The Offseason Digest: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Redux

Earlier this season during an off day I broke down the Mets effort up to that point in terms of one of the best Spaghetti Westerns ever, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. So when I started to review this 83-79 team, I figure it could easily be set in those terms again.

The Good

1) Pedro Martinez
Could we have expected anything more from this kooky pitcher? Maybe a few more wins if the bullpen had held up its end of the bargain.

2) David Wright
Superstar. Sign him to a long term deal soon.

3) Jose Reyes
Kept getting better as the season went along, AND played 161 games. Getting some more walk and a better eye at the plate, and he’ll definitely live up to all the hype.

4) Cliff Floyd
So the offense was great, but seriously, give this guy a Gold Glove for his work in the field.

5) The catcher’s position
Name another catcher who gave their team 27 home runs and 103 RBI? Exactly. Mike Castro did a great job for us, and they were both pretty good at handling the pitching staff.

6) Tom Glavine’s second half
Oh yeah, that’s the guy who I hated as a Brave. Should have gotten 18 wins this year. Now I actually hope he makes it to the 300 mark.

7) Aaron Heilman/Juan Padilla
I see out bullpen combo for the next few years. Let’s hope Omar and Willie see it.

8) Jae Seo
If he hasn’t solidified a place in the rotation, I guess he needs to never give up any runs to do so.

9) Roberto Hernandez
Old man river, thank you for your efforts this season. Alas, I don’t think he’ll be able to do it again in 2006.

10) Mike Jacobs
Please, don’t be the second coming of Benny or Butch. Keep that sweet swing coming next season.

The Bad

1) Carlos Beltran
Here’s the only positive I see out of this season--there’s no way he could be this bad next year. Unless he’s the next George Foster. (Shudder)

2) The hole we call 2nd base
Goodbye Miguel. Goodbye Kaz. We won’t miss you.

3) The hole we call 1st base
Can’t anyone hit when they play at this position? (Well, we can excuse Mike Jacobs from this discussion)

4) Willie Randolph’s decision-making skills
Please, please, please: don’t keep sticking with “your guys” next year.

5) Kris Benson’s second half
Is this guy just a first half pitcher or what?

The Ugly

1) Braden Looper
Injury or no injury, he might have become more hated than Armando, which I didn’t think was possible.

2) Kaz Ishii/Victor Zambrano
Two mistakes--one by the new regime, one by the old regime. Both need to be put on one-way flights out of LaGuardia.

3) Danny Graves/Shingo Takatsu
There is a reason these guys were rejects. If I see either of them pitch in a Met uni ever again, I will personally go to Shea and kick Omar’s ass.

4) Gerald Williams/Jose Offerman
Why did these guys take up roster space?

5) The Carlos Beltran/Mike Cameron collision.
Ouch.

So there you go for 2005. I will stick with my prediction for 2006--94-69, with the wild card.

P.S.--Go Red Sox and Angels!