Are the New York Mets Capable of 90 Wins in 2014?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1978776-are-the-new-york-mets-capable-of-90-wins-in-2014

[h=1]Are the New York Mets Capable of 90 Wins in 2014?[/h][h=4]<address class="article_author-info">By Ryan Gaule , Contributor </address><time class="article_timestamp" data-updated_at="1393810557">Mar 2, 2014</time>[/h]
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Andy Lyons/Getty Images






After another disappointing season in 2012, the New York Mets matched their 2012 record of 74-88 in 2013. However, last season was full of much more hope for Mets fans than 2012, as a number of highly touted pitching prospects were on the verge of making a splash in the majors.
According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, general manager Sandy Alderson told his organization that they are capable of reaching 90 wins in 2014, something they haven't done since the 2006 season when they went 97-65.
The Mets should improve in 2014, as they have added integral pieces to both the lineup and starting rotation. However, their first goal should be to finish .500 in 2014, as 90 wins seems like a stretch for a team with a lot of questions to answer.
The biggest hole the Mets will have to fill is the absence of young phenom starting pitcher Matt Harvey, who lit up the stage in 2013. In his first full season, Harvey finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award race, pitching to a 2.27 ERA with 191 strikeouts in 178.1 innings pitched for New York.
Unfortunately, Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery to repair damage in his right elbow. He is expected to miss at least the majority of 2014, as a return in August or September is not being ruled out, according to Harvey himself. Without Harvey, New York's rotation is incomplete.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Harvey was a staple in the Mets' rotation last season, finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young Award race for his contributions on the mound.

Without Harvey, the rotation consists of recently-acquired Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia. That is a decent rotation, but not the stellar rotation that would typically give a team 90 wins.
Last season, Bartolo Colon had one of the best seasons of his 16-year career, going 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA for the Oakland Athletics. At 40 years old, it would be surprising to see Colon have the same stellar season in 2014, but anything near that is vital for the Mets' success.
Then there is Jon Niese, who has posted a respectable 3.99 ERA over six big-league seasons. However, he will have to prove he is deserving of the second spot in the rotation by bringing that ERA down and his win total from last season (eight) up in 2014.
Dillon Gee is coming off the best season of his still-young career, as he posted a 3.62 ERA and registered 12 wins last season with the Mets. With the revamped lineup of the Mets, Gee is capable of winning 15 wins in 2014 if he can keep the ERA down like he did last season.
Then there is the highly touted prospect Zack Wheeler, who pitched to a 3.42 ERA in 17 games last season with the Mets. He has the potential to be Matt Harvey's sidekick in that rotation if or when Harvey returns to form. Still, without Harvey the Mets will have a very difficult time finding enough wins to get to 90 or even secure a wild-card spot.
As of now, Jenrry Mejia will round out the rotation for New York when the regular season begins. In five starts last season, Mejia went 1-2 with a 2.30 ERA. However, it is too small of a sample size to determine whether he will be effective throughout the season, as he has only started 11 games in three major league seasons and made 32 appearances out of the bullpen.
The most important pitcher to watch in spring training for the Mets is prospect Noah Syndergaard, who will start the season in AAA as Harvey and Wheeler did before they were called up. According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, managers Terry Collins said last Monday that Syndergaard was "throwing 97 (mph) today with a hook from hell.”
With a rotation packed with potential, there is every reason to be excited about the future of this organization. However, while this season should be an improvement from last season, the Mets will not reach 90 wins in 2014.
Another huge question that must be answered for the Mets to get to 90 wins this season is the production of catcher Travis d'Arnaud. Highly regarded as a stellar offensive catcher, d'Arnaud looked lost at the plate with the Mets in 2013, batting .202 in 99 at-bats while striking out 21 times.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Although he struggled at the plate, d'Arnaud did well in calling games behind the plate last season, and for that the organization should be excited. Still, the offense will have to pick up to add protection to the lineup for guys like Ike Davis and David Wright.
That brings us to the discussion of the lineup the Mets will be putting out there every game in 2014. With the addition of former Yankees slugger and left fielder Curtis Granderson, the Mets added power to their lineup. Now, they have three legitimate sluggers in Wright, Davis and Granderson, the latter of whom hit 43 home runs in 2012, his last full season.
In right field the Mets have Chris Young, who owns a poor career batting average of .235 in eight major league seasons. Center fielder Juan Lagares will enter his first full season in 2014, and he impressed many with his glove when he first came up in 2013. He went on to hit .242 in 121 games with New York, but he would have to improve tremendously if the Mets were to win 90 games this season.
Second baseman Daniel Murphy has been one of the most reliable players for the Mets over the last few seasons. In 2013 he played in all but one game, batting .286 with 13 home runs.
Realistically, Murphy, Wright, Davis and Granderson are the only batters in that lineup who have established themselves as performers at a high level. However, Davis is one of the biggest question marks for the Mets as he attempts to bounce back from a dreadful 2013 in which he batted .205 with only nine home runs in 103 games.
On the bright side, Davis has shown he is capable of hitting for power, as he blasted 32 home runs in 2012. Still, his batting average has spiraled downward over the last three seasons, so he will have to bring his numbers up for the offense to have the production needed to even finish the season at .500.
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Now that the internal organizational problems have been addressed, the competition must be considered.
While the Marlins and Phillies have two of the worst teams on paper going into 2014, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals are certainly better than the Mets right now.
Last season the Nationals disappointed many by failing to reach the playoffs with a great team, but the Braves lived up to expectations, winning 96 games en route to a National League East division title.
The Nationals are expected to bounce back this season, and the Braves will continue to perform. Atlanta's lineup and Washington's starting rotation will prove to be too much for the Mets to compete with them through September.
So, there is no doubt that 2014 will be an exciting season for the Mets as they finally turn the tides and start a new chapter in the organization's history. While the pitching is something that will be considered their greatest strength in the years to come, Harvey's absence will hurt them and the Mets will not reach 90 wins in 2014.
Even if Wheeler comes out strong and Syndergaard is effective when he comes up, the Mets look more like an 80- to 85-win team in 2014. However, that is nothing to be disappointed about, as the organization continues to develop prospects into major league players.
This season will be the first step to dominance as the Mets should hover right around .500 all season, but by this time next year, it will likely be a different story as the Mets will be a legitimate contender in the NL East.

