MLB:NY Mets: The Official Thread, 2007 HISTORIC meltdown COMPLETE.

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: beatmix01
i love shea stadium!

Worst stadium food ever!

The Mets really have to shore up that bullpen. That will be their undoing this year. Mark my words.

 

[ThePresence]

Glavine and Pedro are good pitchers, but at this stage of their careers they are 7 inning pitchers. The bullpen has to hold on to their wins for them. That would scare me if I were a Met fan.
Also, I don't know how you can say Matsui is a solid #2, the guy really hasn't shown a thing yet. Brief flashes maybe. Let's see how he does this year before calling him a solid #2.

 

[LeonarD26]

Most people are talking about the Braves winning the division, but I think Florida should be favored this year. The Braves have lost a lot and I don't think they have enough to compete in this deep division (yes i know everyone said that every year the last 78 years, but I think it's finally caught up to them). Florida has a great lineup and very good young pitching. They'll be tough to beat... that said, go Mets!

 

[raystorm]

Most folks with good reason say the Mets bullpen will be their downfall and I somewhat agree. There have been some good work by bullpen guys this spring like Bartolome Fortunado, Heath Bell, Matt Ginter ..etc, but the problem is that they may end up having bums like Felix Heredia in because the young guys have options in their contract. If Heredia is on this team opening day I will go in a hulk rage.

Also, as great as the Florida lineup look..and boy is that a wonderful lineup they got..they also do not have good bullpen, though their starters could easily complete games as they all have great stuff... except for Al Leiter who is a 4 inning pitcher (that seems like all he could do last year sometimes). Guillermo Mota is also unproven as a closer..he is NO Armando Benitez. Say what you will about Benitez but he blew away the NL East last season and made the Mets his little bitch. The Marlins will miss him big time.

The Braves have a decent enough lineup with a nicely improved Andruw Jones. I mean really..he's killing the ball this spring after taking advice from Willie Mays...who better to get knowledge from? Andruw is very inconsistant but this could be a breakout year for him. Marcus Giles should be a big hitter as well and boy is he a pain in the ass when he goes against the Mets.

I don't care for the Mondesi and Jordan signings but what do I know.. they are wearing Braves uniforms now and those uniforms seem to have magical properties. Plus Brian Jordan is a Met killer so maybe he'll go back to the way he was before. Danny Kolb is no John Smoltz and I don't see anything special in him at all. Then again Leo Mazzoni has the midas touch when it comes to pitching so maybe he'll have 40 saves..lol. Damn that bench rocking Mazzoni!

I don't really have an opinion on the Phillies. So much blame was put on Bowa so that excuse is gone now. Their bullpen is not so hot either as is their starting pitching. Plus that new stadium they have looks like a band box.

The Nationals are no push over team like the Devil Rays or Royals and with Jose Guillen, Vinny Castilla and some decent pitching they could be a pain in the butt. They always play hard for Frank Robinson.

All in all I think the NL East is going to be an absolute joy to watch! Fun and competitive from all teams! I can't wait!!!

 

[isasir]

Zambrano better pitch like a freakin' machine, so I can start to forgive the Mets for trading Kazmir. Man, if they had Kazmir, I prob. would've bought an 8-pack of tix. Not because I think he's going to be f'in incredible, but moreso because it would've mentally made me more excited about the Mets combination of great youth, some good older guys, and a lot in the middle.

 

[Argo]

Mets play in a division that improved the most this year. Will be tough for them to make the playoffs. And yeah, that bullpen is scary. Good luck with Felix Heredia, we Yankee fans used to call him "we're giving the game away" pitcher.

 

[chowmein]

i am still very pissed at Jimmy D for trading Scott Kazmir. A YOUNG pitcher who have tremendous talent. he would have been a fine 3rd or 4th starter.

i'm the biggest met fan out there, yet i have doubt. every year i tell myself "damn they got a decent team that can win 80+ games" but they're alway cursed w/ injuries. hopefully they can hold out longer this year.

one thing's for certain, this team will hit more homers and steal more bases. they will also have far less errors.

btw b/c of injuries and stupid errors, it cost the mets a ring in 2000.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

Meet the Mets

Im pretty excited about this year, still worried about the bullpenn, but hopefully they will surprise us.

this is def. going to be a big race in the NL East

picked up mlb.com's tv deal so i can watch most of the games

just hope they are still in contention when they come out West in August (i think)...wouldnt mind catching all 3 dodger-mets games and maybe an A's or Padres game

 

[jalaram]

Originally posted by: isasir
Zambrano better pitch like a freakin' machine, so I can start to forgive the Mets for trading Kazmir. Man, if they had Kazmir, I prob. would've bought an 8-pack of tix. Not because I think he's going to be f'in incredible, but moreso because it would've mentally made me more excited about the Mets combination of great youth, some good older guys, and a lot in the middle.

