As we all sit back and wait for Omar Minaya to make that blockbuster trade or signing, only to see him sign more mediocre players, reality is starting to set in. If this hot stove pattern continues — and I’m sorry, Minaya has given us no reason to believe otherwise – the Mets in 2010 could easily be a fourth place team, and maybe even fifth.
First of all, the Phillies are not exactly going to be worse…they have won the division three straight seasons and have been to the World Series twice. They will more than likely have Cliff Lee for a full season and most of the other starters returning.
The Marlins are no slouches. They are an exciting young team led by a trio of very good pitchers in Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez. The Marlins won almost 90 games in 2009.
The Braves, who were right there behind the Marlins with 86 wins this past season, also appear to have bolstered their team with the addition of ex-Met Billy Wagner and also of former Dodgers’ closer Takashi Saito.
Then there are the Nationals. Yeah, I know, these guys lost 103 games in 2009. They had a decent lineup with good pop, but a putrid pitching staff that could never hold a lead when the Nationals got one. Still, there is hope here, starting with top draft pick Stephen Strasburg. You know, the guy who throws 100 mph.
The Mets finished 70-92 this past season, 16 games back of the third-place Braves and only (gasp) 11 games ahead of the Nationals. If Minaya intends to fix this team with band-aids as it appears he will, a .500 season would be about the best we could hope for. Another 70-win season is more likely, and don’t think the Nationals won’t be in that same range in 2010.
Can Omar do something to give us more optimism? Time will tell, but I’m not holding out much hope.
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
I dont plan to spend any money with these clowns anyway. Im done rooting for these losers.
I will garuntee the Mets will win more than 80 games this year. Their record will depend on the free agents they sign. They can get 90+ wins if they get the right free agents.
The Mets won 70 last year because of the injuries. The Mets have a talented team They just need better players around the core. Wich are Wright,Reyes,Beltran,Santana and k-rod. All of them are great players.
Big dynasty, The Mets are not loosers because they have had a winning record 4 of the 5 years.
they are losers because after nearly 50 years of existence they have just 2 championships. That is a whole lot of losing to me!!!!!
Go root for the freaking Yankees. The Phillies have won two in a hundred years.
Your Point! aint no phillie fan here!!!
At least the Yankees make smart investments and do what it takes to field the best team possible, its more than I can say about the team we’ve got. Is there a single investment that the Mets have made that have paid off? Maybe Beltran and Wright. Thats it. They can’t even get their medical staff right!
If you belive this was a championship caliber team before all the injuries, then your asssessment of 80+ wins MIGHT have merit. However, IMO, this was a horrible team even before the injuries — basically, we had no LF, no RF, a major question at 2B, major question at C, injury concern over our 1B’man (Delgado), no real #2 starter behind Johan, Maine off injury, Perez mediocre and overpaid, and a #5 starter from among Garcia-Redding-Livan ….
Well 2B exceeded expectations and all the other question marks basically tanked ….
This was probably a .500 team at best on opening day 2009 and regress from there due to the injuires …. it was not a 90-win team on opening day 2009 and as constructed is probably a 75- win team as it stands right now.
The number of players that need to step up is incredible — Wright, Reyes, Castillo repeat of 2009, Johan (off surgery), Perez, Yippy Pelfrey, FROD among others is significant enough just to get near .500 …. then, the incremental changes to get to near 90 wins will require at least a solid #2 SP, another credible SP, more bullpen help, a solid 1B’man and a solid — preferably power-hitting LF’er.
This team is a mess … Omar created the mess …. the only saving grace here is that he cannot possible fix this in one off-season so hopefully the madate to fix it now or get fired may see him go and allow us to start fresh with someone else at the helm.
I agree, the only thing we really have to look forward to is the canning of Jerry and Omar if the team has a poor first half. I will be amazed if any top players come here by either signing or trade. I don’t count Molina as a top player.
Yes, but in recent years they have been a good team.
So what! What have they done lately. They suck and management is clueless. Read the article. They are a good team anymore
………. A good team that was never good enough.
How are they not good anymore? they pretty much have same team that won 97 games in 06.
thats the problem, while other teams were getting better, the Mets remain the same. Now why couldnt these morons go looking for this big bat after the first collaspe . Cause their first instinct is to do nothing. They cant compete with Phillies mr.2006!!!!!
Yes they can compeat with the Phillies. Before the injuries happened the Mets played very well against them.
Everyone is forgetting the Mets were in first place when before all the injuries.
Dude, The Phillies are a MUCH better team than they were at the time the Mets were in 1st place. The Mets are not too arguably a worse team. Let’s not forget that the Braves are also re-tooling as we speak and will definitely be in the mix. In fact the battle for the NL East will be between the Braves and Phillies. We will just be envious bystanders this year.
I don’t think the Braves are getting that much better. Wagner and Saito are not much better than Gonzalez and Soriano.
The Mets can and will compeat against in the NL east. We just need to build around our core.If we do that we will be able to give the Phillies hard time.
The Mets can NOT win without a #2 starter, a 1st baseman who hits 12 home runs 65 rbis and NO power production from LF. Its not gonna to happen! NOTA NO way. Impossible! Reyes can steal 85 bases score 120 runs and hit .325, Wright can hit 30 homeruns with 110 ribs, Beltran can hit 30 homesruns also with 100 rbi’s ans score 115runs, we can sign Molina… doesn’t matter!
We NEED HAVE TOO MUST! obtain;
1. #2 starting pitcher
2. sign Carlos Delgado
3. Obtain a productive power Left-fielder
Enough with all these nonsense about the little itty bitty signings of this medicore player or that….
Lets simply cut to the chase
Omar fuckin just get it done!
No, Mikey, right now I am confident we have a lock on fourth! The Nats, they’re gonna stink a while longer.
All joking aside, our 2010 Mets will play better baseball than 2009. Seriously. We will be competitive.
I zsee the Mets playing competitive baseball and hanging around the Wild Card race before dropping out of it and finishing in third place.
This fan base is really starting to make me sick lately. Sorry, but as “direct” as you all are about Omar and his lacking skills, you all are just as lacking in heart and spirit. Here it is on December 9th and you’ve all given up already.
That is pathetic, not what has or has not been done yet.
Don’t repeat yourselves and telling me what happened the last three lousy years, I was there, as I was in the early 80’s, late 70’s, and so on…….I am a fan, and I never gave up before the first pitch was thrown.
Tug McGraw is turning over in is grave now………..
If Tug McGraW had Henry Blanco and Chris Coste to throw to I think he would be a little bit nervous about his teams ability to compete also.
Tug McGraw had Jon Milner playing 1st base. Daniel Murphy makes Jon Milner look like Babe Ruth!
McGraw has a starting pitcing staff of Seaver, Kossman, Matlack,
How postive would McGraw be with Santana, Perez, Pelfrey
F… Tug McGraw! We need a #2 Pitcher, a power bat in LF and to sign Delgado for us to even compete!
We can’t people see this!
If you been rooting since the 70’s then you know this team has been coming up short for years. They have too many holes to fill and Omar looks like he doesnt even have a plan. But the problem is the Fan Base. Are you for real? What is pathetic is the morons in the front office take us all for fools.
Mets will be lucky to get to 3rd. This is absolutely depressing. They’re apparently window -shopping this offseason, presumably assuming that they’ll get some guys next year when there is projected to be a glut of FAs available. Problem with this: more and more teams are signing their potential FAs to extensions, freaking EVERYONE is getting injured – 162 games is waaaay to long to play all-out without a little extra help.
If you want to root for a team that wins every year, then root for the Yankees. That’s not what the Mets are about.
A lot of this hostility is just plain stupid. Minyana did such a terrible job? Well, riddle me this — if Billy Wagner hadn’t blown out his arm in 2008, wouldn’t the team had made the post-season? Of course it would. We got killed because of no closer.
The team was certainly able to contend last year and showed it in the early going, before everyone started to go down with injuries. If everyone heals for spring training, they should be competitive even with out blockbuster moves (though, or course, they could certainly use more talent).
Let’s say you have another team that 70-92, and over the off season you made a trade to get Reyes and Santana. Wouldn’t that improve your position immensely?
I don’t expect a contender this year, and would be very happy if they didn’t — as long as they were smart with players like Davis and Thole, who will give them some pop in 2011.
You make great points but I think if the Mets sign a few good players they will be contenders.
Do you really think Thole is a Major League catcher?Craig
I don’t. Craig Biggio came up as a catcher didn’t make it as a catcher had to switch to 2nd base. Dale Murphy came up as a catcher had to switch to OF. Thole is obviously never going nearly the same player as Biggio or Murphy, I’m sorry but I don’t see Thole playing every day as a major league catcher.
You’re damned right I want to root for a team that wins every year and I want that team to be the Mets. Are you saying that us Mets fans should settle for less because we are not the Yankees??!? Dammit, the Yankees rebuilt their whole team right before our eyes while the Mets have just sunk deeper and deeper into mediocrity. Right now, the team is a doormat. Do we even know that Reyes is geting better? Right now Manuel says Pelfrey is the number 2 starter. You think that is going to get it done? We cannot assume that the Mets will sign anybody because they have done nothing yet. So, with the team that is on paper today, are they winning anything? I think not.
What happened to all of the wait and see crowd that was in the earlier posts? We waited and we saw the Mets do jack shyt. I KNEW this would happen. The Mets telegraphed what they were trying to do, which was sign 2nd tier guys and hope that the market fell enough for them to swoop in and get one of the 1st tier guys. Well, that plan seems to have backfired as it looks like the Mets are going to lose both the 1st AND 2nd tier guys to other teams. How inept. The money that the Braves (who seem to be going for it) have paid Wolf has caused the Mets strategy to blow up in their faces. The only top level pitcher left is Lackey and they are going to have to pay some BIG $$$$ to get him. Will they do it? I think not. Right now, this team is not comptetive in the NL East and like I’ve been saying, I am NOT going to spend my hard earned dollars to watch a loser.
I thought I saw John Heyman say the Mets are now engaging talks with Lackey Holliday and Bay?
We HAVE to get Lackey and either Bay, Halliday, or some other right handed power Lf and sign Delgado for us to even THINIK about competing in 2010.
Is there another path to being competeive thatI am not seeing? Please lay it out for me……….
I will just put the lineup up here it is.
1 Reyes
2 Hudson
3 Wright
4 Beltran
5 Delgado
6 Rivera/Willingham Crawford maybe?
7 Francouer
8 Molina
1 Santana
2 Marquis
3 Sheets
4 Pelfery
5 Maine/Perez
That team can compeat. of course it would be better with Lackey or Holliday. But it can make the playoffs and once you are in the playoffs anything can happen.
Do you really think this line-up could compete with the Phillies? Its a Line-up full of question marks. I think you are delusional
PS.Orlando Hudson aint here yet friend!!!!
Hey Chicko nice try but wWhy would the Mets sign all those catchers if there plan was to sign Molina? If the Mets wanted to sign Delgado why haven’t they?
Crawford? What makes you think the Mets even have a shot at Crawford? Have you heard or read something I missed?
Jason Marquis. Now that I can see happening. Of course The Mets sign Marquis Instead of Lackey could the Mets. this is the Mets after all…
As for Hudson for the life of me I just don’t get the love affair between Met fans and Hudson? Hudson is an injury watingto happen his production has declined.. Why not just stick with Castillo?
Castillo will have the same type of year he had last year, his long term yearly numbers bear this out. He has been remarkably consistent except for the decline of stolen bases.
Chicko EVEN if all the stars line up and your lineup comes true I don’t I don’t think its enough,,,
We need 25+ right handed home runs from LF to hit #5 protecting Delgado in the #4
We also need 14-17 wins from the #2 starter. I don’t see Jason M. winning 14-17 games and going into late innings consistently other games… the bullpen will be taxed with Perez’s, Pelfrey’s and Maine’s starts. We need the #2 to consistently go 6+ inngs every start. Can Jason Marquis do that? Lackey certainly can! That’s why it is IMPERATIVE that we sign Lackey! SIGN LACKEY! GIVE him a boat load of Money! Sign Lackey!
Ok I will compare this lineup with the Phillies side by side. for Reyes, Beltran, Delgado and Sheets I will put their 08 stats because they didn’t play enough in 09.
1 Reyes 2.97 BA 16 Hrs 68 RBI 1Rollins 2.50 BA 21 HRs 77 RBI
2 Hudson 2.83 BA 9 HRS 62 RBI 2Victorino 2.92 BA 10 HRS 62 RBI
3 Wright 3.07 BA 10 HRs 72 RBI 3Utley 2.82 BA 31 HRs 93 RBI
4 Beltran 2.84 BA 27 HRs 112 RBI 4Howard 2.79 BA 45 HRs 141 RBI
5 Delgado 2.71 BA 38 HRs 115 RBI 5Werth 2.68 BA 36 HRs 99 RBI
6 Rivera 2.87 BA 25 HRs 85 RBI 6Ibanez 2.72 BA 34 HRs 93 RBI
7 Francouer2.80 BA 15 HRs 76 RBI 7Polanco 2.85 BA 10 Hrs 72 RBI
8 Molina 2.65 BA 20 HRs 80 RBI 8Ruiz 2.55 BA 9 HRs 43 RBI
Totals 2.84 BA 160Hrs 670 RBI Totals 2.72 BA 196HRs 680 RBI
The Phillies only have 10 more RBI than that lineup. yes the Phillies lineup is better but not by much. Lets see the pitching.
