What's Left for the Mets | JFro's Sports Journalism and Lists

After two heart-shattering collapse seasons in a row, I thought I'd retire from Mets blogging. But hey, we can't dwell forever, can we?

Ehhh, you're right. I guess we could...

But I'll choose not to, because Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz are in town, and we're a couple steps closer to having a World Series contender. Still, if the season started right now, we wouldn't be the favorites in the National League -- not even in our own division (still the Phillies).

Our bullpen is nearly solidified, with K-Rod, Putz, Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green, and Brian Stokes, but we could use another gun. It probably won't happen, though, and we'll be stuck with the combination of Duaner Sanchez and Carlos Muniz. Perhaps Muniz could be replaced by Bobby Parnell or Brandon Knight, depending on what happens with the rotation.

Oh yea, the ROTATION. What are we going to do about that?

I'm afraid we've scared Derek Lowe away, and that in itself is a tragedy. On this market, Lowe is exactly what we needed: durable, consistent, a legitimate No. 2 starter on a NL team, and unshakable in the clutch. Now it appears we may be left with Oliver Perez again...or maybe not even.

Word is that Tim Redding is going to be added to the mix, and that's not a problem, IF he's going to be our No. 5 starter. But, if Minaya and Manuel are thinking about going into the year with Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, Redding, and Jon Niese/Bobby Parnell...then we're in trouble.

My hope is that we find a way to reconnect with Lowe, and then sign Jon Garland as well.

1-Santana, 2- Lowe, 3-Pelfrey, 4-Garland, 5-Maine = much better.

I wouldn't mind both Lowe and Perez, but I know we're likely talking about too much money there. Garland should be a very nice alternative.

In the infield, my friend brought up an interesting question: who are our back-up middle infielders?

Damion Easley and Ramon Martinez are both free agents, and Argenis Reyes has been non-tendered -- all three are now out of the picture. That leaves us with Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans, and Fernando Tatis as both infielders AND outfielders. We'll have to make a move for an Alex Cora type before the conclusion of the offseason.

In the outfield, I'd still love to see an upgrade over the Murphy-Tatis-Church trio in right and left field. Church in particular, really bothers me. I don't mind the platoon in left but I'd like to see a more dangerous hitter like Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn in the other corner.

The problem is, with the national financial crisis, we seem to be a bit stingy this offseason. Understandable in theory, but most MLB analysts (like Steve Phillips and Buster Olney) are saying that the Mets are virtually unaffected by the country's financial difficulties.

If that's the case, then let's go! Spend some of that cash so we can compete in this year's Subway Series.

...all right, I guess that's wishful thinking.

Given the past two seasons, EXTREMELY wishful.