"Back in the saddle again," Steven Tyler sings, as if about the 2005 New York Mets. While no guarantees emanate from Shea, the Mets Spring Training will be buzzing with excitement.
Offense
Barring injury, the Mets field a lineup that will fill the bases with plenty of speed. CF Carlos Beltran, SS Jose Reyes, 2B Kazuo Matsui and OF Mike Cameron succeeded in more than 80% of their steal attempts last year and if (OK, big "IF") healthy, each could steal more than 30. Suddenly, Piazza, who had only 102 ABs with RISP last year, could have plenty of RBI chances.
While lacking in a true HR threat after Piazza, the Mets can field a lineup much more suited to cavernous Shea. The problem lately is not that the Mets do not hit enough homers, but that they don't have enough baserunners in scoring position. Speed and doubles power is the cure for the problem.
Pitching
Having Pedro Martinez as the ace relieves the burden on the rest of the staff. Kris Benson becomes a decent #2, Tom Glavine a resectable #3, Steve Trachsel an excellent #4 and a healthy Victor Zambrano the best #5 in the league.
However, as Benson is the staff's only deep innings pitcher, the Mets need to sign some relievers if they are to compete in the wildcard hunt. Otherwise a strong May-June start will wilt in the hot summer months.
Needs
The Mets could still use a big bat to play first or replace Cliff Floyd in the Outfield. If the Mets cannot snag Carlos Delgado to play first, they should obtain a defensive-minded one-year stopgap, such as John Olerud, who would fortify what looks to be a very good infield defense. Alfonso Soriano would be ideal in left field; Sammy Sosa would be a riskier proposition.
Lost in the shuffle is backup catcher Vance Wilson, whose solid defense and bat were traded to Detroit for Anderson Hernandez, a minor league clone of Jose Reyes. With Piazza firmly esconced as the 2005 starting catcher, the Mets need a reliable backup.
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