As ESPN continues to roll out their Spring Training Power Rankings, lo and behold the Mighty Mets check in at No. 10. They also add that teams ranked in the top 10 (like us) are entering Playoff Territory. Dave Schoenfield pegs the Mets for an 86 win season.
ESPN calls Matt Harvey the team’s most intriguing player this season. “Harvey was as good as any pitcher in baseball in 2013 before his injury. He’ll be ready Opening Day. But will he be Matt Harvey, Cy Young contender?”
Due for better year: David Wright played through a shoulder problem — a bruised rotator cuff that sapped his power and finally forced him to shut things down in September. From 2009 to 2013, he hit .323/.412/.536 against fastballs; in 2014, he hit .281/.337/.363. A healthy Wright should be worth three to four extra wins for the Mets.
Due for worse year: I’ll take the under on Lucas Duda hitting 30 home runs again. Although I think he’ll come close and be a pretty valuable contributor. It’s one reason I like the Mets — the lack of obvious decline candidates.
Red Flag: The problem with the Cuddyer signing is obvious: He doesn’t have much range in right field, he’s coming of a season in which he played just 49 games and while he hit .332 and .331 the past two seasons, he’d never hit .300 before going to the Rockies. And he turns 36 in March. The Mets signed Cuddyer and then apparently the Wilpons ran out of money because Sandy Alderson could have gone on vacation the rest of the winter.
Final Word: And yet … I’m picking the Mets to win a wild card! My gut says either the Mets or the Marlins win a wild card, thanks in part to how bad the Phillies and Braves may be. I like the Mets better because of the depth in the rotation. Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom is the real deal and Zack Wheeler has the arm strength and now the experience to take a leap forward. Obviously, a lot hinges on the comeback of Harvey and return to form of Wright. Everybody’s concerned about Wilmer Flores at shortstop, but he doesn’t project to be as terrible as everyone thinks. Anyway, every year there’s at least one team that climbs from under .500 into the postseason (actually, there were two last season and three in 2013). The Mets are my pick for 2015.
Thoughts from Joe D: It’s been so long since mainstream media has put the Mets and the playoffs in the same sentence and now everyone from Fox Sports to Yahoo to Sports Illustrated and now ESPN are all jumping on the Mets bandwagon and I’m loving it. We have a bandwagon again and suddenly everybody’s jumping on it… We should f**king charge their asses…
No, but seriously, this is exciting and I can’t wait for the season to get underway. Those better days we’ve been patiently waiting for the last five years are finally here. With a stockpile of young, hard-throwing pitchers in our arsenal and some emerging stars in the majors (Lucas Duda, Juan Lagares) and more on the way (Brandon Nimmo, Dilson Herrera, Michael Conforto), we may have to resurrect an old Mets slogan that always had a great ring to it – The Magic Is Back!
Site News: You may have noticed I’ve been pretty non-existent on MMO these last 10 days. Unfortunately, I had a setback and have been calling the VA Hospital in Brooklyn home the past week. I’m feeling better and hope to be back at it by Tuesday. If one more nurse, doctor, aide, etc. comes into my room and thanks me for my service, I swear I’m going to start flinging alcohol pads and ketchup packets at them. I’ve gotta get out of this place. The best part however was making some new friends fresh out of Afghanistan and Iraq. I feel so bad for some of these kids… They’re so young and you hate to see them here suffering. But at the same time I’m so proud to see how mentally strong they are and how dedicated, respectful, upbeat and motivated they remain. It’s impressive and inspiring. Mike, James, TJ and Nick, I fucking salute you guys. Get good, get back, get dirty… GBA