*All Statistics Courtesy of Baseball Reference

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If they can add either the 2013 season or 2015 season into their win total... I say they have a decent shot

did they fill the 19 holes in their 25 man roster?

Probably not 90, but I'm going to be all over their over 73.5 win total. 78-80 seems very reachable. Love their starting pitching depth. They have not had that in a few years. Outfield defense might be Top 5 in the majors. Got a few bats due to bounce back as well. Not sold on the Marlins in division. They'll lose 95-100 and I think the Braves will give 8-10 wins back from last year.

Big Mets fan here but the problem with the O TT is that the Mets have so many holes in their lineup......1B, SS, C (I am not sold on d'Arnaud at all), and CF (Chris Young has steadily declined over the last 4 years). They are also gonna be in the top 3 in striking out too with Wright, Chris Young, Granderson, and Ike (if they go with him at 1st). Plus, their bullpen is terrible. LaTroy Hawkins was by far and away their best reliever last year (which is really sad) and Alderson is trying to hit lightening in a bottle again with either Farnsworth or Valverde. Plus, I have no idea what you are gonna get from Pelfrey in the closing role coming off the surgery. Agree, that the starting pitching will be good even without Harvey. If the Mets can sign Drew to a one year contract and let him play at SS then that is a huge upgrade over Tejada. I know the Mets will never do this because they want to control his years and arbitration but I would let Syndegard start at the 5 spot in the rotation. If Drew and Syndegard are with the big ball club coming north in April, I would like the O TT a lot better.

Disagree tons with your analysis. It's cool though.

Plus, Terry Collins teams in the 2nd half of the season have completely collapsed. And the Mets schedule in April is brutal. They might be behind the eight ball early and never recover. I also think the Marlins won 10 or 11 games vs. the Mets last year. Trust me, I hope I am wrong but I see like 71-91.

You're being way too pessimsitic. Which is understandable considering the last few years. This team is significantly better than last year. I'm talking top to bottom plus minors depth ready to contribute. You're taking loads of PAs from Cowgill, Niewenhuis, Brown, Baxter, Ankiel and giving them to guys who are actual major leaguers now. Some kids got their feet wet last year. Lagares might be the best defensive center fielder in the league and is showing signs of hitting progress. The rotation? Get out of here. You're taking 1/3 of the starts away from Marcum, Laffey, Hefner, Torres, Harang and will be giving them to guys like Mejia, Syndergaard, Montero. DeGrom is another guy not to sleep on. He's got way better stuff than Hefner. The bullpen was awful last year (4 wins below league average) and will be better. Bullpens swing like a gated face. Lots of variance and randomness to them. It'll be better.

