2011(and beyond!) MLB thread.

[Mega-Tallica]

If the Mets trade Reyes, they are also trading the spark to their offense. He's one of those players that, when healthy, is nearly impossible to replace.

As we Met fans have witnessed the past couple of years.

[bermuddy]

it's not a matter of whether or not teh mets want hi,. because i'm sure they do. but the wilpons may be on the hook for somethign like a billion dollars.

[clashcityrocker10]

I'd be absolutely shocked if the Mets win 60 games this year...

C'mon, we're not that bad...


I'm just hoping Bay hits better than last year and that some of these pitchers we took a risk on signing prove to be serviceable.

[ultimatespidey81]

yeah i dont think the mets are quite that bad either but they will finish a distant 4th or 5th(not outta the question). they need johan back asap.

rickie weeks got paid! signed an extension for 4 years, $38.5 milli! an option for a 5th year could bump it to $50 million.

[Mega-Tallica]

The Mets rotation is in shambles. Santana can only do so much this year coming off an injury, Pelf and Dickey would both have to have another good season and Neise would have to stay healthy to stay in the rotation, plus the few new guys they got which I'm not really sure how'd they fit in yet like Buchholtz, Capuano, and Young who is always hurt.

The bullpen, I don't even know where to start. I guess they'll throw Ollie back in the pen as a lefty and Mejia as the setup man, K-Rod as the closer. Mejia could even be a starter if they need one, but he's got to work on his control. The rest of the BP I guess would just fall into place.

Their lineup looks decent on paper with Reyes back at the top coming back from an injury season along with Murphy who the Mets really missed last year. Don't know where he'll play now with Ike Davis playing first mostly last year, maybe they'll platoon them even though they are both lefties. Bay, Beltran, and Wright would anchor the meat of the lineup, Bay must have a good year this year, he was a huge disappointment last year. The rest would be Castillo, Pagan/Hairston, and the new catcher Paulino. I mean, their offense should be alright as long as everyone stays healthy which is a long shot. Their pitching is what worries me the most.

[Jglaubman]

K-Rod as the closer.

Isn't he in jail?

[clashcityrocker10]

The Mets rotation is in shambles. Santana can only do so much this year coming off an injury, Pelf and Dickey would both have to have another good season and Neise would have to stay healthy to stay in the rotation, plus the few new guys they got which I'm not really sure how'd they fit in yet like Buchholtz, Capuano, and Young who is always hurt.

The bullpen, I don't even know where to start. I guess they'll throw Ollie back in the pen as a lefty and Mejia as the setup man, K-Rod as the closer. Mejia could even be a starter if they need one, but he's got to work on his control. The rest of the BP I guess would just fall into place.

Their lineup looks decent on paper with Reyes back at the top coming back from an injury season along with Murphy who the Mets really missed last year. Don't know where he'll play now with Ike Davis playing first mostly last year, maybe they'll platoon them even though they are both lefties. Bay, Beltran, and Wright would anchor the meat of the lineup, Bay must have a good year this year, he was a huge disappointment last year. The rest would be Castillo, Pagan/Hairston, and the new catcher Paulino. I mean, their offense should be alright as long as everyone stays healthy which is a long shot. Their pitching is what worries me the most.

I wouldn't exactly call the rotation "in shambles" - Pelfrey, Niese (when healthy), and Dickey all had good seasons last year and I have no reason to doubt they can't repeat their successes, and once Santana comes back, you know he will pitch well, it's just a matter of whether he'll get any run support. While I agree that Capuano, Buchholz, and Young are question marks, they're all fairly low risk ventures for the Mets. If they all are awful, they're gone after this year. To be honest, I think the biggest problem is the bullpen for this team, and that was a problem for the Mets even in '06. We lost all of the guys that were fairly reliable in Feliciano, Takahashi, and Nieve (at least until he was overused). Maybe hold what amounts to basically year-long tryouts for a lot of the young guys in the bullpen and see if some of them have it for the long haul.

As for the offense, I want to see:
C - Thole
1B - Davis
2B - Murphy (why not? it wouldn't be the first time he's shifted positions, and he was playing it during rehab last year)
3B - Wright
SS - Reyes
LF - Bay
CF - Beltran/Pagan (whoever fields better in Spring Training)
RF - Beltran/Pagan (whoever fields worse)

[Dante1847]

Carl Crawford OF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
JD Drew OF
Jared Saltalamacchia C
Jed Lowrie SS
Jacoby Ellsbury OF

Jon Lester
Clay Buchholz
Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
John lackey

Hideki Okajima
Daniel Bard
Jonathon Papelbon
Bobby Jenks
Dan Wheeler
Tim Wakefield
Junichi Tazawa

Jason Varitek C
Marco Scutaro IF
Mike Cameron OF
Daniel Nava OF
Ryan Kalish OF

I like our chances.

perfect post.

(glad we have an MLB thread agian, thanks spidey)

besides the Sox, it looks like right now the top 3 stories in spring training are:

1) Sir Albert
2) How bad will the Mets be?
3) Joba's waistline

[clashcityrocker10]

besides the Sox, it looks like right now the top 3 stories in spring training are:

2) How bad will the Mets be?

Thing is, I don't hear anyone talking about the Mets on-field. All I hear about involves the lawsuit and the Wilpons trying to sell a stake in the team, which I'd like to think won't have any impact on the team's performance this year, but who knows.

[Dante1847]

well yeah, I added some hyperbole in my post, but on a more serious note, from everything Ive read and/or heard (especially from Mets fans), the whole lawsuit is a HUGE distraction and, given their offseason (or lack thereof), there is nothing but pessimism for this team.