The 2012 Mets team is so devoid of any expectation that it’s almost a lock that we’ll be pleasantly surprised.
The way things have gone, it’s easy to forget that the Mets actually have a lot of talent on the roster.
With Ike Davis, David Wright and Daniel Murphy leading the way, the Mets offense should do pretty well. Lucas Duda looks like a real good player. Josh Thole and Ruben Tejada haven’t lit anything on fire, but they’re both still pretty young and have some value.
The Mets redid the bullpen with some talented and reliable arms. They’ve got some guys returning that did a good job, and should be much improved there.
The starting pitching is obviously where one sees the biggest holes, but it’s probably not quite that dire. Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee will probably never be stars, but they both have shown they can be inning eaters or pitch that occasional gem. Jon Niese has dealt with some injuries, but he’s a high strikeout guy still learning and growing. R.A. Dickey is a very good pitcher and has proved he’s no one-hit wonder. The big question mark is obviously Johan Santana and if he’ll experience any setbacks or injuries during the year.
There’s more talent on this team than people seem to be talking about right now. Some of it may it may be suspect, and some may end up injured, but it’s unlikely it all will and it’s also possible some of the younger players take unforeseen strides forward. They may not win 95 games, but they’re not the 60-70 wins, lock for last place team that they’re being portrayed as. Sometimes you have to push aside some of the doom and gloom and take a closer look.
