After having failing seasons the last two years following the epic late-season collapses of 2007 and 2008, there is no question that 2011 has to get off to a great start for the New York Mets.
More than individual performance, this team has to show that they are serious contenders and not in perpetual competition with the Washington Nationals for last place in the NL East.
Sandy Alderson will be very busy the next two months composing a roster with very little flexibility in payroll, as there is about $130 million tied up in contracts, due to Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran and a few others.
Johan Santana may not be able to pitch until mid season, so acquiring a pitcher may take the resources needed in order to secure a pitching rotation that will be successful.
Terry Collins will work extremely hard to show his team that he is the leader and enforcer. He needs to get across that the game will be played his way and if they don’t like it, then they will be disciplined or shown the exit door. Since the NLCS in 2006, Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel have not had success in being effective on-field managers, making moves that have been extremely questionable.
This likely contributed to more losses than the players on the field could have had control over. They were setting their team up to lose. That is unacceptable, especially in NYC.
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