Get him to the Greek, Mets Preview 2012

I heard a lot of bad things about the movie “Get him to the Greek”. Despite, I went ahead and saw it despite hearing that it was “painful”, “awful”, etc… I always remember the adage, “opinions are like assholes… everyone has one” and saw it anyway.


I went into the experience with absolutely no expectations. The movie begins and I find myself laughing, and quite often. It is a star turn for Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy, aka Diddy, and every scene he is in is hysterical. This is not an Oscar winning picture, it is not a top ten comedy, but it is certainly entertaining. My non-existent expectations added significantly to the experience.

This year, The Mets are “Get him to the Greek”. I am told in all corners of my life how bad they will be. “Historically bad”, “Hopeless”, “Awful” are some of the least colorful terms. I have no expectations. I believe that we fans will be pleasantly surprised. This team will win no championships or other trophies, won’t set many records, but they will entertain, and they are good enough to compete.

These Mets will score more runs than you think. They’ll pitch well for the first half. Injuries and fatigue will catch up with them, and they will ‘collapse’ to one degree or another, but they will battle. They know what people say about them, and have the very valuable ‘us against the world’ going for them.

Catcher – Josh Thole - Below avg catcher who has been working on defense and how to handle the pitching staff. He may be a pleasant surprise this year. Mike Nikkeas will back up. This platoon will not set the world on fire. Expect the Mets to sign a moderately priced vet next year.

1B – Ike Davis – Valley Fever, Valley Schmever. Ike Davis is going to hit .300 and 25 homers for a good long while. He is John Olerud reincarnated, and is one of the brightest spots of the organization. He is direct and open with the media and a true pro. If there are any health issues with Davis, look for Lucas Duda to move from the OF to 1B where he adequately defended the position last year when Davis went down.

2B- Daniel Murphy – Murph is the prototypical #2 hitter. Great bat control and contact, strikes out very infrequently. He has deceptive power (led the team in HR’s two years ago), but little speed. Defensively, he is a liability, and has had his year ended the past two by people sliding in to him at 2B. When healthy he hits. They need him to be healthy. (Reese Havens should be the starter by now, but was injured again during spring training. Justin Turner will back Murphy up as well as most other positions)

SS – Ruben Tejada – Plus defender, as a hitter, who knows? I’d love to tell you that the Mets let Reyes go because this guy was waiting in the wings, but we all know that isn’t even appropriate for April fools. He’ll defend well, hopefully he’ll get on base enough to clear the pitchers spot. Anything else is a bonus. Rey Ordonez part duex???

3B – David Wright – Shea Stadium plus David = All Star. Citi Field + David = Not so much. The fences are coming in they say, but that isn’t the problem. Health is a concern as he has the same injury that Ryan Zimmerman had last year, but he has shown the past week that he is pretty healthy.

The real problem with David is that if you throw him a slider off of the plate he will swing EVERY TIME. You don’t need to be a sabermetrician or analyst to know this. It is painfully obvious and obviously painful. If he can lay off of this pitch, he will resume his All Star ways. It really is that simple with this guy. (If David gets hurt Murphy would probably slide over to play 3rd)

CF – Andres Torres – Torres was horrendous last year for the Giants. The year before, he batted around .270 and hit over 15 homers while swiping over 15 bases. He will probably fall somewhere in the middle of these two seasons. Hopefully his coaches and GM will drum into his mind that his job is to walk a lot and simply get on base. If he can be a table setter, he will be valuable. His defense will be average to above average. Kirk Neuenweiss and Matt Van Dekker are the most likely replacements/call ups should Torres be hurt or ineffective.

RF – Jason Bay – Amazing to look at the past numbers from this guy. He was a top ten player in the game, and now he has one of the worst ten contracts in the game. The fences being moved in actually help him, as I have seen him hit the wall that was lowered at least 10 times. I believe he will outperform peoples’ low expectations and he’ll post a 20/20 season, albeit with a batting average around .240

LF – Lucas Duda – Duda had a very impressive 2011 after being called up. He has a great eye, quick hands, and is deceptively fast. I expect him to be part of the young core that is the Mets for years to come. Hairston will back up Duda, though if Ike needed to be spelled for a longer term, I’d expect a younger player to be recalled.

1. Torres 2. Murph 3. Wright 4. Ike 5. Duda 6. Bay 7. Thole 8. Tejada 9. Pitcher

SP – Santana - Is he healthy? He won’t be what he used to be ever again, but he is a gritty competitor that if healthy will find ways to get guys out. Expect lots of short outings at the beginning of the year and hope for the best.

SP – Dickey – So underrated. He throws a ton of pitches, always has a low era. He has the best chance on this staff of finally delivering a Mets No Hitter. His rubber arm will prove extra important this year as he will always throw the day after Johan and provide the bullpen with some relief (pun intended)

SP – Niese – Mets best pitcher as far as tools. He has a great deal of potential, but has been derailed by injuries the past two years. They are saying that the nose job that he got this off-season (paid for by Beltran) will help with the injuries. I don’t understand why they think that. Bottom Line is that Jon must be healthy this year. He is a legitimate 15 win pitching candidate.

SP – Pelfrey – Too much pressure last year? Always something with this guy, balks, mouthpieces, falling off of mounds. He has the tools but not the makeup. He has gone through masterful stretches and could again, but I am not banking on it. PLEASE prove me wrong Big Pelf.

SP – Dillon Gee – Started great, ended poorly last year, a typical story for an inexperienced hurler. Hopefully he has built some stamina and learned what is expected of him. If he can improve on his 2011, he will be a very good #5 starter.

Chris Young is rehabbing in the minors and will be available by mid to late May to provide injury relief or to replace anyone that has proven ineffective. After seeing his capabilities briefly last year, I ‘d expect that they make room for him one way or another (bye bye Pelf?)

All in all the rotation is underrated. They lack a bonafide ace/stopper, but make up for it with a quality back of the rotation.

Bullpen –

This is a strength.

The Mets signed Frank Francisco (injured already) and Jon Rauch in the offseason. They are both capable relievers, but both are streaky good and bad. They’ll not be closing by years end.

Bobby Parnell has learned how to pitch instead of throw if this pre-season is any indication. He may be given the chance to close a few games early in the year and has the ability to run away with the job.

Ramon Ramirez, who came back in the Pagan/Torres trade has been one of the most effective relief guys in the game the past two years and should remain so in the pitching friendly citi field.

Tim Byrdak is the lefty and seems to be healthy after recent surgery.

Manny Acosta and Daniel Herrera round out the crew.

If the team falters expect to see Matt Harvey, Van dekker and Newenweiss up in the majors for auditions. Jenry Mejia may materialize as well this year. In general the organizational depth is starting to improve under the reign of Sandy Alderson. Realistically, however, the Mets have til 2014 before expectations of making the postseason will be far-fetched.

Heading in to this season with such low expectations will make every win enjoyable, all highlights more exciting, and make the team watchable. I expect them to outperform their talent level and win 75 games. They’ll need to be healthy to do so.

Enjoy the season.

Disclaimer : This was written free hand, if any of my research is off a bit, please forgive me, time is short.