Playing Pepper 2009: New York Mets

As the players start getting themselves ready for another season, I thought it'd be a good idea to do the same.  I contacted a blogger for each major league team and posted them five questions.  This is the result.  You can find the tentative schedule of teams here and today's main post is right here.

It's been a long time since the Mets and Cardinals had their heated rivalry in the 1980s.

The division title went back and forth between the two teams, with the Cards getting the title in '85 and '87, while the Mets were the dominant team in 1986.  Still today Cardinal fans can get a little misty at that classy phrase "Pond Scum!"

With the divisional realignments and diverging of destinies, the Cardinals and Mets only meet twice a year now, though they have faced each other in October in 2000 and, fondly remembered by us and perhaps not as much by Met fans, 2006.

To keep us informed with what the old rivals are doing, I asked Kingman of Loge13, a fellow Blog by Fans blog, to let us know what the goals were for this year and how the new ballpark was going to play.
C70: What's the overall opinion about the Mets' offseason?

L13: Can't complain. There's no doubt the bullpen was the biggest problem in 2008. They blew over 30 saves last year, seven by our closer Billy Wagner before he went down with a season-ending injury. If the Mets could have converted just a handful of those saves, they would have made the postseason as the wild card, maybe even the NL East champ.

Minaya deserves credit for rebuilding the pen. We got not just one closer in K-Rod but TWO closers, thanks to the addition of JJ Putz. There are still some other pieces being worked out, including adding another lefty like Will Ohman, but these are all good changes. Meanwhile, we resigned Oliver Perez so the starting rotation has a solid one through four.

Personally I am glad we have not signed Manny. I'd rather see Danny...as in Daniel Murphy, patrolling left field. It would have been nice to see Luis Castillo go but with his fat contract and swollen knees, no one wants him.

So it's been a good offseason. Except for the fact they tore down the greatest stadium in baseball history

C70: After the last couple of years, is just winning the division enough or is the season still defined by how long they play in October?

L13: After the last couple years, I think the goal is not to embarrass ourselves in September anymore. Just getting to October would be a welcome change, especially in a new ballpark. Unfortunately it won't be easy. The Phillies look good (again) and the Braves amped up their starting pitching in the off-season. The NL East will be tough.

C70: How many more free agent pitchers will the Mets sign and who will they be?

L13: Besides landing a lefty reliever (either Ohman or possibly Joe Beimel), I think they are done. The Mets love inviting old guys past their prime to spring training so as a lefty, I'm still holding out hope that I get the call. And who knows, they may still find a place for Pedro Martinez.

C70: How does the new ballpark look and is it supposed to play as a pitcher's or hitter's park?

L13: Funny you should ask. I was just out in the frozen tundra of Flushing, Queens last weekend to witness the final destruction of Shea Stadium and walk around Shea (can't call it Citi) Field. The outside of it looks kinda like a mall but the playing field and stands look interesting.

Our seats are not as cool as what we had in Loge13; instead of being behind first base and one level up, we are in short left field and two levels up. However, we are told that our section hangs over the field of play.

The NY Times had a good article last Sunday on the dimensions of the new park, which you can check out on Loge13. The good news is that Shea Field won't be some dinky band box. There is an 11 foot high fence around most of the field so hitters still have to earn home runs and there are some deep alleys in left-center and right-center. Anyone looking for cheap homers will have to go to Philadelphia.

C70: Which Carlos Delgado shows up this year?

L13: If I was a betting man, I'd put money on the Delgado who starts slow, then gets a bunch of annoying little injuries and misses half the season.

Appreciate Kingman sparing the time to keep us up to date.  The Mets have done a lot this offseason to try to erase all the bad memories since Yadier Molina's ball cleared the fence in October 2006.  We'll have to see if it is enough.