What The Mets Must Do To Cotend In 2010

Hieveryone, I hope some people actually read this article. This is myfirst article for bleacher report, after being a constant reader ofothers great work. A little information about myself before I getstarted about my solutions for the New York Mets. First and foremost Iam a huge Mets and Jets fans since I came out of the wound; I am alsohoping to become a sports journalist as I graduate college. Now on withthe much anticipated solution for the New York Mets!

The Mets have many holes they need tofill to get back to where they were in 2006. These holes consist of;catcher, a number two starting pitcher, left fielder, and like alwaysback of the bullpen help. There are also less significant sports theyshould look into improving, like; second base, first base and back ofthe starting rotation help.

There are a few catchers that areavailable that will help the Mets. Bengie Molina should be their toppriority at this position, as it looks like he is. It has been rumoredthat he wants a three year deal and they should give it him; theyshould offer two year deal worth 12 million dollars with a team optionfor a third year. Another guy that I like is Rod Barajas, I know he isnot the most popular option but he is a significant improvement overthe likes of Chris Coste and Omir Santos. Santos is not a bad roleplayer but they should not have him getting more than three hundred atbats. They could try to sign Barajas to a 1 or 2 year deal as a shortterm improvement.

The most difficult task of the offseasonwould be to get a quality number two starter. They already dropped theball on John Lackey, letting him sign with the Boston Red Sox. Thereare not many pitchers in the free agent market that are considereda number two pitcher, so they would have to try to make a trade forthis huge hole. I would call the Cubs to see if Carlos Zambrano is onthe market, and even call the Astros about Roy Oswalt. I would give upalmost anyone that these two teams would ask for. Another option theMets have is to offer incentive based deals to pitchers like BenSheats, Chin-Ming Wang and Eric Bedard. These three pitchers have thestuff to be number ones; however they are all injury prone and cannotbe considered reliable. If they ask for a deal worth more than twoyears the Mets should back off.

The left field issue is arguably theeasiest spot to fill. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are the biggest namesin the market and they both should be on the Mets radar. Obviously withthe Mets offer to Jason Bay they are on the right path for thisposition. I like Bay better then Holliday so I am happy with this move.If the Mets were to sign Holliday I feel he would have the sameproblems in Citi Field as David Wright, as they are both gap to gaphitters. Bay is more of a fly ball pull hitter and hopefully can putmore than a few homeruns over the left field fence. I say give Bay whathe wants; if he wants that fifth year give it to home!

The backup of the bullpen help is verydifficult to solve, I thought we had it figured out when J.J. Putz wasbrought in last year but I was completely wrong. Relief pitchers are soinconsistent that it’s more of praying you find the right one for thatyear. I honestly feel that Bobby Parnell will be a solid pitcher forthe Mets, so I won’t have a problem if they just go out and sign ortrade for a veteran relief pitcher to be an insurance policy forParnell. I like Jose Valverde a lot; he would be a real solid set upman for K-Rod and someone able to close some nights when Rodriguezneeds a day off.

Louis Castillo is a solid second basemen,he has taken alot of heat over the last couple years from Mets fans buthad a very solid season last year. My biggest problem with Castillo ishis contract, he is getting paid alot of money for someone who isn’t atop second basemen. I would try to dump his contract on another teamand go out and sign Orlando Hudson. However upgrading the second baseposition should NOT be on the top of the Mets priority list.

The Mets are filled with a bunch ofnumber threes to number five starting pitchers; Mike Pelfrey, JohnMaine, Oliver Perez and hopefully John Niese. I really wanted the Metsto get Jason Marquis, as I am a Staten Island native. He would of beena perfect fit hear as the Mets number three pitcher, he is a sinkerball pitcher and I feel he would have really strived pitching for hishometown team. Yet again the Mets dropped the ball and let theNationals sign him for about 7.5 million.

First base is not a very weak positionfor the Mets but it is a big question mark. It seems like they have acouple options inside the organization, Daniel Murphy and CarlosDelgado. Murphy had a typical rookie season with some ups and manydowns, it seems like he is not going to turn into a superstar but Ifeel he could be a 280 hitter who hits 15 homeruns a season. I know notwhat you like to see out of a first basemen but it’s not horrible. Onthe other hand you have Delgado, coming off an injured shortened year.When healthy he is one of the more feared hitters in the game even athis age; he is a solid 35 homerun hitter and someone who can drive in100 runs. His biggest question mark is if he can stay healthy for 500at bats. They should bring Delgado back with Daniel Murphy being hisbackup.

All in all for the Mets to be contendersin 2010 they must sign Jason Bay, make a trade for a number 2 pitcherlike Carlos Zambrano or sign a Ben Sheats and hope he can make 28 to 30starts. They must also sign Bengie Molina and Jose Valverde. I feel allthese moves are quite possible and would significantly improve theirteam, possibly bringing them to the playoffs. Their opening dayrotation should be; Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano/Ben Sheats, MikePelfrey, John Maine, John Niese. Set up men should be Bobby Parnell andJose Valverde and closer K-Rod. Their opening day batting order shouldbe; Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, CarlosDelgado, Jeff Francour, Bengie Molina, Louis Castillo, and the pitcherspot. This pitching rotation with this batting order should make theMets very competitive in 2010.