Nick & Hayden's 2014 MLB Preview: 25. New York Mets

Here's the new face of the franchise...after David Wright. (Check dat 'stache)

25. New York Mets

by Nick Opich

Never has mediocrity seemed as perfectly befitting as it does for the New York Mets. They’ve always been the afterthought when it comes to New York baseball, never able to compete with the popularity of the Yankees.

The 2014 season will change nothing.

The team is hopeless, the new stadium is unattractive to fans and free agents, and one of their most exciting young players will miss the season due to Tommy John surgery. The Mets are looking for creative ways to keep their fan base interested as they continue to rebuild their team and I think I have an idea: A new uplifting theme song! It worked in 1986!

            The Mets did make some moves to better their 3^rd place club, bringing in 40-year-old Bartolo Colon and charitable outfielder Curtis Granderson. They have a contract offer out to Stephen Drew to shore up the shortstop position and his former Diamondbacks teammate, Chris Young, has already signed on to be the team’s right fielder. The moves they didn’t address were the underwhelming log jam of Ike Davis and Lucas Duda at first base and the fact that they seem comfortable giving up draft picks for players that won’t help them win championships.

            It is a shame that David Wright, one of the best players in the game, plays for this team and probably won’t have a shot at a World Series anytime soon. The season will be long and mostly disappointing for Mets fans but maybe they can take solace in the fact that Zach Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud will play a full season in the majors and some of their other prospects should come up throughout the season. New York Mets fans (if there are any out there) shouldn’t expect much of an improvement from last season’s 74-88 record but, hey, maybe Jerry Seinfeld will call another game this season.

1.      Last season & Offseason

a.       74-88

b.      Signed Curtis Granderson, Chris Young, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Bartolo Colon, Kyle Farnsworth, Jose Valverde

c.       Didn’t trade Ike Davis or Lucas Duda

d.      Haven’t signed Stephen Drew, Johan Santana…yet.

e.       Lost Harvey for 2014

2.      Line up/rotation

                               Line up:

1.       Chris Young RF

2.      Daniel Murphy 2B

3.       David Wright 3B

4.      Curtis Granderson LF

5.       Ike Davis 1B

6.       Travis d’Arnaud C

7.      Juan Lagares CF

8.      Ruben Tejada SS

Rotation: 

1.      Bartolo Colon

2.      Jon Niese

3.      Dillon Gee

4.      Zach Wheeler

5.      John Lannan

3.      Favorite/Least Favorite

a.       Hayden's Favorite – Blue Uniforms

b.      Nick's Favorite – Curtis got paid

c.       Hayden's Least Favorite – Lack of moves in offseason outside of Grandy Man.

d.      Nick's Least Favorite – Stadium

4.      High Heat Impact Player

a.       Chris Young

b.       Rebound candidate after forgettable 2012-2013

c.      Must reestablish bat

d.       Has to get on base ahead of Wright and Granderson

5.      Prospect to make impact

a.       Noah Syndergaard

b.      Weak rotation, could see opportunity

c.       Acquired in R.A. Dickey trade

d.      Throws hard, but not a lot of innings

e.       Mets could be great in 2015 with Harvey, Syndergaard, Wheeler, Gee, Niese

6.      Midseason Status

a.       Purgatory team – Can’t trade much, but not 1^st place team.

b.      Destined to be 3^rd place team.

c.       Could trade Duda, Davis, or Chris Young

7.      Bold Prediction

a.       74-88 – Same as 2013

b.      Rebuilding for future and should be competitive in 2015

c.       Potential Trade: Daniel Murphy to Colorado for Trevor Story (SS)

d.   Shockingly, stuck with both Ike Davis and Lucas Duda

Podcast Playlist:

"...Slowdance on the Inside" by Taking Back Sunday

"The Boy Who Destroyed the World" by AFI