If We Could Only Have One Toy...

Mets Blog

By Joseph Pascullo

Friday, November 20, 2009 12:21 AM EST

     Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Mets fans of all ages! As the clock strikes twelve here on the eastern seaboard, the Major League Baseball offseason officially begins! On November 20th all free agents are entitled to sign with any team they please. The Mets have oodles of work to do, and seriously need to divert some of the medias attention away from the Phillies and World Champion Yankees. The best way for them to do that is to make a nice big splash during this elusive free agency period. Arguably the two biggest names out there on the free agent market are power bat Matt Holliday and ace righthanded starter John Lackey. From what I've read, it seems as if the Mets will sadly only spend enough money this offseason to acquire one of these superstars. The question is, which one of these guys do we need more? Let's pick our player!

     At the conclusion of 2009, the Mets knew they'd head into 2010 with ace Johan Santana, but then question marks the rest of the way. Can Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez develop into successful starting pitchers? Can John Maine and Jon Niese bounce back and stay healthy for an entire season? It's no secret that after Johan Santana, the rest of the rotation is a crapshoot, and overall is rather wafer-thin. This is unacceptable. Main eventer John Lackey would give us a chance to win every night he takes the mound, and combine him with Santana, the 1-2 lefty-righty punch combination is ultra strong. I don't think the Mets should stop their rotation improving after Lackey however. Having just 2 out of your 5 starters under the reliable column won't do anything but give us more agita and grey hairs 60% of the time.

     The Mets 2009 power woes and struggles were well documented, finishing dead last in the MLB in home runs, 27 less than the 29th place San Francisco Giants. Again, unacceptable. Matt Holliday - combined with healthy seasons all around from our pivotal offensive threats - can help raise this number to maybe the middle of the MLB's home run leaders. Figure Wright and Beltran up their '09 totals from 10 dingers apiece to 30, the Mets find a first baseman who hits maybe 10 home runs more than Murphy did, obtain 10 or so homers from Reyes, all coupled with 30-35 Matt Holliday long balls, things will appear a whole lot better. But just like with the pitching staff, if Matt Holliday gets signed, the front office can't rest there figuring things will get better. Out catcher and first base slots could each use smart acuisitions. And let's not forget about Jeff Wilpon's promise to look into the Mets medical protocol and attempt to find out why there were so many injuries last year. Was it just rotten luck, or should the Mets be doing something physically that just wasn't there last season? The results of Wilpon's detective work might be the biggest acquisition of the Mets 2010 offseason.

What do you guys think? What is the more important need for the Mets this season? Is it the need for power, or is it the need for a more solid starter to follow Johan in the rotation? Comment below my friends. Free agency has officially begun! Let the games begin!