The thing that bothered me the most this offseason was all the worries about or rotation, that without Johan Santana we would get clobbered unless the pitchers stepped up. That annoys me because even without Santana last season at times our rotation was superb, and overall our tema had one of the best ERA's in MLB. 

The issue last year was obviously our inability to drive in runs, and that's still the case. Until that gets fixed, we're not going to amount to much. 

Now I know it's early but lets just take a look at the Mets in 2010 and thus far in 2011.

I went on FanGraphs.com and switched to 2010 statistics, Men in Scoring under the 'Splits' tab.

2010 — .252 AVG w/ RISP – R21 in MLB. Strikeout % w/ RISP was 22% – 17th highest in MLB. SLG% w/ RISP was .381% – R22 in MLB. 

2011 — .273 AVG w/ RISP – R11 in MLB.  Strikeout % w/ RISP is 25.8% – R20 in MLB.  SLG% w/ RISP is .379% – R16 in MLB

So while we have had a better average with runners in scoring position, we have struck out more and have showed slightly less power at the plate. You can look at HRs, RBIs, AVG all you want but when you scale it down to important situations with men in scoring position, this lineup still struggles and until that changes the Mets will continue to play like a .500 team. Our pitching hasn't been pretty either, that is pretty obvious. However, when the lineup is absolutely unable to drive in runs or hit sacrifice flies with runners on second or on third base, it doesn't matter how good or bad your pitchers perform — you will finish with the short-end of the stick 90% of the time — unless of course you have four aces in your rotation. 

This team really hasn't changed much. Johan is hurt, Pelfrey squanders under pressure, R.A. Dickey is our most consistent pitcher, and the lineup is lewd, lascivious, salacious and outrageous! 

Port St. Lucie, FLA – Three days after the New York Mets informed second baseman Luis Castillo he was being released, left-hander Oliver Perez received the same fate Monday morning. Team officials informed Perez he was being let go despite being owed $12 million in the final year of his deal. The Mets had headed into the weekend already having eaten Castillo’s $6 million as the purge of bloated contracts from Omar Minaya’s era as general manager continued. “When they told me, I almost knew what they were going to tell me,” Perez said inside the clubhouse at the team’s spring-training complex after shaking hands with teammates. “It’s one of those times you don’t feel great, but I don’t want to quit.” Perez indicated he believed he got a fair shot from the Mets’ new regime. “I think they gave me an opportunity,” he said. “They were fair with me when I came here. ‘We’re going to give you an opportunity to be a starter.’ I didn’t do anything great. They moved me to the bullpen trying to be a lefty specialist. And the last game, that was a real horrible job.” Perez, 29, is in the final season of a three-year, $36 million deal. He went 3-9 with a 6.81 ERA in 31 appearances (21 starts) during the first two seasons of that contract. The amount owed to Perez ranks No. 1 on an unofficial list of largest contracts eaten in organization history, with Castillo also high on the list.

I don't care what you say, this is like winning the World Series. A weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. I feel like a Phoenix rising out of Arizona!  I mean we all knew it was coming, but nothing is official until it is official and now it's official. Oliver Perez is gone. Luis Castillo is gone. Ding Dong the Witch is dead!

We could lose 120 games this year, trade Reyes for 28 year old guys still stuck in AA, learn Johan needs an arm transplant and I'd still be happy knowing these two bums are out of the clubhouse once and for all. 

This is truly a precious and momentous occasion. However we all know the low expectations for the Mets this year so soak in the glory while it lasts because this ship may come crumbling to pieces before May.  

According to Steve Popper of the Bergen Record, Johan Santana's throwing hasn't been going well and could be shut down for the rest of the season.

First off, obviously I want to see Johan on the field and healthy as soon as possible. When he's healthy, he's an utterly fantastic starting pitcher and can be a true difference maker on the mound. There is a reason he got the contract he has now. But as far as I'm concerned, the only thing that was important was getting Johan ready to be the ace once again in 2012.

We already knew he was going to miss about half the season whether or not his rehab went well. And if and when he comes back this season, no one expects to see vintage Johan out there at Citi Field. He'll still be working himself back into game shape at that point. On top of that, no one expects much out of the Mets in general this season. The front office is expected to have money to spend after the season when a lot of money is freed up from expiring contracts. And when this team has reloaded, they'll need Johan Santana to be their ace if they expect to compete in the tough NL East. 

So, if Johan's rehab really isn't going well (and there are reports to the contrary), I'm not going to be terribly worried at this point in time. If we here the same thing a year from now I'll get worried. Until then, the Mets need to keep doing what they're doing with Johan. Take it slow and build up his strength. You want him to be healthy beyond this season for the final two years of his contract. Remember, this is a guy who has had some sort of surgical procedure done every year he's been with the Mets. That's something I'm sure the Mets want to avoid going forward. For now, don't get too worked up about this. True or not, the Mets have bigger worries about this team in my opinion.

According to Brad Como of SNY, the Mets have signed Paul DePodesta to be their Vice President of player development and amateur scouting.

The Mets were able to take DePodesta away from the San Diego Padres, where he was the a special assistant to the baseball operations department.

DePodesta also worked with Billy Beane in Oakland and was a key part in the "Moneyball" aspect of the A's. DePodesta is a big fan of using sabermetrics as a tool it to evaluate amateur and professional players, and was one of the earlier users of it.

Como says that DePodesta will, "help establish direction, standards and continuity in all areas of player development domestically and internationally."

Here are some early quotes by DePodesta about his decision to come to the Mets:

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of what Sandy is trying to build with the Mets.”

"Winning in New York is something special and for me I couldn’t think of a better place to be.”

Here's what GM Sandy Alderson had to say:

“Paul brings another dimension to our baseball department."

“He has one of the top analytical minds in the game and will provide us with a different type of perspective."

Just a great move by Alderson. With the combination of DePodesta and Ricciardi the Mets have a talent for player evaluation in their front office that they haven't seen… maybe ever. I'm very excited for these guys are going to do to this team. Really, really, excited. Great day for the Mets.

Today, the Mets announced that they named J.P. Ricciardi as Special Assistant to General Manager Sandy Alderson. Now, this man was also being targeted by the Boston Red Sox for the same exact position. Let's take a look at his resumé:

• In early 80's, he was a minor league coach for the New York Yankees.
• In 1986, he joined the Oakland Athletics as a minor league instructor and scout. In 1996, he made it to the position of Special Assistant to General Manager Sandy Alderson. Coincidence? In 1997, after Alderson left, under new GM, Billy Beane, he got the position of Director of Player Personnel.
• In November of 2001, the Toronto Blue Jays hired Ricciardi to be their General Manager. In 2009, most fans had lost confidence in Ricciardi, and wanted him fired. In October of 2009, Ricciardi was officially fired. 
• In February of 2010, Ricciardi joined Baseball Tonight as a baseball analyst. 

The fact that Ricciardi was Special Assistant to General Manager Sandy Alderson in Oakland, and now has the same position, with the same GM with the Mets, makes me think that Alderson really thinks highly of Ricciardi and liked how he did in that position. Now, will it pay off for the Mets? Only time will tell.