Pete J Testifies : If there is a team in baseball that can compare to the Yankees in terms of run scoring potential it's their crosstown rivals The Mets. The line-up is stocked with talent from both sides of the plate. They have speed, power, hit for average, good situational hitting, all in all they are pretty awesome and it showed in the MVP voting with four guys getting votes (Beltran, Reyes, Wright and Delgado).
It all starts at the top with one of the most exciting players in baseball, Jose Reyes. Reyes finished tops in the NL in stolen bases for the second year on the trot and is a good bet to do so again but the thing that made last year a real breakout season for him was the way he almost doubled his walk total from the previous season. Still only 24, he continues to work to improve and who knows how good he'll be when he hits his physical peak.
The MVP of the line-up (seems odd to say this with so many great players on board) is Carlos Beltran who really stirs the drink with all the skills you could possibly hope to posess. Finally fully healthy going into last year, he set career highs across the board displaying power, discipline, great glove work and, even with his speed diminished due to injuries, he's one of if not the best base runner in baseball. He might well be the best player in baseball not called Albert.
I could go on and on about the positive influence and great power of Carlos Delgado and how David Wright is on the verge of achieving true greatness but the general point is that this team has a huge array of tools at its disposal.
The bullpen was an asset last year and it got even better with the addition of lefty Scott Schoeneweis giving the team even more depth and versatility and with Heilman in the eighth and Wagner in the ninth, games will be made shorter and New York won't lose too many games when it's ahead late on.
Of course the big question everyone is asking is just how good will the rotation be? Pedro Martinez will miss a big chunk of time with his shoulder and any team would miss a guy of his talents.
Tom Glavine will be the guy called upon to be the ace in Pedro's absense and he'll have the added incentive of getting the ten wins he needs to join the 300 win club.
Glavine knows no fear on the mound and will continue to add and subtract over the outer half and will give the team a chance to win every time he takes to the mound but he isn't the one Mets fans are concerned about.
Orlando Hernandez is past his best but will still periodically pitch a big game for you, John Maine looked good in his rookie campaign but you can't rely on a sophomore pitcher to log big innings and then you have Oliver Perez who has all the gifts and has actually looked good this Spring, but is so frustratingly inconsistent.
So what do we make of The Mets? Well I can't see them not winning the East and posting the top record in the NL. Their rotation is a passable regular season unit with a good pen backing them up to hold the opposition to far fewer runs than they will score and they will score enough runs to blow away the lower tier teams and many of the upper level franchises too. Will they make the step up in the playoffs? They'll need a strong comeback from Martinez and probably need to get another arm from somewhere (or have one of the guys they already have step up) to win it all but they'll be there or thereabouts.
Conor C Proclaims : We all know about the offensive potential of this lineup and its AL calibre sluggers, but will the rotation hold up?
On paper this is a team that should waltz the NL East, but I have a sneaking suspiscion that the Phillies will sneak ahead down the road.
There's not much more to say other than what Pete has said, except that in my opinion, a lot rests on the shoulders of Oliver Perez. If he can rediscover the form that made him such a star a few seasons ago then suddenly an alright rotation becomes above average, and let's face it, they only need an average rotation with their bullpen (although letting Chad Bradford go was a mistake) and an offence to knock the stuffing out of any pitcher.
Pete J Say : If the Mets can get the Oliver Perez from a couple years back then this is the best team in baseball. I have seen too many false dawns from that guy to really think that is likely but even with last years Perez, this is still a monster team. Not many will be able to cope with their fire power and they have the experience of being almost there last year in the playoffs to spur them on.
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