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2008 New York Mets Baseball Preview

With pitchers and catchers now in training camp, the New York Mets offseason will now shift into pre-season workouts and exhibition games. New York Mets Major League Preseason Baseball will kick off against the Detroit Tigers on February 27th, but first New York must overcome the end of the 2007 season.

In 2007 the team that was supposed to make it to the World Series suffered the biggest collapse in baseball history. After holding a seven game lead on September 12th, New York lost 12 of the last 17 games to close the season on their way to blowing the National League East. In the same time frame, the Philadelphia Phillies went 13-4 and swiped the division.

The Mets ended the season 6-12 against the Phillies in 2007, 9-9 vs. the Braves, 11-7 vs. the Marlins and 9-9 vs. the Nationals. In all, the 2007 Mets went 35-37 against their NL East rivals.

Fast-forward to 2008.

The turning point of the New York Mets season may have already happened, when on February 2nd they announced that they traded for two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, and signed him to a contract extension through the 2013 season, with a club option in 2014. To get Santana from the Minnesota Twins, New York gave up OF Carlos Gomez, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Philip Humber and RHP Kevin Mulvey.

The Mets open their regular season schedule in Florida against the Marlins, on March 31st. After three in Florida, an off day, and three in Atlanta, there is another off day on Monday April, 7th. On the 8th, the Mets play their home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. This means New York will not need a fifth starter until the 13th at home against Milwaukee.

DFN Sports features New York Mets jerseys online.

For those who really want to know, the Mets are at Yankee Stadium, May 15, 16 and 17. The two teams flip venues in June and will be at Shea June 27-29.

If the pennant race comes down to the wire, the Mets are at Shea to close the ballpark the last week of the season against the Cubs and Florida (Sep 22-28).

Oh, by the way, as special treat, the Mets have raised the price of tickets on average of about 20%. Maybe after a historic collapse, they should have cut prices by 20%. While the new ballpark being built just over the center field fence has a lot to do with this, the payroll for the team is currently at a mere $116 million. But 20% is hefty considering the fact that Citibank paid $20 million a year for naming rights to the new play yard.

There will be about 750,000 tickets for 36 of the 81 home games priced $10 and under (Seating capacity at Shea Stadium is 55,601). Get your tissues ready for the nose bleeds, because these seats are in the upper tier reserved sections. In some cases depending on the flight patterns at nearby LaGuardia Airport, you will sometimes be higher than the planes that are flying by and feel like you can touch them as they fly overhead.

As for the Team, New York Mets Manager Willie Randolph is in a bit of a spot, although, a nice spot. Does he set up his rotation to have Johan Santana pitch the home opener? Or does he set it up for Pedro Martinez? The way it sets up right now, John Mayne would get the Phillies on the 8th of April, but it is possible that Mayne may be slipped into the second spot for two reasons.

The first would be to allow Pedro Martinez to pitch the first home game, and secondly, to give John Mayne a shot against the Braves, in the third game of the series at Atlanta, especially if they are in danger of being swept in an early season series.

The move for Santana gives the Mets a true #1 starter and arguably the best pitcher in baseball. For his career, Santana is 93-44, with a 3.22 ERA, not too bad for someone who pitched in a stadium that is known for giving up the home run. He can also be a workhorse for the pitching staff, as he threw 219 innings in 2007.

The happiest person on the team has got to be Pedro Martinez, a person that everyone seems to have forgotten about with the addition of Santana. Even though Martinez had an injury riddled 2007, he appears to be healthy and ready for 2008.

With Santana, the Mets are looking at a solid core of starters at the first four spots of the rotation. Look for Randolph to go with the hot hand as the fifth starter as Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey will share the number 5 spot, and don’t be surprised if they shuffle in and out of the starting lineup all season.

Turning attention to the bullpen, Closer Billy Wagner will once again anchor the relief troops that were used way too early and way too often in the 2007 season. With Aaron Heilman and Wagner closing games in the 8th and 9 th inning in 2008, it was left to the remaining relievers to bridge the middle innings. There were many times where it was not pretty, especially with Tom Glavine not reaching the seventh inning in many outings only to watch the bullpen blow the lead.

Glavine was 13-8 in '07, but with the bullpen inferences, could have been 16-6 easily, possibly even better. The addition of Santana to the rotation should help decrease the innings of a tired bullpen late in the year. As for Glavine, he signed with the Atlanta Braves for the '08 season.