One thing I learned bettern season win totals, depth is paramount. Do not make team totals bets on a team's starting 9 + rotation. Terrible mistake. I see enormous amounts of depth compared to alot of the other weaker teams in the league. This is an improved team, there's no doubt in my mind. 78-80 wins. I don't see a better opportunity on any other season win total than this one. This is a gift.

This is a very good discussion. I think Sydergard, Montero, and DeGrom should all head north with the club on April 1st. However, the Mets run their franchise like a small market club so they aren't bringing the guys mentioned (maybe DeGrom for the pen, and that is a maybe) up to the big club until the Super 2 date, arbitration date, etc. They want these "studs" on their own financial terms. If this was Kansas City, Milwaukee, Tampa, Pittsburgh, I agree but not in New York.

Harvey is a tremendous loss to the rotation. Nobody is gonna come close to what he did last year. Niese always lands on the 15 day DL at some point. Gee was phonemianal the last 3 months of the season and dupilcating that again is not likely. Colon is solid but don't know what to expect from him in the National League. Mejia has potentional but like Niese always gets hurt in a season. The starting pitching can be good barring injuries.

If the season started today, the bottom 4 of the Mets lineup is some combination of d'Arnaud, Lagares, Tejada, and the pitcher. That might be the worst bottom 4 of a lineup in the National League. While I like Lagares defensively, I just don't know if he can hit enough. d'Arnaud struggled big time at the plate when he came up late last season. Granted, it was only 100 ABs but he struck out like 20 times or so. The Mets can tell me all they want that Tejada to be the SS but Alderson and Collins sent him back to Triple A last year and never brought him back. It wasn't like Quantinalla was great at SS either.

Like I said, I hope I am wrong but I think the Mets are a year away from being respectable again.

I have high confidence in d'Arnaud. He can hit.

FYI, Baseball season win bets are by far my favorite and most profitable wagers over the years. Last year my biggest wager was the Red Sox over.

The Mets under is one of my biggest. I don't see it with that lineup at all.

FairWarning said:

The Mets under is one of my biggest. I don't see it with that lineup at all.

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It'll be your biggest loss then.

sportsfantatic44 said:

This is a very good discussion. I think Sydergard, Montero, and DeGrom should all head north with the club on April 1st. However, the Mets run their franchise like a small market club so they aren't bringing the guys mentioned (maybe DeGrom for the pen, and that is a maybe) up to the big club until the Super 2 date, arbitration date, etc. They want these "studs" on their own financial terms. If this was Kansas City, Milwaukee, Tampa, Pittsburgh, I agree but not in New York.

Harvey is a tremendous loss to the rotation. Nobody is gonna come close to what he did last year. Niese always lands on the 15 day DL at some point. Gee was phonemianal the last 3 months of the season and dupilcating that again is not likely. Colon is solid but don't know what to expect from him in the National League. Mejia has potentional but like Niese always gets hurt in a season. The starting pitching can be good barring injuries.

If the season started today, the bottom 4 of the Mets lineup is some combination of d'Arnaud, Lagares, Tejada, and the pitcher. That might be the worst bottom 4 of a lineup in the National League. While I like Lagares defensively, I just don't know if he can hit enough. d'Arnaud struggled big time at the plate when he came up late last season. Granted, it was only 100 ABs but he struck out like 20 times or so. The Mets can tell me all they want that Tejada to be the SS but Alderson and Collins sent him back to Triple A last year and never brought him back. It wasn't like Quantinalla was great at SS either.

Like I said, I hope I am wrong but I think the Mets are a year away from being respectable again.

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All teams will send their best prospects back down when the season starts, just smart business to keep them under club control for an extra year.

http://isportsweb.com/2014/04/07/new-york-mets-will-make-playoffs/

<header class="entry-header">[h=1]How the New York Mets will make the playoffs[/h]<time class="entry-time" itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2014-04-07T00:27:10+00:00">April 7, 2014</time> by Dan Lagnado
</header>

