What do you see happening this season ?
Okay so you guys know I am predicting the Mets to win between 84-86 games. I honestly don’t think that it is a big stretch top think this team can pull it off.
So since I am late for work and I can’t write a full blown column today detailing my enthusiasm for this season , I ask you what are your predictions as a die hard Mets fan? It doesn’t have to be what record the Mets end up with or what place we finish in – just general predictions such as players stats, who possibly gets traded or imported, will Terry be a good manager, etc…
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY!!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:
Mets bullpen coach from ’84-’87, Vern Hoscheit would have been 89 today (1922) .
Popular utility man from the Mets early days, Rod ” Hot Rod” Kanehl would have been 77 today (1934) .
One of the most popular Mets of all time – and also the man whom I took my name from, outfielder Rusty Staub is 67 (1944) .
Mets first baseman from ’78-’79, Willie Montanez is 63 (1948).
Current reserve second baseman and power bat off the bench, Daniel Murphy is 26 (1985) .
The New York Mets purchased the contract of Brooklyn Dodger great, outfielder, Duke Snider from the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1, 1963. Unfortunately we lost the Duke a scant few weeks ago.
The New York Mets traded outfielder, Danny Napoleon and utility infielder,Ed Bressoud to the St. Louis Cardinals for third baseman, Jerry Buchek and minor leaguers Art Mahaffey and Tony Martinez on April 1, 1967.
The New York Mets released outfielder, Bruce Boisclair on April 1, 1980.
The New York Mets traded outfielder, Lee Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for starting pitchers Ron Darling and Walt Terrell on April 1, 1982. Yes the fan s were upset by the departure of fan favorite Mazzilli, but they soon learned that Darling would be a excellent number 2 pitcher for the next 9 seasons.
The New York Mets traded utility infielder, Tucker Ashford to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher, Tom Edens on April 1, 1984.
The New York Mets released fork balling reliever, Tom Gorman on April 1, 1986.
The New York Mets traded reserve catcher, John Gibbons to the Los Angeles Dodgers for reserve third baseman, Craig Shiply on April 1, 1988.
The New York Mets released back up catcher, Kelly Stinnett on April 1, 2005.
The Seattle Mariners claimed utility infielder, Wilson Valdez of the New York Mets on waivers on April 1, 2005.
And yes the Mets technically start their season today, but in my opinion the real season starts in 7 days when the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
Mo Vaughn wishes he was as beloved as Mr. Met !!!
32 comments
wannybackstra
4/1/2011-8:14am at 8:14 am (UTC -4)
mattsblog strikes again with this gem of a paragraph with misspellings and inaccuracies:
“Kevvin Connoly, who plays Eric on HBO’s Entourage, is part of a group approved by MLB to possibly invest in the Mets, according to the Daily News. “We have a lot of ideas and I think this could be a lot of fun,” Connolly tells the News. “There are a lot of talented people from Long Island who are also Mets fans,” such as Kevin Dillon, who plays Johnny (Drama) Chase on the HBO series, as well as director Ed Burns, who grew up in Woodside.”
1. Kewin?
2. The group has been approved to bid for an ownership stake
3. Kevin Dillon is from Mamaroneck in Westchester
4. Woodside is in Queens, which is technically on Long Island but is not considered as Long Island for the purposes of identifying Long Island v. NYC.
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-8:33am at 8:33 am (UTC -4)
I’ve never really saw an entire episode of Entourage but I had a feeling this guy’s name wasn’t ‘Kewin’…
CaseStreet
4/1/2011-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
Mattsblog strikes again.
1. Connolly, isn’t part of the group. Doug Ellin, Executive Producer of Entourage is.
2. Ellin said he would enlist the guys from Entourage to “bring their star power to Citi Field”, which I guess means you would see more stars in the seats.
3. Connolly was just saying there are other stars from LI who are also Mets fans. He wasn’t talking about Dillon or Burns.
The blogs you love. The blogs you love to hate.
wannybackstra
4/1/2011-8:21am at 8:21 am (UTC -4)
80 wins for the Mets.
Jose Reyes in his contract year is an MVP candidate but loses out because of the team’s record. He is resigned during the season and promptly gets hurt in September while playing meaningless games.
Fernando Martinez re-emerges as the team’s top prospect and after a September 1 callup he is here to stay as Carlos Beltran’s replacement.
Carlos is never heard from again by the All-Star break.
Jon Niese is the Mets best pitcher. 15 wins, 3.50 ERA.
To Sandy’s chagrin, KRod is untradeable because he lets teams know he is not willing to be a set up man for the remainder of the season. His option vests.
Thole hits .300.
Wright returns to .300 and 30 HRs.
Bay is in and out all season and suddenly looks very old.
