3/12/12

Mack and Company - ST Progress




Mack:  So, spring training has sprung and there really isn't anything coming out of camp to excite me. The Santana progress is offset with the Pelfrey non-progress, I see very little pop, questionable defense being played by players out of position, and a lot of nothing coming off the bench.

Am I being premature here, just wrong as shit, or what?





Michael Scannell


Being that we're fans of the Mets and pessimism is what we have come to know, it's difficult to feel positive about anything.  However, I'm looking at this as the first year of a new era, a real building year.  Last year was a purgatory of sorts while we could do nothing but wait.  I'm excited to see how Duda and Niese (who has looked great so far) progress.  I'm looking forward to a full year from Ike Davis.  I really like that one of my guys (Nieuwenhuis) is getting attention and is being looked at as a possible solution this early in his career.  Harvey has been strong (even if he has been jittery) and early reports on Wheeler are good too.  The best news so far is Santana's return.


ST is too early to write off anything...maybe it's easier for me as I've written off this year for playoff contention, I'm worried about individual performances from key players that can be carried forward.


On another note, as I fan I feel like I 'have my team back' in a sense as I see the Mets wearing their traditional colors.  It's a small point to most, but I was never a fan of the black uniforms or the black shading on the other uniforms.  I feel like I'm rooting for a professional team again and not some gimmicky local softball team






Michael Freire



I have been guilty of assigning "expectations" to the Mets' teams in the past, before the season began.   In doing so, I found that I usually ended up disappointed, since my expectations were usually unrealistic, based upon what I wanted as a fan.


In a previous article, I mentioned that I am no longer going to have any expectations before the season gets underway.   Sure, I would love to see the Mets win and win consistently.   I actually think we are on the right track with our new administration and a new dedication to building from within, etc.


However, I am just going to "enjoy the show" this year.   The odds are that the Mets will be mediocre, since they are still in transition and the entire NL East has gotten better, at least on paper.   But, they could be much worse or much better.  If I keep an open mind, then I will enjoy watching them develop and I will not feel the urge to break the remote control or to get angry at them for not meeting unrealistic expectations.     That's the plan anyway, so we will see how it works.


More to the point of the question, I think it is still really early in Spring Training.    At this stage, you just hope everyone stays healthy and that they get into "baseball" shape at a controlled pace.   I am encouraged by Santana's early progress and I hope that continues.    It is also pretty cool to see some of the young players contribute and get some confidence, before they head back to the minor league side of the complex.    But drawing conclusions this early may lead to unrealistic expectations! 



Ed Marcus


I personally think you are wrong Mack. I think the possible success (fingers crossed) of Johan's comeback after a year and a half removed from shoulder surgery is generating just enough buzz to make temporarily forget about the possible dire season that awaits us. As for Pelf - I think you are totally jumping the gun. It was his first spring training start of the season and he was told not to use his four seam fastball - just to concentrate on his sinking fastball. I will be more concerned if he is still pitching like this by the time the team breaks camp in late March.

Conrad Youngren


Well, as my son said to me yesterday (after Valdespin managed to give the Marlin’s catcher 2 PO's on the same play), "At least they're not peaking too soon."

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