Forget all the lamenting about who isn’t around any longer but what I liked most about this article is what Mets third sacker David Wright said;

“It’s going to be a huge challenge,” Wright said. “And I think we understand that everyone in our division got better. We have to do the little things right. We’re not going to be able to outslug teams or outpitch these teams with a lot of number one starters. … A lot of these teams, we’re not going to be able to match them pitching-wise or run-for-run, but I think we can outwork or out-prepare them.”

David is exactly right. It will be a “huge challenge” as it is for the other 29 teams who are supposed to be competing to see who holds up the Commissioners Trophy at the end of the season.

Unfortunately for the Mets their challenge is a bit different then their NL East counterparts.

Doing the little things right is something the Mets haven’t done a very good job of these last few seasons.

One of those little things the Mets could use some work on would be picking up the ball…. In 2011 the Mets were one of the worst defensive teams in all of baseball and with the question marks surrounding the pitching staff defense would and should be a little thing the Mets spend a TON of time working on this spring.

Another little thing the Mets could use some work on would be stolen bases. In 2011 the Mets had 133 stolen bases with Angel Pagan and Jose Reyes accounting for over half of them. Now that Pagan and Reyes are no longer on the club the responsibility falls on newly acquired center fielder Andres Torres.

Why are stolen bases a “little thing” the Mets could use some work on? For starters the Mets led the National League in fly balls. They also finished near the bottom of the National League in grounded into double plays. Getting runners in scoring position will be crucial if the Mets are to succeed in 2012.

Those are just a couple of little things I think the Mets should be working on and if they do clean up these areas then that ‘huge challenge” doesn’t seem so huge.

Why even bother heading down to Port Saint Lucie, boys. Stay home and rest up until the Mets are able to spend the type of money that would keep Greece afloat for another month or two.

Is Morosi kidding or what?

I like what Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson had to say….

“It’s a perception,” Alderson acknowledged Sunday. “But I don’t think anybody in the division could add any more talent to their roster than we can. We’re talking about adding Johan Santana. We’re talking about adding Ike Davis. Daniel Murphy was the fifth-leading hitter in the league when he went out with his injury. David Wrightmissed two months. [All are expected to be full participants in spring training.] We’ve substantially improved our bullpen.

“So, did we add talent? I think we did, the fact that we didn’t sign someone for $100 million notwithstanding. … It’s an uphill battle getting that message across.”

I have to believe that Sandy is correct here.

Ike Davis was seemingly headed towards an All-Star type season prior to spending the majority of the 2011 on the disabled list. From everything I’ve heard Davis is chomping at the bit to prove his rookie season wasn’t a fluke and hopefully 2012 will be a healthy and productive one.

Johan Santana missed the entire 2011 season and while I’m the first to admit he may never return to the form that made Santana an extremely feared and respected ace of the staff but he probably could be counted on to still win 12-15 games just on sheer nerve alone. Hopefully he’ll be healthy enough to be on the hill on opening day.

In 2011 Daniel Murphy had the type of season we Mets fans have been waiting for. It’s too darn bad an injury shortened his 2011 campaign and to be perfectly honest with you if this guy could ever stay healthy he may one day win a batting crown.

When you consider the guy was playing hurt prior to a 2 month stint that would have left most folks lying in their beds yelling for someone to bring them some soup David Wright had a very good 2011 and with the left field porch moved in 12 feet look for a great 2012 from Wright.

Frank Francisco had a decent season for a .500 team in Toronto and is definitely an upgrade over last year.

So tell me who in the National League East added this type of quality to their line-ups?

The answer is no one.

Did the Mets really get worse as Morosi claims? Are the Mets really waving the white flag and throwing in the towel on the 2012 season.

I suppose that’s why they play the games, right?

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Music by MatzWallez

The Phil Naessens Show is proudly presented by Swagg Screen and Textile

To listen to the show from the site please click the link provided below. To save this program to your portable listening device please right click the link below and select “save as”.

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Artwork and Logo by Mr. Spiros Pandis

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Artwork and Logo by Mr. Spiros Pandis

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The Phil Naessens Show is proudly presented by Swagg Screen and Textile

The respective Game Five Series’ between the Saint Louis Cardinals/ Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers/Arizona Diamonbacks.

We look at the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers.

We discuss who will be the Cy Young and MVP of both leagues.

To listen to the show from the site please click the link provided below. To save this program to your portable listening device please right click the link below and select “save as”.

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The Rays were phenomenal in September but Texas was just too much for them in this series.

The Rangers now await the winner of tomorrow night’s game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees.

Good Luck to the Texas Rangers!