Mar
31
2011

Here We Go, MLB: 2011

An article by Clayton Collier

As the Yankees take the field this afternoon and as Austin Jackson steps up to the plate, they will usher in a year that will leave behind the age of Ken Griffey Jr., Andy Pettitte and Trevor Hoffman and continue the new era of Jason Heyward, Buster Posey and Neftali Feliz. Never before has there been such a year of transition so clear that leaves the superstars of the past to the young promising talent of the future as there was in 2010.

The 2011 season will bring these now seasoned youngsters into their sophomore campaign as well as bring many other promising young talent into the majors such as Brandon Belt and Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

Not only will 2011 bring in many new young talents into the game, but many breakout players hoping to build on their 2010 campaigns as well. Players like Jose Bautista, R.A. Dickey, Carlos Gonzalez, and Angel Pagan will enter 2011 with the hope of continuing their status as all-star quality talent in the big leagues.

This upcoming season will also go without many of the game’s top stars. Adam Wainwright and Stephan Strasburg will more likely than not miss the entire 2011 season and Johan Santana and Chase Utley will most likely miss the first half.

There is also quite a crop of players looking to rebound from 2010. Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay, Kendry Morales, Edison Volquez and Jonathon Broxton will look to forget their mutual problems from the past year and regain their status of top tier players.

Baseball in 2011, to the dismay of many Met fans, myself included, will feature one of the best pitching rotations in history. Through a series of acquisitions since 2009, the Phillies have created a rotation of four ace quality arms in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. This rotation features three former twenty game winners, two of them have Cy-Young awards on their mantles. With the Phillies offense not as strong as it once was, due to age and the loss of Jayson Werth, they will be still one of the bigger stories of 2011 as they will almost certainly win the NL East title on the strength of their quartet of aces.

Lastly, there are several milestones that many veterans will likely reach in 2011. Mariano Rivera is 41 saves away from the elusive 600 mark, Chipper Jones is just ten hits short of the 2,500 plateau and most importantly, Derek Jeter is only 92 hits away from the 3,000 hit mark, a feat only accomplished by 27 other players in baseball history. Jeter’s 3,000th hit will be the icing on the cake for a sure-fire first ballot hall-of-fame career.

As baseball gets underway tomorrow, we will all have high hopes for our respective teams, namely the Mets for most of us, and hope that the countless hours we will soon spend in front of the TV this season will result in us viewing an October run. All the examining and speculation of this past winter comes down to this, now all we can do is sit back, relax and enjoy: Baseball 2011.

About the Author: Clayton Collier

Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com

5 Comments + Add Comment

Liz March 31, 2011 at 10:20 am

Baseball’s back!!!
Peter Rieser March 31, 2011 at 10:34 am

I’m looking forward to seeing all these things play out. As for milestones, David Wright can takeover as the franchise leader in several categories this year. He needs 70 more RBI to become No. 1 on the Mets’ all-time RBI list among other things. The time has come to make it official and name him captain. After this season, he will be the best Mets hitter of all time.
Mr North Jersey March 31, 2011 at 12:17 pm

Play Ball!!!
sarge March 31, 2011 at 5:38 pm

I’m so glad baseball is back and I can be optimistic about my Mets.
With a healthy team, Bay will be back next week, this lineup will score runs and if the defense plays up to capability then our rag tag rotation could win 65-70 wins with the return of Johan. Very optimistic but after last year with Jose out, Johan hurt midway and Bay’s concussion it was kinda of depressing if not for Ike, R.A., Parnell, Thole and Pelf.

I am looking forward to all those milestones this year and am hoping for some surprises from some Mets minor leaguers, Mejia, Cap. Kirk, and maybe Harver for a call up in Sept.

I think wild card is possible for Mets and what a way to shut up all those anti-Mets on ESPN and the other sports media when they contend, hopefully pull it out in Sept of all months, considering past Sept’s, and Jose is signed to extension as is David, Johan comes back and wins in double digits in wild card push, WOW!

Just a dream but hey what is April for if not to dream.
I believe in my Mets and am looking toward a successful campaign.

Baseball has always been the one sport that I look forward to the season starting and the one I follow statiscaly all year more than the other sports.
An individual player trying to be the best player on the field in a team game trying to win with a bunch of individually minded players, just love it.
L.J. Phipps March 31, 2011 at 7:02 pm

Well here it is folks 2011, and I am ready for the new season. Hate that Bay starts on the DL and no Santana until mid-season at best, but a little consistency, 100% of effort, and a lot of prayers and the Mets can be in it. Health is a big concern this is the 5th consecutive season a significant player(s) start out on the DL, but maybe, just maybe, they can shake the injury bug for the most part and play some good ball. I expect Reyes, Pagan, & Wright to have good seasons, Ike, Thole, & Niese to improve. Emaus has potential, and if Pelf, Dickey, Camp, & Young could give some good quality starts no reason they can’t be a wild card team. Beltran is a key. If this guy can hit 30hrs, 100+rbis, and those knees hold up they can look forward to an exciting season. Defense & pitching guys! Lets Go Mets 2011!

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