Spring Training

As we near the end of January our attention is slowly shifting from the dreary weather of Queens to the sunny, carefree life in Port St. Lucie where the NY Mets will soon begin Spring Training. Like last year, the Mets enter camp with the bitter taste of disappointment still fresh in their mouth. Unfortunately, in 2007 the Mets were rather listless throughout Spring Training. They failed to properly execute the basic fundamentals of the game. They consistently failed to hit, they played poor defense, their pitching was clobbered, and they seemed to always lose. This fact was largely forgotten when the Mets got off to a hot start in the regular season during April and May. Still, the flaws displayed throughout the spring ultimately plagued the team during the 2007 regular season. While I do not put a lot of stock in pre-season records, I do believe it is important for the Mets to use this spring to establish good habits on the field. The Mets need to play crisp, inspired baseball again this spring. They need to wash out the taste of failure and replace it with a winning mentality. They need to cut down the errors, reduce the mental breakdowns on the bases, and advance runners. Regardless of whether or not this team has Santana, they are a legitimate contender for the NL East crown. It is time they started to once again play and execute like recent division champions.