New York Mets' Lineup Almost Set For 2011

New New York Mets’ manager Terry Collins is already trying to do his best to bring stability to a franchise that has been seriously lacking some over the past three seasons. Spring training hasn’t even started yet, but he already has the first six spots in the Mets’ lineup set for this season.

Davis will be batting sixth for the Mets

Here is how he has the first six spots in the Mets’ lineup laid out for 2011…

1. Jose Reyes, SS

2. Angel Pagan, RF

3. David Wright, 3B

4. Carlos Beltran, CF

5. Jason Bay, LF

6. Ike Davis, 1B

The seventh and eighth spots in their lineup will be determined by who wins the second base and catcher position battles or if the Mets decide to go with a platoon at those positions. Who knows who is going to end up playing second for the Mets, but Josh Thole and Ronny Paulino figure to split time behind the plate for the Mets in 2011.

I guess if there is one debate in regards to the first six spots in the Mets’ lineup, it would be whether or not to flip-flop Wright and Beltran in the three and four spots. If you want to go just by statistics, then I believe they are in the right spots in the order. Wright has been more productive as a three-hitter in his career than a four-hitter (.906 OPS to .897) and Beltran has been more productive in the four spot than the three spot (.893 OPS to .845).

Of course injuries and other things out of a manager’s control always pop up during the regular season and what a team starts with is usually not how it finishes, but if the Mets can role out this lineup on a day-to-day basis, then they should have no problem scoring runs in 2011.

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