Mets preview

As of now, the Mets season is four days away from kicking off. After being the best team in the National League last year and falling short of our destiny (a title), you would think this is our time. Well, it's not going to be easy. The team's performance in spring training has been abysmal, going 10-21. We have question marks and they're going to be answered one way or another. I may be very happy or I may be very sad. I can see a pennant and I can see a third place finish.

I'll boil this down to what I think are the 5 key questions that will affect this season.

1) Can Moises Alou and Shawn Green drive baserunners in? Both these guys are so old they could be my grandfather. Can they stay in the lineup? And if they can, will they be productive. The top of the lineup is incredible with Jose Reyes, Paul LoDuca, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and David Wright. Those two guys need to hit well though.

2) Is Oliver Perez ready to step up and become a consistent starter? This guy has so much upside yet is wildly inconsistent. He's a hard-throwing lefty who is either great or horrible when he pitches. If he can harness his stuff and become dependable, that will be a huge boost. And he'd better be; I have him on my fantasy team.

3) The bullpen. Ours was amazing last year. But Chad Bradford and Darren Oliver left. Eighth inning setup man Duaner Sanchez is out till August. We have four good guys in Billy Wagner, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, and Scott Schoeneweis. Joe Smith is a young sidearm pitcher with very little experience, but he's been getting people out. Chan Ho Park terrifies me. One of the biggest overpaid busts in recent baseball memory has been converted to a reliever. I cannot imagine this working out. If Ambiorix Burgos can harness his stuff, he could be a weapon. He looked great today against the Braves, but that's been the exception, rather than the rule.

You know if I ever have a son, maybe I'll name him Ambiorix. Ambiorix Bartolo.

4) The division. We won last year in a runaway. Philly and Atlanta are substantially better. It will be a fight to the finish. Do we still have their number?

5) The trade market. We have the resources to make a trade and we have some good young players in the minors. If we need to add another piece to the puzzle, who will we add, and more than that, what will it cost to get him?

Maybe Carlos Zambrano is on the horizon...