What the Mets MUST Do Before Next Year

With another baseball regular season complete and another disappointing year for the New York Mets, it's time to reflect on what was and dream about what might be.

First, what was...

• The Mets started the season surprisingly strong, winning their first 4 games and having a winning record in April, May AND June. 
• Then on June 1st, Johan Santana did the impossible, for a New York Met. He pitched a no-hitter. Yes, I know many people dispute its integrity because of this play.  

• But you know what? It counts just as much as anything else in the sport when you're restricted to the inaccuracies of human perception.  End of discussion.
• On a lighter note, the Mets entered the All Star Break with a record of 46-40 and posed to make an improbable playoff push. 
• Then....well everything collapsed and they lost 12 of 14 or some ungodly number and basically had their spines broken and surrendered to the pressure. But through it all was R.A. Dickey.
• Yes Dickey. Dickey, Dickey, Dickey. Ok, now that I got that out of my system, let's talk about....R.A. His final record was 20-6 with an ERA of 2.73 and 230 strikeouts.  One other pitcher in the National League had more wins (Gonzalez with 21) and one different pitcher had a lower ERA (Kershaw = 2.53). Dickey also had the most complete games in the NL with 5.  He truly deserves the Cy Young award. My goodness, he pitched back to back 1 hitters! 
• We also saw the emergence of Mat Harvey, who will surely be in the starting rotation next April, and the power of Ike Davis, even with a horrendous first few months. 
• But we also saw an atrocious outfield, a pathetic bullpen, a broken down starting rotation, and one of the weakest offenses in the league. And there isn't going to be much on the free agent market this winter, nor are the Mets going to spend money, much of which they still have locked up in Jason Bay and Santana. AND they have to spend a lot of money to keep David Wright and maybe Dickey. 

The Silver Lining

• I really believe, barring injury (that's asking a lot), the Mets starting rotation will be very strong next year. Dillon Gee has plenty of time to heal after his mid-season surgery, as does Santana, who will be pitching for a new contract at years end.  Even if the Mets trade Dickey, they will have Jonathan Niese and Mat Harvey. That's a strong 4 man rotation with Zack Wheeler almost guaranteed to get a mid-season call up. 
• The offense will also be automatically improved with Ike Davis having unlocked his potential and Lucas Duda (hopefully) on the verge of the same. And the Mets should keep Mike Baxter as a solid bench player.
• David Wright WILL get a long term contract. If not, Citi Field will burn in the fires of angry New Yorkers.

How to Improve the Club?

• There isn't much on the trade market this winter. Here's a short list of who the Mets could go after with what little money they have: 
• Cody Ross
• Shane Victorino
• Mike Adams
• Mike Morse, if Nationals sign B.J. Upton
• That's about it, and I'm pretty sure Victorino is not really an option, but a guy can dream, right? 
• The Mets MUST get another outfielder AND resign Scot Hairston. Only then will I truly have hope for 2013. 

Hope for 2014

• To be realistic, the Mets need one more year before they can be contenders again. When Harvey and Wheeler, the Mets top 2 prospects, are fully integrated into the rotation, they will be tough to beat. Add a combination of Familla and Mejia in the bullpen with Parnell and Edgin and now we're getting somewhere! 
• Offensively by 2014, Davis will be as scary as Ryan Howard before he got old. Wright will maintain his elite status and Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis (he dropped off the map, but will be resurrected) will be mature and hungry to win. The same goes for Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy. 
• Most importantly, at the end of 2013, the contracts of Johan Santana and Jason Bay will be done. The Mets will finally have money again! Personally, I think Jason Bay should be locked up with Bernie Madoff for scamming the Mets out of A LOT of money. 

He can't be THAT good of a guy if he won't refund us some of those millions

There's my rant on the New York Mets. There is hope for the future, but New Yorkers are anything but patient and patience will be paramount for next season....as it was this season....and last season......and the season before that......