26
2012
MMO Fair Or Foul: A Mets Powerplay Goal?
An article by 
This edition of Fair or Foul features Rich Couthino of CBS New York, who says the Mets stack up well in the power department now that the NL has been weakened by the losses of Pujols and Fielder.
The National League may experience a power shortage in 2012 as two of the biggest bats the league possessed — Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols have cleaned out their lockers and are headed for the junior circuit. Add in the fact that Ryan Braun will miss the season’s first 5o games and Ryan Howard’s skills might be diminished by a ruptured Achilles (at least in the short-term) you realize the National League has lost a lot of thump. And this is good news for the Mets who – quite frankly – have as many potential power bats in their lineup as any team in the league with the exception of the Cardinals and the Reds.
Think about it — a healthy Ike Davis, the continued progress of Lucas Duda and David Wright benefiting from the New CitiField dimensions and you potentially have a pretty good trio of power bats compared to some of the other lineups in the league. And we have not even considered a bounce back year from Jason Bay yet. As much as the Marlins have improved, they will be hoping Mike Stanton continues his rise to star status as much as the Mets are expecting a big year from Ike Davis. The Nationals? They will need both Ryan Zimmerman AND Jayson Werth to have big power years and if the Phils lose Ryan Howard, they will be hoping the duo of Chase Utley and Hunter Pence will carry the lunch until Howard returns to healthy status. The Braves? Brian McCann and Dan Uggla seem to be the only givens for big power numbers.
Particularly against the NL East teams, the Mets do stack up well – especially if Duda and Davis rake at the plate this year. I’m curious to see what kind of a difference the newly shortened dimensions at Citi Field will have on Bay and Wright.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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The best thing about Pujols/Fielder leaving is that the NL is reverting back to a pitching/defense league. And that fits well with what the Mets are trying to do.
You mean it fits well with what the Nationals, Marlins, Braves and Phillies are trying to do and in fact have done.
The Mets were 8th in the legaue in slugging with almost exactly the same SLG% as the league. The Brewers and Cards were 1-2, and don’t forget Braun might miss 50 games. The Phillies were .004 SLG points higher than the Mets and Howard is a huge question, also. There’s no reason the Mets can’t be top 5 this upcoming season.
Top 5, yes, in the Eastern Division.
Somewhere yesterday I saw an analysis of NL first basemen now that Pujols and Fielder are going to the AL. They had Ike listed second after Votto. Interesting….
Well, they’re obviously basing that on Ike’s potential. In that, I would agree, but I think it’s far too early to be confident he reaches that potential this season. I’d also keep an eye on where the Nats play Morse this season.
Cardinals won the world series with their great offense (mainly clutch and Pujols) and great bullpen. Now compare the Mets to them. Mets have one the best offense in NL, let alone NL East and they have improved their bullpen very much this off season. I’ve said it since day one, the Mets have a shot for the wild card just as much as any team and wont surprise me if the Mets did win the wild card. What does surprise me is why Pudge isn’t a Met and Nickeas is. Pudge for me is what can SOLIDIFY this team as legit contenders. Pudge won a World Series, won MVP award and is 136 hits away from 3000. Pudge barely has offense in him, isnt the same catcher as before and is 40yrs old but his wisdom and leadership is just priceless and limitless. This Mets team that really has no direction can feed off Pudge. For me 2yrs 3million is what i would offer because he can guide right now Gee, Pelf, Niese and most of all Thole. I said 2yrs because Harvey and Wheeler would most likely be on this staff if all goes well next season, imagine how amazing they will be under Pudges guidance, I would call them a SOLID 1, 2 punch.
PLEASE WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT PUDGE BEING A MET. I NEED US METS FAITHFUL TO RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE. I’ll call WFAN, send e-mails to SNY, write letters to the Mets Office. We need Sandy Alderson to see this. Us Mets in general NEED this. PUDGE FOR METS 2012!!!