It's that time of year again! This thread will be saved! How many games are we winning? I say 94. This is the strongest Mets team we've had yet. Obviously, injuries can derail any season but with reasonable health this should be a big year in Metland! What say you?
Injuries will be a factor, but I still like the makeup of this team.
Phillies 77
Marlins 68
It will be a close race with the nationals and the healthier team will win the division with the runner up slated for a Wild Card berth.
Phillies 77
Marlins 68
It hurts me to say this but I would be shocked if the Braves win 81 games. I think they end up with 73-78 wins. They will likely struggle out of the gate but really improve during the second half after some of the young studs arrive like SS/2B Ozzie Albies, LHP Sean Newcomb, LHP AJ Minter, LHP Max Fried, OF Dustin Peterson, and 3B Rio Ruiz.
Obviously we can't lose our top stars like Cespedes and Syndergaard but neither could any team.
Agreed I predict the Mets to win 91 games and finish atop the NL East. I think the Nats will experience a few injuries to their SP's and their lack of depth will be their downfall. The Marlins are in the beginning of a long rebuilding period with one of the worst farm systems in the game.
As for the Braves rotation I expect Jaime Garcia to have a bounce back season and be dealt by the deadline for a couple of solid prospects. I think Colon will remain with the team all season as they will value his leadership over the limited offers they receive which will likely be little more than a couple of lottery tickets. I expect Colon to finish with an ERA in the low 4's before moving to the pen later in the year due to the arrival of the young arms. I expect Dickey to struggle this season and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he is let go later in the season.
Last year was an injury-marred, WS hangover season.
I think this year we are going to win it all.
LGM
Last year was an injury-marred, WS hangover season.
I think this year we are going to win it all.
LGM
Whooo!
I hope so. Out of the three veteran starters they added this offseason Dickey was the move I liked the least. I would have preferred to see them give Aaron Blair a shot as the 5th starter since they aren't ready to compete this year anyway. I am very excited about Mike Foltynewicz as he flashed big time last year and was very good in spring training. I expect him to breakout and be more consistent this season and show some of the ace level ability that he possesses.
Rooting for the Mets for your guys sake.
Oh and by the way that bat is on the Nats...
Gotta win the division games against the Nats to get the div title
Cespedes, Walker, Duda, Bruce, and even Granderson and the potential of Conforto in the wings...how many more big bats do we need? All we need is for these guys to play like they can and stay on the field.
Cespedes, Walker, Duda, Bruce, and even Granderson and the potential of Conforto in the wings...how many more big bats do we need? All we need is for these guys to play like they can and stay on the field.
Damn, look at this guy! All... positive! :)
IMO, the biggest weakness is team defense. It's weak throughout both IF and OF. I don't think it's a fatal flaw though given our pitching and the way the current game is trending (more Ks, more HR, more BBs, less balls in play) but it's something that our bats and arms will need to overcome.
But they have older players on offense and injury prone guys in general, so I think 90-93 wins is attainable. The depth on the team is night and day compared to last season.
But they have older players on offense and injury prone guys in general, so I think 90-93 wins is attainable. The depth on the team is night and day compared to last season.
And your number is? ;)
We all know this but we still get sucked too far into the valleys when they happen and sometimes we overemphasize the peaks as well.
There are going to be rough patches, there are going to be points in the year where we feel disappointed or like this isn't going the way we wanted. It's inevitable. Let's try and stay a little level and keep our perspective. We all want the same thing this year. A motherfucking RING.
Cespedes wins the MVP, Thor picks up the Cy Young, and of course Gsellman picks up the rookie of the year.
Alright maybe more like 93 wins.
Only thing that will really bring me down is gigantic body blows from losing big players long term but if we dont have that most guys numbers should be there at season's end.
Mets start out the season like this:
April
Braves (3)
Marlins (3)
@Phillies (3)
@Marlins (4)
Phillies (3)
Nationals (3)
Braves (3)
@Nationals (3)
May
@Braves (4)
Marlins (3)
It's May 8 and 32 games before they play a game outside the NL East
They have the bats and arms to get it done...as always, health will be the key...
You know I have 2014 and 2015 at home saved but Im not sure where I saved the link to last years. If somebody else has it maybe they can post it. I know I was high on my win total for the first time but I was never expecting the level of injuries we had either.
Only thing that will really bring me down is gigantic body blows from losing big players long term but if we dont have that most guys numbers should be there at season's end.
100%
I'm reminding myself this as much as anyone else. It's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture within the context of such a long season.
Barring a really bad rash of injuries, this team will be playing baseball in October. if we aren't, something went horribly wrong.
Just gotta enjoy the ride. I think this is the best overall team we will be fielding since the 80's. Including 2006. I expect big things.
Flores establishes himself as the future at 3B
Lugo is not a starting pitcher imo. He will be an asset in the pen but again he may be forced to start
Gsellman is solid but will probably take some lumps along the way.
Wheeler is a complete unknown.
