10 Reasons the Mets Will Win the National League Pennant
The 2006 Major League Baseball Season is in its home stretch. Teams are still scratching and clawing their way up the standings to try and win the NL West, the NL Central, and the NL Wild Card. Meanwhile, in the East, the Mets have had a playoff spot tied for a long time now. However, just because you win your division easily doesn’t mean you’re going to win the Pennant, just ask the 2001 Seattle Mariners. So just in case you think the Mets could win the division easily and still lose the NL Pennant, let me help you realize it’s not going to happen. Here are 10 reasons the New York Mets will absolutely win the National League Pennant. Let’s start the top of the list with the top of the order.
1. Jose Reyes – Jose Reyes is one of the few guys in the Majors that have the ability to score every time he comes up to plate, except he might be the only one who isn’t a power hitter. Reyes can lay down a bunt, he can slap one through the hole, and he can line one up the middle, or hit one down the line. He can even hit a routine ground ball to an infielder and get on base before the fielder has a chance to throw him out. Next thing you know he’s on second base with a stolen base. After Lo Duca either hits or sacrifices Reyes to third you have Reyes on third with only one out and Beltran, Delgado and Wright up. There was one stretch of the season where Jose Reyes scored in 16 out of 17 games and scored 24 runs in all in that 17 game stretch.
2. Power – The middle order consisted of Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright is the most potent threesome in the National League. Beltran and Wright are both MVP Candidates this year, and Delgado isn’t that bad either. It also seems that no matter what, one of them is hot. Delgado provided a lot of power at the beginning of the season. As soon as he started struggling David Wright got really hot. Once David Wright cooled off Carlos Beltran took off.
3. Lineup – Is there a better constructed lineup in the Majors. You start with the best base stealer in baseball. You follow him up with Lo Duca who is great at making contact and sacrificing the runner over. Next you got one of the premiere five tool players in Carlos Beltran. Carlos Delgado’s power is after that with one of the biggest rising stars, David Wright, following him. When healthy another homerun threat, Cliff Floyd bats sixth. That’s not all though, look at what side they bat from. Reyes and Beltran are switch hitters; Delgado and Floyd are lefties, Wright and Lo Duca bat right handed. So their order goes switch, right, switch, left, right, left. It’s impossible for opposing teams to come up with favorable pitching matchups with that kind of balance in lefties and righties I the lineup.
4. Speed – We all know about Jose Reyes, but he’s not the only Met with speed. The New York Mets lead the Majors with 113 stolen bases and have 19 more steals than the next best team in the NL, the Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition to Reyes’s 48, Carlos Beltran has 14, David Wright has 14, Endy Chavez has 10 off the bench, Cliff Floyd has 6 despite his limited time due to injuries, and even 48 year old Julio Franco and 37 year old Jose Valentine have 5 each.
5. Starting Pitching – A lot of people will say the Mets starting pitching is a question mark. I disagree. What can be said about Pedro Martinez? Maybe his arm is getting old; I’d still take him to win one big game over any pitcher in baseball. Tom Glavine has had an incredible resurgence. The number three pitcher Steve Trachsel never pitches great, but he never pitches awful either. Orlando Hernandez maybe not be awesome in the regular season, but his 9 – 3 record and 2.55 ERA for his career in the playoffs and his four championship rings are proof he’s great in the postseason. Now the Mets have even found their fifth starter in John Maine. In his last three starts John Maine hasn’t given up a run, a scoreless inning streak of seventeen. He only has a 2 – 3 record to show for it so far, but he boasts a 2.08 ERA.
6. Bench – Once you get to the postseason you need bench players. Ask the Atlanta Braves how important a pinch hit can be, or the Red Sox how important a pinch run can be. A defensive replacement is always important too. They have all three in Endy Chavez, who has blazing speed on the bases and in the field and has a .302 batting average this season. Chris Woodward is capable of pinch hitting and being a defensive replacement. The old man Julio Franco is still getting it done too, hitting .292 off the bench.
7. 1st inning – So far this season the Mets have scored in the first inning 45 times. But they don’t just score one run in the first inning, they score runs in bunches in the first inning. For the season, the Mets have scored 139 runs in the first inning alone. When you get that kind of run support in the first inning alone your pitchers are going to be a lot less under pressure.
8. One run games – At 26 – 11, seventy percent, the Mets have the best record in the Majors in one run games. This obviously is important in the playoffs when so much is on the line with just a single run.
9. Middle Relief – This category would be a lot stronger if Duaner Sanchez wouldn’t have gone down with an injury but the Mets still have plenty in the middle of the bullpen, an area most teams are lacking. Darren Oliver has a 2.09 ERA and a 4 – 1 record this year. Feliciano boasts a 2.22 ERA and 4 – 2 record. Heath Bell and Chad Bradford also have ERAs in the low 3s. Throw in one of the most sought after pitchers at the trade deadline Aaron Heilman, and a young up and comer Royce Ring and the Mets shouldn’t have any worries in the middle innings.
10. Closer – We starter with the leadoff hitter, so it’s only fitting we close with the closer. There have been a few bumps in the road for Wagner, although some of those cases were questionable manager decisions, but he has still be the same stud closer as always. Wagner has posted a 2.53 ERA and is fourth in saves with twenty six. He’s gotten accustomed to playing in New York, and before that
Philadelphia
, so you don’t have to question whether he can get it done in pressure situations.
So there you have it, your 2006 National League Champions, the New York Mets.
