New York Mets: 5 Bold Predictions for the Mets' 2012 Season

In an offseason where the biggest move has been not signing a player (Jose Reyes, that is, just in case anyone thought I meant Cody Ross), Sandy Alderson and the front office certainly haven't given New York Mets fans a reason to be excited for this season. 

Nothing is really certain about this upcoming year, from the fences to the finances. Nobody knows how well Johan Santana and Ike Davis will bounce back from injuries. Will the fences even help the Mets' light-hitting lineup? 

These and many other questions have gone unanswered and will probably remain that way for a while. 

To help Mets fans get a better feel for the upcoming season, I've come up with my own answers in the form of five very bold predictions. 

The good thing about calling them "bold" is that if they're right, I look like a genius and if they're wrong, they'll probably be really wrong and forgotten about. 

But enough about me and more about the Mets. 

5. Ike Davis Gets Traded

Ike Davis was one of the few bright spots on the roster last year; he hit .302 with seven HR and 25 RBI in 36 games before getting injured. 

His impressive power made him one of the few that the deep fences didn't affect. Shorter fences and almost a year spent recovering should be a recipe for success for Davis. 

While the Mets have a decent chance of being out of the playoff race by the trade deadline, Davis will post stellar first-half stats and warrant several trade inquiries from playoff hopefuls. 

I really like Davis and I'll always have a spot in my heart for him (right next to Mike Jacobs) but I'm hoping he can bring the Mets a decent young starter or shortstop. 

4. Johan Santana Doesn't Pitch Opening Day

For the Mets, when it rains it pours.

So, after losing their best offensive player, it's only right that the best pitcher they have would suffer a setback. 

Something will happen between me typing this and Opening Day that will see Johan watching Mike Pelfrey start the game that should be his. 

I'm not a doctor nor will I pretend to be by telling you what will go wrong and how long it will take to recover because I'm making predictions, and that would simply be a guess. 

I wonder if I'm the only Mets fan out there that is somewhat accepting of this prediction.

Don't get me wrong, Johan is great but he's not going to win the World Series by himself. With that being said, I'd rather see him take as much time as needed to get to 100 percent than to keep trying to come back too early. 

3. Lucas Duda Has an Adam Dunn-Esque Season

Lucas Duda may be the young Met that I'm the most excited about. 

As one-dimensional as hitters like Adam Dunn and Mike Jacobs (that's twice he's been mentioned in the Mets 2012 article) are, something about watching them uncork a baseball into the upper deck is magical. 

This type of hitter seems to be a staple in the Mets lineup over the last decade (e.g. Mo Vaughn and Carlos Delgado).

At the end of 2011, Duda's power came alive and he gave Mets fans something to look forward to this year. 

I'm praying that Alderson doesn't give up Duda in a boneheaded trade this season.

With the new ballpark dimensions and confidence under his belt, I'm predicting that Duda puts up a .270/35/90 season and hopefully doesn't strike out as much as Dunn, Jacobs, Vaughn and Delgado. 

2. Mets Have 2 All-Stars, Neither Are David Wright

The Mets have never been a particularly clutch team (see everything after Chavez' catch in '06 NLCS). Now that the guy who came up through the ranks to the left of David Wright is gone, a lot of responsibility lies on Wright this season.

David Wright is a very good player and can be great with the right players accompanying him. Unfortunately, he doesn't have Reyes, Beltran and Delgado anymore. 

Surrounded by Davis, Duda and Jason Bay, Wright will be asked to be the best hitter—and I don't believe he will live up to that title in what could be his last season in Flushing. 

However, I do believe that Ike Davis will snatch the title of best hitter in the Mets lineup and, barring him getting traded before the game, Davis will represent the Mets at the All-Star Game this summer. 

Now while that claim probably wont garnish a lot of dispute, this one certainly will. 

I believe Dillon Gee will make an appearance in the All-Star Game alongside Davis. Gee will never overpower hitters but he does have good enough stuff to be very good and the poise to win low-scoring games. 

Even if by the end of the season he has cooled down, I believe he will put up a first half that will make fans say "oh em Gee," pun shamefully intended. 

1. The Mets Will Not Finish Last in the NL East.

If there's anything New Yorkers know, it's that money can't buy a World Series ring. The two New York teams have only one World Series between them in the last 10 years despite several large contracts dished out by both. 

I'm not saying the Nationals are full of All-Stars but they certainly spent a lot of money expecting to be contenders instantly. 

All winners have a veteran leader who knows how to win, which is something the Nats lack. The only three players born before 1980 are Mark DeRosa, Adam LaRoche and Jayson Werth, who have one ring between them (Werth, Philadelphia '08). 

The Nationals may expect Ryan Zimmerman to be the leader but he has absolutely no experience winning. None of these young, talented Nationals players do. 

Nobody knows how Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, Drew Storen, etc. will develop. This team has a very bright future but it is still a few years away. 

I don't believe they are going to be as bad as years past but I believe it will be another rough season for this franchise as they slip into the basement yet again.  

Mark my words though, the Nationals will be in the postseason come 2013.