Devils Pride 26 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 (edited) With spring training in full swing a thought it would be a good time to start the thread. After the collapse of last season the goal this year is simple; World Series Championship. This a team built to win this year. With Beltran claiming they are the team to beat, that gets me extremely excited. Ever since Carlos signed here I have been waiting for him to say something like this. Hopefully they prove to be the team to beat. When we acquired Johan, many experts penciled us in to win the NL. Now is the time to do it. Pitching Rotation- 1 Johan Santana 2 Pedro Martinez 3 John Maine 4 Oliver Perez 5A Orlando Hernandez 5B Mike Pelfrey Bullpen- Billy Wagner Aaron Heilman Duaner Sanchez Pedro Felicano Scott Schoenweis Joe Smith Batting Order- SS Jose Reyes 2B Jose Castillo CF Carlos Beltran 3B David Wright 1B Carlos Delgado LF Moises Alou RF Ryan Church C Brian Schneider Pitcher Bench- C Ramon Castro OF Endy Chavez INF Rueben Gotay Utility Damion Easily INF Marlon Anderson OF Angel Pagan LETS GO METS 2008 IS OUR YEAR!!! Edited June 29, 2008 by Devils Pride 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I don't think Joe Smith's going to make the team, he was rushed up last year and figured out after the first trip through the league. If anything I'd guess on 12 pitchers at least to start with given Matt Wise as a short guy and Sosa as the long reliever. You left out PH sensation Marlon Anderson from the bench players. God help us if Anderson Hernandez makes the roster, and he'd only be a SS replacement for Reyes and play as much as Kevin Weekes does anyway. The last bench spot is Gotay's to lose but Willie doesn't like him so I wouldn't be surprised if he wound up getting traded, especially with bringing back Castillo. And today Delgado got an MRI on his hip (WHAT A SHOCK ), so first base could be an issue soon. For all the whining from Mets fans about how Beltran hasn't lived up to his deal he has had two pretty good years out of three, while Delgado had one and sucked last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Pride 26 Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 (edited) Yeah I forgot. Better fix that. You don't Smith will make the team? He did hit a wall in the middle of the season, but hopefully he is better prepared this year and with Peterson you never know what kind of magic he has up his sleeve. Edited March 1, 2008 by Devils Pride 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themiddle91489 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Delgado went back to NY to have an MRI on his hip. Church got into a bad collision with Anderson today, got a concussion. Pedro, Beltran, El Duque still rehabbing from off season injuries. Doesn't look like Delgado will be ready for the season, the rest should be ok. I think the Mets should give Michel Abreu a shot at 1B with Delgado probably not ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfsharkalligatorhalfman Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 The mets should have kept Julio Franco to play 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 If Mike Pelfrey doesn't make the Opening Day team in some form it will be a crime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Pride 26 Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 I just don't see where Pelfrey fits in. Would you rather have him over El Duque? Or have Pelfrey in the pen? He would probably just rot there, so I would rather have him in the minors staying sharp waiting for Duque to get hurt. (Not an if, with Duque It is always when ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overtime98 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 LETS GO METS!!! LETS FINALLY MAKE SOME POST SEASON NOISE!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 If Mike Pelfrey doesn't make the Opening Day team in some form it will be a crime. stick to hockey, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Depends on whether they think Duque can be an effective bullpen contributor and keep himself durable that way - but he will definitely get hurt at some point. But whatever, enjoy this season, as it figures to be the last where the Mets will seriously contend for the World Series. They'd better get it this year, because the way things are playing out, it doesn't look that promising for future seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmigliore Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 (edited) Duque is not going to be an effective starter.. I really think hes gonna do terrible if they actually give him that rotation spot b/c he is whining for it.. Pelfrey finished the year pretty good (I believe he got his first win vs the Braves in which he pitched a terrific game, then i think he got a no-decision and that was it for his starts.. he started off the year terrible though) Mets won their ST game today vs the Dodgers 1-0, Niese did a good job pitching 2 hitless innings (i think they were hitless).. Pierre, Martin, and Andru Jones were the notable Dodgers in the line up.. but pitching wise everybody else was solid, including Sosa, Feliciano (bases went loaded on him with 1 out and he got out of the jam), and Stokes.. Some non-roster invitees/minor leaguers pitched as well Edited March 1, 2008 by nmigliore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestevens Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 The mets should have kept Julio Franco to play 1st. That would be horrible. Julio did decent at the beginning of the season but really wasnt needed besides that. I honestly think the key to this team is Alou. If you look at Alous stats of how the Mets do when he plays, its incredible. If Alou stays healthy it could mean good things for the Mets. The catching is also a key to this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmigliore Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 (edited) Yeah I rather have Damion Easley or Marlon Anderson at 1st base (backup) rather than Franco.. Easley had a pretty good year last season, too bad he had that bad ankle twist vs the Nats that ended his season.. Anderson, well, he was the best bench player last year IMO >Both are capable of playing 1st base.. I remember Easley played at 1st for a couple games last year and I think Anderson has past experience backing up 1st base Edited March 1, 2008 by nmigliore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Depends on whether they think Duque can be an effective bullpen contributor and keep himself durable that way - but he will definitely get hurt at some point.But whatever, enjoy this season, as it figures to be the last where the Mets will seriously contend for the World Series. They'd better get it this year, because the way things are playing out, it doesn't look that promising for future seasons. care to elaborate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmigliore Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 (edited) I would understand if you complained about giving up F-Mart (Fernando Martinez, Mets TOP prospect) but... ? I also would like to see you (Tri) elaborate.. Looking into next off season - Perez is a FA, he will undoubtedly sign with another team.. Pedro