Opening day is just a couple of days away, and in Mets land things are finally starting to straighten out. We could finally discuss baseball, instead of Madoff, ticket sales, or last year. It's a new year, meaning a new beginning, and a clean slate. Everyone's undefeated and in first place. Coming out last years 79-83 season most writers are quickly counting out the Mets. Sports Illustrated picked the Mets to get only 74 wins and finish in last place in the NL East. More locally, writers are picking the Mets for about 84 wins; slightly above .500. The question is as it is for every team, which players can make or break the difference for the Mets?

Five Players Who Will Make Or Break The Mets Season

1. Mike Pelfrey. As we saw in 2010, pitching wins championships. With Johan Santana out until at least the All-Star Break, it is imperative that Pelfrey stand up, and be the ace he has the potential to be. It is imperative for him to show the league, the Mets, and himself that he can be an ace, and repeat what he did in the first half of 2010. In the first half of last season Pelfrey was 10-4 with a 3.58 ERA to go along with 1.43 WHIP. Pelfrey must be able to go out every fifth day and be that starter that aces are.

2. Jose Reyes. If you're a Mets fan you know Reyes is the Mets catalyst. Often when Reyes is doing well the Mets do well. When Reyes is struggling or injured the Mets offense sputters. For the Mets to be successful offensively it is vital that Reyes be successful, and for him to play his game- walk, steal bases, get triples, have fun.

3. David Wright. Wright is the backbone of the Mets offense. In order for the Mets to win ballgames and score runs Wright must be better than he was last year. While Wright put up very impressive numbers last year, he often failed to come through in the clutch. Wright must come through in the clutch, and have timely hits in order for the Mets to win.

4. Fransisco Rodriguez. K-Rod has been deteriorating each year that he has been on the Mets and had an early end to his season last year. Rodriguez has walked to many people, and leading to many blown saves. The Bullpen has to be able to hold a lead and secure victories for the Mets. Being the veteran in the Bullpen it is K-Rod's job to step up, and show the rest of the Bullpen he has put his social, and baseball problems behind him.

5. R.A. Dickey. Dickey was lightning in a bottle last season, and a pleasant surprise for the Mets. Dickey was consistent last season, one thing difficult for the Mets to find last season. Dickey much like Pelfrey has to prove to everyone that last year was no fluke, and he can continue to be successful in this league. Dickey must come out every fifth day and pitch his heart out, and repeat his performance of a season ago. 

Five Players To Watch Out For

1. Jonathon Niese. 2010 was Niese's first complete season in the Major Leagues. In 2010 Niese went 9-10 with a 4.20 ERA to go along with a 1.46 WHIP. Niese looked very promising at times last season, looking at times unhittable. In June and July, Niese went 6-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 1.11 WHIP. In those two months Niese had 2.2 BB/9, and 7.0 SO/9 ratios.Be on the lookout for Niese to have a big year.

2. Chris Young. Young is coming of a shoulder injury which cost him nearly the whole 2010 season. Young is a pitcher who induces lots of flyballs. While usually that is not so great, because flyballs lead to home runs, in this case it is different. Young who pitched in Petco Park, a pitcher's park, is going to be pitching in Citi Field another pitcher's park. In his career Young has an 8.1 HR to Fly Ball Ratio. Young does a great job hiding the ball while pitching it, and his stocky 6"10 is sure to intimidate opposing hitters. With the Mets having an above average outfield defense, look for Young to have a very good season. 

3. Chris Capuano. Capuano much like Young is coming off an injury. Capuano also had a second Tommy John surgery in 2008. Unlike Young, Capuano is more of a groundball pitcher. For his career Capuano has 7.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 ratios and 4.35 ERA. Capuano does has had a great season before. In 2005, Capuano went 18-12 with a 3.99 ERA. Capuano also has looked great during the Spring(take that at face value) Let's also not forget that he will be at the end of the Mets rotation and often face other teams inferior starters, as is the case with Chris Young. Don't be surprised if Capuano pitches like he did in 2005.

4. Pedro Beato. The Mets picked Beato in this years Rule 5 draft. Beato is a hard thrower with a fastball in the low to mid 90's. Beato had 2.11 ERA last season and a 7.54 K/9 ratio. Beato relies largely on his sinker. Beato has impressed many in camp, look for him to baffle opposing hitters. 

5. Brad Emaus. Emaus like Beato, was also a Rule 5 pick for the Mets this year. In 2010 Emaus had a .290/.397/.476 slash line, mostly for AAA Las Vegas. Emaus has gotten lots of comparisons to Braves Second Baseman Dan Uggla. Emaus is a contact hitter who works the count well, with good power to the gaps, who takes advantage of mistakes. Emaus is good fielder who has very good range, and a great arm. Look for Emaus to shine this season.

