#8 New York Mets

New York Mets
Last Year: 89-73 2nd in NL East
This Year: 2nd in NL East, NL Wild Card


The Mets are moving into their new digs this season and they are still being overshadowed by the Yankees who are also moving into new digs. The Mets collapsed after starting strong for the second straight time. By the end of the season, Johan Santana seemed to be the only player capable of contributing. GM Omar Minaya promised to make drastic changes but all he did was add two closers to the team. Many blamed the bullpen for the collapse but this team still has issues which could lead to finishing behind the Phillies for the third straight year.

Opening Day Lineup w/Projections
SS Jose Reyes .303 17 HR 69 RBI 67 SB
LF Daniel Murphy .289 10 HR 73 RBI
3B David Wright .314 32 HR 121 RBI 17 SB
1B Carlos Delgado .261 30 HR 104 RBI
CF Carlos Beltran .281 29 HR 117 RBI 20 SB
RF Ryan Church .270 15 HR 74 RBI
2B Luis Castillo .251 2 HR 31 RBI 13 SB
C Brian Schneider .247 8 HR 47 RBI
P Johan Santana

Rotation
LHP Johan Santana 17-8 2.87 ERA 194 K
RHP Mike Pelfrey 15-10 3.67 ERA 116 K
LHP Oliver Perez 14-11 4.45 ERA 173 K
RHP John Maine 15-10 3.91 ERA 167 K
RHP Livan Hernandez 6-12 5.76 ERA 78 K

CP RHP Francisco Rodriguez 2.56 ERA 41 SV 73 K

Best Case Scenario: Rodriguez and Putz close up the bullpen and make Mets games 7 inning games. Delgado still produces at age 36. Starters 2-4 stay healthy all year and give quality starts to backup ace Santana. Mets find a way to get production from hitters 6-8. Leaving Shea Stadium rids the team of the August and September demons and they finish strong down the stretch. They win the NL East and head to the World Series.

Worst Case Scenario: K-Rod is worn down from last years work load and is ineffective. Injuries riddle the rotation and the Mets need 200 innings from Livan Hernandez. Delgado's bat is too slow to keep the clean-up spot. Hitters 6-8 do nothing putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Reyes, Wright and Beltran. The team gets off to a slow start leading to mass changes with the firing of the manager and GM and this team falls apart finishing 3rd in the NL East.

Player Most Important to Success: John Maine. If the Mets are going to win the NL East they need to get quality starting pitching behind Johan Santana. Pelfrey can be relyed on for the most part and Oliver Perez will win enough games for them but John Maine is the pitcher who if he produces moves this team ahead of the Phillies with 4 quality starters. He missed last September with a bone spur in his shoulder. It should not affect him but he has been underwhelming in spring with an ERA of 10.38. If he can give them 180-190 innings with an ERA under 4.00 like he did in 2007 this team will be fine, if he can't this team might be golfing in October.

Outlook: It seemed that people thought the bullpen was the only issue facing the Mets last year. While it definitely hurt the team last year they have other issues that have not been addressed. Their lineup has serious holes with Luis Castillo at 2B and Brian Schneider at C. Livan Hernandez won the 5th spot in the rotation. This team still has weapons to compete for the division but the main question is whether the ghosts of the past two years will haunt this team and stop this team again this year. If this team does make the playoffs, the lack of All-Star pitching behind Santana won't let them advance very far if they get there.

WBC Preview (Part 1)

Early Thursday morning the second World Baseball Classic will begin in Tokyo. While it is not on the level of the World Cup or Olympic Hockey, it is certainly better than Olympic Basketball. The idea is good in theory but the main problem lies in that the pitchers are not allowed to go all out and there are some great players who are not playing due to injury or because of their MLB team. That said it is still exciting because there are a lot of talented teams, players and there are no overwhelming favorites like USA basketball or Canada hockey. It is a 16 team tournament and there are 8 teams with legitimate teams that conceivably win the Classic. I have ranked the talent level of the teams 1-8. Part 1 is teams 5-8.

8. Canada
Pool C
2006 Result: 2-1 Lost tiebreaker in Pool B to Mexico and USA
Probable Lineup:
2B Pete Orr
C Russell Martin
CF Jason Bay
1B Justin Morneau
DH Joey Votto
LF Mark Teahen
RF Matt Stairs
3B Corey Koskie
SS Chris Barnwell

Notable Pitchers: Jesse Crain

Assets: They have a pretty formidable middle of the lineup with a lot of power
Issues: Lack pitching, poor middle infield and left-handed heavy lineup (Martin, Bay and Barnwell only righties).
Outlook: They were hurt by some notable pitchers not participating such as Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen, and Jeff Francis. Lack of any pitching and the fact that they are in the toughest pool will be their downfall as they are likely to finish third in Pool C.

7. Mexico
Pool B
2006 Result: 3-3 Lost in 2nd Round Pool
Probable Lineup:
SS Jerry Hairston Jr.
2B Edgar Gonzalez
1B Adrian Gonzalez
3B Jorge Cantu
C Rod Barajas
LF Scott Hairston
RF Karim Garcia
DH Freddy Sandoval
CF Alfredo Amezaga

Notable Pitchers: Oliver Perez, Luis Ayala, Jorge Campillo, Joakim Soria

Assets: Very good closer in Soria and two good hitters in Adrian Gonzalez and Cantu
Issues: Not a lot of speed, poor outfield and lack of pitching depth
Outlook: Not an overly impressive team but in an easier Pool and it is in Mexico so they should advance to the second round but end there.

6. Puerto Rico
Pool D
2006 Result: 4-2 Lost in 2nd Round Pool
Probable Lineup:
2B Felipe Lopez
SS Mike Aviles
CF Carlos Beltran
RF Alex Rios
1B Carlos Delgado
DH Geovany Soto
C Yadier Molina
LF Bernie Williams
3B Ramon Vazquez

Notable Pitchers: Ian Snell, Jonathan Sanchez, Javier Vazquez, JC Romero

Assets: Very Good Middle of the Lineup
Issues: Lack Pitching Depth, Bernie Williams, lackluster middle infield
Outlook: Has some big talent in Beltran, Rios and Soto but Delgado is a little old and Bernie Williams is way to old. Don't have the depth of the more elite teams but should finish similar to 2006.

5. Cuba
Pool B
2006 Result: 5-3 Lost in Final to Japan
Probable Lineup:
I have no idea
Notable Pitchers: No idea
Cuba is the great unknown in the tournament. Unlike other Caribbean nations ther players are not allowed to leave and they all play for the national team. They get a bonus because they are a team that has been together for years and is training for this event. They also have talent. Cuba players that do defect ususually are impact players in the MLB. Alexei Ramirez was on the Cuba team in 2006. Other notable players from Cuba are Jose Conseco, Yunel Escobar, Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hernandez, Tony Oliva, Rafael Palmeiro. The talent is there I just have no idea where it is. The reason why they are not ranked higher is that the talent they have is not as well developed as a major league vetren. They may have a player with All-star talent but they are not All-stars. The team with mostly the same players just finished second at the Bejing Olympics. They did however beat the USA team 10-2 but that team did not have Dustin Pedroia and Chipper Jones.