Tom Brennan - FIFTY
REASONS THE METS WILL WIN 90 (OR MORE)
Last
year, the Mets won 79 games. Just 11 wins
short of 90, the so-called goal for 2014.
Is
a 90 or more win season in 2015 achievable?
Dude, I have unbridled optimism.
I can think of 50 reasons why it is achievable, off the top of my head!
1.
HARVEY'S BACK...so substitute last year's 25 starts by guys not in the
2014 five man rotation with a full 162 games of starts from Met elite pitchers in
2015.
2.
Wheeler ready to step up and be a big-time hurler. Possible All Star.
3.
A full season of Jake the Great deGrom.
4.
Jon Niese says he is much healthier than 2014.
5.
Thor, Matz ready, willing, and able by mid-season.
6.
Gee feels he learned from last year's mistakes and won't repeat them.
7.
Colon should be Colon – which ain’t bad.
8.
No Valverde dreck.
9.
No Farnsworth dreck.
10.
A seasoned and perhaps outstanding Familia.
11.
A confident and very talented Mejia not learning relief on the job.
12.
Edgin ready to go from day 1, unlike 2014.
13.
Vic Black ready to go from day 1, unlike 2014.
14.
Carlos Torres ready to be real solid once again.
15.
Parnell will provide far better pen innings than those thrown by the worst of
the other 2014 guys pressed into service due to his absence in 2014.
16.
Montero will be another lethal pen arm.
17.
Leathersich and Alvarez lie in wait, and will help.
18.
Duda only hit his stride in June last year. He has shorter fences and a full
season of full stride to show he can be better.
19.
Murph is “Murph” (Mr. Consistency) unless traded...if so, Herrera could be better
than Murph. Scary.
20.
Flores' offense will turbo-charge shortstop.
A back up caliber SS won’t be starting most games.
21.
Wright now realizes he is mortal, can get hurt, is hence more careful, and has
a big bounce back year.
22.
Better back up at 1B for Duda in Cuddyer/Mayberry.
23.
Better back up at 2B if Murph gets hurt.
24.
If Flores got hurt, Herrera or Reynolds give 2015 Mets better SS options.
25.
Wright has better back ups at 3B when he needs days off.
26.
Grandy will be adjusted to NL, not hit .140 in April, and rejoice with shorter
OF fences.
27.
Lagares will improve offensively. Take
it to the bank.
28.
Cuddyer can really hit, while (see #’s 29 and 30).
29.
Chris Young really couldn't hit.
30.
Eric Young really couldn't hit.
31.
Mayberry is .500+ in his major league career in slug % vs. lefties. A major improvement over 2014.
32.
den Dekker had a .392 on base % in late season after a .500 on base % for 40
games in AAA.
33.
Other 2014 outfield subs (other than Nieuwenhuis) could not get on base in 2014.
34.
Dekker is a far better fielder than either of the Youngs.
35.
Shorter fences will help our team more than visiting teams.
36.
Fan excitement over a more exciting, improved team will spur on the players
(Hey, they LOVE US!).
37.
A bunch of players trained with Barwis, and claim to be in their best baseball
shape ever.
38.
Against teams they play the most, Atlanta, Philly, and Miami averaged 76 wins
last year. Likely a slight downgrade for
those 3 in 2015, making them more beatable for Mets.
39.
Nats were 15-4 against the Mets, and only 3 games over .500 vs. other NL East
teams. That aberration won’t recur. At
least a 4 game improvement vs. Nats.
40.
Mets were 21st in runs scored last year. That will dramatically
improve.
41.
Mets were 28th in batting average last year. That will dramatically
improve.
42.
Mets were 27th in slugging % last year. That will dramatically
improve.
43.
d’Arnaud was terrible in the first half, great offensively in 2nd
half, playing with bone chips. He will
be All Star caliber in 2015. Just watch
and enjoy.
44.
If Recker falters, Plawecki or Monell are viable alternatives. Last year, there were no viable alternatives.
45.
Kevin Long seems to be considered an upgrade as hitting coach.
46.
By mid year, there may be a slew of trade chips usable in a trade to get a
marquis talent for the playoff run.
47.
Minor leagues stand ready to provide quality back up when needed.
48.
Nimmo and Conforto may move fast and be of use in late 2015.
49.
Excitement of pennant race will spur “Ya Gotta Believe Momentum” in 2015.
50.
There are more points that will help Mets in 2015 that elude me for the moment.
One is that Collins will have less ability to mess things up due to the
superior talent…but I’ll stop here.
I’m
FIFTY TIMES more optimistic now than this time last year. How about you?
8 comments:
Could we title this post "50 Grades of Shea"?
Sorry, couldn't resist. Great article, Thomas.
If half of these things come to fruition the hometown stadium may be GiddyField instead of the more fecal reference by which it's been too often referred.
A few quibbles...Herrera is not a SS. They did have Juan Centeño who is a superior player defensively to Anthony Recker and, given the opportunity, would surely hit better than Recker's career sub-Mendoza-line average.
Very good, Stephen....and the 50 grades of the current crop will all be good...I did not see the movie you are doing the play on words on, but apparently the guy in that movie, from a Mets perspective, would in recent years be the other teams beating the snot out of our Mets.
This year is the beginning of payback time. Time for the opposition to leave in 50 shades of black and blue after we body slam them.
Imagine being the other team coming to Citi for 3 games, and you have to face Harvey, deGrom, and Wheeler? Like facing the executioner.
Agree with you, Reese, but in a pinch, Herrera could handle SS. Imagine if they had to bring Lagares back in the play SS in a pinch? I'll bet he'd be a darned good one. A lot of his SS errors, that got him yanked from the position several years back, were likely youthful foibles. I'd bet he'd be good now.
My favorite Juan Centeno moment was the first time he went to the plate, and thinking "who is the 14 year old kid in the batter's box?" Some guys look like players right out of central casting - he looked like he was coming right out of middle school.
Haha I didn't read the book or see the movie either, but it's everywhere.
Recker:Centeno as Tejada:TJ Rivera?
Anybody?
TJ Rivera has defied the odds. He still seems well down the crowded middle infielder list IMO. Reynolds, Herrera, Muno, and Tovar, not to mention 50 game Mazzilli. Closing in behind those are Cecchini and McNeil. Hopefully, TJ becomes someone's Jeff Keppinger.
Wow - a look back at 2015 now that we are in March 2020. They made the WS, baby. Funny, though...one of my top 50 ideas did not include Cespedes saving the season.
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