11/18/11

2012 Through Rose Colored Glasses

Ignoring the things we don't know... like the future of Jose Reyes and whether David Wright will be traded. Let us look at the season where everything just broke right for the Mets. So light a scented candle, put on some smooth jazz and relax as you allow yourself to pretend for a second that the Mets could JUST MAYBE get lucky.

Johan Santana is back on the mound on opening day. On that day he pitches seven strong innings whilst only giving up one run. As the season wares on he turns out a steady sub 3.00 ERA and 4-5 K's a game. He's not quite All-Star caliber but he's winning more games then he's losing and proving to still be the stopper when things aren't right.

Angel Pagan is hitting, running and fielding. By mid-July the thought of the Mets non-tendering Angel is laughable. His batting average is above .300 for the entire year and he's showed some pop here and there.

R.A. Dickey is SO good the Mets negotiate to extend his contract for two more seasons. Dickey has become the outspoken leader that the clubhouse has needed and his jersey becomes one of the top 5 selling Met jerseys.

Ike Davis is back and fully charged. He leads the NL in home runs through June before falling into a neck and neck race with Washington's surprising Mike Morse. Ike finishes his All Star season with the first (of what will be many) gold gloves.

Jenrry Mejia returns to AA after recovering from Tommy John surgery and promptly puts on a clinic. He winds up the year in AAA with a combined ERA under 2.00 and a 10.1 K/9. The Mets opt to not bring him up to the majors to allow him to build up his strength in the minors for a full year.

Lucas Duda is not only a surprise All Star game player, but he also manages to top Ike Davis for RBIs. His 111 RBIs have cemented Duda into the New York Met outfield for the foreseeable future.

Matt Harvey eases right into the majors. After giving up 4 runs in his first outing in the majors, Harvey quickly demonstrates JUST how good he really is. He finishes his year with a 3.56 ERA a 9.1 K/9 and a 10-4 record in 17 starts.

Jason Bay returns to being a solid performer with an average floating around .275 and 25 home runs on the year. He credits his returned success to an offseason strength building routine.

Zack Wheeler
and Jeurys Familia both succeed in the minors. Both of them end the year in the AAA rotation ready to compete for the rotation in 2013. Familia is rumored to be headed for the bullpen but Sandy Alderson is mum on the issue.

The Mets are surprise contenders for the division finding themselves 7 games back of the Phillies with 14 games to play. After suffering injuries to Cliff Lee and Ryan Howard, the Mets win the NL East and return to the playoffs.

Improbable... unlikely and TECHNICALLY possible. Met fans... let us not give up on 2012 before 2012 begins. Even if the whole world tells us we have no shot of success, you play the game for a reason. In any season, in any game and in any inning... someone might just surprise you with something BIG.

18 comments:

David Groveman said...

Let's just pretend that the Mets could be lucky for once since Buckner's famous misplay.

Mack Ade said...

and I'm going to flap my ears and fly to the moon....

David Groveman said...

I wish you well on your voyage, good sir.

Christopher Soto said...

I realistically optomistic about the season. I think Johan can hover around a 3.75 ERA. Pagan will recover from last year and hit around .280 with 35+ SB's. Dickey will continue to be Dickey. Davis will mash 30 HR's with a .270 avg. Bay hits 20HR and bats .260. Murphy continues to hit at a .300 clip and add 15HR's with it. Last but not least Im going be the first person in the world to callit. Wright is going to have a career year this season. .315 avg with 25 HR's 105 RBI's 20 SB and carries the team to possible 2nd wild card contention but the team ends up missing out by 3 games. (puts away Wal-mart crystal ball)

Marvelousmarvin said...

Well, maybe the tiny is a subtle Rose. I agree that the hitters could perform well. Don't think Harvey is ready and Mejia will need lots of time from TJS. Pagan will be the guy from 2010 if he stays healthy and gets in a groove playing everyday. Maybe a bit of a dark rose tint over Duda, but agree he will be good. Santana, why not? Dickey....absolutely. You don't mention the pen which is a weak spot. Anyway, in baseball, anything can happen, especially with health.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Wavy Gravy warn about the brown acid or was it that Chip guy who was the announcer?

Michael S. said...

Ike's return will be huge.

There's no reason to give up on this team before the season. Last year, no one expected Murphy to hit over .300, Duda to mature the way that he did, or Tejada to really settle in. If all 3 are still around, they have room to improve. With Havens and a couple others knocking on the door, the Mets could have a few other "surprising" players.

Mack Ade said...

" we are the world... we are the children..."

David Groveman said...

Somewhere along the line, most Met fans become so bitter and negative that I feel it's necessary to be overly optimistic to counter the balance.

Mack Ade said...

and we know where most of those bitter fans go to read about the Mets....

JoePerlman said...

This is horrifically stupid. The mets will be 25 games out of first by all star break. Johan will be injured david will get traded and so will duda

Mack Ade said...

let's see...

scrolling down employee list of New York Mets...

Perlman...

Perlman...

nope

Anonymous said...

Let's add that Reese Havens dominates AAA, comes up in May, and ends up as rookie of the year. Jon Niese takes the next step forward, ends with an ERA around 3.40. David Wright pounds the ball above a .900 OPS, and since Havens gets called up, the Mets trade a strong-hitting Dan Murphy to get another quality starter.

David Groveman said...

See... the guy without a name gets it!

Charles said...

I haven't read the post, just scrolling the comments. But it looks like Phlavio just picked the Mets to win it all...alright, now I'll read it and see if I was right.

Charles said...

Okay, I read it, and I was close. I love the post. Phlavy,, you constantly look at the Mets through rose colored glasses and help me to see it ain't so bad. Thanks.

David Groveman said...

@ Charles always glad to talk a Met fan off the ledge.

Anonymous said...

Its November and I am dying to watch some Mets baseball so I am pretty optimistic right now. Duda & Ike being over 100 rbis is far fetched but I like the optimism of this thread