Delusions of Grandeur

As everyone has made it to St. Lucie, FL. , a lot of focus will be placed on hitting. I mean a lot of HITTING. That's something the Mets didn't do last season. The Mets brought in 671 runs while giving up 757. Obviously, you don't win games that way. Only one regular (Carlos Beltran, who missed a good portion of the season) had an OBP of over .400! As for the bench, they were abysmal( Andy Green was the only over .400 and had a total of four at bats). The good news is Carlos Beltran will be back. David Wright came to camp looking jacked and focused. Many criticized Wright for his loss of power last season, but could you blame him? He had no protection. Wright and Luis Castillo were the only ones moving around the bases combining for a total of 47 steals. Eleven players had zero long balls. If Angel Pagan didn't show up, there'd be almost no triples. CitiField is no picnic to hit in, but c'mon when half your bench can't get at least ten doubles where's the excuse?

I've noticed online on various sites that Jason Bay has become the second coming of Christ to Queens and the Mets are going to "bounce back." Now I'm a avid supporter of "JayBay" having played for my beloved Red Sox, but he had a load of protection. Bay played in a fantastic hitter's park enabling him to put up the numbers he did last year. His numbers show statistically lower from his Pirates days, but he halfed his numbers in two seasons with the Sox compared to the six with the Bucs. While Bay excelled with not much production in Pittsburgh, it won't be the case in New York where fans are rabid about the Amazins performance compared to the care-free Bucs fans. Should Beltran and Wright go down, Bay could slip up. While analysts and baseball professionals find Bay is impervious to pressure while playing, I find the constant clamor of a failing franchise to be a lot to hold unlike the successful period he had in Boston.

While Daniel Murphy had his test run last year, he certainly better not take this season as one or Ike Davis will be in the line-up come 2011. He was second in strikeouts last season. A .266 BA and .296 OBP is unacceptable for a regular. He did bat a lot of runs in and scored enough, though. What about Jeff Francouer? He needs to show the spark he brought after being traded from Atlanta. If he tanks the first half, don't think Angel Pagan or Gary Matthews Jr. won't be the starter and he will be dumped.

The catcher position is the other biggest concern the Mets should have. Omir Santos and Josh Thole probably won't make the majors unless someone gets injured. The fact that Rod Barajas is signed give the fans some relief because of the credibility that comes with the brand. But what about the back-ups Henry Blanco and Chris Coste? One blogger I read compared Blanco as "the Adam Everett of catchers." Really? This is what you shoot for? Coste runs his mouth right after he signs "that my heart will always be a Phillie." What no love for the 'Stros? The catcher position behind Barajas is down-right ugly.

I'm not even going to start on pitching. Obviously it needs to get better, but the Mets need to HIT and give RUN SUPPORT. So please Mets fans believing this the season everything turns around , curb your enthusiasm for this season.