The Mets added the best pitcher in the business to a team that lost the National League East by just one game in 2007. The addition should put them back over the top.

The New York Mets collapsed down the stretch in 2007, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to take the National League East division crown by one game on the last day of the season. The crash led to some very low moments for Met fans and players across the country. Some called for manager Willie Randolph's head. Others wanted to see Jose Reyes shipped out of town. It got very ugly.

But general manager Omar Minaya elected to improve his team rather than find a scapegoat for the late season funk. He acquired the best starting pitcher in baseball in Johan Santana, who along with a healthy Pedro Martinez could form the best 1-2 punch in the National League. The addition of Santana ad the return of Pedro will surely help the Mets bounce back from their disastrous slide in 2007.

2007 Record:

89 wins, 77 losses (Second in NL East)

2008 New York Mets Strengths

Johan Santana

After three months of starting and stopping trade talks with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the Minnesota Twins finally dealt their ace to the Mets, and the Mets got him for prospects who are much less valuable (at least right now) than the players offered by the Yankees and the Sox. That’s some damn good general manager work by Minaya, and it needs to be commended, first and foremost.

Some worry that Santana’s 15-13 record last season is evidence of a pending decline, but a review of the statistics that he controls tells a very different story. Santana had the lowest WHIP in the American League, finished second in strikeouts, and seventh in earned run average. His Achilles heel, if such a thing can be said about a pitcher with those numbers, was the home run: Santana surrendered a league-high 33 dingers last season.

If he can keep the ball in the yard this year, look for him to win 20 or 21 games. Even if he doesn’t, Santana is still good enough to win at least 17, which is more than any Mets starter has had in a decade.

The Offense

Despite his terrible slump in September, Jose Reyes is still one of the most exciting and productive young players to come along in years. He's going to steal at least 75 bases and score well over 100 runs, and give fans plenty to marvel at on defense. And he’s not even the best player on the left side of the Mets infield. That honor belongs to third baseman David Wright, who can do it all. In 2007, Wright hit .325 with 30 homers, 107 RBI and 34 stolen bases. Wright is so poised and fundamentally sound that a drop-off from those numbers would be a big surprise.

Add to these two the always potent bat of Carlos Beltran, and veteran slugger Carlos Delgado (who’s still got something left) and the Mets have a strong core of offensive stars. The club is also looking forward to a bigger contribution from Moises Alou, who missed half the season but hit very well when healthy, and Ryan Church, who arrives from Washington after a solid offensive season (.272 BA, 15 HR, 70 RBI). With this lineup, they should finish in the top four or five in every important offensive category.

2008 New York Mets Burning Questions

Pedro Martinez

The Mets don’t need Pedro to pitch like it’s 1999, but they do need him to make at least thirty starts this year if they expect to do any damage in the NL East. Martinez didn’t return from off-season surgery on his torn rotator cuff until September 5, but showed a lot of promise in his five starts, going 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA.

During his first interviews in spring training, Martinez told reporters that his shoulder feels better and looser than it did when he returned last year. "When I came back, I was still beat up from all the work and I was still stiff," Martinez said. "Right now, I'm loose. I'm actually feeling better. I believe I'm in better position now to get ready."

John Maine and Oliver Perez

Are these guys good enough to win 15 games each, like they did in 2007? If they are, the Mets will be a force with legitimate World Series aspirations. Even if they can only manage 23 or 24 wins between them, New York still has a good shot at winning the East; Santana and Pedro are that good.

Will the Collapse Be Forgotten?

The Mets led the Phillies by seven games on September 12th, but lost thirteen of their remaining seventeen games and ended up one game behind Philadelphia when the season ended. As the losses piled up, some New York sportswriters complained awfully loud about Jose Reyes and manager Willie Randolph. All of which means one thing: if the Mets start the season with five wins and ten losses, things will turn ugly very fast. The team just needs to forget about last season and move forward, which is not always an easy thing to do.

2008 New York Mets Prediction

If Martinez gets thirty starts, they will win the division by five games.

2008 Record: 93-69 (First Place in NL East).

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