By Max Sass , Assistant Sports Editor
As the Yankees face off with the Phillies in the World Series , Mets fans who are not cringing at the thought of either their cross-town rival or their division nemesis collecting a World Series ring, will give a collective yawn. One friend of mine who is a Mets fan declared he is just going to sleep through the World Series. Another one refuses to acknowledge that the World Series is even occurring.
Although I bleed Mets orange and blue, I am oddly thrilled by the idea of the Yankees and Phillies matching up in the World Series. Not because I like to admit that the Phillies are the dominant team in the NL East, or because I love listening to annoying Yankee fans tell me how many championships their team has won, but because this is the only matchup that will inspire Mets General Manger Omar Minaya and owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon to make the necessary moves this offseason to put the Mets back in contention. I don’t pretend to be qualified to be the general manager of the New York Mets, but I do expect that the sight of his team’s two biggest rivals matching jabs in the World Series will light the necessary fire under Omar Minaya’s butt to compel him to improve the team.
The Mets were hit hard by injuries this past season so first and foremost the team needs to get healthy. This is not something Minaya can control, and there is a very solid core the Mets have for next year. Jose Reyes’ return should solidify the top of the Mets lineup and Carlos Beltran at full health will be a plus. The Mets lose their starting catcher (Brian Schneider) as well as their starting first baseman (Carlos Delgado) and a number of pitchers (Johan Santana, John Maine, J.J. Putz) for a long period of time.
The Mets have an ace in Santana and two guys who can fill the third and fourth spots well enough in Maine and Mike Pelfrey and a plethora of guys who may turn the fifth rotation spot into a carousel. What is missing is a legitimate number two starter. The good news for the Mets is there are quality free agent starting pitchers available. John Lackey would be the best choice for the Mets. The Angel’s ace finished 2009 with 11 wins and an ERA of 3.83. Despite an early injury last season, Lackey has generally been durable during his career (at least 24 starts every year since 2003) and is a veteran with playoff experience and a World Series’ ring. If Lackey is too expensive for the Wilpons, then an alternative option could be the Cubs’ Rich Harden. Harden won 9 games last year for the Cubs while recording 171 strikeouts.
The Mets may end up passing over the more expensive options of Harden and Lackey and settling for a back of the rotation starter like Randy Wolf of the Dodgers, Joel Pineiro of the Cardinals or (DON’T DO IT!) Carl Pavano of the Indians. All of these pitchers would be an improvement over the current state of the Mets’ fifth starting spot, but none would fill the Mets need for a dominant starter to follow Santana in the rotation.
The Mets need to add a power bat, specifically at first base to replace Daniel Murphy. The Dodgers were the only playoff team this past season without a legitimate power threat at first base. The reason the Dodgers were able to make up for first baseman James Loney’s lack of power, was because there was an incredible amount of talent around him in the batting order, including Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, plus Loney was able to hit .280 with 90 runs batted in. The Mets do not have this around Daniel Murphy, who hit only .266 last year with 63 RBIs. Signing Adam Laroche of the Braves would be the answer at a first base, as he would offer 20 plus home runs each year along with a steady veteran presence. Bringing back Carlos Delgado would be an option for the club, but only at a much reduced salary and if the team could add a left fielder to supplement what age has taken away from Delgado.
If the Mets decide to bring in Laroche, they could leave Fernando Martinez to start in the left field. That would be sufficient but not ideal by any means. Jason Bay of the Red Sox is the premier left fielder available, with Matt Holliday of the Cardinals close behind. Those two would demand a tremendous amount of money, but seeing the Phils and Yanks battle it out in the Fall Classic might be enough to open up the check book for them. Other, much cheaper, options in left field include Randy Winn and Mike Cameron.
Though I will not be happy to see either the Phillies or the Yankees popping champagne this November, it will be worth it if the Wilpons, open up their wallets and Minaya attracts the right players to Queens to allow the Mets to once again take their place among the elite.