Season 28 Mets

The fans were amazed we stole the show so easily in the East last season then went all the way to the NLCS. This season we want it all and know we will need to beat the Cubs in the end, but first we gotta stop our division rivals. From a management standpoint it has been a trying season already. Having to replace Omar Ordonez, Miguel Otanez, and Bob Olson should have been an easy task. Actually it wasn't all that hard, just took a lot of time finding the right player needed then wondering if they were ever gonna sign.

I can never figure out who is gonna be a Type B sometimes, I figured Ordonez would be a B, but no, Benito Ozuna was and he wasn't even good enough to be on my ML roster for the most part, not even as a backup. Otanez was an accident being on the team in the first place, in my opinion he hit well  but played a pretty bad 3B while he was the starter. Olson I thought would make a good 5th starter or solidify the pen, he did neither. Otanez is in Philly while Olson takes his dog show to Little Rock and Ordonez is hoping someone picks him up for mere pennies on the dollar.

Pepper Murton was run out of New York because he couldn't stop the stealing show other teams were putting on against us. Other than that he was a fine catcher and now makes his home in Toronto.

 Clarence Valentin also became a casualty when he showed up for Spring Training  barely walking because of arthritis in both knees, just a year removed from winning the GG at 2B. Spent most of the year in AAA but we were kind enough to let him finish his career with us at the ML level.

So meet the ML Mets for Season 28

Hitting Coach - Hector Levrault returns for his 5th season.
First Base -  Billy Kaufman is lucky to have a job.
Third Base - Phil Hitchcock returns for his 9th season, may retire afterwards.
Pitching - Livan Macias quickly took the job when the Kid wanted more money(?).
Pen - Dan Melton decided it was the right job after no other offers came his way and returns for his 2nd season.
Bench - Jerry Dawkins returns for his 2nd year.
Fielding - Jason Reynolds returns for his 5th straight season and 8th total.


Projected Starters:
C - Rich Kennedy and  Felipe Izquierdo, they may not hit very well but they stop the stealing show and handle the pitchers quite nicely.
1B - Leo Rodney starts his 7th season.
2B - John McInerney starts his 12th full season.
3B - Brutus Mora  was our pick to play the "Hot Corner", he was very hesitant as he wanted to play SS somewhere.
SS - Ronn Penny starts his 3rd full season.
LF - Ronny Gant is starting his 2nd season in New York and loves it here.
CF - Felipe Peralta starts his 2nd full season here.
RF - Marc Redman starts his 5th full season.

Bench:
CF/2B/SS/3B - Carl Browning has had a rough time sticking at the ML level but we like him a lot because he is a Jack-of-all-Trades.
CF/2B/SS/3B - Jimmie Valentin is also a Jack-of-all-Trades but hasn't had much of a chance to prove himself as of yet.
COF/1B - Osvaldo Reynoso made a hit with management at his try-out day that coaches are being pushed to make him a starter somehow.

Pitching:

Starters:
Harry Rodriguez surprises everyone that he is the #1 starter, pitches very very well but usually gets shafted.
Fausto Castillo only Met starter with a winning record last year.
Rich Faulk was kind of disappointing in our eyes last year but didn't pitch badly.
Dean Boone had a rough start and was released to the pen until he got it together, was the best starter after All-Star break.
Ubaldo Rijo is nicknamed the "Big Dynamo". Most teams snicker when he pitches but find him tough as nails.

Pen:
Benny Calero has been a clutch pitcher since coming to the Mets.
Ted Maxwell has had his ups and downs. Last year started out as a joke on us I think.
Brian Grim surprised everyone with his capabilities.
Trace Kennedy gets the job done somehow.
Bobby Forbes and William Galloway are trouble makers for the most part and may find themselves back in AAA if there not careful.
George Atkins returns to his old stomping grounds to maybe finish his career. We are not sure if he is to be in the pen or the 5th starter as of yet.
Sherm Brock fell into the Closers role last year when Maxwell failed. Finished with 23 Saves in 24 Chances, just don't ask how many chances he failed to finish..lol

The pressure is on these guys to perform well as we hired some thugs just in case this year. As Al Limon and Dusty Ingram were hired for instant breakdown support.