Prediction

I predict the Mets to get 84 wins this season, with a good chance to get a few more. I would not be surprised if they compete for second place in the NL East and the NL Wild Card. Lots of things need to go right, but weirder things have happened. 

According to Buster Olney, the MLB has now added a 7-Day Disabled List which teams are also required to place players on if they suffer a Concussion. 

I'm sure a handful of Mets fans recall the Mets making a similar mistake with Ryan Church not too long ago when he dealt with a concussion. 

At first I thought the 7-Day DL would be for any type of injury and mandatory for Concussions, however after reading USA Today's piece on the new policy and guidelines for the 7-Day DL, it appears it is intended only for Concussions, although I think it's safe to say this could be a gateway into eventually allowing players with minor injuries to be placed on the 7-Day DL. 

1. Mandatory baseline neuropsychological testing requirements for players and umpires during Spring Training, or when a player joins a club during the season, formalizing a process that most individual Clubs follow;

2. Protocols for evaluating players and umpires for a possible concussion, including during incidents typically associated with a high risk, such as being hit in the head a by a pitched, batted or thrown ball or by a bat; being in a collision with a player, umpire or fixed object; or any time when the head or neck of a player or an umpire is forcibly rotated;

3. The establishment of a seven-day disabled list for concussions, which will aim to allow concussions to clear, prevent players from returning prematurely and give clubs a full complement of players in one's absence; any player on the seven-day DL for more than 14 days will automatically and retroactively be transferred to the 15-day DL, effective with the first day of the initial placement, and with the prior 14 days applying to the initial 15-day maximum term; implemented on a trial basis for the 2011 season;

4. Protocols for clearing a concussed player or umpire to return to activity; prior to the time that a concussed player is permitted to play in any game (including Major League, Minor League or extended Spring Training games), the Club must submit a "Return to Play" form to MLB's Medical Director; submission of the form is required irrespective of whether the player was placed on the disabled list.

Mets.com — With two days remaining in Spring Training, the Mets have finally committed to making Carlos Beltran their Opening Day right fielder.

Beltran is scheduled to play in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals, his first Major League action since starting a game at designated hitter more than three weeks ago. In penciling his name into the lineup card, the Mets will forgo their right to backdate a potential disabled list stay for Beltran, thus displaying confidence that he will be ready to go Friday night in Miami.

"It's what we've been talking about since we arrived in this camp, that we have a good club and we need him in the lineup," manager Terry Collins said. "He's been working very, very hard."

Well I for one am sort of pleased by this. I'm not yet 100% sold on the status of his knees seeing as this is a 162 game schedule and he's played 2 games in a row going just 5 innings each time. However, nethertheless, this is a positive step forward for Carlos. Quite frankly I am unsure if I am glad about this progression for him.

– A) On the one hand, I want this madness to end and just see Carlos on the field. We all know how remarkable of a fielder he once was and how productive and versatile he can be at the plate, all of which when healthy. This is an offense that seriously struggled to produce runs last season, finishing below .500% despite a team-ERA which ranked 7th in Major Leagues. I also believe Collins' presense in the dugout as a no-nonsense guy along with Mookie back at 1B can turn things around, and having a healthy and productive Carlos Beltran will just make things better. 

–  B)  Yet on the other hand, I have always been a fan of Nick Evans due the fact he can play RF and also 1B, making him a good player to have off the bench. He played extremely well this Spring and I wanted to see him get a roster spot because he is younger and Beltran is in his final contract year. If Beltran isn't 100%, I'd rather see what Evans can do for a month. Unfortunately if Evans doesn't make the final roster spot, it seems his time as a Met is over. 

– C)  And lastly, though, Sandy Alderson has gained my trust early on by cutting dead weight such as Oliver Perez & Luis Castillo and fully trust his instincts. If he feels an 80% Carlos Beltran is safe to have on the field for 4 or 5 days a week than having a guy like Nick Evans off the bench with Harris or Hairston starting in RF, then I'm all for it. I just have my doubts, and I'm sure most of you do too.

So they're committing to Beltran now, and all we can do is hope for the best. There's no turning back in terms of the Opening Day roster. Lock and load fellas. 

PS. Check out the new MLB.com team-site designs. I haven't had a chance to look at most other teams but I sure am pleased with the new layout for Mets.com. The previous design just seemed much more clustered and a bit difficult to navigate the home page. 

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com relief pitcher Pedro Beato has been informed he has made the team. Heyman also says that relievers Jason Isringhausen, Blaine Boyer & Manny Acosta are still competing for the final bullpen spot. 

