It was just about a week ago that Carlos Beltran took a page out of Jimmy Rollins’ book and dubbed the Mets the team to beat in the National League East.
Considering the opposition consists of a vastly overrated Phillies team (as indicated by their performance in the 2007 NLDS), a Braves team that hasn't made the playoffs in two years, a rebuilding Marlins team and a horrible Nationals team, he just might be right.
But for the team from Flushing, there are many questions that still remain unanswered if they want to win it all.
The biggest question mark the Mets have is one that frustrates many teams—the bullpen. Nothing raises a red flag like your All-Star closer being quoted in a prominent New York newspaper proclaiming, "I'm having enough trouble getting somebody out as it is.” For Mets fans, that's scary.
Billy Wagner’s no Mariano Rivera, but then again who is? The Mets don't need him to be, but they do need him to remain solid and hope the last two months of 2007 were just a bump in the road. If not, they're in big trouble.
As far as the rest of the ’pen goes, the Mets must look for Aaron Heilman to remain consistent, Duaner Sanchez to return to the form he showed in the first half of 2006 and Pedro Feliciano to consistently retire left-handed batters in a pinch. If any of these men falter, they are going to have to hope that Matt Wise, Scott Schoeneweis, Steven Register, Juan Padilla, Ruddy Lugo or one of a half-dozen other guys vying for a spot in the 'pen take their game to the next level.
Another matter that must be considered is the production of the back third of the Mets’ lineup. The Mets have transplanted 2 mediocre players from an awful team and placed them in the starting lineup of a team with World Series aspirations.
In Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, the Mets have a fourth outfielder and someone who should be a backup catcher, in starting positions. The 29-year-old journeyman outfielder, Church, doesn't have much power or speed, but for some reason Omar Minaya is infatuated with him. Realistically, the best the Mets can hope for is that he stays healthy, doesn't let his average dip below .270, hits some doubles, and doesn't make anymore bone-headed anti-Semitic remarks.
As far as Schneider, another guy Minaya seems to be in love with, goes, I have serious doubts that he will remain a full-time starting catcher for the entire season. In his early 30s, Schneider is reaching an age when catchers typically seem to face an offensive decline and that doesn't bode well for a guy who batted just .235 last year. He is lauded for his defense and his ability to throw out runners, but if you're hitting .200, you really can't stay in the lineup of a team trying to win the division.
Omar really dropped the ball by non-tendering Johnny Estrada. Much has been made of Estrada throwing out only 11 of 73 baserunners (15 percent) in an injury-plagued 2007. But he is a solid bat and what is not mentioned much is that he threw out 26 of 58 baserunners (44 percent) in 2005 and 27 of 66 baserunners (40 percent) in 2006.
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