1 Santana 3.13 ERA 1 Lee 3.22 ERA
2 Marquis 4.04 ERA 2 Hamels 4.32 ERA
3 Sheets 3.09 ERA 3 Happ 2.93 ERA
4 Pelfery 5.03 ERA 4 Blanton 4.05 ERA
5 Maine 4.43 ERA 5 Moyer 4.94 ERA
Totals 3.94 ERA totals 3.89 ERA
Very very close. So lets see the Philles would only have 10 more RBI and.5 lower ERA. Please don’t tell me we can’t contend with them. They are not that much better than us. The stats don’t lie!
P.S I know Hudson is not on the Mets.
Can you say 65 wins next year if the Mets don’t do something to improve the team.
Are you kidding me?
We’re fighting to stay out of the cellar except we’ve got Omar who ain’t trying hard and a clueless clown for a field mgr who admits that all he does with his time off is take out the garbage and sweep out the kitchen.
I guesed what the Mets lineup would be and I didn’t add any of the big 3 free agents. Then I compared them to the Phillies. The Phillies wound up with only 10 more RBI and a .5 lower ERA. You just want to ignore that?
Ever since their annoucememt that they were victims of Bernie Madoff, the Wilpons have INSISTED that the baseball operations have not been impacted. The disaster that was last season, as well as the chokes of the two previous to it, and the ascension of the Phillies and World championship of the Yankees have made me see something very interesting about Mets ownership – They must make a big impact NOW, and in the FREE AGENT MARKET, because:
1) They have *nothing* to trade – no minor league system to speak of, and no blue chips on the horizon.
2) They are competing with the N.Y.Yankees for the *same* buck – and in a brand new 6-800 million dollar stadium complex to boot.
3} Their division has gotten MUCH better in the last 2-3 years. It is now a *very* tough division.
4) If YOU were Johann Santana, would you be happy being a Met, knowing that the Yankees and Red Sox offered you similar money? I distinctly remember thinking to myself on at leat a DOZEN occaisions,”Wow, if Santana doesn’t demand a trade to a better organization, we’ll be *really* lucky!” Ditto for K-Rod.
What is most interesting to me is that the Wilpons are now backed into a corner where their ACTIONS, not their dismissive rhetoric, will indicate whether or not their Madoff statements were a lie, or not. If they sign big names, they truly were not hurt, if they cheap out, then they lied to every Met fan, and should be called to account for their transgressions.
I fear that the Mets may now be (at best) a middle market team competing in the Nations biigest market, with the Nation’s best know sports franchise…I sure hope I’m wrong.
They are not going to be as bad in ‘10 as they were in ‘09, even if they do nothing, but that ain’t sayin’ much. The Mets need the pitching more than anything. Inning eaters are the key. Lackey would be needed, Marquis may be OK , but how about Garland, an AL guy, he’s still out there isn’t he….and I like the Ben Sheets idea. I would love Halladay, but we don’t have what it takes to get him unless he stays put until July.
As for LF, I like Willingham, he’d be solid and servicable. I’m not with Holliday, still not proven out of CO. I love Bay, but don’t know about him & Citi field, and he’s very streaky (I have lived in Pgh for last 6 yrs). I think both these guys would end up as bad contracts.
Please stop the Delgado bandwagon, Nick Johnson would get a .400+ OBP and won’t SO. So if Wright bats in front of these 2, he will see pitches, and get back on track.
Yes I also agree with you about Delgado. If the Mets fans only hope for power is relying on a 38 year old 1st baseman with a (hopefully) repaired hip, wow are we in trouble.
thank you all for your comments….of course, I like to exaggerate on posts like this to encourage discussion…..but sadly, I really meant everything I said yesterday. I’m really losing confidence by the day in this regime. I’m not saying they can’t be competitive in 2010, especially if everyone is healthy, but even if they are, I can’t imagine finishing higher than 3rd in the division.