On behalf of Devil Rays fans, we'd like to thank you for that trade. :evil:

 

[madogvt]

I'm not a Mets fan at all, but they've sure improved themselves over the winter and they have some great young players too.

 

[raystorm]

Originally posted by: Argo
And yeah, that bullpen is scary. Good luck with Felix Heredia, we Yankee fans used to call him "we're giving the game away" pitcher.

Some of the players vying for bullpen spots during the spring like Bartolome Fortunado, Heath Bell, Matt Ginter, Royce Ring, Jose Santiago and Manny Aybar have all pitched very well and should all have made the bullpen in some capacity. In the end a bum like Felix Heredia may end up on the team because he's a lefty and the players I've mentioned have options in their contracts.

That better not be the case as Heredia has been a DISASTER during spring training. He's just plain awful and I hope the Mets just drop him and eat his salary.

 

[destined]

mets are going to the world series! yay

 

[chowmein]

the bullpen has proven closers in Dejean and Roberto Hernandez. Aaron Heilman can be pretty sharp as well.

 

[raystorm]

Originally posted by: chowmein
Aaron Heilman can be pretty sharp as well.

Aaron Heilman along with Jae Seo have both been god awful this spring. They lost their chance to make the bullpen and I never want to see those two again. Heilman's last game was pretty decent (I think 3 scoreless innings) as he FINALLY found a way to throw better...apparently he is now throwing like he did at college. Bah.. I had enough of Heilman already. He's had plenty of chances to impress and has yet to do it.

Hernandez has been fine this spring and DeJean has been injured most of the time. DeJean was good for the Mets in the short stint with them late last season.

 

[royaldank]

With Smoltz leaving the bullpen, the Braves have become a worse team. Honestly, moving him out to the bullpen and keeping him there might have been the best thing that wife-beating manager has ever done. It's back to old times now...get past the starting rotation and you're in the ball game no matter that the score is. That, along with the fact their starting rotation is no where near what it has been, and the Braves look defeatable this year. Of course, most folks said that last year. I guess the only safe thing you can say about the Braves are they wont win the world series.

I'm a die-hard Mets fan.

 

[raystorm]

Originally posted by: royaldank
With Smoltz leaving the bullpen, the Braves have become a worse team. Honestly, moving him out to the bullpen and keeping him there might have been the best thing that wife-beating manager has ever done. It's back to old times now...get past the starting rotation and you're in the ball game no matter that the score is. That, along with the fact their starting rotation is no where near what it has been, and the Braves look defeatable this year. Of course, most folks said that last year. I guess the only safe thing you can say about the Braves are they wont win the world series.

I'm a die-hard Mets fan.

Actually I think the Braves starting rotation is quite good. John Smoltz is a question mark in a way since he hasn't been a starting pitcher for awhile but his stuff is still outstanding. Its his endurance level that is in question but I think he'll have a huge year. He was also announced as the opening day starter. Mike Hampton was good last season and should still be fine. John Thomson is also a fine pitcher and has been good during the spring. Horacio Ramirez has plenty of potential and I could see him doing well. Don't forget about Tim Hudson!! He should also be great. Whats wrong with that rotation?? Looks good to me.

I'm not too impressed with Danny Kolb as their closer..he is a HUGE step down from Smoltz but we all know that Leo Mazzoni has magic skills that makes crap pitchers turn to gold.

Calling Bobby Cox a "wife-beating" manager is pretty low.. c'mon now.. I expect better from my fellow Mets fans. Bobby is a great manager and he's proved that a long time ago.

 

[chowmein]

smoltz can win 20 games he can flat out pitch.

i seriously believe Rick Peterson can help work out some of the mechanics of some of these pitchers.

do not count out the braves just yet. Tim Hudson put up good numbers in the AL powerhouse. Andruw Jones is leading the league in the HR department this spring w/ his new stance. and damn that larry jones!

"Ventura! To deep center field GRAND SLAM!" "AND THE METS WIN THE METS WIN"

"I BELIEVE"

 

[ThaPerculator]

Mets = poo. Now give the Tigers a top prospect for Urbani, this Wright kid should do.

