Mets Merized Online - A New York Mets Blog With Attitude!

The 2006 Mets went on to win a league-high 97 games, separating themselves from the rest of the National League as early as June. During the off-season, teams have improved with some big acquisitions. This sets up the possibility of these teams giving the Amazins a run for their money for the National League pennant this upcoming season. Here are the teams that all Mets fans should keep a close eye on throughout the course of the 2007 season and why they are the threats that they seem to be:

Philadelphia Phillies (Last Season: 85-77): The Phillies finished 12 games behind the Mets last year, in second place, most of their problems coming from their starting rotation. In the off-season, they tried to fix the holes in their rotation by trading for Freddy Garcia, re-signing Jaime Moyer and signing Adam Eaton. They have signed so many pitchers that they came into camp this season with six starters. With Eaton’s finger issues over the past couple of seasons, Jon Lieber is the support if Eaton should get injured again. The bullpen is the issue with this team. They still need to figure out who is going to set up closer Tom Gordon in the 8th inning.

Why such a threat in the National League? The Phillies are a threat because of the core of hitting stars that they have in their lineup: NL reigning MVP Ryan Howard and second baseman Chase Utley. If shortstop Jimmy Rollins would shut his mouth and play he could definitely be one of the top 10 shortstops in the game. Another reason is the deep starting pitching they have, particularly Freddy Garcia and 23-year-old, Cole Hamels. Garcia is a workhorse and Hamels has the talent to be the future ace of Philadelphia. There is Brett Myers too but he is also a whole bunch of talk. What we say to him nowadays is “He can beat his wife… but not the Mets!“ All in all, the Phils are an improved ball club and they should provide bigger competition to the Mets this upcoming season.

Atlanta Braves (Last Season 79-83): The 2006 season for the Braves was certainly a season that did not sit well with manager Bobby Cox. For the first time since 1990, they did not stand atop the NL East. The main reason being because of the play of their bullpen. GM John Schuerholtz immediately patched this problem up in the off-season, trading away their talented power first baseman Adam Laroche to the Pirates for a young lights out closer in Mike Gonzalez. They also traded starter Horacio Ramirez to the Mariners for another young, lights out reliever, Rafael Soriano. Including these trades they re-signed Bob Wickman. With these moves, their team era should drop and their league leading, 29 blown saves from last year should not re-occur this season.

Why such a threat in the National League? The Braves are a threat because their bullpen is definitely a strong part of their team now. Their offense, led by center fielder Andruw Jones, should provide runs. The question for them offensively is, what are they going to get out offense from 1st base? Rookie Scott Thorman will be looked upon to fill a power hole that Adam LaRoche held for them last season. Larry (Chipper) Jones’s health is also an issue. It is key for him to stay on the field because he is their leader in the clubhouse. The questions also lie in their pitching staff. Mike Hampton is back from his injuries and Tim Hudson is coming off the worst season in his career. If they can find their ways of being dominant again, along with John Smoltz and the talented Chuck James, the Braves can be a thorn in the Mets behind this season.

St. Louis Cardinals (Last Season 83-79): It’s hard to say it, but yes the 2006 Champion Cardinals are a contender in winning the National League again upcoming season. They did not do much during the off-season. The biggest news for them was being outbid by the Mariners for Jeff Weaver and also lost Jeff Suppan to the Brew Crew. To fill in these spots, they are going with former relievers Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper. Wainwright has shown everyone in the 2006 playoffs that he has the ability to start especially with the wicked 12-6 curveball he has. Looper is the big question mark because he has not started a game since 1997 in A ball. Pitcher Anthony Reyes is another concern, although he is young and has some upside. The other concern is closer Jason Isringhausen. How is he going to be after having hip surgery? If all doesn’t work out with him, Wainwright would find himself back to pitching in the 9th.

Why such a threat in the National League? The Cards are a threat because they consist of mostly the same team as last year. Their starting pitching was not their strong point of their ball club until the playoffs. Weaver and Suppan are not great regular season pitchers so whatever they produced, it is could be emulated by Wainwright and Reyes, if he steps up. In spring training, Looper has also pitched well so he could surprise some fans this year unless this spring has been an aberration (Probably has). Also, an offense that is led by Albert Pujols is something that is always a dangerous opponent. As long as Tony LaRussa could stay away from the alcohol, the Cards are going to be a good team in ‘07.

Los Angeles Dodgers (Last Season: 88-74): After winning the wild card last season, the Dodgers made a serious push to take the NL West crown in ‘07. They wanted to get younger but only got older by signing pitcher Jason Schmidt, center fielder Juan Pierre and left fielder Luis Gonzalez. The main competition for the them will come in right field to fill in for J.D Drew, who went to Boston. Andre Ethier, James Loney and Matt Kemp will all fight for this position but right now Loney looks to be the favorite with a .455 spring batting average in 55 at-bats. The 5th spot of their rotation is in question also. Hong Chih-Kuo is the probable favorite due to how well he pitched at the end of last season.

Why such a threat in the National League? The Dodgers are a threat because they have a pretty deep team, filled with young players and veterans. The top of their lineup is full of speed with both Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre. Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent and the young Dodgers will supply the power on offense and Luis Gonzalez has successfully turned into a gap hitter. Their pitching rotation looks scary on paper - Schmidt, Penny, Lowe, Wolf and probably Kuo. They have a decent closer in Takashi Saito and a pretty stable bullpen led by Jonathan Broxton. Compared to other teams in baseball, the Dodgers do look to have a good piece in each part of their ball club.

The Mets are no question the class of the National League coming into the  2007 season. They were so far ahead of the competition last season that they practically walked right into the playoffs without tripping. With all of these recent off-season moves, it is always hard to predict what each move will do for their team. As a whole, I don’t think that any of the moves made by our competition, will be enough to shoot them past the Amazins this season. But, it’s always a good rule for us baseball fans, to keep our eyes on the competition before the season starts, right?