Capuano makes about 25 starts and is generally effective.
Young doesn’t exceed 20 starts.
Dillon Gee gets about 15 starts and isn’t very good.
njstuckintx
4/1/2011-9:01am at 9:01 am (UTC -4)
On almost all. Disagree on Reyes. To be so close to Free Agency, I cannot see him not dipping his toe in those waters. He may re-sign with the Mets, but not before getting a few free dinners from other teams. Just no Fish, Jose! Watch out for that thyroid!
ajgmets
4/1/2011-4:10pm at 4:10 pm (UTC -4)
Not sure about the whole “Entourage” story breaking into a post about 2011 Mets Predictions.
Anyway…For the last time before the madness starts tonight…
Mets Predictions 2011
Final Record 80-82 4th NL East behind Braves, Phils, Marlins.
Free Agent to be Jose Reyes in his walk year will put up a solid if unspectacular season of .288, 16 HR, 97 runs scored 72 RBI 57 SBs he will falter somewhat defensively as his mind will be elsewhere far too often worrying about trade deadline deal possibility..But he’ll finish the season and sign a 6 year deal averaging 17.75 million per.
Center Fielder Angel Pagan will continue proving his value with an outstanding season of .304 18 HR, 93 RBI, 91 runs scored, 41 SBs and will be in the top 5 Gold Glove vote getters in CF.
Third baseman David Wright will flourish as the new management looks to him to assume a more visible leadership role. Ducky will put up a stellar season with a BA of .281, 33 HR, 107 RBI, 88 runs, 22 SBs and his defense will improve as he starts trusting his first baseman and just throws the ball naturally, he too will be among the top 5 Gold Glove vote getters at 3B.
The self proclaimed, self effacing right fielder Carlos Beltran in his walk year will put up decent 1st half numbers of .279, 12 HR, 43 RBI 13 SBs, and will be moved to the Angels or Mariners in exchange for pitching prospects after the All Star break.
Ike Davis at first base will continue his growth but not quite as fast as most fans expect. The youngster will be solid defensively saving numerous errant throws while struggling a bit at the plate during his second and 3rd time through the pitching staffs in the NL. I expect him to hit around .269 with 16 HRs and 72 RBI in 2011. A strong work ethic will help Davis during the next offseason make more dramatic stride in his offensive improvement for 2012.
Jason Bay will return from his latest injury only to find he has lost some of his timing yet again forcing him to struggle mightily at the plate in the spacious dimensions of Citi Field through much of the first half. I think he’ll rebound strongly in the second half following the trade of Beltran to finish with a solid .281 BA with 22 HRs to go with 77 RBI leading him to work especially hard during the offseason as he’ll return to be the everyday right fielder in 2012 after the Mets acquire a Grady Sizemore type player to play left next season.
The young catcher Josh Thole will gain plenty of confidence at the plate as he becomes more comfortable handling the pitching staff as varied as it will be this season and he’ll continue to receive accolades as a top notch receiver as his offense strengthens. I’d expect Josh. (Or is it Jose?) to hit around .266 with a dozen or so homers while driving in 55 to 60 runs. I see him being a catcher who’ll control the opponents’ baserunning by throwing out a solid 35-40 percent of runners attempting to steal.
Young Brad Emaus will struggle both defensively and offensively as the media and fan base continues to exert pressure on him to justify his “earning” the starting second base job. I’d expect to see him tutored by the likes of Tim Teufel and Wally Backman throughout the season while watching Daniel Murphy get some playing time at 2B. Emaus should be fine eventually; he seems like a hard working, smart kid who has the backing of the all important JP Ricciardi in the front office. The rule 5 draftee will finish with .253, 13 Hrs, 48 RBI and will struggle with about 25 errors at 2B in about 100 games.
The bench/role/fill in outfield players will have a great deal of influence on the performance of the club beginning with the need for Lucas Duda, Willie Harris and Scott Hairston to start quite a few games in the early absence of Bay along with the uncertainty of Beltran. All are adequate replacement players with Duda showing a good bit of upside as a potential power bat off the bench.
Our old pal Danny Murphy makes this club as the de facto back up second baseman/third baseman/first baseman and emergency, I stress emergency outfielder. Murph has decent pop in his bat and has become a more disciplined hitter who’ll get ample chances to play as the young Emaus endures his rookie struggles. Chin Lung Hu…Who will serve primarily as Reyes’ caddie will be a solid defensive replacement and average to below average bat until mid season when the Mets may be forced to take a look at giving Ruben Tejada another chance if the club decodes to move Reyes to another team. With the problems Ronnie Paulino has experienced, the club looks to young Mike Nickeas as the backup catcher at the big league level when the kid needs to be in a minor league clubhouse catching everyday. I look for the Mets to seek out a “professional” MLB backup catcher in the near future.
