Continuity is Key

For once, let’s forget about the Mets’ starting rotation and focus on a positive: the continuity of the regular lineup from last year to this year.

It may seem like a small detail, but in fact it may be significant that the 2007 lineup will look very similar to the 2006 lineup. Let’s look at the starting lineup in the last game of 2006, game seven of the NLCS:

1 Jose Reyes SS
2 Paul LoDuca C
3 Carlos Beltran CF
4 Carlos Delgado 1B
5 David Wright 3B
6 Shawn Green RF
7 Jose Valentin 2B
8 Endy Chavez LF

Now let’s look at the “penciled in” 2007 Opening Day lineup:

1 Jose Reyes SS
2 Paul LoDuca C
3 Carlos Beltran CF
4 Carlos Delgado 1B
5 David Wright 3B
6 Moises Alou LF
7 Shawn Green RF
8 Jose Valentin 2B

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the Mets are returning a nearly identical lineup, the only difference being the addition of Moises Alou. This may prove to be a good thing for the Mets, because the last time the lineup in Shea looked as similar from one year to another was 1985 – 1986.

In this day and age, as a result of free agency and contract shedding, most teams experience some turnover from year to year. It is rare for a team to return the same infield in consecutive years, for example. Looking at the NL East, the only other team that has similar continuity is the Florida Marlins — though they have a new manager.

There are a few reasons why continuity can be an advantage for the Mets. First and foremost, by playing together, players become more comfortable with each other and have a good understanding of each others’ talents. Learning to work together takes time, and the more people work together — in any sport, job, or project — the better they get at achieving the end goal. Players learn to trust each other, anticipate each others’ actions, and rely on each other for support — not unlike a family. It’s a lot easier to “pick up” a guy you’ve been playing with for 200+ games, than a guy just joining the team.

Secondly, the Mets last year formed a strong bond as teammates, succeeding all season and then losing game seven of the NLCS. They experienced the best and the worst together, and therefore go into 2007 with similar feelings — feeling the confidence that they know how to win, simultaneously tasting that bitter defeat vs. the Cardinals. Outside of Alou, the entire starting lineup will have an extra special motivation to get back to the postseason and turn things around, after getting so close. They also have the knowledge of the preparation necessary to get that far with their collective skills. In contrast, last year the Mets were learning how to win together, under Willie Randolph. This year, there is no learning about each other, only execution. They know what to expect, and what adjustments are necessary to win.

For example, though Shawn Green only played a month as a Met last year, he learned very quickly that he didn’t need to be the “main guy” in the lineup — something that had been expected of him every other place he’d been. He learned that by shortening his stroke, taking more pitches, and being more of bat control guy, he’d be much more important to the Mets’ offense than if he was swinging for the fences. Similarly, Carlos Beltran learned that if he didn’t get the big hit, Carlos Delgado was behind him to do it. As a result, Beltran laid off bad pitches and set a career high for walks. In the field, Delgado may not have been a Gold Glover, but he did learn the the way his fellow infielders threw the ball, and by the end of the year was better able to anticipate how each player’s ball sails or dips. It may seem like a little thing, but knowing whether a shortstop’s throw tends to tail one way or the other, and its speed, can be the difference in a ballgame. In the same vein, Jose’s Reyes and Valentin can only improve their double-play execution by continuing to play together. Last but not least is Paul LoDuca’s emergence as a leader behind the plate, earning the respect of both the pitching staff and the players on the field.

In a lot of ways, the 2006 Mets were very much like the 1985 Mets. The ’85 Mets had just turned a corner, and the core of a championship team was assembled — but it took them a year to learn about each other. Still, they won 98 games during that learning process, losing a bitterly fought battle for first place in the final days of the season to — who else? — the St. Louis Cardinals. The exact same lineup returned in 1986, though as the season wore on, two key changes took place: Ray Knight experienced a renaissance and replaced Howard Johnson at 3B, and rookie Kevin Mitchell displaced George Foster. In 2007, we already have Alou in the spot vacated by Cliff Floyd, and there’s a possibility that Lastings Milledge or Ben Johnson push Shawn Green out of RF. Or maybe Green has a Knight-like rejuvenation. The point is, the Mets were very successful in 2006, and are returning essentially the same squad in 2007. Yes they’re a year older, but they’re also on year two of togetherness. While every other team in the NL East is learning about each other for the first 75-100 games, trying to figure out what works, the Mets are building on the foundation built in 2006. Assuming they have no major injuries, the continuity of the Mets can be looked upon as an advantage over their opponents.