Spring Training begins Today!!!
This maybe the first year I'm not fully excited about the season. The Mets did next to nothing this offseason and we have question marks all over. On paper the offense should be decent but we're talking about a lot of if's. When healthy a middle of the lineup consisting of David Wright, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda and Jason Bay looks pretty good. Of course with the Mets, there are no assurances.
Can Jason Bay be anywhere near the player he was in Boston, does bringing in the fences ease his mind? How will Ike Davis bounce back after his ankle injury, before he got hurt he looked like one of the best young talents at 1B. How will Lucas Duda adapt to playing RF everyday after an impressive 2nd half of the season. Lastly, how will the face of the franchise, David Wright, respond to the constant trade rumors he's going to have to deal with?
One of the bigger questions I have is how do we replace Jose Reyes? You can argue he was very injury prone thoughout this Met career, but he was one of the few reasons to go to a Mets game. You can't replace his speed and production, but the Mets are going to hope Ruben Tejada can atleast replace Reyes defensively.
The starting pitching looks very average. If we have any chance at a .500 record, we're going to need big seasons out of Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese. If we get anything out of Johan Santana, you have to consider that a bonus. The relief pitching should be better right? It appears Frank Francisco will be the new closer, with Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez brought in to improve the backend as well.
Today's not the day to be pessimistic though, they'll be plenty of time for that. For today, let's dream that this is the year we'll bounce back to a Championship level because really that's what Spring Training is supposed to be about.