Martinez will probably resign with the Mets if things go smoothly this year.. Maine's contract continues.. Duque will retire (good), and great young pitchers like Kunz, Pelfrey, and Niese will find bigger roles on this team.. Delgado is also a FA next year I believe, but so is Ryan Howard (i think) and Mark Texeira, maybe they Mets can land one of them. Castillo will be under contract for next year as well.. Reyes, Wright, Beltran also secured as far as I know.. So that leaves Alou, who will probably retire, but we have F-Mart or endy chavez or another prospect to take his spot I dont see how this team's future is bad.. The biggest piece we will lose next off season will be Oliver Perez Edited March 2, 2008 by nmigliore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 (edited) If Mike Pelfrey doesn't make the Opening Day team in some form it will be a crime. Edited March 2, 2008 by Hasan4978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmigliore Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Blaming the manager is a poor excuse for the collapse.. ITS THE PLAYERS that play the game, not the coaches. He might be doing everything he can to get them fired up but its not his fault when they aren't getting things done.. Its not like hockey; he cant make them spend time after a game and sprint b/c they played bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 If the Mets had a Sutter-type they would have won 100 games last year. There was just no accountability at all last year for all the lack of hustle and mental mistakes. Except to the extent that Willie liked to show his toughness by bullying the younger players while letting the vets get off scot-free - i.e. he benched Reyes (once) for lack of hustling and didn't say boo to anyone else. Playing favorites is worse than being totally soft. And it was dissapointing because the one thing we were all counting on when Willie came aboard was the fact that the players would respect him and he would be tough and neither was true last year. That's not even getting into some of his erratic managerial decisions like his insistence on using Mota - and for two innings at a time. Or running Julio Franco out there blindly for the first half of the season. Not to mention not having a long man in the pen at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmigliore Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 (edited) Im pretty sure he ran Mota out there because he was supposed to be our top BP pitcher (with Sanchez out).. Heilman never appealed to me last season, nor did Feliciano.. Im glad we added people like Stokes and Wise. I think BP pitching is based greatly on confidence. Our top BP pitcher last season was probably Schoenweis, he finished the year strong I thought.. Sosa didn't seem used to coming in every game and you saw him struggle after a week or 2 in the 'pen.. Hopefully, with Mota gone, things will be better in the 'pen this year.. If not, Willie has other pitchers in AA or AAA ball that would love to come up (Feguroa, Niese, Smith) Edited March 2, 2008 by nmigliore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 delgado was a nightmare last season, he's not a 'huge loss'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmigliore Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 delgado was a nightmare last season, he's not a 'huge loss'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestevens Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Its no secret that power hitters lose there umph all together over 1 or 2 seasons, whih pretty much happened to Delgado last season. If he cant hit for average he is a lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 The manager is not the issue with the Mets - though Willie probably cost the Mets 2 or 3 games last year. The Mets are in trouble because they are an old team and they're not getting younger. Carlos Delgado is declining quickly. Moises Alou was playing when Bush I was in the White House. Carlos Beltran isn't getting better. Reyes and Wright are young but both of them are close to their peak. Luis Castillo is bad and not getting better. There's a theme here. Oliver Perez, if he repeats last season, will get paid crazy money, which the Mets should not pay - but they don't have an adequate replacement for him. Pedro Martinez does not have much time left in his career - he could retire at the end of the season, who knows how it will play out with him. El Duque is at least 45 years old. That's 3/5th of the Mets starting rotation this year, and the alternative is probably paying some medicore arms in free agency to help them out, but these signings are typically among the worst in baseball. Furthermore, their bullpen is not young - bullpens get better not by free agent signings, but by finding young arms to use at the end of games - the Mets lack these, and when they had them, they failed to use them (Heath Bell, Lindstrom, etc.). Unless the Mets are prepared to spend a boatload of money and bench or somehow trade away some of these declining contracts, they will be an 80-90 win team in 2009 and beyond. They're too old and there's nothing coming on the horizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Pride 26 Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 F-mart and Pelfrey should both be with the Mets next year. Not only that, we have a good bullpen prospect in this guy, Eddie Kunz. Heilman is also a bullpen product that came through the system. If Joe Smith can bounce back (big if) then we should be fine. Don't kid yourself, you know the Mets will spend money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 (edited) The manager is not the issue with the Mets - though Willie probably cost the Mets 2 or 3 games last year.The Mets are in trouble because they are an old team and they're not getting younger. Carlos Delgado is declining quickly. Moises Alou was playing when Bush I was in the White House. Carlos Beltran isn't getting better. Reyes and Wright are young but both of them are close to their peak. Luis Castillo is bad and not getting better. There's a theme here. Oliver Perez, if he repeats last season, will get paid crazy money, which the Mets should not pay - but they don't have an adequate replacement for him. Pedro Martinez does not have much time left in his career - he could retire at the end of the season, who knows how it will play out with him. El Duque is at least 45 years old. That's 3/5th of the Mets starting rotation this year, and the alternative is probably paying some medicore arms in free agency to help them out, but these signings are typically among the worst in baseball. Furthermore, their bullpen is not young - bullpens get better not by free agent signings, but by finding young arms to use at the end of games - the Mets lack these, and when they had them, they failed to use them (Heath Bell, Lindstrom, etc.). Unless the Mets are prepared to spend a boatload of money and bench or somehow trade away some of these declining contracts, they will be an 80-90 win team in 2009 and beyond. They're too old and there's nothing coming on the horizon. Edited March 2, 2008 by metallidevils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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