I still don't see why everyone is Detroit dying to get rid of Uugie. Urbina is pretty decent, he's just insanely scary to watch (anytime someone makes contact <rare> they hit it out to the warning track).

With the Tigers looking promising as all hell (besides middle/long relievers... as usual), and Cleveland looking ready to compete this should be a crazy year for the division. Personally, I don't think the Twins have it in them to hold on for another year.

If the starting pitchers can stay consistent (ahem, Jason Johnson) the Tigers should be a pretty decent team this year. World Series? Probably not. Playoffs? More than likely, whether it's via wild card or division title.

My .02

 

[Al Neri]

which tigers are you talking about

 

[Miramonti]

The mets have a lot of potential this year, altho unfortunately they are still the mets.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: chowmein
i am still very pissed at Jimmy D for trading Scott Kazmir. A YOUNG pitcher who have tremendous talent. he would have been a fine 3rd or 4th starter.

i'm the biggest met fan out there, yet i have doubt. every year i tell myself "damn they got a decent team that can win 80+ games" but they're alway cursed w/ injuries. hopefully they can hold out longer this year.

one thing's for certain, this team will hit more homers and steal more bases. they will also have far less errors.

btw b/c of injuries and stupid errors, it cost the mets a ring in 2000.

I would say having the inferior team cost the Mets a ring in 2000, but that's just me.

 

[raystorm]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: chowmein
i am still very pissed at Jimmy D for trading Scott Kazmir. A YOUNG pitcher who have tremendous talent. he would have been a fine 3rd or 4th starter.

i'm the biggest met fan out there, yet i have doubt. every year i tell myself "damn they got a decent team that can win 80+ games" but they're alway cursed w/ injuries. hopefully they can hold out longer this year.

one thing's for certain, this team will hit more homers and steal more bases. they will also have far less errors.

btw b/c of injuries and stupid errors, it cost the mets a ring in 2000.

I would say having the inferior team cost the Mets a ring in 2000, but that's just me.

Pretty amazing that they went to the world series with an outfield that consisted of Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Timo Perez (who took over for Derek Bell when he got injured during the playoffs). They also had Mike Bordick playing shortstop when Rey Ordonez was injured and he was awful. Overachieved and had a smart manager in Bobby V.

 

[rh71]

4/4 2:10pm ET Mets @ Reds

I CANNOT WAIT. BTW, Wright batting 8th... now that's a pretty deep lineup...

Projected Lineups:
New York Mets
Pos. Name Bats
1. SS Jose Reyes S
2. 2B Kaz Matsui S
3. CF Carlos Beltran S
4. C Mike Piazza R
5. LF Cliff Floyd L
6. RF Mike Cameron R
7. 1B Doug Mientkiewicz L
8. 3B David Wright R
9. P Pedro Martinez R

Cincinnati Reds
Pos. Name Bats
1. 2B D'Angelo Jimenez S
2. CF Ken Griffey L
3. 1B Sean Casey L
4. RF Austin Kearns R
5. LF Adam Dunn L
6. 3B Joe Randa R
7. SS Rich Aurilia R
8. C Jason LaRue R
9. P Paul Wilson R

 

[jman19]

Wow Looper really blew that game and Dunn crushed the Mets. Beltran looked good, and Pedro was solid minus the Dunn blast. Looper is going to get killed in the newspapers tomorrow.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: rh71
4/4 2:10pm ET Mets @ Reds

I CANNOT WAIT. BTW, Wright batting 8th... now that's a pretty deep lineup...

Projected Lineups:
New York Mets
Pos. Name Bats
1. SS Jose Reyes S
2. 2B Kaz Matsui S
3. CF Carlos Beltran S
4. C Mike Piazza R
5. LF Cliff Floyd L
6. RF Mike Cameron R
7. 1B Doug Mientkiewicz L
8. 3B David Wright R
9. P Pedro Martinez R

Cincinnati Reds
Pos. Name Bats
1. 2B D'Angelo Jimenez S
2. CF Ken Griffey L
3. 1B Sean Casey L
4. RF Austin Kearns R
5. LF Adam Dunn L
6. 3B Joe Randa R
7. SS Rich Aurilia R
8. C Jason LaRue R
9. P Paul Wilson R

Wright batting eigth doesn't indicate a deep lineup... it indicates poor managing. No was does Doug Mientkiewicz deserve to bat before Wright.