2010 New York Mets season in review

With a 79-83 record the New York Mets finished in 4th place in the National League East. It was yet the latest of disappointing seasons for the Mets, and after it was over their General Manger and Manger were fired. A new regime will rebuild this team. For 2010 they actually spent five days in first place and built a one game lead, but that was the extent of the good news. While they did have a 13-5 record in inter league play, they managed just a 31-41 record against their divisional opponents. In fact they did not have a winning record against any other team in their division.

The Mets offense was sub par as they scored just 656 runs, which was good enough for 13th among the 16 NL clubs. They racked up just 128 home runs on 1,361 hits and the team batting average was .249. All of those numbers were 12th or worst on the senior circuit. While they only struck out 1,095 times those numbers should be a little higher, but they did only draw 502 walks. None of their regular nine starters finished the year with a BA over .300.

The pitching staff’s ERA was 3.73 and that was sixth best in the NL. Three of their regular five starters all had winning records and scored double digit victories. In fact both the starting pitching and the bullpen seem to be very solid. They could use a back end started heading in to 2011, but other wise the pitching staff seems to be ok. They don’t give up a ton of hits, or home runs but they do not throw enough strikes as they struck out just 1,106 hitters. Of course they only walked 545 batters so the problems may lie with the defense behind them.

There is no easy fix for the Mets. They have to wait out a year with limited payroll flexibility while having their new staff learn their jobs and then formulate a plan for the future. This likely means the Mets will not be a great movers this off season or a great team come 2011.

Related Links:

•New York Mets news and notes
•The Business of Major League Baseball
•Joshua Lobdell.com