Thoughts on Mets 2 losses

Let's be frank....nobody was happy with the two losses to the Marlins.

I was especially disappointed with Wednesday's loss because I was at Citifield on a beautiful night in tremendous field level seats. (It seems every time I get my hands on really good seats, the seats are the best part of the game, as I usually go home disappointed.) Even more disappointing was the fact that Mets made a nice comeback, scoring 5 runs without an RBI hit. Clearly the Marlins were trying to give the game away and the Mets couldn't cash in on it. I don't think Maine was terrible...he actually kept the Mets in the game; he just seemed rusty.

Thursday's loss to me was simple...the Mets were outpitched. Niese looked impressive, but the bats were silenced. It's going to happen...it just seemed worse because it followed a disappointing loss on Wednesday.

I'm still optimistic!!

What to Expect from Maine?

It's ironic...two years ago, John Maine had a phenomenal spring. He then goes out and implodes in his first start of the season. The season was mediocre, caused partially by injuries that plagued have plagued him ever since. It just goes to show that you can just throw spring stats out the window once the season begins.

Or least let's hope...A 1-3 record with a 7.88 ERA does not instill much confidence.

But tomorrow is game 2, so why not be optimistic? Would it really surprise anyone is Maine goes out and wins 15 games this year? Probably not. He has proven that he can be a dominant pitcher when healthy. In 2006 he was 12-2 at the break and was robbed of a spot on the National League All Star Team. Let's not forget the gem of a game he pitched against the Marlins during the final weekend of the season in '07. (Although the game was a huge tease because everyone in the stadium that day, myself included, expected that to be the end of the collapse.)

What's realistic? At minimum, Maine needs to win at least 12 games this year if the Mets get good performances from the rest of the rotation, which is a big uncertainty. If the rest of the rotation underperforms, then Maine needs to be a second ace and win at least 15.

My prediction: 14 - 8 4.05 ERA

Predicted Batting Stats

Clearly this is no exact science, but here are my offensive predictions:

Player Avg. HR RBI
Reyes .302 12 58
Castillo .278 2 46
Wright .305 29 116
Beltran .280 22 80
Bay .281 32 111
Francoeur .288 22 90
Barajas .245 15 65

Clearly Beltran's stats are low because he will miss about 4-6 weeks. I think he will come back with a vengence though. I have a feeling that they will be cautious with Reyes all year and he will not play as many games as past seasons when he was 100%. I expect a very good year from Frenchie, but batting further down in the lineup, I think it might be hard for him to get to 100 RBIs. I really don't know what to expect from Castillo, so I predicted a bit of a drop off from last season, provided he plays a similar number of games as last year.

I left out 1B now...we really don't know how that's going to play out. My hope is that Jacobs will get the bulk of the playing time and hit over 20 HRs and drive in over 80 RBIs, but somehow I think that's a longshot.

Random Thoughts on Opening Day

• Don't get down on Mike Jacobs (yet). I still think he provides so much more offense than Murphy does. Maybe cleanup isn't the best place in the order for him, but I (maybe mistakenly) think that he could play a big role on this team this year.
• Barajas is going to turn out to be a big signing, provided that he plays regularly and Manuel doesn't try to put Blanco in the lineup too often. The pitchers need to throw the same catcher almost every time they pitch. This is something that hasn't happened since Piazza was healthy.
• It was nice to see Manuel leave Nieve in to pitch 2 innings. It's such a rare thing to see today.
• Santana was not quite Santana, but he was still good enough to beat every team in the N.L. Bring on Halladay!
• The Mets WILL be better than has been expected in the East. Don't forget, the record of the Braves and Marlins were a bit inflated last year because they killed a team that was a shell of what the Mets should have been.

Met's Classics on SNY

I do think the Mets Classics on SNY are phenomenal. My only problem is that it seems like every time I watch, it's one that I've already seen.

So I have started a list to the right of games that I'd like to see as a classic.

Let me know what you'd add...

The New and Improved Citifield

This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to attend the Mets workout at the new and improved Citifield. It was great to see the changes made to the ballpark during the offseason.

I heard all of the criticisms last year about the ballpark, including the fact that it resembled more of a tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Mets. While I understood the argument, there were a couple of things to consider...

First - How could anyone resent the Jackie Robinson Rotunda? He is one of the most important historical figures in American history, not just baseball history. His roots are embedded in the area and let's face it...Fred Wilpon paid for a lot of the stadium...he can spend his money any way he wants.

Second - I heard a lot of people wanting Shea back. Now I loved Shea as much as anyone else, but c'mon people...it was time for it to go. Not to mention the fact that Shea was not steeped in Mets history until the mid-1990s.

And third, and most simply...IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR...the organization got the stadium open on time and on budget...a miracle in today's world. They needed time to get the ballpark operational and assess what needed to be improved upon.

Plus...would anyone be complaining if 2009 went better?