March 12, 2006
Mets Looking Good for 06
By Mack R.
The New York Mets' off-season gave a boost to the club's mentality. The team is building toward an eventual division win. Omar Minaya has shown he is willing and able to make the Mets a winning team again.
Bringing in Carlos Delgado earns New York my first congratulations. With 33 homers and 115 RBI last year, Carlos is a monster. If he can pull those same numbers in Shea stadium this year, people will love him. He is a power hitter and a decent first-baseman. The Mets had some terrible heartaches at first base but they turned a negative into a positive. Hopefully his health won't be an issue -- neither his elbow nor his kidneys.
The Mets also deserve congrats for getting Billy Wagner. Wagner has a fastball like no other pitcher in baseball and will singlehandedly save games that would have been lost a year ago. Now the Mets have a strong bullpen. Gosh, that sounds awfully weird, but with the acquisition of Wagner, it's now true! I am also glad that Braden Looper is out the door.
The Mets filled Mike Piazza's former catcher spot without trouble. I was not ready to see Ramon Castro playing catcher. They brought in veteran righty Paul LoDuca to do the job. Yeah, he won't hit for power, but he is very good at playing the position. There shouldn't be any trouble throwing the runners out now.
Now let's talk about the guys that have been here, done that. Guys like Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd are in for a big year now that the Mets have filled all of those holes (except for second base where Kaz Matsui still stands, having no idea what to do.) I really don't like him and I want him off the team. He has not shown any talent in New York and that's not what the Mets need.
David Wright is the next big thing on this club. He has so much potential, with 27 homers and 102 RBI last year. I would seriously like to see a 40-homerun season out of this kid and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it. He could make a case for MVP. That's the kind of player he is.
This off-season, the Mets were able to fill those spots that weakened them during the 2005 season. That's to be admired. Now, let's all sit back and relax while spring training rolls on. Mets fans should get ready to actually enjoy this season!
All of your glowing and gushing aside, who is pitching? Bensen was replaced by who? Billy Wagner needs to be handed a lead in order to get a save. I think the Mets are definitly heading in the right direction, but weren't there any latino pitchers available? Just kidding about the minaya/latino connection. I think the best acquisitions the Mets made are Minaya and Randolph.
Yankee Sonshine brings up an interesting point.
While teams like the Mets are surely on the fine-end for hitting (despite the fact that their offense is highly suspect), they haven't established a strong starting rotation. One could look at the Yankees or the Cardinals as fine examples of teams with incredible offensive capabilities (and bullpens) who come up short with their starters. I mean, the Cardinals may have had the most wins over the past two years, but come post season their starting rotation is always the first thing to crumble. The Yankees rotation can't stay healthy and is a horrible mix of downhill age and unseasoned youth.
But the point of focus is assuredly the Mets, correct? If you're going to talk Mets pitching, you're going to talk Pedro Martinez. Pedro may or may not be injured, he claims that his "toe" hurts, but he's been saying this for about a year now. The good news is that Pedro recovered from a horrible season with the Red Sox (3.9 ERA to a 2.82 ERA) to regain some bounce. However, much of this can be attributed to his weak competition in the NL East. Pedro may have a few years left, but he needs to prove that his arm can last before NL hitters figure him out.
But that's just one starter! Behind him, the Mets struggle to name one fantastic pitcher. Tom Glavine? He's old, his ERA hasn't been lower than 3.53 since he joined the Mets (including a 4.52 ERA in 2003), his WHIP has been anything but constant (3 1.4 WHIP seasons since 1999, 3 sub 1.3 WHIP seasons and 2005's 1.36 WHIP) and his K numbers are starting to settle into the shadows.
Steve Trachsel? Aside from the fact that he's injury prone, older than Pedro and has a lifetime 4.23 ERA (4 of his 5 seasons in New York he's posted 3.78+ ERA's, with 3 4+ ERA's). He doesn't get the K's-to-Walks that a 3rd starter should and his WHIP dances from 1.3 to 1.4 to 1.5 on a bi-yearly basis.
Victor Zambrano? Sorry, he's not Carlos. This 30-year-old would find a 3.5 ERA a career best. His lifetime ERA is over 4.3, he is a lock to walk about 3/4 as many batters as he K's. He had a 4.54 ERA against righties last season, with an opposing batting average of .352! Unless he matures fast, I wouldn't want him in my rotation.
Aaron Heilman is a blue flame. He could either become a roaring fire or he could burn out before you can say "Jiffy Pop". He K'd a whopping 106 batters in 53 games (7 starts), had a career-best 3.17 ERA and (despite walking 37 batters and giving up a career-high 87 hits) was able to lower his WHIP to a fantastic 1.15. If he continues to pitch well, he may be better than all of the above (sans Pedro). However, since he had a 4.71 ERA as a starter and a 2.18 ERA as a reliever... I'd keep him in the pen.
There are another three Mets trying to break into the rotation, Alay Soler, Brian Bannister and Mitch Wylie. All of the above are young players without a single bragging point. Soler got absolutely crushed in 2004, after defecting from Cuba. Wylie has only 5 innings in his entire MLB career and Bannister (although showing promise for strikeouts) looks as if he needs as much seasoning as a Cajun shrimp.
The fact of the matter is that the Mets do NOT have starting pitching. If Glavine comes through, if Trachsel can return and stay healthy, maybe that will change. But if that's not a series of question marks, I'm not sure what is.
As for Lo Duca, this three-time all star is nearing the wrong end of the talent rainbow. He may have hit fine as a Dodger, but aside from one season in PPS, he has very little NL East experience. Wait before reserving judgement.
Finally, David Wright is a player the Mets are banking a lot on. That's fine, that's nice, that's fantastic. The Mets have a groomed third basemen! However, Wright only has one full season under his belt and his career fielding percentage (.946) doesn't help his case of being a five-tool player. He's only 23, for the love of god let the kid grow before calling him the next Alex Rodriguez!
Rock on, rock out.
Cheers,
Jack Jablin
"...nearing the wrong end of the talent rainbow."
Priceless.
You know, that really could be describing a lot of Yankees. The Yankees are chock full of queations regardind their pitching. The approach the Yankees are taking is simillar to the Red Sox: quantity.
The Red Sox are either going to have a TREMENDOUS pitching staff, or a horrible one.
Schilling, Beckett and Wells are three ACE QUALITY pitchers, honestly. Whether or not they can pull through in '06 is a different story.
As for the Yanks, Johnson needs to get a sub-4 ERA if he wants my fear again.
I think Johnson has to be more like himself. What I mean by that is he has to be a nasty intimidator on the mound. Much the same as Clemens tried to be nicer, and lost his edge his first year in NY, I think the same may be true for Johnson.
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