Mets Off-Season

I am an absolutely huge Mets fan. An obsessive Mets fan is more like it. I have a baby shirt of the Mets 1986 world championship. My Dad was at the first Met game at Shea Stadium. It is in my blood.

Its been quite a run for the past few years. I keep saying each year and tragic loss that passes will make it that much sweeter. Hopefully I am right. I was at game 7 of the NLCS in 2006 when the Mets blew it to the Cardinals (the game with Endy's catch). I was at John Maine's near no-hitter in the second to last game of the season in 2007 (Glavine's stellar outing was the following game). I was at The Last Game at Shea this year, which despite the loss was a pretty cool experience. I'm going to miss Shea- a lot of great memories. I kind of grew up there. Seeing pictures of it dismantled is pretty crazy, but I can't wait for CitiTaxpayerField.

In fact, over Thanksgiving weekend my Dad, brother, and I bought tickets for opening day. My Dad can now say he was at first/last at Shea, and first at CitiField. Pretty cool.

So what the heck should the Mets do now that its the offseason? Here is my game plan:

Bullpen: Sign Wood or K-Rod to a 3 year deal. K-Rod is only 26. Its the length that worries me, so if we can get him for 3 years, I think its a no brainer. Fuentes makes me nervous- he's lost the closer job before. Sign some strong middle reliever arms- Juan Cruz, Joe Beimel, Brandon Lyon. I'd almost rather trade for a young, live arm than sign a free agent. Its all about power these days, and guys like that come out of nowhere sometimes (Grant Balfour on the Rays comes to mind).

Outfield: We have a great offense. We just need a solid middle of the order bat. I like Raul Ibanez, and given the surplus of outfielders this year, I think we can get him for a reasonable deal.

2nd Base: Castillo has to go. He promises he will be in better shape this year? He should have thought of that before he gave up on last season. Talk about a fat and happy free agent. Sign Orlando Hudson. Eat Castillo's contract.

Starters: We need to replace Ollie, and we need a #5. For the #5, sign the cheapest out of Garland, Byrd, or Wolf to push Niese. Someone always gets hurt- might as well have 6 guys to throw out there. As for the #2, I like Sheets and Lowe. To me, Burnett has no track record. Sheets has a track record- he's injury prone. But when he's healthy he's an ace- more so than Burnett. If I'm going to take a risk, it is Sheets. He is the kind of guy that can put you over the top. I like Lowe a lot for the Mets- great sinker, reliable. It is all about the contract though, and I have a feeling he is going to be too pricey.

Lineup: Reyes, Hudson, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Ibanez, Church, Schneider
Rotation: Santana, Sheets/Lowe, Maine, Pelfrey, Garland/Byrd/Wolf/Niese
Bullpen: K-Rod/Wood, Juan Cruz, Beimel/Lyon, Smith, Feliciano, Stokes

I like it. I can already taste the BBQ, taquitos, and shakes...uh, I mean hot dogs, beer, and peanuts (we will still be able to get that stuff right). CitiTaxpayerField, here I come!