Who needs the Yankees? (New York Mets)

Member Name: shanediablo

Product:	New York Mets
Date:	12/07/08 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A team on the up (Hopefully), A good squad

Disadvantages: Possible weak mentality

Baseball is a sport that is close to my heart and the Major League Baseball team that I call my own is the New York Mets. I don't call them my own because I actually own them of course, but merely because I am unfortunate enough to support them.

The Mets were founded in 1962 and are based in Flushing in New York City. The team play their home fixtures at 'Shea Stadium', where they have been based since 1964, although they are due to move to a new stadium called 'Citifield' in 2009.

The Mets play in the National League of Major League Baseball and their specific division is the NL East. Other teams competing for the eastern crown are Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. The National League has sixteen teams in total competing and the Mets were pre-season favourites with the majority of bookmakers to win the NL crown outright.

In comparison to city rivals, the New York Yankees, the Mets have secured just two world series triumphs (1969,1986) but you have to consider that the 1969 victory is pretty special considering it occured during just their eight season in the majors. The Mets would probably be considered a premier team in the modern day because of high profile transfer dealings in recent seasons, but after a major collapse in 2007 from a seemingly unassailable position the New York press have been particularly unforgiving.

Here is a bit of an analysis into the Mets first choice starting line up, along with the pitching rotation:

CATCHER - Brian Schneider - Superb from a defensive perspective. Schneider is proficient at throwing out would be base stealers and has a low error count. Schneider has ability to get base hits but is generally not known for hitting deep with any regularity.

FIRST BASEMAN - Carlos Delgado - In the twilight of his baseball career really but what a career it has been. Delgado is presently 34th on the all time home runs list which gives you an impression of how valuable he has been from an offensive perspective in his career. Don't expect him to hang around too much longer though.

SECOND BASEMAN - Luis Castillo - Three time gold glover that has had a pretty stellar MLB career. Castillo is not renowned for hitting home runs with regularity but he is a very good base hitter that gets plenty of runs batted in and steals bases well.

SHORTSTOP - Jose Reyes - Most well known for his lightening speed and base stealing ability, Reyes is a terrific infielder with an ability to get base hits with good regularity. Is capable of hitting home runs and is likely to get you in the region of 20 home runs in a full regular season. Still young and could be a great player for many years.

THIRD BASEMAN - David Wright - Present All-star. Like Reyes has age on his side and can only really improve. Wright is now, along with Beltran, the most likely player to compete for leading statistics in terms of home run hitting. Known as a real nice guy in the majors, Wright should go far and have a long and illustrious career.

RIGHT FIELDER - Ryan Church - A relatively young player with real hitting ability. Church has yet to play a regular part for the Mets due to injuries but once he is fully settled back into the line up we can expect some decent numbers put up to aid the team cause.

CENTRE FIELDER - Carlos Beltran - Beltran is what is known in baseball circles as a "five-tool player", with excellent fielding skills, a good throwing arm, and the ability to hit for average, power, and steal bases. Beltran will usually guarantee you good statistics over a long season in all departments which can only make him an extremely valuable team member.

LEFT FIELDER - Moises Alou - The old man of the team, Alou is a former all star with excellent fielding and hitting credentials. Presently injured but Alou will be a good addition to the Mets unit upon his return because he is a real cheerleader in the dressing room which may help get the best out of the team.

PITCHER 1 (ACE) - Johan Santana - Two time cy young winner and possessor of 90+ mph fastball and a reputation for having one of the best changeups in majors. Santana generally starts seasons slowly then becomes unstoppable in the latter part. An ace in every sense, Santana is irreplaceable in this team.

PITCHER 2 - Pedro Martinez - Martinez over a career has been incredible. He has the best winning percentage record of all players with over 200 career wins. Martinez may be ageing but he is still a reliable performer and a worthy number 2 in the pitching rotation.

PITCHER 3 - John Maine - Relatively inexperience at major level, Maine will usually perform in a solid but unspectacular manner with his career earned run average beng around 4, which is pretty mediocre. If he gets run support he will usually win, if he doesn't, he usually wont.

PITCHER 4 - Oliver Perez - Infuriating is the best word to describe Perez, and this isn't because he is a terrible pitcher but it is the fact that he has the talent to be one of the best in the majors but seems to lack focus at times and blow games. If he finds some level of consistency, Perez will be awesome.

PITCHER 5 - Mike Pelfrey - This youngster could become a decent performer for the Mets if he works on is game a little. At only 24 and being of great height (6 feet 7 inches) and being a power pitcher that can throw fastballs of around 98mph, he seems to have the right initial attributes.

PROSPECTS FOR REMAINDER OF 2008 SEASON - Injuries and confidence maintenance permitting, there is absolutely no reason why this team cannot go the distance and reach the World Series this year. In the National League only really the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies have the tools required to take the NL crown. Santana always improves as a pitcher in the second half of seasons, but the real test is how the remainder of the rotation show up against the big teams.

Summary: Soon to be the number one team in New York (Hopefully)