So I thinking the starting pitching will be strong longterm but in the shorter Mets will have more non-quality starts than they are expecting
Lineup has a lot of firepower but it has too many low average , high K guys. So expect uneven production. A lot of 12-2 wins followed by periods where the Mets have a tough time scoring runs
Division is stronger than people are saying. National s are still the team to beat. Turner Harper Murphy at the top of the lineup is tough.
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2. Noah Syndergaard is planning on throwing more two-seam fastballs this season. Collins said when he came up he threw all four-seamers trying to blow batters away, but now he’s learned out to pitch and get guys out earlier in the count. This, combined with throwing more changeups, will lower his pitch count and allow him to get deeper into games. As Sandy Koufax said, “I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.”
3. Seth Lugo threw a lot of innings in the World Baseball Classic and may be dealing with arm fatigue, Collins said. He is going to throw today, and if the Mets don’t like what they see, Rafael Montero will begin the season on the MLB roster with Lugo pitching in Triple-A Las Vegas. We should know Saturday which pitcher the Mets will carry on their Opening Day roster.
4. Gold Glove center fielder Juan Lagares is starting the season on the disabled list. Because of this, Michael Conforto is on the Opening Day roster. He will be getting as many pinch-hit at-bats as possible to continue his development while not starting every day, and maybe the occasional start.
Lucroy is still so damn perfect for this team. I'm rooting against Texas almost as much as I'm rooting against the Nats.
not sure how to resolve it with Bruce on the roster.
not sure how to resolve it with Bruce on the roster.
Agreed on both. Slippery slope right now with 1 of the most important assets in the organization.
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after a mid-season trade where the Rangers rotation implodes. The Mets send Cecchini, Molina and a 3rd player to Texas for Lucroy.
Lucroy is still so damn perfect for this team. I'm rooting against Texas almost as much as I'm rooting against the Nats.
Agreed. A Gary Carter like addition.
Last year's playoff rotation would have been Thor, Colon, Gsellman and Lugo - and with Thor pitching the WC game he probably (or possibly) would have gotten 1 start in the NLDS. No Duda, no Walker, no Wright, and just a bad year for TDA and nothing from big deadline acquisition Bruce.
I have to believe this year the odds balance out and the Mets only get their fair share of injuries and thrive like they're capable of doing.
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Kristie Ackert ✔ @Ackert_NYDN
Lugo said it was normal fatigue/soreness from throwing high intensity innings in the WBC. He did not throw today will throw Sunday #Mets
Can we all please stop with the "Noah Syndergaard has a changeup now!" narrative? He threw 323 changeups last year! This isn't new!
Noah: We've got 5 aces
That isn't enough to get Lucroy. Honestly I think the Braves are going to be big bidders for Lucroy either at the deadline or in free agency. If Lucroy becomes a free agent I think there is a 75% chance that he ends up in Atlanta. They have been interested in him for years and have a lot of money to spend in next years free agency. Catcher is the one position where Atlanta is weak in the minors in terms of close to MLB ready prospects.
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after a mid-season trade where the Rangers rotation implodes. The Mets send Cecchini, Molina and a 3rd player to Texas for Lucroy.
That isn't enough to get Lucroy. Honestly I think the Braves are going to be big bidders for Lucroy either at the deadline or in free agency. If Lucroy becomes a free agent I think there is a 75% chance that he ends up in Atlanta. They have been interested in him for years and have a lot of money to spend in next years free agency. Catcher is the one position where Atlanta is weak in the minors in terms of close to MLB ready prospects.
Well I was mostly just kidding about the package but we don't know it's not enough. He had 1.5 years left when the Rangers gave up Brinson (#27 on BA's current list), Ortiz (#79) and Ryan Cordell (24 year old yet to even see AAA) for Lucroy AND Jeffress. .5 of Lucroy is obviously going to bring back less than 1.5 years of Lucroy.
Fair point. If that is enough then I think Atlanta will top it if they are allowed to talk extension with him as part of the agreement. BTW big surprise with the Braves as they have aggressively assigned Max Fried, Kolby Allard, and Mike Soroka to AA skipping A+. That is the best rotation in the minors when you include Patrick Weigel as well.
92 Wins. No idea if that gets us a divison, wildcard, or golf though...
Can't the Mets DL all pitchers with arm fatigue? I hope Lugo is ok and start his season in Vegas
Catchers (3): Brandon Brosher, Anthony Dimino, Ali Sanchez
Infielders (5): Luis Carpio, Michael Paez, Milton Ramos, Blake Tiberi, Dash Winningham
Outfielders (4): Gene Cone, Desmond Lindsay, Tim Tebow, Jacob Zanon
Disabled List (3): Seth Davis (LHP), Jose Garcia (C), Natanael Ramos (C)
Maybe working with Long will help his offensive game.
Or Angel Pagan?
Rest him up until we need him to replace Wheeler's spot!
Big miss by Sandy on this one. He should've offered a minor league contract
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