Posts tagged ‘spring training’

It looks as if spring training has gotten off to a good start for the Mets. While the taste of last year’s collapse is still fresh in the players’ mouths, it seems like more people are focusing on the addition of Johan Santana and how the Mets might have the best team in baseball right now. It was very important to see Pedro and Johan getting along because their relationship could be huge as the season goes on Besides Santana, there are a few more things to take a look at over these next few weeks:

#1 - The return of Duaner Sanchez. This guy was unbelievable for the Mets during the 2006 season before his unfortunate cab accident. The team really missed him the rest of that season and of course last season. It’s not far fetched to think if the Mets had a healthy Sanchez for the last two years, they beat the Cardinals in the NLCS in 2006 and the team does not collapse as badly as it did last year.

If Sanchez is indeed healthy and back to what he was two years ago, and all indications are positive so far, the Mets bullpen emerges as one of the best in baseball. With a combination of Feliciano, Heilman, Sanchez and Wagner in the 7-8-9 innings, the Mets will win a ton of close games and rarely lose late-inning leads.

#2 - The health of Pedro Martinez. While adding Santana was huge to the front of the rotation, the Mets need a healthy Pedro this season. Martinez has said he feels great and he looked pretty great at the end of last season. He said he felt a little tired and that’s why his velocity was down. Let’s hope Pedro can get that back up and make 30 starts this season. It will be a good sign if he can make it through spring training without enduring any injuries.

#3 - The mental state of Jose Reyes. Let’s face it, as disappointing as the bullpen and starting pitching were during the last 17 games of last season, Reyes did nothing during that time period. He was weakly popping out during way too many at-bats and his frustration showed. Jose stopped hustling down to first base and even his defense was not up to par. If Reyes’ struggles continue into this season and he’s unable to get past this mental hurdle, the Mets are in big trouble. A solid spring training will go a long way in giving Mets fans confidence that Jose will rebound from this.

#4 - Finding a few pieces in the bullpen. The Mets brought in a plethora of faces to compete for a couple of spots in the bullpen. The biggest name was Matt Wise, who was very successful for the Brewers in April and May last year but a disaster after that point. He’s got decent stuff and could be a real innings eater for the team when the late-inning guys need a break.

Another name to keep an eye on is Joe Smith. He was tremendous to start the season but really struggled after his hot start. If the Mets can get him back to being the pitcher he was at the start of last season, the Mets might have themselves a righty specialist. Scott Schoeneweiss is guaranteed a spot in the bullpen and let’s hope Jorge Sosa can take over for Aaron Sele in the longman role.

That leaves one spot open. As you’ll see if you follow the Mets during spring training, there’s going to be about 6-7 guys competing for that final spot. Like Ted has said in the past, the way to building a decent bullpen is bringing in a bunch of guys and hoping a couple can pan out. The Mets must have listened to Ted because that’s exactly what they did. So lets see if they were both right in that thinking.

#5 - The development of the young guys. A lot of times, the most fun of watching spring training games is seeing those young players you hear about but never get to watch. Since the Mets traded away four of their best young prospects in the Johan Santana deal, there aren’t many young guys to keep an eye on. One of those guys is definitely Fernando Martinez. He might not need to come up to the big leagues this year with the additions of Brady Clark and Angel Pagan, but he very well could be the starter in 2009. Scouts differ on what type of player Martinez can be. Some say he could be an MVP-caliber player, while others say he might just be a solid outfielder. Make sure you take a look at him.

Another guy I’m going to keep a close eye on is Mike Pelfrey. While the Mets rotation could be one of the best in baseball, their depth is almost non-existent. Between El Duque and Pedro, there’s bound to be injuries among the staff so Pelfrey should be the first guy called upon when someone goes down. Mike has shown signs of being a great pitcher, like his one-hitter in Atlanta last September, but he’s also struggled a lot more than people thought. If he has a really strong spring training, the Mets might consider either making him the 5th starter and moving El Duque to the pen or vice versa. It could be an interesting storyline.

So those are just a few things to follow as the Mets open up camp this week. It will definitely be an interesting month as some of those questions will be answered. Of course, stay tuned to our podcasts because Ted and I will be discussing a lot of these topics on the show.