At first base is Delgado, who's unlikely to perform as well this season as he did last. His backups: Evans and Marlon Anderson.
At second base is Castillo and Cora. I've never understood why Minaya signed Castillo to a four-year deal. One year, maybe, but four? His backup: Cora.
At shortstop is Reyes, a player who can be very good, but isn't even the best shortstop in the National League. His backup: Cora.
At third base is Wright, a better than average third baseman. His backup: Tatis.
The starting outfielders are Murphy, Beltran, and Church. Neither Murphy nor Church has proven that he's a big-time player. Their backups: Pagan, Tatis, Reed, and Sullivan. None of them will send chills down opposing pitchers spines when he comes to bat.
The catcher is Schneider. His backups: Castro and Cancel. Catching is the team's weakest position. Catchers are supposed to be power hitters, a fact that Minaya seems to have forgotten.
The starting five is Santana, Pelfrey, Perez, Maine, and someone who probably won't make much of a difference. Santana is a first-class pitcher. The others are not in his class. I wouldn't have re-signed Perez. To me, he lacks the mental toughness to be a big-time winner. As for Maine and Pelfrey, they've had spurts of success, but spurts won't win the Mets a pennant. The ability to win with consistency will, something that neither Maine, Pelfrey, or Perez has shown.
The relief staff has two above average pitchers in Rodriguez and Putz. The rest just make me want to yawn.
I'm expecting a long-season that will be enlivened every once in a while by Donald Fehr's comments about performance-enhancing drugs.
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