Mets' fan, and FJFP-writer, Rob is presenting you with this year's preview of the New York Mets. How will Rob deal with a rotation that looks like it was built for a fast-pitch modified softball league and five everyday players who are on the wrong side of 34?
THE NEW YORK METS
Alright, even after my meh to mediocre effort, I'm lucky enough to have a second shot at writing something decent to fanboyish about a NY sports team on this site. It's much appreciated. Hopefully my comeback is closer to this, rather than this. Only time will tell...
Pitching: The main weakness of this year's Mets team is starting pitching. Then again, one can say the same thing about last year's team, and of all the scapegoats from the postseason, the starters were not the problem in the LCS. Pedro will miss at least the first four months this season, but it's not like the team needs to replace '99 Pedro production wise, as he actually posted an ERA+ below 100 for the first time in his career last year. As for the opening day rotation, it's mostly filled with guys that are lucky they pitch in an NL pitchers park. Frankly, this rotation is as forgettable as David Spade's post Chris Farley acting career. Seriously, this guy is even shorter than I am (don't believe the lies on his IMDB page-- I wrote 5'7" on my driver's license too, it doesn't make it true), and he's still getting sitcoms and banging celebrities. Seriously, why not me? Alas... anyways, as long as the Mets don't subject the world to seeing this guy again, everything will be alright. The bullpen is the strength of the Mets pitching staff, and a major reason why the team was the best in the NL last season. The back end is solid, with Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner holding down the 8th and 9th innings. While the likelihood of some repeat performances is in doubt, this pen should still be around the top of the league, assuming manager Willie Randolph doesn't blow it out by July.
Hitting: Again, the hitting should be above average in the NL, if not best in the league (park adjusted, of course). The left side of the infield could be the best in the game, though both the other New York team (you saw right... other) and Florida are both in the argument. The rest of the infield should be able to maintain its production from last season, as for all the fluky goodness provided by the mustached man last season, the awfulness of everyone else that manned the keystone means that the Mets can expect the same production on the whole. Carlos Delgado was on the low end of his established norms last year, and though he’s aging, some more luck on batting average on balls in play (he had a .060 drop year over year) should allow him to continue to be an above-average NL first basemen. The team derives its ever-important veteran leadership from its catcher, though the Mets will put more runs on the board with the next Derek Jeter batting second in the lineup. As for the outfield, hopefully Carlos Beltran's hamstrings have healed up, since there's the Mets imported some old, brittle, former Giants outfielder (and they couldn't even get that right... lame), to go along with the old, washed-up, former Dodgers outfielder. I'm just hoping this doesn't lead down the wrong path if Beltran goes down for any length of time (You know what I meant, get your head out of the gutter... Dammit...)
Miscellaneous: As you may or may not know, Moises Alou has an interesting pregame ritual. As you can tell by the date on the link, this isn't exactly a recent development. Anyways, it got me to thinking: what would it be like if people in other professions took up this practice. For some, such as plumber, garbage man, or guest blogger, I can't imagine it having much of an impact on actual job performance (well, I am in fact positive about one, I'll leave you to decide which). Still, there are other occupations where this could cause problems. I, for one, wouldn't particularly want my dentist warming up this way. You know, I was gonna give other examples, but I'm pretty pleased with the lasting impression I've left-- the thought of your dentist and his pee filled hands pulling your wisdom teeth-- that I'm just gonna stop here... You're welcome.
Mets-related proposition bet: Date on which special assistant Rickey Henderson wins Shawn Green’s job in a card game: June 24th. Amount of pleased I'll be with this development: Immeasurable.
Previous Preview
NL East
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
NL West
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment