Kuzul

Those of you who have read my articles know how I feel about the beginning of a new baseball season. It is, without a doubt, the best time of year.

Each spring, as the earth awakens from its death-like slumber, I, like many baseball fans, am rejuvenated, filled with a renewed sense of innocence, hope and enthusiasm as I await the return of our national pastime. I wont repeat the reasons why—for further edification, see my article, “Baseball: More than Just Our national Pastime” from March 20th.

What many don’t know is that I am also a staunch Mets fan—have been forever. So while I am certainly brimming with boundless alacrity over the start of yet another baseball season, my affinity for the blue and orange brings with it an unflagging sense of hopelessness and desperation, rendering me suspended in the merciless tentacles of ambivalence.

How am I really supposed to feel?

As I sit at my computer, staring at the two vacant orange seats from Shea Stadium that adorn an entire office filled with Met paraphernalia, the emptiness resonates.

I have accepted for years that my allegiance to the Metropolitans comes with a very steep price tag. Good lord. Three World Series appearances in my 45 years and only one championship? Ugh. Tough to swallow. I have known the perils of rooting for quite some time, yet somehow, I just keep coming back.

But why?

Some would suggest that it may be an exaggerated sense of loyalty—maybe. I might offer that my introduction to baseball came at Shea Stadium, where my father and I sat together and enjoyed the universal language of this treasured sport.

This reminiscence reminds me that the Mets are endowed with a sort of mysticism that for me has the power to transcend time, transporting this middle-aged baseball junkie back to a time when things were easier and just made more sense.

Others who are far less sentimental and border on cynical would contend that I am twisted somehow, enamored with the ritualistic suffering most closely associated with one who participates in acts of masochism or values the art of martyrdom. 

Perhaps it is a confluence of all three.

In any event, this year, the trepidation I feel seems far more palpable. Any true Met fan knows the reason for this.

The team has been decimated by the Bernie Madoff scandal, and it is only now beginning to recover from it. Jose Reyes’ defection to Miami didn’t help any. And some untimely injuries have only exacerbated the angst and burgeoning feelings of calamity. We even lost Gary Carter, who despite his tenure with the Montreal Expos, holds a special place in New York Mets folklore.

The locusts can’t be far behind. 

But the one glaring issue, one that remains largely unspoken thus far because I suspect nobody in Met land wants to admit it, is the imminent departure of the last two New York Met marquee players—David Wright and Johan Santana. 

Let’s face it; in all likelihood, come July, the Mets will be reeling, and if most baseball prognosticators are correct, they will also be mired in last place in the NL East. 

Invariably, discussions about rebuilding for the future (will it ever really get here?) will ensue, and Mr. Wright and Mr. Santana will no longer be playing for The New York Mets. Their tenure with the team will be reduced to nothing more than a glorified audition—a day-to-day showcase of their skills and potential worth to a team that is looking to fortify its roster.

Let the auctioning begin. 

While this appears logical, I suppose, from a business perspective, it will be difficult to watch, especially in the case of Wright. Nothing warms the heart of a baseball purist more than watching a player work his way through the system, only to become a fixture with the parent club, the proverbial face of the franchise. The recent offensive struggles notwithstanding, that was to be David Wright—the player that Met fans had longed for since the days of Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. 

It will be a dark day in Flushing when Wright departs; the team that continues to languish in the shadows of the baseball empire just across town will be faceless once again.

The only hope is that from the complete dismantling of this team come prospects for the future, like Zack Wheeler who was obtained in the Carlos Beltran deal.

I’m looking at those orange seats from Shea again. I cannot help but smile. I guess I’m as hopeless as the team for whom I root.

Honestly, it doesn’t take much to make me happy. I don’t need league domination or 27 championships, although I would certainly not complain if either should occur. No, I’m much easier to please.

I just want to begin the season with some hope, just a glimmer, and not the feeling embodied in the “Family Guy” clip of little Stewie on opening day—forlorn and awash with despair as the play-by-play commentator announces after the very first pitch that the season is over. 

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Too often in baseball drafts, I see guys coming off injuries from the previous season being forgot about. And from what I’ve seen so far, Johan Santana has fallen victim to this phenomena.

I realize that Santana is coming off major surgery and hasn’t played a regular season inning since 2010, but he’s still a great talent and the unquestioned ace pitcher for the New York Mets.

Even as a Mets fan, I can safely tell you that wins won’t be his strong suit this season. I watched this club squander away countless wins for the former Cy Young winner a few seasons ago, and I fully expect similar events to take place in 2012. That being said, though, Santana is getting back into his old routine, pitching every five days, and his health looks to be at 100 percent so far this spring training.

“I’m feeling good. It’s a process. And I’m building up.” the hurler told ESPN New York.

He’s not going to be as dominant as his 2006 self, but in the two drafts I’ve had this March, he’s gone undrafted in an eight-team league with huge rosters and went in the 24th round in a standard 10-team league I’m in.

Both CBS Sports and ESPN’s Tristan H. Cockroft believe that Santana is certainly an injury risk, but in the later rounds, there’s risks with any pick. Santana gives you an upside that pitchers around his average draft position just don’t give you.

Sure, Santana is another year older and another injury into his career, but he’s still got downright nasty stuff and could make a run for the Cy Young. Can you say that about guys like Mark Buehrle and Colby Lewis who are getting drafted ahead of or around the same time as him?

The Venezuelan hurler isn’t exactly ancient at 33, and while he’s been out of the game for awhile, the Mets have handled his rehabilitation as carefully as you can ask for someone coming back from a major injury.

Santana is a great sleeper if you ask me, and the fact is that many casual managers in your draft are going to forget about him as the excitement of the draft goes on. For the potential payoff you could get from him, there’s no reason not to draft the former Twin and see how he responds to his return to the mound.

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Throughout the long history of baseball, the words “spring training” have elicited feelings of optimism and hope.  For Mets fans, spring training is the highlight of our season.  Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh and shortsighted, but ever since we came this close to reaching the World Series in 2006, being a Mets fan has been a painful existence.

Alas, it’s March and I’m trying to force a smile while dreaming about the inevitable, impending Cinderella story for the ages.  That’s probably a bit overly optimistic, but even a doomsday pessimist needs to dream every now and then.

Either way, I’ve found that stone-cold realism is the best approach in maintaining an even keel as a Mets fan. 

One thing I truly want to get excited about in 2012 is the return of our ace, Johan Santana.  I remember quite vividly the trade that brought the two-time Cy Young Award winner to New York.

It was Feb. 2, 2008; I was a junior at Wake Forest and heard the news on my way to club baseball practice.  At the same time, the New York Giants were preparing for the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, and I was about to experience the greatest week of my sports-fan life.

Four years later, the Giants have two Super Bowl wins over the Pats, and the Mets have not played in a single postseason game.  Santana has started 88 games in his Mets career but has not thrown a pitch in the bigs since a five-inning start in a Sept. 2, 2010 win over the Atlanta Braves.

It’s been awhile.  Santana will be 33 on March 13, and he has a surgically repaired shoulder to boot.  

What can us Mets fans reasonably expect from our ace in 2012?  Let’s take a look.

Santana’s first full season as a starting pitcher was in 2004, and that campaign resulted in his first AL Cy Young Award.  Over his four-year career as a starter in Minnesota, Santana proved to be a workhorse, averaging 228 innings per season.

In 2008, his first year with the Mets, Santana threw a career-high 234.1 innings, most in the NL.  The next season, Santana posted a career-low in innings with 166.2, a 29 percent decrease from the previous season.

In 2010, Santana bounced back with 199 innings, but was well below his then-career average of 218.6.  More than two complete games short, actually.  

In his prime—and let’s be clear, No. 57 is no longer in his prime—Santana was a strikeout machine.  His plus-fastball and unhittable changeup were enough to beat any team.  His slider made him good enough to dominate them.

Three out of his four years as a starter in the Twin Cities resulted in league-leading strikeout numbers.  His high-water mark came in 2004, when he fanned 265 batters.  He never recorded less than 235 Ks in any year as a starter in the American League.  

Since joining the DH-deprived National League, Santana has yet to top his ’08 total of 206.  He followed it up with 146 in 2009.  That’s a 29 percent decrease year-over-year.  It’s also the exact same percentage decrease in his innings over the same period.  This is expected.  After all, less innings would mean less strikeouts, but he still maintained the same 7.9 K/9 rate.

What’s discouraging is his 2010 strikeout total of 144 despite pitching 32.1 more innings.  It was his lowest season total since 2002, when he was a 23-year-old reliever and spot starter.

In terms of his value, Santana averaged 6.4 WAR as a starter in Minnesota.  In his debut season with the Mets, Santana was exactly a 6.4 WAR, right on target.  In the two years following, Santana’s WAR fell to 3.6 and 4.4.

Statistically speaking, Santana’s last real “Johan” season was 2008.  He finished third in Cy Young voting, led all of Major League Baseball in ERA and led the NL in innings, batters faced and starts.

Let’s be realistic for a moment.  The 2012 version of Santana will not be the same pitcher we saw in 2008, and it’s not fair to expect him to be.  It’s more reasonable to expect the pitcher we saw in 2009 and 2010, pre-shoulder surgery: not a dominant pitcher, but solid.

He is four years older since his last signature season. His numbers had fallen off the table in 2009 and held relatively steady in 2010.  Best-case scenario, Santana returns to his 2010 form.  That would still make him three WAR better than last season’s “ace” Mike Pelfrey, who recorded a WAR of 1.4.

But Pelfrey does not command “Santana money.”  Pelfrey will make about $5.7 million this season after avoiding arbitration.  Santana will make $24 million.  For a projected three added victories, the Mets will dole out an added $18.3 million to this season’s ace.  That’s an average of $6.1 million per victory.  Hardly a figure the Mets can afford.

In February 2008, I could not have been happier as a Mets fan.  Only two seasons removed from an appearance in the NLCS, and we had just added perhaps the most dominant pitcher in the game.  His six-year, $137.5 million contract seemed reasonable.  After all, Santana was 28 and on his way to Cooperstown.

So here’s the dose of realism I’ve been promising: Johan Santana is no longer an “ace.”  Yes, he will lead the Mets rotation, but do not look for a signature Santana season.  

Hung up on the eternal optimism of spring training?  Fine, let’s hope Santana recognizes that he is in his decline years and changes his approach.  Get away from overpowering the opposition and commit to outsmarting them (see: Glavine, Tom).  

And this is the beauty of spring training.  Remember folks, the term of the season is “realistic optimism.”

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With less than a month until New York Mets pitcher and catchers report to spring training in Port St. Lucie, Florida, many predictions about this 2012 squad have already been published. 

Whether these estimations have the Mets written off in a deep National League East, or as a sleeper candidate to finish above .500, you never know until game 162 is in the books.

It’s easy to be optimistic about this team as a life-long fan, but lets see what Mets “experts” have to say about this team as the 2012 preseason is only weeks away.

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Since Citi Field opened in 2009, the Mets‘ home ballpark has been the hardest to hit a home run in. Citi Field has only allowed 1.43 home runs per game, the lowest of any stadium.

With a 415-foot power alley in right center and a wall 16 feet high in some places, it’s easy to see why this was such a pitcher-friendly park.

Citi Field will have new, smaller dimensions, however, for the 2012 season. Most notably, the wall in right center field will be moving in 17 feet. In addition, most of the outfield will have eight-foot walls, which will also help make this park a more hitter-friendly one.

Let’s take a look at how this may affect the fantasy values of a couple of Mets heading into the upcoming season.

David Wright

All of the Mets sluggers should benefit from Citi Field’s alterations, but especially David Wright. Wright hit a home run every 20.4 at-bats prior to 2009, compared to every 28.5 at-bats since.

He is the only Met to surpass 20 home runs since their new park opened.  He has a lot of power to the opposite field, and will be glad that right-center will be getting a face-lift.

Look for a boost in production from Jason Bay, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda and especially David Wright, who could have his first 30 home run season since 2008.

Johan Santana

While the new dimensions won’t make it easier for any of the Mets’ pitchers, it will be especially tough on Johan Santana. Of the starters, Santana has the worst GB/FB ratio.

Mike Pelfrey, Jonathon Niese, R.A. Dickey and Dillon Gee all induce about the same amount of ground balls as fly balls.

Santana, on the other hand, has generated only 0.61 ground balls per fly ball in his career. This ratio was even worse the last two years, at 0.56 and 0.61 in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

You can expect that some of the fly balls that would have fell harmlessly in the huge outfield will now be leaving the yard for a home run.

Even if it weren’t for the dimension changes, I would have passed on Santana in upcoming fantasy drafts. His velocity has been in steady decline and his strikeout rate has followed suit.

Add in his recent shoulder surgery and the new Citi Field dimensions, and you’re looking at a very high-risk player. Let someone else pay for the name.

For more fantasy baseball insight and to join the Beat the Kings fantasy league challenge, visit us at http://www.fantasysportskings.com/.

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Earlier this week, during baseball’s Winter Meetings, super agent Scott Boras categorized the New York Mets as a team that is normally in the “steaks section,” but now find themselves in the “fruits and nuts category a lot.”

Any Mets fan will admit there are plenty of nuts running around the organization at the moment.

It’s far too late to claim that fans want a contender—they’re dying for one.

In the wake of Jose Reyes signing with the newly-christened Miami Marlins, the only thing the Mets can do is shop around in the bargain bin and find any way to keep butts in the seats while their better prospects develop.

General manager Sandy Alderson, completely unwilling (and rightfully so) to concede anything, including the upcoming 2012 season, hopes to build a long-term contender no later than 2014. And with prospects like Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey and Brandon Nimmo in the fold, that just might be possible.

Yes, they should trade David Wright, but that’s an article for another day.

But with the farm system still unable to bear Major League-ready fruit, can the Mets actually find a way to compete within the NL East—a division which is arguably the best in baseball?

After several days of inactivity, Alderson finally made a flurry of moves, trading Angel Pagan to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Andres Torres and reliever Ramon Ramirez, and signing relievers Frank Francisco (two-years, $12 million) and Jon Rauch (one-year, $3.5 million).

Ramirez, Rauch and Francisco give manager Terry Collins plenty of arms to choose from in Spring Training.

Francisco, 32, went 1-4 with a 3.55 ERA and had 17 saves in 54 relief appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays last season. Rauch, 33, is a good match for the Mets, finishing 2011 5-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 53 relief appearances. He missed the remainder of the season after being sidelined September 4 with torn cartilage in his right knee. Ramirez, 30, went 3-3 with a 2.62 ERA in 66 relief appearances for the San Francisco Giants last season.

In adding Torres, Alderson took a page out of the Moneyball Handbook, hoping that the Torres of 2010 will reemerge. He hit just .221 with four home runs and a .312 OBP last season, but two seasons ago, Torres was a monster.

Although he produced a ho-hum slash line of .268/.343/.479, he was tied with the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista with a 6.8 WAR. Defensively, he posted a revised zone rating of 96 percent, first among centerfielders.

While Torres might be a slight upgrade, especially defensively, over Pagan, and the addition of three relievers gives Collins more flexibility to sort out the bullpen, Alderson didn’t add any actually wins to the Mets roster.

Once again, the Mets bullpen is going to be a trial-by-error system—everyone will have a chance to fill a role until they begin to show imperfections, at which time, hopefully, Collins will make a change.

Last season, the Mets bullpen ranked 15th in the NL in both BAA (.267) and ERA (4.33).

The Mets will enter 2012 with a team of retreads and returning players, like first baseman Ike Davis and starting pitcher Johan Santana. Unless Alderson puts the hammer down and trades a player like David Wright, the next few seasons will be highlighted by continual futility and failure.

Will the Philadelphia Phillies finally start to show their age? Will expectations become too much for the completely revamped Miami Marlins? The Atlanta Braves missed the playoffs only because of a nightmare September collapse; will they recover or enter a free fall not unlike the Mets’?

Heck, even the Washington Nationals, who are expected to break camp with stud Bryce Harper, have a brighter future than the Mets.

So what can Alderson, Collins and the Mets actually do?

For now…nothing.

If Alderson is unwilling to concede the season and start making serious trades, there isn’t much to be done. Yes, the Mets have reportedly been shopping young players like reliever Bobby Parnell and starting pitcher Jon Niese, but Alderson didn’t seem very willing to actually pull the trigger, and it’s unclear exactly what the market’s interest was.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Mets will make any aggressive moves between now and the start of Spring Training, but it seems that, once again, Mets fans will be looking at another season of disappointment.

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Mets fans have been running to message boards for the last two weeks to vent their frustration with Mets ownership and the approach the organization has taken in the Jose Reyes “sweepstakes”.

Most fans demand that the organization do whatever it takes to keep Reyes at Citi Field while other fans don’t see Reyes as a part of the future. To those fans, Reyes is a symbol of an era in the team’s history that is infamous for underachieving and monumental collapse. It’s hard to disagree with those fans.

Reyes supporters see him as the premier leadoff hitter in baseball. A player who brings the type of explosiveness and energy to a lineup that simply cannot be replaced. It’s hard to disagree with those fans, too.

The real question Mets fans must ask themselves is: Does re-signing Jose Reyes improve our chances of winning a World Series? I do not believe that it will.

Now before I am attacked by the Reyes supporters, give me a few minutes to explain. My call for Mets ownership to let Reyes go is not without a plan in place. Re-signing Jose Reyes for say, five years $100 million would tie up $20 million a year in a player that has not helped take this team to the next level since he’s been here.

Since Reyes came on the scene in 2003, the Mets have made the playoffs just once. Just one playoff appearance in eight seasons. Reyes is commanding an average salary of $20 million. Albert Pujols will most likely land a contract that pays him between $24-25 million a season. Pujols has played with the Cardinals for 10 years and delivered seven playoff appearances, three trips to the World Series, and two rings. It makes a hell of a lot more sense for the Cardinals to hold on to their premier player then it does for the Mets to hold on to Reyes.

Now you may be saying that it isn’t fair to compare the two. I say that they are most definitely comparable. They are both going to command superstar salaries. Salaries that will effect the teams flexibility to upgrade other areas of the team for years to come. It is up to the Mets to walk away from the negotiation table and move on from Jose.

If Jose had a resume that was even HALF of Pujols’ I would re-think my stance, but it isn’t remotely close. I will never deny that Reyes is a fun player to watch but Mets fans need much more than a dancing bear. Mets fans need a winner and the numbers just don’t support a case for Reyes in that department.

Earlier I said that I would not suggest cutting Reyes loose without a plan. The plan is as such. Letting Reyes walk will net the Mets two solid draft picks. The value of those picks could change with a new CBA agreement but nonetheless the picks will most certainly put the Mets in slot where two serviceable prospects can be obtained.

Go into next season with all intentions of moving David Wright at the deadline. Wright has been a good soldier but his resume is the same as Reyes’. As a Mets fan, you love to hear Wright being quoted that he wants to be part of the solution but the bottom line is that the Mets are in a transitional phase. A transition that will not be complete until Wright is nearing the end of his prime.

With the way that Wright’s contract shakes out, the Mets will probably only be able to grab one decent prospect from a desperate team at the deadline. Similar to what they received for Carlos Beltran from the Giants.

So now you have just received three prospects for two underachieving athletes. Not so bad.

Next up is Johan Santana. If Johan comes back healthy and effective, believe me I understand that this is one giant IF, the Mets need to do whatever it takes to move him for a prospect or two. Yes, they will probably have to eat a large portion of his contract, but as was the case with Beltran the more money you eat the better prospect you will get in return.

Now we are up to four prospects for two underachieving athletes and one that has just had rotten luck since joining the team.

Team those four prospects with Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Matt Harvey, Wilmer Flores, Juan Lagares, and Jenrry Mejia. That is one impressive farm system. A farm system that can produce the type of players that will most certainly contend for a World Series in the near future. Plus, add in the draft pick they have this season as well as the one they’ll receive for what is most certain to be a trying 2012 season and the Mets are on their way.

I understand that most fans won’t agree with this approach and that’s fair but stop and ask yourself this question first: Do you honestly believe that holding on to Jose Reyes is the key to winning a championship?

For those of you that say yes, I beg you to try and remember the past eight seasons and come back to me then. For those of you that say no, I thank you for shedding the New York sports fan mentality and getting on board with the road to recovery. It may be a long road, but as Mets fans; do we know any other one?   

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Even just 17 games into the season, it is fairly clear that the Mets are in big trouble. The team is sitting at 5-12, already 5.5 games behind the Phillies. It is not as if the Phillies are even playing their best baseball of the season yet. They are still without Chase Utley.

The Mets have already jettisoned their Opening Day second baseman, and the team has placed Chris Young on the disabled list. It appears that Bobby Parnell may also need to be placed on the DL.

There is a lot that must be done for the Mets to be competitive this season,but it seems like that is not a possibility. It is very early, but the team may need to look towards the 2012 season. At just over a tenth into the season, it is not too early to begin to look to the future.

The first thing that the Mets need to do is allow for Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner to have a competition for the second-base spot for the rest of the year.  It may turn out that one of these two players is the Mets’ long-term solution at second base. Turner is once again having success in the minors as he is currently hitting about .300. Murphy has struggled a bit in the majors this year, but his defense looks improved.

It is important that Terry Collins actually gives both players time to try to prove themselves. The Mets made a mistake giving up on Brad Emaus so early. Emaus was only allowed to have 37 at-bats with the Mets. If Emaus had just three more hits in those at-bats, he would have been hitting .243 as opposed to .162, and he would still be on the Mets roster.

Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson need to make sure not to make this same mistake again and get rid of a player too early. They should allow for Murphy and Turner to get at least 120 at-bats a piece before they make any decisions.

The concept of trading Jose Reyes and even David Wright will be floated around a lot during this year. This cannot be done.

There is talk that Reyes is not valuable enough to the team right now because he struggles to post a high on-base percentage. Take a look at the Mets lineup right now. There are many holes offensively. If Reyes were moved, then who would replace him? It would likely be Ruben Tejada. He is outstanding defensively, but he is a black hole offensively. That is not something that the Mets can afford to have. The team should look to re-sign Jose Reyes this year because he is a valuable asset.

David Wright obviously has a massive amount of trade value and could bring the Mets back some outstanding prospects. The problem is that Wright is still young and is a top-five third baseman. It is incredibly difficult to justify trading him unless the Mets get an incredible return. He is part of the core with Jose Reyes and Ike Davis that Sandy Alderson should keep together for the next few years.

The Mets need to evaluate the assets that they have that could actually bring back value in a trade. These assets include Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets should look to move these players and bring back young major league-ready pitching prospects. The Mets rotation is currently one of their biggest weaknesses.

In addition to making these moves, the Mets should call up some of their younger players starting around early June and give them significant playing time in the majors this year if they have proven that they can hold their own in at least Double-A. If this year is lost, then the team should look forward to next year. Players tend to struggle a bit in their first season. By giving players that can help the team in 2012 some MLB experience, this will help prepare them for the 2012 season.

Players such as Jenrry Mejia, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Zach Lutz, Fernando Martinez (if healthy) and Josh Satin among others have the potential to play a role on the Mets roster in 2012. They should be given a chance to compete against major league competition if they have proven that they can handle the minors. If the Mets are still playing this poorly in June, the team has nothing to lose.

The season is still young, but if the first few weeks have been any indication, it will be another long year for the Mets. There was hope coming into the season, but it has quickly faded. Changes will need to be made this year, but it is just a matter of when. The team should look to prepare itself for 2012 and the future if its early struggles continue.

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Simply amazing. The MLB season is only about two weeks old, and some teams already have big holes to fill. The Philadelphia Phillies are doing quite well and are atop the National League Eastern Division with a 7-2 record, but still are without a top offensive presence in second baseman Chase Utley (pictured at left).

Similarly, the St. Louis Cardinals stumbled out of the starting gate and now own a 3-6 record. Most shocking, however, is the situation of the Tampa Bay Rays. After winning the American League Eastern Division crown in 2010, the team has gone just 2-8 and holds the major leagues’ worst team batting average at .163.

Sure enough, people are already talking about trades that these struggling squads could make to instantly improve the team and fill any holes. Naturally, it is only April 12 and to even think about making trades this early in the season is ridiculous. Yet, one month from now, it might not be a bad idea.

Here are trades that the Phillies and some other teams should consider if their key players don’t return soon or if their records do not improve.

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In my previous post, we took an in-depth look at the Mets everyday lineup. It is clear that if everyone remains healthy, the Mets could put up some pretty big numbers with the bat; however, the big question mark that remains with this baseball team is pitching.

Johan Santana will miss the first half of the year after season-ending shoulder surgery last September.

There were reports a few weeks ago that Santana would miss the entire 2011 season, but the lefty disputed those claims, stating that he is on pace to return to the Mets in June at the earliest.

If the Mets had Johan Santana healthy, this would be a pretty good looking rotation, but without him, everyone has to move up in the rotation, and in some cases, will have to match up against the aces of the world like Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Josh Johnson and Tim Lincecum.

It will be a very difficult assignment for the new Mets rotation in 2011, an assignment that many predict will fail badly.

Let’s meet the new rotation, and then take a look at the bullpen in part II of our 2011 Mets preview.

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