New York Mets: Score an Ace, But Aren't the 2006 Team

In 2007, the Mets finished with a record of 88-74, nine games worse than 2006, and as anyone who even remotely follows baseball knows, failed to make the playoffs.

After acquiring Johan Santana earlier this season, a lot of people are getting ready to see the team that won '97 games again, and go the NLCS with a healthy pitching rotation.

I am a huge Mets fan and I want to see the Amazin's win a world series as much as anyone, but I'm not as confident that there is a good chance that will happen as I was in 2006.

I agree their pitching staff has been upgraded. Santana can be as good as Pedro was in '06.  Pedro has enough left in the tank for one more season. Maine and Perez can be solid three and four guys. Pelfrey, Hernandez, and whoever else is there can fight for the five slot.

It's the offense I'm worried about, I know pitching and defense win championships but the Red Sox won the 2007 world series because Josh Beckett was lights out, and their offense could score double-digits when they needed to.

Paul Lo Duca was such a great two-hitter in 2006. He always made contact and was perfect for Reyes to get on first, steal second, then have the ball hit to the right side to advance him to third with one out with Beltran and Delgado coming up.

Ramon Castro was good once a week, but I don't know if he can fill Lo Duca's shoes day in and day out. Watching Carlos Delgado hit last year was often painful, he was constantly striking out and then he got injured. In 2006, he was a machine in the cleanup spot with David Wright behind him the Mets 3-4-5 was the best in the National League.

Last year, Wright was forced to the three spot and Beltran had to hit cleanup where he looked far less comfortable.

My last concern for the '08 Mets is Jose Reyes.

Reyes had a dismal September, I can't think of a cause for a player under twenty-five years old to fade like that at the end of the season, I know he plays 155 games a year, but David Wright looked fine and he plays just as many games. Hopefully it was just a slump, but every time he made contact it seemed like he popped out.

The Mets are still a premier team in the NL and with David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Moises Alou close to the level he was at last year, they should be able to pull out the NL East crown.

I just don't know about anything after that.