5 BOROUGH SPORTS

The Mets Must Take Advantage of Beltan's Value

The Mets must take advantage of the trade deadline. Their main priority: trade Carlos Beltran for a solid prospect. With the way Jose Reyes has played this season, the Mets would be stupid not to sign Reyes at the end of the season. Since Alderson won’t keep both players, Beltran must go. It appears that there are five teams in the Beltran sweepstakes: the Red Sox, Phillies, Giants, Braves, and Rangers. Every one of these teams have some good prospects that the Mets could be interested in. There have been rumors that the Phillies would be willing to give up their top prospect Dominic Brown for Beltran. Even though the Phillies are in the NL East, I believe the Mets would agree to this trade. Brown has a tremendous upside while Beltran is reaching the end of his prime. As for the Braves, there were some Mets scouts spotted at Turner Field watching left-handed pitcher Mike Minor. Minor would also be a great addition to the mediocre Mets staff, but I think the Mets can get more in this trade than just an unproven starter.

As I said prior to the season, the Mets are better than predicted. They currently stand at .500 and are in third place in the NL East. With all of the injuries this year (Wright, Reyes, Davis, Young, and more), they have still managed to salvage the season. Even though it’s highly unlikely that the Mets will make a playoff run, they can still finish with a respectable record. If the Beltran trade goes as planned for Alderson, Mets fans should feel optomistic about next year.

Brown Would be a Great Acquisition

Down goes one of my least favorite athletes of all-time! Even when I was five years old, I hated his guts. I still remember watching a Mets game during a hot summer day in 1995. During one of Everett’s at bats, my dad said to me, “This guy got in trouble for beating his children.” Not that good of a first impression of the dude.  Then, of course, Carl got traded to the Red Sox and started to rake. While with the Sox, he went on to show up one of my favorite pitchers of all-time, Ted Lilly. Everett was a switch hitter, but against the left-handed Lilly, he batted lefty. When asked why he batted left-handed he said, “I only bat righty against lefties who throw hard.” One year later, Everett broke up Mike Mussina’s perfect game with two outs in the 9th. After his base hit, he proceeded to stare down at Mussina and slowly nod his head. So when I found out this afternoon that Everett was arrested, was it wrong that I couldn’t help but smile?

Beltran and the Mets Must Stay Healthy If They Want to Have a Good Year

I’m not in New York right now, but I can’t imagine what the media is saying about the Mets this season. It must be a non-stop roast on the ESPN radio and the Fan. Do I think the Mets will make the playoffs? No. But I believe they will have a better record than last year. I actually believe the Mets have a chance of having a winning record. Their lineup may look weak, but it has tremendous potential. If Carlos Beltran stays healthy, he has a shot to be the Comeback Player of the Year. When Jose Reyes is on his game, he’s one of the best lead-off hitters. David Wright is one of the top hitters in baseball. Finally, Angel Pagan is one of the most underrated players in the league. So from a hitting standpoint, this team has tremendous potential.

Mets’ Starting Rotation:

1. Mike Pelfrey (15-9  3.66)

2. Jonathan Niese (9-10  4.20)

3. R.A. Dickey (11-9  2.84)

4. Chris Young (4-2  0.90)

5. Chris Capuano (4-4  3.95)

On paper, the Mets have one of the weakest rotations in baseball. With Johan Santana out for most of the season, there aren’t any true aces. This doesn’t mean this rotation can’t put together plenty of quality starts. Mike Pelfrey is a fantastic pitcher. Last season, with minimal run support, Pelfrey went 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA. He should give the Mets the same numbers this season. Jonathan Niese has tremendous stuff. He can locate his fastball at 93 mph and throws a good hard slider. If he stays healthy, he can give the Mets double-digit victories. R.A. Dickey was one of the biggest surprises in baseball last season. Having had a sub-par seasons with the Rangers and Mariners, Dickey rejuvenated his career with Mets in 2010. With a 2.84 ERA, Dickey has surpassed Tim Wakefield as baseball’s best knuckleball pitcher. Chris Young and Chris Capuano are two pitchers who have proved they can pitch in the big leagues. For the past three years, Young has had major injury problems and has only pitched 96 innings in the past two seasons. Capuano is a proven “back end of the rotation” guy. In 2005, he had a solid 18-12 season with 3.99 ERA in Milwaukee. But since then, he has flirted with a .500 record with an average ERA of 4.50.

R.A. Dickey: Baseball's Best Knuckleballer

My biggest concern with the Mets is their bullpen. With the exception of closer Francisco Rodriguez, I don’t trust any one in the pen. D. J. Carrasco and Bobby Purnell are their best options. Pedro Beato is one of their top prospects who can possibly be a big factor this season. Last night, Beato made his Major League debut and looked decent. The Mets desperately need K-Rod to return to his All-Star form from his days back in Anaheim. A solid closer will take a ton of pressure off the Mets’ questionable rotation.

The Mets MUST stay healthy if they want to have a respectable season. If any of their top hitters go down with an injury, they will most likely find themselves in the bottom of the NL East. With the Phillies and the Braves looking playoff-bound, the Mets will have many tough division games. Here at the Borough, we will keep close watch on the Mets this season.