The starting rotation as it’s constituted on Opening Day will provide;
Mike Pelfrey 15-13 235 IP, 167 K, 4.14 ERA
RA Dickey 16-8 257 IP 3.27 ERA
Jon Niese 10-12 197 IP, 149 K, 3.77 ERA
Chris Young 12-12 179 IP 122 K, 4.22 ERA
Chris Capuano 9-11 162 IP 90K, 4.41 ERA
Considering the devastating effect the loss of Johan Santana will have until his return on July 22 (my birthday) the starters will have performed admirably with the help of Pat Misch, Dillon Gee and yes Jenrry Mejia along the way. Santana by the way will be dominant for about 10 starts over the final month and a half of the season bringing renewed optimism for 2012.
The Bullpen will be largely effective but the lack of starting depth will create chances for Jason Isringhausen and the return of Manny Acosta (just kidding there …sort of). Look for continued consistency from Bobby Parnell, Taylor Buchholz, DJ Carrasco (who’ll be forced to make some spot starts) and Tim Byrdak… Not sure what the bright lights and big city will do to young Pedro Beato or Blaine Boyer who was abandoned by pitching Guru Dave Duncan in St. Louis.
Francisco Rodriguez will once again be a formidable closer while converting 36 of 42 save opportunities…while he continue to hone his MMA skills..Kidding..
Wow, that‘s toooo loooong..LOL
Shouldn’t have asked for predictions Eddie boy…
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-9:17am at 9:17 am (UTC -4)
Ugh…..Wanny paints a bleak picture. Any and all of which I could see happening since it’s the NY Mets.
- I don’t normally do W/L projections but I’ll go on record as saying they won’t lose more games than last year. I hate to say it but I don’t see the Mets finishing any higher than 3rd place. I’ll consider it a good year if they do finish 3rd. If things break right though – and maybe they will – we’ll be in the hunt for the WC.
- Even with that SP staff, Philly deals with too many injuries, can’t generate enough offense and lose the division to the Braves.
On paper right now, I like what Sandy was able to do to field a competitive team on limited funds. It won’t all pan out though and SP struggles. The BP will be a strength. Johan won’t make it back at all this year.
Wright has an all star year.
Reyes remains healthy, puts up a good year and we lose him to FA – which will be my biggest disappointment of the year. One I hope I’m wrong on.
njstuckintx
4/1/2011-9:22am at 9:22 am (UTC -4)
I hope you are wrong too, on Reyes.
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-9:38am at 9:38 am (UTC -4)
good god….Only the Mets could issue a letter and get the name of our starting catcher wrong. Had a letter in my Inbox from Collins – check out this one line:
Ike Davis will continue to develop at first base and Jose Thole is one of the fine young catchers in the game.
**********
Jose Thole? Don’t these writers working for the Mets proofread anything???
kistics
4/1/2011-11:33am at 11:33 am (UTC -4)
Now we can chant Jose! Jose! Jose! Jose! Jose!~~~Jose~~
Twice!
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-9:49am at 9:49 am (UTC -4)
Oh for crying out loud…anyone read this:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2011/04/01/2011-04-01_mike_looks_out_for_no_1.html
Apparently, Pelf pitched most of the season with an injury:
“I had a strained rotator cuff and a strained posterior capsule almost the whole season,” Pelfrey told the Daily News Thursday.
Pelfrey said the Mets did not pressure him into pitching through the injury, and that he did not consider it a risk. So he took a pain-killing injection in his shoulder before every start, and pushed through. He has felt completely healthy this spring, after months of winter rest.
*****************************
That had to have been the best well kept secret of the 2010 season.
metsgirl31
4/1/2011-9:57am at 9:57 am (UTC -4)
Yes I saw this and was hoping it was an April Fool’s joke but I guess it wasn’t. How did they manage to keep that a secret??
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
Good question. That was Omar’s MO though. Hide and/or downplay every and all injuries.
Here’s hoping that shoulder is healthy and pitching all last season with that injury doesn’t come back to haunt him.
Ceetar
4/1/2011-10:06am at 10:06 am (UTC -4)
But Manuel’s MO was to blab about everything and throw his players under the bus.
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-10:31am at 10:31 am (UTC -4)
LOL…only when it suited him.
‘We have to weigh the advice of the doctors against possibly placing one of our better players on the DL’.
The number one quote from Omar summer of ’09 that I feel should have got him fired.
Ceetar
4/1/2011-10:02am at 10:02 am (UTC -4)
I’m suddenly even more confident Pelfrey will have a good year.
