2008 Mets Retrospective (Where It Went Wrong/Right)

The Mets failed to win on the last day of the season for the second consecutive year. While last year's debacle really got me upset, it wasn't all that shocking this year. I knew they had blown their chance when they were up 5-1 against the resting Cubs (who I'm now rooting for... them or the Dodgers anyway) and they failed to score in the 9th with a man on third and no outs. That was inexcusable and they deserved not to make the playoffs. So here we are in late September, now in the Mets offseason.

A few things I learned about the Mets this year:

1) They're not a come-from-behind team.

This was definitely one of the biggest problems the Mets had this year. Down three runs? Only came back to win twice the entire year, one of them happening during that Cubs series last week. Down four runs or more? Never won a game this year down that many runs. By contrast, they blew eight games in which they led by four runs or more. Again, that is simply inexcusable for any team. Two of those losses? The game they led against the Phillies 7-1 and the Cubs game I mentioned earlier. Both losses were brutal, and neither should have been allowed to happen. What does this say about them? The offense we have now isn't set up to come from behind because...

2) The offense is inconsistent.

If there was any consistency with the offense, it was this- score early and get the offensive limp dick late. The Mets were first in the league in run differential during the first three innings. Conversely, they were dead last in run differential in the last three innings. The offense was far too reliant on Jose Reyes and it really showed in their record. As Reyes went, so did the Mets. Reyes hit only .243 in September and the Mets really struggled to score when he wasn't on base. For example, this series we just lost against Florida he went 1 for 12 the entire series and the Mets only scored a total of five runs in three games. He shouldn't be blamed entirely, but you can see what happens when an offense relies on one person to jump start them.

Another problem with the offense was how big of a drop it is from the top of the lineup to the bottom. I will contend with anyone that on paper we should have the best top of the lineup in the entire league. Once you get to the 6, 7, 8 hitters, however, it was such a dropoff that it was a bit staggering. If Ryan Church returns to his pre-concussion self next year (I suspect he will), the Mets will have a very potent lineup all the way to 7. Luis Castillo was absolutely dreadful offensively, Church really struggled down the stretch and our catchers were offensively challenged. Some people will contend that Brian Schneider is a defensive catcher, but going three months without a homerun is troubling and his defense was not nearly as good as advertised and Ramon Castro had his moments but they were few and far.

Another potential problem next year might be the age of our bench players. Tatis, Easley, Anderson, Alou are old and each was plagued with injuries at one point or another in the season. Tatis and Easley have one thing in common, however, in that they were both great in clutch situations this year. Which brings me to my next point...

3) David Wright is not clutch.

I can only remember a few times this year that Wright did something good in a clutch spot. The last week or so really showed me how bad he failed in the late innings. There's been many instances where I recall seeing Wright strike out in the 9th during a close game or hitting into double plays that absolutely killed any type of rally when we were down big. I'm not saying I don't want Wright on my team because that would be stupid, but it is a bit telling and troubling that Lou Piniella decided to pitch to him, the team's RBI leader, instead of Beltran and Delgado when we had no outs and a runner on third in the 9th against the Cubs. Wright struck out, Beltran and Delgado get intentionally walked and the bottom of the lineup fails to score the runner on third. Expect Wright's failures to become quite noticeable if the Mets have yet another collapse next year. And while it's easy to blame the offense as I have, it's even easier (and correct) to place the blame for this year's collapse on...

4) One of the worst bullpen's of all time.

Easily the biggest problem for the Mets was the bullpen. They had the most blown saves after the All Star break and watching each game meant shitting your pants in fear being on the edge of your seat until the last out. I honestly cannot remember more than two times the last two months where the Mets had three quick outs in the late innings. It was staggering how bad they were at getting outs. Heilman in particular was just awful all season, always coming within a strike of getting out of the inning and then giving up 2+ runs. It was absolutely infuriating watching them get lit up on a nightly basis. They single handedly cost Johan Santana the Cy Young, blowing 7-8 games in which he left with the lead (No, really, I'm not exaggerating). Seriously, Santana should have won at least 20-22 games this year and he'd be the no-brainer choice for the Cy Young. And just when it seemed like they turned the corner, the bullpen would give us an ugly loss that would leave most teams deflated for the next game as well... which brings me to the positive things I saw this year from the Mets.

5) Jerry's our man.

All signs point to Jerry Manuel coming back next year, which I believe is the right choice. He is the perfect manager for this team; calm but fierce, optimistic but realistic. He managed this team as well as anyone could have given the circumstances, and he did what he could with that shitty bullpen. What I really love about him is that he refuses to let his players get down on themselves after a really tough loss. There were many times that the Mets would lose a heartbreaker, only to come back the next day and win. I guarantee the Mets would have won if there was a game played tomorrow.

6) The young players were great.

Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans were very pleasant surprises and I'm sure both will be back next year. Niese has some very nasty stuff but asking him to start his major league career during the playoff run was a questionable call. Hopefully the young players don't get cocky and continue to work hard.

7) Our starting pitching can be the best in the league.

If there's one person who impressed me more than the rookies, it was definitely Mike Pelfrey. The difference between Pelfrey at the start of the year and Pelfrey at the end was incredible. He definitely has the stuff to be an ace for the Mets (or any team for that matter). Similarly, Oliver Perez seems to be reaching his potential and he's been DEATH vs above .500 teams. The only thing that worries me about him is his lack of concentration against the mediocre teams. Hopefully John Maine returns healthy next year as a starter or even a reliever. I think Pedro's pitched his last game for the Mets, but I think Niese will be able to develop next year and be a great pitcher in a few years. And finally, Santana was MONEY this year, he did everything that was expected of him. He's the ace we sorely needed last year and you know you'll be in a ballgame with him on the mound. Yesterday's performance against the Marlins was one of the greatest pitching performances I've ever seen. A rotation of Santana, Pelfrey, Perez, Maine, and whoever is the 5th starter gives us a great chance almost every night, and that's all you can really ask for.

I'll write about what the Mets should do in the offseason tomorrow or something.