Hello fellow Mets fans.  My name is Mike Farley and I’ve been a Mets fan since the early ’70’s.  Yeah, I’m 40-ish but only 6 in dog years, and that makes me feel young.  But this Mets’ team is trying to take years off my life, and after doing a bit of research today, I’m more than a little concerned.  

I just read the earlier post from today about Omar on WFAN and Boomer calling him out about the lack of punch in the bottom of the order.  And it’s something I’ve talked to some of my friends and family that follow the team, because for as awesome it is to have K-Rod and Putz and to be rid of Heilman, you still need to score more runs than the other team. 

Sure, there is plenty of power in the lineup, especially if Carlos Delgado gives us another great half-season.  But the actual numbers may startle you a bit.  The Mets hit 172 home runs in 2008, ranking them tied for 13th with Baltimore.  The Phillies hit 214 and the Marlins hit 208, ranking them second and third in the majors, respectively. 

And did you feel like most of the time in 2008, the Mets had a hard time scoring runs when they absolutely had to?  Well, that’s because they batted .253 with runners in scoring position, ranking them 24th in the majors.  But wait, it gets worse.  With runners in scoring position and 2 outs, that average drops to .223, or 25th in the league.  And the worst statistic of all is batting with the bases loaded.  The Mets’ average in that department was .216, good for 29th best (or second worst) in the majors.  The only hole you can poke in these numbers is that the Brewers were the one team worse with the bases loaded, and they stole the wild card from us the last Sunday of the season.  Regardless, these numbers don’t lie, and the lineup is basically the same heading into 2009 as it was last season.

Omar might feel good about the makeup of this team, and quite possibly there could be some intangibles at work this season, like players having career years, or a new ballpark igniting the whole team.  But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned about this lineup.  How about you?