Heyman said on Twitter that Brad Emaus will start at 2nd Base, and Daniel Murphy, Scott Hairston, Willie Harris & Chin-Lung Hu have made the team as reserves, meaning that it appears inevitable OF/1B Nick Evans will not be with the team. I'm not too happy about that decision because I've always liked Nick Evans and I was extremely impressed with his .348/.394/.439 line along with 8 runs and 6 doubles. I think it came down to the fact that Nick only had 4 RBIs and had 0 Home Runs, and maybe the team wants to see players with a little more versatility at the plate who don't strike out as often (4 walks, team-high 13 strikeouts). Also, it's tough to compete with veterans who simply just had better spring training numbers than Evans. Scott Hairston had 2 HR & 8 RBIs posting a .353/.421/.608 line.

Willie Harris made a strong statement to make the team with a solid spring, accumulating 3 Home Runs and 10 RBIs, but more importantly to me he drew 11 walks against 6 strikeouts; his line was .280/.410/.560. 

Mets.com Spring Training Statistics

I like most people am glad that Beato made the team. I like his tenacity on the mound and a lot of people are impressed with the potential this kid has out of the bullpen. I wasn't necessarily blown away by his Spring Training performance, but I do think the team made the right choice. 

The race for the final bullpen spot comes down to Isringhausen, Boyer and Acosta. Isringhausen has been bothered with inflamation in his elbow, however is expected to pitch today in a relief appearance for the Mets and this could be the deciding factor as to whether or not he will make the team. Izzy has stated he will not accept a minor league assignment, which leaves me with the impression that he feels if he cannot make the team and part of it is due to the health of his elbow, he will call it a career and ride off into the sunset. However, the fact that the team has not yet released him already leads me to believe he still is the front-runner for the final spot. Statistical comparison of the final 3 relievers vying for a spot:

Now I'm not going to sit here and say the Wilpons must sell off the team outright 100% immediately. Simply, these guys are loyal and they love this team. In a way I feel a little sympathy as they've worked hard to build up their network SNY, to construct a fabulous state-of-the-art Ballpark which we gallantly call CitiField. 

However, it's pretty obvious that the owners need a big financial partner and they need it pronto. Maybe 50% would be the smart way to go, because it seems like the wealthiest of the prospective investors eye only a majority percentage. Keep in mind the Mets are one of the few teams in all of professional sports that are owned completely by a family.

According to the New York Times in a must-read read for any financial-savvy readers out there, the Mets saw a loss of approximately $50M this past season and expect to lose another $50M in revenue. How is this possible? Well, I suck at math but I'll do my best to understand the figures. 

According to Forbes via Biz Of Baseball the Mets saw a loss in revenue of $6.2M. However, the Mets contribute a vast amount of money to League Revenue which helps "level the playing field" and basically gives money to small-market teams to give them more financial flexibility; thus, they can afford to sign free agents and resign young rising stars and not lose them to the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Red Sox. The NY Times says that the Mets contribute roughly $40 Million to MLB Revenue-sharing pool. 

The Mets according to Forbes suffered losses of $6.2M (prior to Revenue-sharing pool) in operating costs, yet the New York Times says that two people briefed on the organization's financial situation claim the figures are closer to $10M. So simply put, the Mets lost about $46M-$50M. The reason Forbes' figures may be lower is because the $-6.2M  figure is before interest, taxes, depreciation & amortization. So when the Mets did not have the money to cover their losses and pay the MLB's revenue-sharing pool, Bud Selig made the emergency $25M loan to the Mets so they could make the payment. So when the Mets had to take money out in the past to cover losses, they did so from one or more of their 16 accounts through Bernie Madoff. So this is kind of more proof as to why they were actually victims of Madoff and not winners; but that's an argument I'll discuss at a later time — or probably never. I don't got enough stimuli to handle that discussion. 

Forbes estimates the New York Mets are valued at $747M, down 13% from last year. 

Lastly, it should be noted that the Mets' financial turmoil stems back from when Nelson Doubleday sold his half of the team to Wilpon and Katz. Forbes claims the Mets were already $156M in debt at the time and to purchase Doubleday's portion of the team the Wilpons had to borrow $137M. And on top of all of that:

In addition, the team is contractually obligated to make about $50 million a year in annual payments connected to the $695 million of tax-exempt bonds issued by New York City to fund the building of Citi Field. If a potential investor thinks about the net present value of those payments as debt, there is no equity value left in the Mets. — Forbes Special Report: Inside Baseball's Debt Disaster

Chew on that nugget of information. 

– Check out the above link (Forbes Special Report: Inside Baseball's Debt Disaster) to read more about the Mets, Madoff, as well as the Financial situation of the Los Angeles Dodgers and how Bud Selig is involved in the whole mess; both positively and negatively.