2004 Season Introduction

Today is the day. For the first time in 2004, the New York Mets will take the field in a regular season game.

For some, this is the readministration of a drug: The need for a Mets game to be on television every night. The security blanket of knowing you can tune in on any given evening and watch a member of your favorite team fouling off pitches, missing low and away or running down that routine fly ball.

Right now in Atlanta, someone is inhaling the smell of freshly cut lawn. The tips of someone's shoes (or cleats) is damp from moving around on outfield grass that was recently watered. Someone is getting ready to use a brand new machine to lay down chalk baselines. I'm guessing the chalk wagon is either red or blue ... might even have a Braves logo on it.

As a Mets fan, you have to be somewhat optimistic today. For starters, you're tied for first place. Hope springs eternal, they say. But there is more to it than that. This team is different ....

You can safely say that the "cancerous" players have all been shipped out. Guys like Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno and Mo Vaughn are no longer a part of the team. Underachievers like Jeremy Burnitz, Jay Payton and Rey Sanchez are gone as well. What we have now is a somewhat pleasant and refreshing combination of old time favorites (Al Leiter, Mike Piazza and John Franco) mixed with some new faces (Mike Cameron, Kaz Matsui and Cliff Floyd) and a bunch of young and exciting kids (Tyler Yates, Jose Reyes and Jason Phillips).

With guys like Cedeno gone ... things just feel "cleaner". There are new favorites that will emerge and new goats as well. I'm putting my money on the Garcia/Spencer platoon as the next thing Met fans want to see shipped out of Shea. As far as fan favorites ... I am thinking Mike Cameron and Kaz Matsui.

Today is a day for optimism, and although I don't believe much of what I am about to write, I'm going to write it anyway. That is what Opening Day is for. That is what baseball is all about.

The most critical element for the Mets in 2004 will be the performance of the pitching rotation. It's pretty clear there are no obvious 20 game winners in the rotation, but you could make the case that 3 guys can win 15, and 2 others can win 10.

Tom Glavine is due for a bounce back year. I am worried somewhat because his "stuff" doesn't seem to make it logical, but emotionally you would think he can do no worse and only improve on his 2003 efforts. We're going to find out just how effective he can be tonight when he faces his new nemesis. Can Glavine win 15-18 games? If he does, the Mets are probably a decent team in 2004 with a winning record. If he can only win 12 ... we may not reach .500, again.

Al Leiter still seems to be an effective pitcher. He's a gritty gamer and gives 110% every time he pitches. You really have to admire what he has done for the Mets. This is a special year for Al and the Mets, because it is his 7th year with the club. Until now, his longest stint had been 7 years with the Blue Jays. Al has never had a losing season with the Mets, even though the club has been horrible. He's won 13 or more games for us in all but one season as a Met. I think you can probably bank on 15 wins from Al, as usual.

Steve Trachsel is quietly becoming a fan favorite. I remember having to defend him back in 2001 on an almost daily basis, but these days, everyone loves "Tracks". He's reliable ... and he has improved in each of the three seasons he's been a Met. He was 11-13 with a 4.46 ERA in 2001. Last year, he was 16-10 with a 3.78 ERA. He has shown nothing in Spring Training to make you think he's going to blow up. Perhaps with more run support, he can with 16-18 games this year.

I wont go into any detail on the bottom to spots in the rotation (you can see my recent posts on the topic). Let's leave it at this: The Mets have some decent depth there, for a change.

Offensively, this Winter started with a bang. Matsui and Reyes ... everyone was thinking this would be the next coming of Pierre and Castillo. 100 runs a piece, 60 stolen bases between them, etc. Now that reality has set in, Matsui hit below the Mendoza line in Spring Training and Reyes can't seem to stay healthy. Delusions of grandeur quickly came to mind. I still have hope for these two and I think within a month you are going to see them doing much of what we had hoped.
Mike Piazza seems to be back in shape with the bat, and Cliff is looking like the same old Cliff, which is a good thing.

The Mets are actually a balanced squad. Reason? We have about 4 guys who are legitimate #6 hitters. Cameron, Garcia/Spencer, Phillips and Wigginton. Unfortunately for us, one of these guys has to bat 5th, but the 6, 7 and 8 spots in our lineup should be more productive than the average NL squad. If the top 4 can perform, we'll be in decent shape.