This is a guest post from Bill over at the New York Mets blog Citi Slickers. We agreed with the Mets and Braves at the top of the division that it would be a good idea for us to do a preview for each site. Mine will appear at Citi Slickers on Saturday.
Three games under .500, 4th place in the NL East. That’s where the New York Mets stood at this time last year. To Mets fans, that seems like a very long time ago, thankfully. The 2009 version of the Mets was a dysfunctional, injured group with no leadership and poor management. The 2010 Mets, at least for the 1st half of the season, are the antithesis of that group. The 2010 Mets started out slowly, but really turned the corner in June and presently sit 9 games over the .500 mark and 3 games behind the First Place Braves. There are numerous reasons for the stark difference in play from 2009 to 2010 and below are a few that I think have been the key:
Health
Carlos Beltran notwithstanding, the Mets have been a relatively healthy team thus far in 2010. Beltran is expected back immediately after the All Star Break. Last year, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes all missed considerable time on the DL. Pitchers Johan Santana, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and JJ Putz all missed time too. Even the Mets backups were injured at various times (Alex Cora, Ramon Martinez, Jon Niese, Fernando Martinez, etc.) This year, the Mets have had their share of injuries, but have avoided the major blows for the most part.
Youth Movement
Last year’s injuries would have been too much for any team to overcome. Even the free-spending Yankees wouldn’t have been able to survive if they had lost A Rod, Jeter, Posada, Rivera and Sabathia. These injuries, though, really showed how little depth the Mets had on their bench and in their farm system. By contrast, this year’s club has gotten productivity from a number of youngsters:
1B Ike Davis – 10 HR, 39 RBIs, .257 AVG (Ike is an above average fielder and has shown some thunder in his bat since being called up in April)
2B Ruben Tejada – 4 DBLs, 5 RBIs, .221 AVG (He is a remarkable fielder, a huge upgrade defensively from Luis Castillo, but currently a streaky #8 hitter)
P Jon Niese – 6-3, 8 Quality Starts, 3.61 era (He was one of the injured Mets last year and was on the DL earlier this year for a couple of weeks. He has really been good lately, going 4-0 in June)
Veteran Leadership
David Wright hit 10 home runs last year. TEN. It was a down year for him personally and he has rebounded in a big way (14 HRs, 64 RBIs, .316 AVG). The addition of Jason Bay has helped, but Angel Pagan (Beltran’s replacement) has been more than the Mets could have hoped for. Pagan is hitting .303, has 27 extra base hits, and 40 RBIs. And I know he wasn’t well liked in Atlanta, but Jeff Francoeur has more than held his own. His cannon in right field stops teams from taking an extra base. At the plate Frenchy has 8 HRs, 42 RBIs, although hitting only .259.
Overall
Watching the Mets in 2009 was painful. They didn’t play well fundamentally and they were basically a glorified AAA team with the roster they put on the field. In 2010, the team has heart and shows grittiness, even when down a number of runs. The 2010 team has guts. There is a lot of talk about the chemistry in the clubhouse having a lot to do with the solid play on the field. David Wright is taking command and being a leader. Jeff Francoeur, by all accounts, is an excellent influence in the community and in the locker room. Johan Santana is the epitomy of a competitor. 2010 is shaping up to be a wild race for the NL East, a race I’m truly looking forward to. Having said all that, I’m just glad the Mets/Braves are both ahead of the Phillies in the standings!
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