Day 9: New York Mets

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: New York Mets

2007 Regular Season Record: 88-74

Cost per Win: $115,231,663 / 89 = $1,294,737 per win

2007 Season Recap: Well it is definitely not a reach to say that the Mets had a disappointing end to the season. They looked like sure locks to make the postseason on the morning of the September 14th they had a 7 game advantage they then went on to lose 12 of their last 17 games. This gave the Phillies the division and left a very bad taste in the Mets fans mouth that is still there today. A lot of this losing skid was due to a lack of defense, in those 10 losses the Mets gave up 7 or more runs all but one time. Probably one of the most embarrassing things about those losses was that 8 of them were to either the Marlins or the Nationals and 3 were to the Phillies who eventually jumped them in the standings. The other loss was to the Cardinals another team that failed to make the playoffs by a good margin.

The Mets did have some solid performers though. They should when they have the 3rd highest salary in the majors. First of all was David Wright. Wright ended the season with a .325 batting average and added 30 home runs. Secondly, 41 year old Moses Alou had a very solid season with a .341 average and played very good defense for a man who has been said to have decreasing skill. Alou did spend some time on the DL so he was only in 87 games but he played solid when he was playing. The Mets have since exercised an option to keep Alou for the next season.

The Mets also had an interesting year on the pitcher’s mound. Most notable of this was Pedro Martinez. He missed a large portion of the season and got 5 starts. He won 3 of those starts and had a 2.57 ERA but in the end it wasn’t enough to get them to the playoffs. The Mets had 2 pitchers finish with a 15 and 10 records and Tom Glavine got his 300th win of his career.

Key Free Agents: SP Tom Glavine, C Paul Lo Duca, RF Shawn Green; It is a tossup in my mind as to who is the bigger loss Glavine or Lo Duca. Lo Duca is a solid bat and he hit .272 on the season but his power numbers were down. Glavine didn’t have the greatest record this season but he is a seasoned vet in the clubhouse and always puts in a good performance and keeps the game in check. Atlanta has already brought him back to the Braves so there is no hope of the Mets bringing him back. Even though thep pitchers had solid number this season it was the pitching that let them down in the end of the season so the failure to perform when it was necessary is disturbing.

Offseason Needs: The Mets are pretty solid from top to bottom going into next season. They lack depth at first base right now but it’s not likely Carlos Delgado will be benched ay times soon. They just need an insurance plan at that position. Other than that there are no glaring holes on the roster. The biggest problem will be confidence after falling apart at the end of the season like they did.

Prediction for the 2008 season: The Mets are going to be solid next season. I have very little doubts about that. They have a good manager and a good front office plus an ownership group that is willing to spend. I’m predicting an NL east title in 2008 and a much more solid end to the regular season. They should be able to get through their first round opponent in the playoffs also the next series is a much bigger question mark in my mind but they will make it close.