I spent my summer fulfilling the childhood dream of just about every young boy in the country. I interned for a major league baseball team: the New York Mets. When I started one night last May, it seemed to be the start of another miseable season in New York. My beloved team played the Montreal Expos. They lost. The next week they played the West Coast teams for ten straight games. If I remember correctly, they won only two of those ten games.

This team, which included Bobby Bonilla, Bret Saberhagen, and Brett Butler, disappointed almost everyone. They flat out stunk. They could not score a run, much less buy one. The twenty-four million dollar payroll translated into twenty-something games under five hundred by the All-Star break. This team, with Bobby Bonilla and Brett Saberhagen, sucked. Day after day, the New York press raked the team back and forth over hot coals.

Then came the last week of July. On July 29, the Mets traded Bonilla to the Baltimore Orioles. Two days later, they unloaded Saberhagen onto the Colorado Rockies. All of the sudden, this team, with a payroll down to fourteen million, staged a dramatic turn-around. At this point, almost no one on Earth would expect them to start to win frequently. But they did. Virtual unknowns like Rico Brogna, Jose Vizcaino, Carl Everett, and Todd Hundley helped this team win over and over again. Now, many consider this team to have a log jam of talent.

Let's just think about the pitching staff for a moment. Right now the staff is comprised of Bobby Jones, Dave Telgheder, Dave Mlicki, Jason Isringhausen, and Reid Cornelius. However, that will change over the winter as Bill Pulsipher and Pete Harnisch return from injury and Paul Wilson is called up to the majors. We have seen what Jones, Pulse, and Izzy can do. When healthy, Harnisch is a competent starter, and the guys say that Wilson has some of the best stuff they have ever seen. The Mets could have a pitching staff that rivals the National League East Champion Atlanta Braves, who they just swept in a 3-game series this past weekend.

Now let's look at the rest of the team. The outfielders for next year appear to be Everett, Ryan Thompson, Alex Ochoa, Damon Buford, and Joe Orsulak. Everett produced almost fifty RBI's and 12 home runs in just over 50 games of major league service this year. Thompson is a "five tool" player that just might fulfill his potential on a good team. Ochoa, the prize of the Bonilla deal, can do it all. Many might mistake his arm for a canon. Very few runners will try to advance a base on a fly hit out to him. Buford and Orsulak provide speed and veteran leadership, respectively, to this team.

Next spring the infield will include Brogna at first base. Brogna only made three errors at first this year, the best in the National League. Add his twenty-plus homers and you have a solid player. No one is quite sure exactly who will man second base next year. Jeff Kent might be back, but many expect the Mets to pursue free agent Craig Biggio. Edgardo Alfonzo is also a strong possibility. For shortstop, expect Vizcaino to get the nod to start the season. Vizcy had the best fielding percentage of all National League short-stops this season, and he can also hit. Just about everyone thought defensive wiz Rey Ordonez would inherit this position, but since he did not hit at the Triple A level, not many expect him to advance.

At third base Mets fans will see one of three players. The first is Alfonzo. Fonzie won this position last spring with solid defense and a decent bat. After a good rookie season, Edgardo will be in the starting lineup next spring if his back lets him. If Alfonzo is at second, slugger Butch Huskey will play third. If not, Huskey might find himself in the outfield. This year's Triple A MVP can hit the ball a mile. However, the Mets might attempt to trade for the Giants' Matt Williams. The Mets certainly can put together a great package for Williams with their wealth of pitchers and hitters, including Cornelius and Juan Acevedo.

So, it looks like the Mets have a solid team next year. One that many, including myself, feel will make the playoffs. They may not be ready to challenge the Braves for the East title, but if the second half of this season is any evidence, they can go far with their roster. This team went 41-30 since the All Star game. About ten of those losses came with Bonilla in the lineup. Since then, this team has been virtually unstoppable. They have swept all three division champions: the Braves, Dodgers, and Reds. This team has more than promise, they have true talent. I honestly feel that they will win another World Series before the turn of the century, well before those cross town rival Yankees.

© Trincoll Journal, 1995.