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The goal for every team is making the playoffs. For the New York Mets that is no easy task. However, after more than half a decade of losing seasons, the Mets do have a chance for postseason baseball. This is what it will take to get there:
1. Continue road success while improving at home
The Mets were one of the few teams who finished over .500 on the road in 2013 going 41-40. Generally speaking, that is exactly where a team wants to be–perform at .500 on the road and use home field advantage to put distance between yourself and other teams. While able to do the first part, the Mets struggled at home. An ideal home record would be inverse from the 33-48 that the Mets put up last year. An improvement to get to around the .500 mark at home while maintaining road success could get the Mets another 7 to 10 wins.
2. Solidify the bullpen
Over the first week of the season, the Mets bullpen has struggled mightily and now Bobby Parnell will miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. To be successful, the Mets need to find answers in the ‘pen. Jose Valverde will be the closer, likely for the remainder of the season, and has pitched well in his first three outings. Many other pitchers have not. Kyle Farnsworth may find himself with the team for the long term now, after an early demotion, albeit a brief one. Young arms such as Jeurys Familia, Gonzalez Germen or Vic Black will have to step up their game this season to fill the void left by Parnell.
New Met Curtis Granderson hopes to provide a much needed power bat

3. Hit for power
One area of weakness in the past few seasons for the Mets has been hitting for power. While not officially a reason, the lack of home runs by the home team certainly contributed to the now shallower fences at Citi Field. This was a big reason for the signings of both Curtis Granderson and Chris Young this offseason. In the first week, the team managed to launch quite a few home runs, from both expected and surprising contributors. While this is a team that is able to manufacture runs, the long ball will have to play a significant role in the offense. If they keep up the performance from this past week, this season will be very promising. Look for David Wright, Lucas Duda/Ike Davis and Curtis Granderson to be the big contributors in the power department.
4. Keep everyone else healthy
This has been the thorn in the side of the Mets since the start of the decade. Key guys need to play for an entire season. Over the last few years the Mets have lost David Wright, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Jose Reyes and now Matt Harvey and Bobby Parnell for extended periods of time. To compete this year, most of the roster, or at least the main starters, needs to play upwards of 150 games. Keeping players like Wright and Granderson in the lineup will have huge impacts both offensively and defensively.
Zack Wheeler looks to become an ace in his first full pro season

5. Consistent production from the young guns
The Mets are a team whose success will depend upon plenty of raw talent. Players like Juan Lagares, Travis d’Arnaud, Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia are going to be key both this season and going forward. High expectations and importance will carry over to the inevitable midseason call ups: Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero. David Wright and Daniel Murphy alone are not enough to carry the Mets to October.
6. Beat the National League East
This seems both obvious and self-explanatory, but that doesn’t make it any less important. The Mets opened the season on the wrong foot after being swept by the Washington Nationals. They have to play better against the teams in their own division, particularly the Miami Marlins. The Mets have struggled to beat the Marlins in big situations dating back to 2007 and the Marlins have been on the bottom of the division for just as long. These are the wins that the Mets are going to have to lock up to make the playoffs. Of course, improved performance against the Nats, Braves and Phillies wouldn’t hurt either.
While unlikely, the Mets certainly have a chance to compete and should be much improved this season. If the Nationals or Braves falter towards the end, the Mets could swoop in and move on to October for the first time since 2006.

Mets at 7-7, bringing in Dice K


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mets-bring-matsuzaka-send-down-175535870--mlb.html

Mets bring up Matsuzaka and send down Lannan
.
AP - Sports 1 hour ago
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Mets are bringing up pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka to replace John Lannan on their big league roster.


Matsuzaka's contract was selected Wednesday from Las Vegas, and New York sent Lannan outright to the Triple-A team.


Matsuzaka, a 33-year-old right-hander, was 3-3 with a 4.42 ERA in seven starts for the Mets last year and 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts for Las Vegas this year.


Lannan, a 32-year-old left-hander, was 1-0 with a 15.25 ERA in five relief appearances for the Mets this year. He has the choice to refuse the outright assignment and elect to become a free agent.

5teamparlay said:

I limit myself to 1 bday bump a day :$

Click to expand...

This is your 1 a day I hope...


-murph

That is one BIrthday bump--
Ha

a week old isn't even a bump -

23 inning scoreless streak


The Mets were swept despite allowing only eight runs in the series. They batted .157, scored three runs and were shut out in the final 23 innings.




''They have great young pitchers,'' manager Terry Collins said. ''They can really pitch. You just have to really apply yourself at the plate. We're just not swinging the way you hope to.''


The Mets' scoreless streak is their longest since July 2010

BE LUCKY TO FInISH .500

After falling to a season-worst nine games under the .500 mark, the Mets (35-41) have reeled off four wins in five games. "We've been waiting a long time to break one open," Terry Collins said.