I know it’s early still — opening day remains about two weeks off — but hte news from Mets camp has me feeling more optimistic than I probably have a right to feel.
The rotation — incredibly suspect for a contending team — may just be rounding into shape. both John Maine and Mike Pelfrey have been impressive and Oliver Perez has thrown well since he opened the spring with a poor outinng. If all three prove to be ready and even moderately reliable, that would give the Mets enough starting pitching to counter the overrated Phillies rotation. And there remains a chance that Pedro will return, that Jason Vargas (who has Major League stuff) could become a player, etc.
As I’ve written before, the upside is there and it is a rather high upside at that. And it also put the lie to the notion that the Mets’ pitching is old. Consider a potential rotation in 2008 that includes Pelfrey, Maine, Philip Humber, Perez and Vargas — two lefties and a lot of potential. At the very least, there are lots of trade chips to be dangled for a proven arm.
As for Pelfrey and Maine, they are the story of the day from camp:
- NY Post: “Pel curve rising“
- NY Daily News: “Mets arms 2 of a kind“
- The Record: “Mets’ Pelfrey making strides with every appearance“
- The Star-Ledger: “Pelfrey impresses primarily with his secondary stuff” and “Maine not fazed by homer“
- Newsday: “Pelfrey hopes changes land him in bigs“
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Hank Kalet 