The John Delcos New York Mets Report Featuring Mets' commentary, analysis and news.

Good morning and Happy Easter to everyone. It’s a gorgeous day. The Mets have returned home after a so-so spring.

It’s always fun looking at the standings before Opening Day. Zeroes across the board. Everybody is even. That’s in theory, at least.

We do know that some teams are more even than others, and the Mets are not one of them.

They still have the same pitching questions as at the start of spring training, and Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes will begin the season on the disabled list. So will Daniel Murphy and Kelvim Escobar.

Looking at tomorrow’s projected line-up, and only two players – David Wright and Luis Castillo – were starters last year on Opening Day. Not a good sign.

Opening Day is a time for optimism and hope, but with these Mets it could be hoping they don’t stink that badly. You want to be positive, but it is hard when you see that rotation.

So, am I overstating things? What’s your confidence level in this team? Do they make the playoffs? Are they competitive? Will they even finish .500?

Posted under Mets Commentary

Of course it is early in spring training, but one has to like the initial attitude coming from the team’s leaders, that being David Wright and Johan Santana. On the day after Wright said the team’s goal is to win the World Series, Santana echoed that sentiment.

SANTANA: Liking his attitude.

Ok, maybe they don’t see the criticism, or maybe they are ignoring it, but either way winning begins with attitude.

Part of Santana’s attitude is coming from the fact he said he arm feels good and he has full extension. Quite honestly, it’s all about pitching and that starts with him.

Posted under Commentary/2010, Mets Commentary

I read this morning the Chicago Cubs would be the test team for when the Yankees open their new stadium. My first thought? Boring. Who cares about the Cubs? The only allure with that team is its creaky stadium and a century of losing.

Ego is probably the reason it won’t happen, but why not a weekend series between the Mets and Yankees to open each other’s parks?

It’s so simple, so fundamental. How about back-to-back day-night doubleheaders? That way each team gets to test their new home under the lights.

Here’s a unifying opportunity for the city and its teams, and we get the Cubs. This could have been so easy and so much fun, but they blew it.

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09