Your Top Five Concerns (Split from Carlos Delgado)

[Gwreck]

TransMonk wrote: I think his numbers will improve slightly this year. Delgado's production is not in my top 5 lists of concerns for 2008. (Although, it's probably number 6)

What *are* your top 5 concerns?

Mine:
1. Delgado - can he produce offensively?
2. Sanchez - can we get 75, 85 percent of what he gave us in '06?
3. Pedro - how many starts will he get?
4. Alou - will he stay healthy enough for 400 ABs?
5. El Duque - will be be healthy enough for 25 starts?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

1. Delgado's O
2. Castillo's O
3. Schneider's O
4. Reyes' O
5. Alou's health

[metirish]

1) - Team getting of to a bad start,

2) Alou's health

3) Right Field

4) Oliver Perez and his contract year,how will all that affect him.

5) Pedro's health.

[smg58]

top 5 concerns

1. can we get enough innings from our starters
2. do we have enough depth in the pen, especially if the answer to 1 is no
3. how many quality starts does Pedro have left
4. can Schneider give us anything on offense, or enough quality on defense or calling the games to make up for it
5. is our bench too lefthanded and lacking in power

I think Delgado will be better this year. Maybe not as good as 2006, but I expect improvement. I'll worry about next year next year. It would be hard to pick up his option while an opportunity to pick up Teixeira still exists, even if Delgado plays well.

[TransMonk]

1. Can we get 25+ starts from Pedro?
2. Can we get 25+ starts from El Duque?
3. If 1 and/or 2 are answered no, can Mike Pelfrey make up those starts with quality outings on a consistent basis?
4. Can Alou stay healthy enough to get 400+ ABs?
5. Can Sanchez solidify the bullpen and bring it back to early '06 form?

[nymr83]

1. Can we get about 145+ starts from our six main starters? (Santana, Martinez, Maine, Perez, el duque, and Pelfrey)
2. Can we get enough production out of Church, Castillo, and Schneider to not bog us down too much?
3. Can the bullpen look more like '06 than '07?
4. Can Alou and/or Delgado have a good year? (or a decent year out of both of them)
5. Can we get the necessary hitting off the bench, especially considering that Schneider needs to be hit for in alot of late situations (and will willie realize this and do it?)

[Guest AG/DC]

We're using different rules as to how broad a concern equals a single concern. Namor's first three concerns could equal fifteen, not to single him out.

1) I am concerned Castillo will flail and fail and have little avail. (How long was he signed for?)
2) I am concerned (somebody) Easley, Anderson, Hernandez, and/or Valentin will be pressed into business and overexposed when Castillo's failure becomes utter. The lineup will come a cropper by this also.
3) I am concerned Alou will act his age.
4) I am concerned we'lll need Martinez this year.
5) Sure, why not? Old rotation age plus shallow depth equals rotation concern.

[Fman99]

1. Alou staying on the field
2. Duaner
3. Castillo's bat
4. El Duque/Pelfrey/5th starter contribution
5. Ryan Church against lefties

[Guest mario25]

1) Can the young starters Maine and Perez have another great year
2) Alou and Delgado
3) Leadership
4) Heilman-Wagner
5) Can they handle the pressure of blowing 2007???

[Gwreck]

Nymr83 wrote: especially considering that Schneider needs to be hit for in alot of late situations (and will willie realize this and do it?)

Survey says no chance will Willie do that. Castro will be the last man off the bench, always. It will drive me crazy, always.

="AG/DC"]1) I am concerned Castillo will flail and fail and have little avail. (How long was he signed for?)

4 years.

[HahnSolo]

1) Will we see the 2006 Duaner Sanchez?
2) Will Pedro give us a full season?
3) Will Delgado not suck for the bulk of the season?
4) Will the world's oldest living 32-year-old, Luis Castillo, do anything to justify his 4 year contract?
5) Does Billy Wagner have enough left in the tank to close out important games in August, September, and (hopefully) October?

[Guest AG/DC]

] ="AG/DC"]1) I am concerned Castillo will flail and fail and have little avail. (How long was he signed for?) 4 years.

