Where I Stand

Recently, a good buddy of mine asked me in an email what the Mets’ chances are this year.  I thought I would share it with you because it pretty much sums up where I’m at with the boys in blue and orange.

Forgive any grammatical errors you may find as I copied my reply verbatim:

Yeah, 2012 is going to be rough. Even worse than the fact the Wilpons are strapped financially because of Madoff, is the fact that they seem resolved to do everything within their power to hold onto the team.  I don’t necessarily blame them, it just sucks for fans because we have to wait for this mess to play itself out.

I think they will be close to the same record as last year.  Ike Davis is for real so he’ll add some pop to the lineup if he doesn’t have another mysterious ankle injury on a pop up to the pitcher.  Lucas Duda is also intriguing and could be a dark horse for a breakout year from my glass is half full perspective.

The reality is they need David Wright,  Jason Bay, and more importantly Johan Santana to somehow perform as they did in their prime to be better than 75 wins.  If any of them do, I think they should trade them as soon as possible.  This would get some huge contracts off the books, allow the front office to invest it more wisely to prepare for 2013 or 2014 when they are anticipating some good young arms to mature for the rotation.  I know you can’t depend on guys in the minors to reach potential, but what other option do they have?  They don’t have the ability to sign high priced free agents, so no use crying over spilled milk in my opinion.

Spring Training

The reality of Spring Training 2012 is there isn’t much up for debate, which makes it relatively boring.  The lineup is set, the bullpen is set, and the rotation is set for the most part.  The only real question is how well will Johan Santana progress and when will he get his first start.  I guess that was two questions, but you get the point.

The good part about this is, there shouldn’t be any legitimate drama to worry about.  The bad thing is, the media will have to look for things to write about to fill their word quotas.  Get ready for:

• 17,345 more stories that cover how the Madoff mess has or will impact the Mets
• 25,467 different stories about Jason Bay’s approach at the plate this season
• More made up drama like the Ruben Tejada report date silliness
• Stories about players bowling, playing Tiddlywinks, or completing Sudoku puzzles

I really wish someone would take a chance on original reporting and investigate something that matters.  Like why in the hell Mr. Met got passed over for the new season of Dancing With the Stars.

Is he doing the Dougie?

A Look At The Detroit Tigers

I have something to admit.

I don’t know a whole lot about the Detroit Tigers.  This may be shocking to many of you based on the fact that I am a Midwestropolitan and have driven through and past Detroit many times.

You never go to Detroit unless you have to.  It’s not a city like Chicago, Cincinnati, or Indianapolis that you plan to visit for the weekend.

Therefore, I haven’t.  I have heard that Commerica Park is a great place to watch a baseball game.  I’ve just never made the trip.

So I have taken it upon myself to do a little scouting report for the Mets’ upcoming series.

Tigers’ Lineup

This is a potent lineup.  Thankfully, this is a home series for the Mets, so Citi  Field should help them combat their offense a bit.

They have four players hitting over .300 (Brennan Boesch, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, and Austin Jackson).

Carlos Guillen and newly acquired, Johnny Damon, are not that far behind.

Miguel Cabrera is having a monster year, batting .328 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI.

Youth Movement

Twenty-five year old Brennan Boesch and twenty-three year old Austin Jackson have added some much-needed energy and pop to a lineup that was once aging its way out of relevancy.

They have given the Tigers a boost of confidence as well, helping create a dangerous middle of the lineup that can strike at any time.

Justin Verlander on Sunday’s game:

Through the first six innings, this was the kind of game that hurt us too often last season. We were struggling to get any run production and then ‘BOOM!’

Who knew Justin Verlander was related to John Madden?

Starting Pitching

This is an area where the Mets have a distinct advantage over the Tigers.  Beyond Verlander, the Tigers starting five don’t appear to be that impressive.

Of course, the Mets were not fortunate to miss Verlander so they will have to take advantage in games two and three of the series.

Take a look at their starter’s for yourself:

                  W  L  W-L% ERA  GS CG,IP   H  R  ER BB SO WHIP
Justin Verlander  8  4 .667  3.54 14  1 94.0 72 38 37 31 85 1.096
Jeremy Bonderman  3  4 .429  4.06 12  0 75.1 73 38 34 20 59 1.235
Max Scherzer      4  6 .400  5.67 13  0 73.0 81 51 46 27 67 1.479
Rick Porcello     4  7 .364  6.14 13  0 70.1 97 54 48 22 33 1.692
Dontrelle Willis  1  2 .333  4.98  8  0 43.1 48 24 24 29 33 1.777
Armando Galarraga 2  1 .667  3.32  6  1 38.0 33 15 14  9 15 1.105

The Bullpen

Reading up on the Tigers, I found out that many people feel the bullpen has improved vastly from last year.  Looking at their numbers, I tend to agree with that assessment.

Their bullpen is led by Jose Valverde, who has emerged as an extremely reliable closer this season.  He owns a 0.59 ERA and has amassed sixteen saves.

Here is a breakdown of their relievers:

              W L ERA   G SV, IP   H R  ER HR BB SO WHIP
Jose Valverde 1 1 0.59 31 16 30.1 10 3  2   1 12 27 0.725
Joel Zumaya   2 0 1.82 27 1  34.2 29 9  7   0  7 33 1.038
Eddie Bonine  3 0 2.10 24 0  34.1 24 8  8   3 12 17 1.049
Phil Coke     5 0 3.10 32 0  29.0 26 11 10  1 11 22 1.276
Ryan Perry    1 4 5.82 24 1  21.2 22 14 14  2 12 18 1.569

One of my favorite things about inter-league play is that it gives you a different barometer in which to gauge your team.

This series against the Tigers gives the Mets a chance to play against a solid American League team.

It will be interesting to see how the Amazin’s perform.