Evan MalakatesThe New York Mets will finish the 2004 regular season with more wins than losses because this off-season the Mets worked diligently to improve their biggest problems from a year ago: defense, speed, and just common sense.
The Mets began last year with Rey Sanchez at shortstop and Robbie Alomar at second base. The tandem only lasted 74 games together, ultimately ending with Alomar going to the White Sox and Sanchez to the Mariners. The Mets were forced to promote the then 19-year old phenom Jose Reyes from Triple-A Norfolk and plug him into the everyday lineup. A year later, Reyes is now the team’s second baseman while Japanese all-star Kazuo Matsui, 28, anchors the infield from shortstop. After signing Matsui in the off-season, the Mets switched Reyes to second and set up what could be the best double play combination in the majors.After securing the middle infield, Mets general manager Jim Duquette began to focus on centerfield and two-time gold glove winner Mike Cameron was the obvious frontrunner. Not only is Cameron on the same level defensively as Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves, but he is a proven winner and Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez called him ‘the best teammate I have ever played with,’ referring to the days the two were together in Seattle.
In the off-season, the Mets estimated that 70 balls that were misplayed in centerfield would have been routine for a player with Cameron’s range and skill. This kind of estimation can seem like an exaggeration, but you begin to see the lack of defensive prowess that existed all over the Shea Stadium Kentucky blue grass last year.
The Mets did little to improve their pitching staff over the winter, but they are counting on veterans like Tom Glavine, Al Leiter and Steve Trachsel to bounce back after last year. Glavine won only nine games, which turned out to be his lowest win total since his rookie year when he won only seven. Trachsel posted a career best 16 wins last year on a terrible team.
If Trachsel had won 16 on a team like the Yankees, he would be a product of a tremendous offense. However that is not the case. The Mets were terrible offensively and more times than not Trachsel had to be nearly perfect on the mound. The Met pitchers won’t have to worry about striking everybody out because if the ball is in play, the hope is that the defense will be there.
With the addition of left fielder Cliff Floyd last year to bat behind Mike Piazza, the Mets were confident in their offense. However, Piazza was cut down by a groin injury that limited him to only 234 at-bats. Floyd began the season with a bone-spur in his foot that basically caused him to suffer through each day. On one leg, Floyd still killed the ball, hitting .290, including 18 homeruns and 68 RBI in only 365 at-bats. The tandem of Piazza and Floyd was together for a total of 37 games last year and as a result the Met offense was a disaster.
With Matsui slated to leadoff and Reyes inked into the number two hole, the Mets have a 1-2 combination that draws comparisons to Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo of the World Series Champion Florida Marlins. With table setters like that, Floyd and Piazza, who are both healthy, should have no problem putting up the numbers everyone expects them to.
If the Mets truly wanted to fill every void that they had in the winter, they should have signed right fielder Vladimir Guerrero, who now sports an Anaheim Angels jersey. Guerrero came at a bargain price but the Mets fudged the deal and now they are stuck with a platoon of Karim Garcia and Shane Spencer in right. Both Spencer and Garcia are Yankee leftovers; however, it would be ludicrous to say that the combination of the two could possibly be worse than what the Mets threw out there everyday last year.
The three-headed monster of Timo Perez, Raul Gonzalez and Cedeno was pathetic last year both offensively and defensively and the Mets would’ve had to try hard to get worse at the position this winter. There is an upgrade in right for the Mets, and although they could’ve put arguably the best player in the league in Guerrero in right, they will have to settle for what they have.
The Mets certainly have a lot to prove and it is much easier to say that they will be the same team they have been since they lost the World Series in 2000, but every year a team is bound to surprise you and that team is the Metropolitans.
James ParzialeSince Bernie Williams gloved Mike Piazza’s fly ball to end Game 5 of the 2000 Subway (World) Series, mockery is the best description for New York Metropolitan baseball.
Last season was chaotic. Tom Glavine moaned about Questec and garnered just nine wins. Mike Piazza spent most of the season on the disabled list and fielded questions about first base rather than ground balls. And who could forget Rey Sanchez and Armando Benitez’s rendition of “Barber Shop” in the locker room during a Mets loss.
Two hapless years before that were overshadowed by the shortcomings of free-agent misreads. Roberto Alomar, Jeremy Burnitz and Mo Vaughn were all brought in to compensate for a struggling offense; moves that would have been unnecessary had Alex Rodriguez been signed in 2000. The Metropolitans consciously downsized after struggling early in the season by trading dead weight, and with the addition of key free agents, looked to have righted the ship. But, with the season opener less than a month away, the Mets are in shambles and probably won’t approach the .500 mark this season.
Last season’s theme of distractions seems to have gripped two new Mets. Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia’s late night antics have grabbed the headlines and suddenly there is no interest in who the Mets fifth starter is, something consequently more important. Garcia allegedly urinated near the entrance of a restaurant, drawing the attention of a worker who claims he was assaulted. Now, Garcia and Spencer find themselves in the midst of legal issues rather than tying to develop chemistry with new teammates.
This is the meddling the Mets find themselves in every season. Mike Piazza’s shift to first base, a distraction last year, has seeped into Port St. Lucie this season as well. Even with the off-field escapades, the Mets do not possess enough pitching to win. Glavine is a year older and blamed his struggles last season on a computer program. The former Atlanta Braves ace looks more like he’s checked into a retirement home cashing the rest of the $35 million the Mets owe him. Behind Glavine is Al Leiter, who had a uplifting finish to the 2003 campaign. Yet Leiter’s 39-33 record since 2002 leaves much to be desired from a supposed frontline pitcher.
Behind them is No. 3 starter Steve Trachsel, who on most teams would be a No. 4 or 5 at best, but is coming off arguably the best season of his career. Yet Trachsel was not brought aboard to carry this staff, he should complement an ace the Mets lack.
Jae Seo showed glimmers of hope last season, but finished with a paltry 9-12 record. The Mets can’t rely on Seo because he is still an unproven commodity and must diversify his pitching repertoire after relying too much on his slider, change up and fastball that barely reached 90 mph. The chase for a fifth starter is also something the Mets must settle. Aaron Heilman is getting a strong look in St. Lucie, but the 25-year-old had a 6.75 ERA in 13 starts last season. Scott Erickson was signed to a minor league contract, but his chances of cracking the rotation are slim. The bullpen lacks depth and the unproven Braden Looper is untested as a full time closer. Looper shut down the Yankees in Game 5 of the Series, but how he performs in New York on a daily basis is a question mark. David Weathers, John Franco, and Mike Stanton and Scott Strickland, who won’t pitch until July at the earliest, round out the bullpen that was overworked last season.
On offense, the Mets probably won’t have enough run support for their pitchers. The front office balked at Vladamir Guerrero in a smart decision, but did not address the offense. Assuming Piazza stays healthy; Cliff Floyd is the only other power hitter in the lineup. Jose Reyes and Kaz Matsui will likely be the 1-2 punch atop the order, but Reyes is learning a new position and Matsui will be learning a new country, never mind a whole new league of pitchers.
Mike Cameron’s addition shores up centerfield defensively, but the former Mariner has never hit over 25 home runs and recorded just one season with over 100 RBIs.
In order for them to a factor in a division with the 11-time defending champion Braves, the World Champion Florida Marlins and the retooled Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets must continue to make strides to get younger in the pitching staff and rid themselves of the Roger Cedeno’s of the world. Until they do so, a Tom Seaver comeback is more likely than a winning record.