How Good Will the NY Mets Lineup Be in 2006?
Batting Leadoff is speedster Jose Reyes. Reyes has had some health issues with his legs but last year he was finally healthy. He stole 60 bases to lead the league. He is a good hitter and has a promising future ahead of him. My only problem is that he is an impatient hitter and doesn’t draw walks in a leadoff spot where men are supposed to get on base. However, when he is on base he makes things happen with his speed and quickness.
Batting second will probably be Carlos Beltran. He did see some time at the #2 spot in the lineup and his speed makes him an ideal candidate for the #2 hole. Last year he struggled mightely. He didn’t hit many homers, nor did he stea, many bases. His averagev was near .260 and he had a bad year. This year I think fans will see dramatic improvement. Whle Beltran has never hit for average. His homers, RBIs and Runs scored should all increase as he gets used to and feels comfortable in NY in his second season. He will justify the big contract the Mets gave him.
Batting 3rd will probably be Carlos Delgado. Delgado came over from Florida in a trade and is a fearsome hitter. As a left handed hitter he will have success hitting in a pitchers park in Shea Stadium. He has always scored more than 100 RBIs and hits 30+ homers and .300 plus average. He will be a good addition to their lineup.
Batting fourth will be Floyd. Floyd showed signs of life last year and had a pretty good season. He has speed and can hit homers and drive in runs.
Batting fifth will be David Wright. Wright is one of the best young hitters in the game. He posted near 30 homers last year, over 100 RBI’s and 100 runs scored last year. With more experience he will only get better. I expect him to be up MVP type numbers this year in a great hitting lineup.
Next is catcher and newly acquired Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca is among the elites in catchers and is an excellent replacement for Mike Piazza whose skills and injuries have hurt the Mets the past couple of years. Plus Piazza’s salary was too much for the Mets to hang onto. Lo Duca doesn’t hit many homers but he hits for average, gets on base, can driv in runs and is very good in the field.
Batting 7th is also the newly acquired Xaviar Nady. This trade in which he was acquired for Mike Cameron was really puzzling to me. Cameron had speed and power but hit a low average. Nady isn’t really much of a hitter and is definitely a worse hitter than Cameron. The only explanation I see is that they freed up money to sign other players like Delgado.
Batting 8th is the second baseman Katsui. He has been a disaster at 2nd base. He has made errors in te field and has a lot of difficulty hitting. He is getting paid way too much to start for them at 2nd. I really like their decision to sign Bret Boone, a once All Star second baseman to a minor league contract. His contract is really cheap and could potentially pay big dividends for the Mets.
Batting 9th is the pitchers spot which in most games is an out for the Mets and for most other National League Teams.
Overall, I like the Mets Lineup. It has alot of speed at the top with Reyes, Beltran and Wright. It has power with Delgado, Beltran and Wright. It has average with these hitters as well and only the bottom third of thier lineup is weak.
I think this is the year they finalyl win their division.