Dirtysanchez
4/1/2011-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
Pelf is an idiot…Mets are bigger idiots for not stepping in and shutting him down.
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-10:20am at 10:20 am (UTC -4)
‘strained posterior capsule’…..shades of Johan.
Here’s hoping there’s not really some small tear in there and pitching the rest of the season didn’t cause one.
I wonder how many other pitchers would routinely go out there and pitch every 5 days with this kind of injury?
TRS86
4/1/2011-10:27am at 10:27 am (UTC -4)
Seems shocking that a player would do that on the slack ass Mets.
Either way, could explain that tired shoulder in July.
CaseStreet
4/1/2011-10:32am at 10:32 am (UTC -4)
If doctors said pitching wouldn’t hurt him, why are Pelf and Mets idiots?
There’s plenty of players playing with strained body parts, doesn’t mean they should be shut down.
If there was a difference of opinion on whether he could get injured, then I agree, they’re idiots for not being cautious.
Ceetar
4/1/2011-10:33am at 10:33 am (UTC -4)
sounds like he’s fine now, but you’d kinda have thought they’d at least shut him down in September, give him in extra couple of weeks of recovery.
Dirtysanchez
4/1/2011-10:41am at 10:41 am (UTC -4)
Im not a doctor but something about taking a pain killing injection before EVERY start is kind of a red flag for me. Not to mention, it was “magically” fixed with off season rest. Either this is a very shrewd april fools joke or this goes to show the mets incompetence when it comes to handling injuries. Im sure the mets did everything in their power to avoid the 2009 injury tag season to xfer into 2010 so it does seem plausible they would do this…doesnt make it any less stupid imo.
CaseStreet
4/1/2011-10:50am at 10:50 am (UTC -4)
I guess I’m one of the few people who don’t believe the team’s doctors would risk their license and malpractice suit by advising against a player’s best interests.
Do the Mets have their own team doctors who only work for the Mets?
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-10:56am at 10:56 am (UTC -4)
See my Omar quote above. I don’t think the fault lies with the doctor’s.
wannybackstra
4/1/2011-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
I don’t think team doctors can be sued for malpractice – they’re probably considered employees and employees can’t sue their employers.
Dirtysanchez
4/1/2011-11:11am at 11:11 am (UTC -4)
Havent you seen Any Given Sunday
“Who are we to stand between them and their dreams…”-James Woods ;p
Ceetar
4/1/2011-11:01am at 11:01 am (UTC -4)
it could be a joke, I could see Martino doing that. Especially since he mentions posterior capsule which is the opposite of the anterior that Santana has. so it’s close enough to sound plausible.
metsfan4decades
4/1/2011-11:16am at 11:16 am (UTC -4)
Oh, forgot today is April Fool’s Day.
That is not even funny but if it is a joke, I fell for it.
kistics
4/1/2011-10:52am at 10:52 am (UTC -4)
Didnt’ the doctors say that Beltran’s knees wouldn’t get worse and just managing the pain?
Does this thing heal by itself with rest? Or is he going to have this pain all throughout his career?
stickguy
4/1/2011-11:35am at 11:35 am (UTC -4)
I hope that is a joke. Not that guys don’t pitch with some type of strain, etc. but having to get a pain killer shot every start? That is just flat out reckless. Hard to believe Boras would ever let that happen.
though it would certainly explain his sudden falling apart in July.
still, hard to believe they could keep this a secret all year.
Fred
4/1/2011-1:50pm at 1:50 pm (UTC -4)
85 wins, tops. They might challenge for the wild card, if things break right (and the other contenders/pretenders all suffer major injries)
The positive is that it should be more fun watching kids like Neise, Emaus, Thole and Davis, instead of Ollie, Luis, etc.
hazmet
4/1/2011-5:54pm at 5:54 pm (UTC -4)
If this spring has taught me anything it’s that Snoop is up to his knees in zero calories and I can use my points to buy a weather balloon. I’ve drank the Blue & Orange Kool Aid and the room is starting to spin. With that I’m going over, like way over on my prognostications. Hey, someone’s gotta go for the plus size tilt. So here it goes:
Wins: 89
Rookie of the Year: Emaus
Ike wins his first Gold Glove, hits 25HR, drives in 100
Reyes: 100+ runs scored, 60 stolen bases, .305 avg., 20 triples.
Pelfrey: 18 Wins
Beltran gets Comeback Player of the Year. Plays 115 games in the field and 9 as DH.
Santana comes back in mid-August and leads them to the Wildcard.
And, D. Wright is D. Wright and cuts down on Strikeouts.
Alright, somebody crack open the window Snoop’s lighting up again.
OPENING DAY AT LAST – LGM!!!!
…I know, so excited I’ve gone all caps…