Mets Will Not Win The World Series, Or So Everyone Seems To Think

Jon Morosi of FOX Sports listed the Mets as one of five teams that will definitely, without a doubt, not make the World Series in 2012. As his title suggests, the Mets are already waving the white flag.

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure there will be a total of 29 teams who will also not become World Series champs this season.

Of course, Morosi uses the team's financial troubles and the loss of Jose Reyes as part of his reasoning.

Sandy Alderson appears to be looking on the bright side for the upcoming season, however, saying:

"I don’t think anybody in the division could add any more talent to their roster than we can. We’re talking about adding Johan Santana. We’re talking about adding Ike Davis. Daniel Murphy was the fifth-leading hitter in the league when he went out with his injury. David Wright missed two months. [All are expected to be full participants in spring training.] We’ve substantially improved our bullpen."

The Mets made improvements in the bullpen this offseason with the additions of Frank Francisco, Ramon Ramirez, and Jon Rauch. I'll admit, it remains to be seen whether the offense will show signs of life, and starting pitching is questionable at best.

In Morosi's opinion, unless all of the stars align, and Santana, Wright, and Bay have stellar seasons, expect the Mets to finish dead last.

When did it become fashionable to just give up on a team before a single pitch has been thrown? To suggest that a team just lay down and die before the season even starts?

I don't care that the team is in rebuilding mode. That's not an excuse to accept that this team go through the motions, hope everyone makes it through all 162 games, and then head off to vacation destinations at the end of September.

Now, before I get tweets and comments from readers about how it's dumb to be optimistic and expect anything from this team, save it.

I never said they were going to win, but crazier things have happened.

Three Mets Fans Among The Top 50 Finalists For MLB Fan Cave

MLB recently released the audition tapes for the top 50 finalists for the 2012 MLB Fan Cave. Of those 50 finalists, three have listed the Mets as their favorite team.

After watching all three of the audition tapes, I've decided that only one of them was not completely embarrassing.

First up is Travis Miller of Chicago, IL. Miller's video was the most entertaining of the three.



Next up is Max Nelson from Toms River, NJ.

Bay Sees 30 Homers In His Future - Let's Hope They're All In 2012

Photo by Flickr User: slgckgc

Andy Martino of the New York Daily News was able to get Jason Bay to open up about his struggles since joining the Mets, and  how he believes he can have a resurgence at the plate in 2012.

Bay believes he can hit 30 home runs this season. Do I believe that? I don't think it's likely. He's only hit a combined 18 home runs in the two years he's been in New York. Do I hope that he can? Absolutely.

With Bay, I feel his struggles have been more mental than physical. Perhaps one of the better things to happen to Bay this offseason was hearing that the walls at Citi Field were being moved in. Maybe this will provide him the little confidence boost he needs to get off on the right foot in April.

Despite appearing calm, cool, and collect at all times the past few seasons, David Wright told Martino:

"I have seen him snap. When no one is looking, and when there are no cameras around, and the younger players can’t see him, he will let it out."

It's okay, Bay. Let it out. After watching some of your plate appearances the past few seasons, I've wanted to rage, Paul O'Neal-style, as well.

No matter how bad he has struggled at the plate, I have always rooted for Bay. He's just a likable guy.

I attribute that to his work ethic.

"I would hate to be running down the line, and that one time you dog it, all of a sudden a guy throws it away," Bay told the Daily News. "I don’t want to be that guy who doesn’t run hard. I don’t want to be that guy — desperately...I would just hate to have a mark on me for my effort. It would irk me to no end if someone said, ‘yeah he was decent, but he was lazy.’ Or ‘he didn’t respect the game.’ Because I can control that."

No matter how bad he was at the plate, Bay never carried those struggles over to the outfield. Throughout the season, he made some spectacular plays in left field. He works hard, and I respect that.

It's that hard work that has saved Bay from feeling the wrath of many Mets fans. I don't know how much longer this will last if he doesn't get off to a good start this season.

While my expectations for Bay are not incredibly high, I will continue to root for him and wish him the best in 2012.

2012 Ike Davis Player Profile – Is He The Next Joey Votto?

When Ike Davis rolled his ankle in Colorado, nothing was made of it.

The Mets thought he was day-to-day. Davis himself thought he would not miss much time. Then a day became a week, a week became a month, and eventually, Davis was lost for the entire season.

It was a terrible injury for the franchise because in his rookie season in 2010 and the beginning of 2011, Davis had shown a lot of promise.

With 19 home runs, 73 runs batted in and an ISO of .176, his future at the plate was looking very bright. Add to that his defensive abilities, his 10.1 UZR was good for the second best rating for first basemen in all of baseball, and we can safely say the Mets were happy with their 3.5 WAR first baseman.

The best part was, Davis had shown marked improvement in the second half of 2010.

After the all-star break, Ike trimmed his strike outs while increasing his walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He even saved his best for last in September, with a slash line of .330/.427/.524, a BB:SO ratio of 19:21.

It was like a cliffhanger at the end of a great book, he left every Mets fan on the edge of their seat, wanting more.

Mets Fans, Sandy Alderson Is On Twitter, And He Has Jokes

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson joined Twitter today. Here's what he's had to say so far:



You're a brave man, Sandy. Get ready for the onslaught of messages any time you do ANYTHING. I just hope fans can be respectful and state their opinions in a civilized manner, and Alderson can ignore all of those Keyboard Warriors out there (For those wondering, a Keyboard Warrior is someone who feels they can say whatever they want from behind a computer screen).  I'm not asking too much, am I?

Play nice, Mets fans.

Mayor Bloomberg As The Next Mets Owner? Don't Count On It

In a recent article on Politicker, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked whether he would consider buying the Mets. His response:

"Look the Mets are fun and I like going, I think Citi Field turned out fine. Why anybody wants to own a sports team, I can’t figure out. If you think the business press is tough, and then you get to the political press, the sports press that’s just really," Mayor Bloomberg trailed off and let the audience fill in the blanks.

The whole subject came up after Councilman Jimmy Oddo suggested the Mayor buy the cash strapped team.

Is Bloomberg even a Mets fan? I've only ever seen him around when there is an important event happening.

Can Mets Fans Go A Day Without Complaining?

Some of you probably aren't going to like this post, and frankly, I don't care.

Day in and day out, I read tweets and comments on other blogs about how the Mets will finish dead last,  how the farm system stinks, and that the Wilpons need to sell the team. Well, you know what else stinks? You.

Self-loathing Mets fans who live to complain about your favorite team.

I'm not in denial. I read all the news. I know this team is a mess, and I'm not going to go out and state that the Mets will win it all in 2012. I don't, however, feel it is necessary to count a team out before the season even begins.

Lately it seems, fans who show even the slightest amount of optimism for the Mets get bashed for doing so. We're called unrealistic.

Sorry we're not all as pessimistic and whiny as you.

I almost feel as though some Mets fans wouldn't know what to do with themselves if this team showed any signs of life this season.

Everybody always says New York fans are the greatest fans in the word. If that's the case, then prove it. Quit complaining and show some support for a change.