in their division and the weight of the Met fan crushing down on them in a suffocating, neurotic way. That and they open a new stadium which should be exciting since Shea was a dump. I love that dump but it was a dump. Maybe new digs will make this team act like the winners that they should be. I mean Nate Silver’s PECOTA rating has them winning 93 games and the division by 5 games. Then again, I have heard that all before. So let us look at the Mets and how they plan on trying their damnedest not to crush Mets fans hopes and dreams. Again. (No pressure, seriously).
The Met lineup drove in 799 runs last year, tied for second in the National League with the Phillies. Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran will do what they do. Everything else depends on an old first baseman who has had one good half in 2 years, a second baseman with no power, balky knees and an attitude problem, a rookie left fielder whose best position is first base and his platooning righty counter part who’s best position is next to God’s throne, a light hitting catcher and of course a right fielder who had two concussions in one season. Really. This lineup is so stacked they did not need to add the best right handed hitter of his generation.
For the line up to perform, Carlos Delgado needs to hit with consistency. His performance from June on helped the Mets dig out of an early season hole. A hole which was created in part because he hit like garbage for the first two and a half months. If Ryan Church’s head is not mush he should provide a good bat in either the two or six spot in the order. He may flip flop because I think Jerry Manual is going to have Daniel Murphy hitting second as much as possible. The guy is an on base machine and hits with gap power. When Tatis graces CitiField with his glory and goodness Church will bat second and Tatis will give the Mets his glory behind Delgado. Schneider blows and Luis Castillo can fall off a bridge for all I care. If we have to look at Luis’s stupid face I hope he gets on base at his normal .370 clip and takes pitches and doesn’t spike himself at second base.
The Pitching is going to define the Met season. As it has the last three years. Johan is Johan. After that Mike Pelfrey is developing nicely into a solid number 2 starter. He could be a Brandon Webb type with a better fastball. My fear is that he has the first half yips as he adjusts after pitching his first full season. John Maine had a bone spur removed from his shoulder and reported he was pain free in throwing yesterday. I like Johnnie Maine but he needs to cut back on the pitches he throws to extend the innings he gives the team. He doesn’t go walk crazy but he takes forever to get batters out. Especially when he lost a bit of velocity last year. Tons of foul balls. Oliver Perez can be Koufax. In that I mean the Koufax of the late 50’s who walked the ball park and had no control more so than the Koufax of the 60’s who was a shutdown starter who struck guys out and made life unbearable for hitters. The latter Perez is few and far between. What I would like Ollie to do is become consistent. Cut down on the walks and get the team 7 innings a night. Sometimes he goes 8 most times he goes 5 or 6 before his meltdown. If Ollie is a consistent quality pitcher he will earn his money. If he is a yo-yo like he has been it will be a waste. Anything you get out of Freddie Garcia, Tim Redding and Jon Niese is gravy. If you can get 30 starts and about 10 wins between them you did alright. I am rooting for Niese to show up and take the spot.
Now for the biggest failing for the Mets over the past few seasons, the bullpen. Billy Wagner had Tommy John surgery and is out until August minimum. They went out and got Francisco Rodriguez who is an upgrade over Wagner. They traded for J.J.Putz to give the Mets an 8-9 combo that is the best in baseball. They blew 27 saves last year. It blew them 9 games. This should cut that down. The rest is addition by subtraction. Aaron Heilman is going to torture Cubs fans. Scott Schoenweis is going to make Hef’s life a living hell in Arizona. Joe Smith should make Spencer smile in Cleveland. Luis Ayala should ruin the Twins season for Fetch. The Mets keep Duaner Sanchez hoping the second year after shoulder surgery is where he gets back to form. Sean Green is a Righty out of the pen to replace Smith. The Mets hope Garcia or Niese win the 5th starter spot so Redding can be the long reliever. Pedro Feliciano is back as the LOOGY. Guys like Brian Stokes, Conner Robertson, Rocky Cherry, Valerio De Los Santos and Darren O’Day will compete for a spot.
This team could use a righty bat and another lefty in the bullpen. If Billy Wagner comes back in August it potentially gives them a 7-8-9 that is unstoppable. If Billy is healthy. I have been pushing Manny because it makes too much sense. It will not happen so I hope Omar goes out and gets a righty with pop to help out. He did sign Jose Valentin to a minor league deal so maybe he can be that guy. He is 40 but Met fans love the ‘Stache. Jerry Manuel should not have to make a million trips to the mound this year but his line up structure should be interesting. If I see Luis Castillo back in the two hole I will:
A) Look to see if Willie Randolph is back in the dugout
B) Shoot Luis Castillo preventing him from making it to the plate
C) Strangle Jerry Manuel for being a complete moron
Since Jerry hates Luis Castillo, I don’t expect this to be a problem. My prediction is that this team wins 91 wins and wins the Division by a game. (If they had Manny, they win 97 games) The Bullpen will not collapse like the past two years. The Phillies will be tough but Brad Lidge will not be perfect and their lineup is a bit weaker hence the one game difference. Both should make the playoffs.
You and Cortes going to bet again?
I’ve come to the realization that lineups matter very little. That said, it’s a pain in the ass to see dogshit in the #1 or #2 spots in the lineup.
I hated every move the Mets made this offseason and still think they’ll probably get 1st in the East.
K-Rod = fraud
He will be exposed when the games get tough in a more competetive division than he was in last year.
thanks SAE – I called K-Rod being a fraud all last year. The Angels sandbagged games to get him those saves.
Roman should stop by shortly for his hourly MLJ visit.
Like the Cubs I will go out on a limb and predict the Mets choke in September.
Hey, now, be fair! The Cubs didn’t choke until October.
Haha I know SEA, I just meant my Mets prediction would be bold like the one I made for the Cubs.
This roster looks good enough to keep fans believing until Sept 20th or so.
how quickly you guys forget, didn’t the cubs trademark the june swoon?
fuck the cubs.
I thought the O’s had all rights to the June swoon, or maybe it was the April swoon.
What? Do you mean that a closer who never pitched with anyone on base will not be able to measure up to a career season, thus exposing him as a mediocre pitcher who was given consistently low expectations and exceedingly high praise? Really? This would be a first, I believe.