In the event that Wagner should falter, or is injured, Willie Randolph has Joe Smith waiting in the wings. The Mets feel that he can pick up the slack if needed. If all else fails, Heilman may also get a shot.

Finally on February 11, 2008, New York signed Tony Armas, Jr. to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Look for Armas to start the season in the minors, barring an injury to someone in the rotation, or if Martinez is just simply not ready yet. He will be an insurance policy, as well as the wild card. If he does well, then the Mets will be in great shape.

2008 Mets Outfield

The Mets will have a decent outfield in 2008. With Carlos Beltran in CF, Moises Alou in LF, and Ryan Church patrolling in RF, New York should be all right. Throw in Endy Chavez to do most of the subbing, especially for the aging Alou in left. Chavez gives you an outfielder who plays great defense and all three outfield positions.

New York let Shaun Green go in free agency, and to date he has not signed with anyone else.

As for Church, he brings a much-needed left handed bat to the Mets lineup. In the last 10 games of the season for the dismal Washington Nationals, he hit .367, with 2 HR and 10 RBI.

To get Church, as well as catcher Brian Schneider, the Mets said so long to Lastings Milledge. Moving to the Nationals allows Milledge to the chance to start everyday in CF, the position that he was originally drafted for in the Mets organization.

2008 Mets Catchers

In addition to Schneider, who is known for his defense, more than offense, the Mets also retained Ramon Castro, while letting Paul LaDuca test the free agent waters. LaDuca wound up signing with the Washington Nationals for 1year, @ $5 million dollars at the age of 36.

Castro gives the Mets an extra bat in the lineup as he hit 11 HR in only 144 at-bats in 2007. Not bad for a part-time catcher.

Because of the unique situation faced by Willie Randolph, a platoon is almost guaranteed. Schneider is by far a better defensive backstop, where Castro has some pop in his bat. Schneider also has some power. He hit 12 homeruns playing in a very spacious RFK Stadium. Now he’s playing at Shea, although Shea is not exactly a hitter’s paradise.

Overall, New York figures to be better all-around at catcher. LaDuca did not have a strong arm, and Schneider is an above-average catcher, and averaged more RBI’s per 100 at bats. If anything, he won’t have to throw Jose Reyes out when he’s trying to steal. As for Castro, just do what he did last year and he should be fine.

2008 Mets Infield

The Mets infield is one of the strongest in baseball. The big question going into 2008 is if Carlos Delgado can overcome a dismal 2007 season where he was stuck in a major slump most of the season, finally rebounding to hit .258, with 24 HR and 87 RBI. That's not bad, however in '06 for New York, Delgado had 38 round trippers and knocked in 114 RBI's in 15 less at bats.

The rest of the infield is pretty well set. Luis Castillo re-signed with the Mets in November for four years. His range should be better, since he is not playing on turf and he stole 45 bases last season, while quietly hitting .294. He also added 24 home runs. Expect the power numbers to shrink a little since he plays at Shea now, but it is possible that his stolen bases will go up,

The real problem for Willie Randolph here is that he now has two leadoff hitters when you factor Jose Reyes into the equation. Reyes, the starting shortstop for the Mets, had 78 stolen bases in 2007. Ironically, Reyes also walked 78 times. Add in 12 triples and 36 doubles, and New York pushed Reyes across home plate 119 times. Look for that to go up as well with Castillo hitting in the two spot.

David Wright rounds out the infield at third base. All he did was hit .325, with 30 HR and 107 RBI's 2007, and that was after a slow start. Wright's defense was great as well, and coupled with Reyes and Castillo, look for the Mets to turn a lot of double plays.

But what happens if one of these gems gets injured for a period of time? Relax Met fans, there are ample backups available. With Damion Easley and Ruben Gotay on the bench look for defensive subbing late in the game and occasional resting, especially for Delgado, whom the Mets will want to keep fresh all season in the hopes that he can fight any ailments and keep him injury free.

By the end of the season Met fans will be looking forward to two things. A World Series banner, and saying so long to Shea Stadium as the new park, Citi Field will be ready for the 2009 season. Hopefully the Mets will be able to raise a banner when they open their new stadium in 2009, a banner that reads "2008 World Series Champions."

> New York Mets 2008 schedule

by Brian Heusser
DFN Sports Staff Writer

> View all of the 2008 MLB team previews from Pro Baseball Fans