I was joking. As in "How long? Did I hear you right?"

The Mets were shy about going four years on him four years ago.

[metsmarathon]

1) will we need to get 10 quality starts out of pelfrey?
2) will met fans develop a kinship with pirate fans over oliver perez's maddening penchant for inconsistency
3) how much will endy chavez get over exposed this year?
4) will either brian schneider or ramon castro command the majority of the playing time at catcher?
5) will we soon think of luis castillo only that "at least he helped us get johan...'"?

[Benjamin Grimm]

1. Delgado
2. Church
3. Pedro
4. bullpen
5. Reyes

[Farmer Ted]

A somewhat non-human factor.

With this looming beyond the left field wall...

http://www.stadiumpage.com/newmets/Citi_012908.jpg

...will the ball launch farther? If so, for or against us?

[Frayed Knot]

- Whether my new jeans make my butt look too big

- That Hillary will rally from her deficit and we'll have to hear about 'The Comeback Kid II' for the next year

- The outcome of that all-important Supporting Actress award

- Am I using the correct brand of fabric softener?

- That Brittany is hooking up with the wrong guy again






... or did y'all just mean NY Met concerns?

[Guest attgig]

1. Outfield platoons: church platoon, and Moises (forced) platoon (forced because he's not playing the whole season). can the platoon guys give enough offense to complement.

2. Catching: Schneider adjusting to NY - handling pitchers well, and castro providing same defensive quality that Schneider brings on his days off.

3. Castillo: big contract. bad legs. really? can he be a threat in the 2 hole?

4. Delgado: bounce back or goner?

5. Managing: Willie not making stupid moves and 3rd base coach stopping runners correctly

[TransMonk]

Why do some peeps have Ryan Church/RF as a concern?

Granted, I don't know a huge amount about him, but IIRC, his 2007 OPS+ numbers were better than the Milledge, Green, Nady, etc. that we've had lately. I know there is a difference in his L/R splits, but the difference was there for our former RFs as well. If he stays healthy, I think he's a slight improvement over what we have had.

[Benjamin Grimm]

My concern is that he may not give us the production a contending team should get from a starting corner outfielder.

[TransMonk]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: My concern is that he may not give us the production a contending team should get from a starting corner outfielder.

I hear that arguement a lot, but don't you have to weigh that concern somewhat with the fact that we have one of the best offensive CFs in the game and that most teams don't have the pop in center. Because our centerfielder hits like a rightfielder, can't we have a rightfielder that hits like a centerfielder?

[Benjamin Grimm]

TransMonk wrote: Because our centerfielder hits like a rightfielder, can't we have a rightfielder that hits like a centerfielder?

We might be able to get away with that. But if Church is no better than Green was last year, then we're not seeing the improvement I'd like to see. The Mets won what, 88 games last year? It wasn't enough to win the division. Getting some real production from the corner outfield spots can help make 2008 better than 2007 was.

[Guest holychicken]

1) Will starting pitching give us enough inning so our BP doesn't collapse at the end of the year. . .again.
2) When Reyes stuck his head up his ass the second half of last year, was that a permanent condition?
3) Delgado's O.
4) Pedro's health/contribution.
5) The last 17 games.

[Guest Triple Dee]

1. Willie managing "on a hunch" -- one of the most unforgivable statistics from last season was the fact Schoeneweis faced more RHBs (OPP SLG .429) than LHBs (OPP SLG .292). I'm mean, how do you justify that?

2. Billy Wagner -- he was basically batting tee practice towards the latter half of 2007. At best, he has durability issues which may impact on a possible play-off run, or at worst, it's a sign of permanent decline.

3. Luis Castillo -- for Castillo to be meaningful contributor to this team he needs to put up a .370 or greater OBA and provide above-average defense. I have grave reservations whether his knees will allow him to do either, for the entire season.

4. Alou's health (and likely offensive replacements) -- This Mets line-up really cannot endure 300ABs of Endy, Angel Pagan or Ben Johnson.

5. Church's left problem -- slugging .339 against lefties is not good!