Welcome to the 20th of 30 "2008 Team Previews", where I'm - you guessed it! - offering up a little preview of the 2008 season for each of the teams. Nothing super fancy, (I'm not writing books here munecas), just a few notes on what major moves the teams made over the winter and a thought or two on their upcoming season. I'm running out of time since the season is underway, but I'll try to churn out these last few asap! I'm going in reverse order of 2007 standings, so next up is....
 New York Mets 2007 Record: .543 (88-74), 2nd place in NL East (sorry to remind you)
2006 Record: .599 (97-65), 1st place in NL East
Who’s Out: Paul Lo Duca (C), Lastings Milledge (OF), Guillermo Mota (P), Carlos Gomez (OF), Phil Humber (P)
Who’s In: Johan Santana (P), Ryan Church (OF), Brian Schneider (C), Angel Pagan (OF), Brady Clark (OF), Matt Wise (P)
Notes: Mets fans are praying to whatever deity suits them (Jesus, Allah, Hashem, Greg Graffin, etc.) in thanks for having Johan Santana fall in their lap. The prospect offers from the Red Sox and Yankees were better than the four eventually shipped from Flushing to the Twin Cities, but it seemed the two AL East teams were just as happy to see The Best Pitcher On the Planet in the National League. Out of sight, out of mind.
All the better for Mets fans, as they add Santana to a team that, collapse or not, was one game away from the playoffs last year. The front four of Santana, Pedro, Maine and Perez can match up with anyone in the league. As long as Wright, Reyes and Beltran can remain relatively healthy, expect the Mets to go back to the postseason in 2008. In a short series fall scenario, having Santana and Pedro back-to-back could create some great matchups with Peavy and Young, Webb and Haren, or Smoltz and Hudson. If the older Mets are healthy at that point, I'll give them the edge to win the pennant.
Next up: Detroit TigersPrevious Profile: Chicago Cubs
Labels: 2008 team previews, other teams |
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3rd place behind the Phils and Braves.