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December 13, 2011 11-12 Offseason Joe Janish

Projected 2012 Mets Lineup

Adam Rubin of ESPN-NY suggested this projected Mets lineup for 2012 — one with which manager Terry Collins more or less agreed:

The current Mets projected lineup:

Andres Torres, cf
Dan Murphy, 2b
David Wright, 3b
Ike Davis, 1b
Jason Bay, lf
Lucas Duda, rf
Josh Thole, c
Ruben Tejada, ss
Pitcher

And this is assuming that:

– Torres is not non-tendered
– Murphy doesn’t break his leg turning a DP in his first spring training workout
– Ike Davis actually returns from his foot injury
– A random Mets veteran pitcher doesn’t strangle Thole to death

I haven’t seen a Mets lineup this bad since the days of Steve Henderson, Frank Taveras, Joel Youngblood, Ron Hodges, Doug Flynn, Bruce Boisclair, and Mike Jorgensen were gracing my black and white TV on WOR / channel 9. I can still remember perpetually fidgeting with the antenna to get a semi-watchable picture … though, in retrospect, a screen full of snow and white noise was probably a blessing in disguise in those days.

But never mind my harkening back to the glory days … what do YOU think of the above lineup? Is it inspiring? Does it give you optimism, particularly when combined with a starting rotation that consists primarily of back-end starters? Post your opinion in the comments.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. mic December 13, 2011 at 6:18 am
    Too premature.

    1. Nontender-list: I like Joe Saunders AND Andy Sonnanstine as potential Cappy /Pelfrey replacements.

    2. Ryan Theriot and Kepp were non tendered! there is your back up infielder.

    3. Still optimistic future HOFer CB will be brought back.

    • Steve S. December 13, 2011 at 8:18 am
      They probably won’t spend the money for any of these guys!

      $6 million of “Big Pelf”! Any chance of trading him away to a team more ridiculous than the Wilponzi Mets?

    • Steve S. December 13, 2011 at 8:19 am
      The lineup upsets me less than the starting pitching rotation!
    • Carlos Beltran December 13, 2011 at 11:35 am
      What makes any of you think I’d ever re-sign with the Mets?

      Is it the generous $500k deal they’d be able to offer me; with a deferred payment package extending through 2043?

  2. dan capwell December 13, 2011 at 8:43 am
    Swap Thole and Tejada and you’ve got a right-left-right-left progression through out the order, which isn’t a bad thing in late innings against most bullpens. I’d like to see them sign Theriot and Pudge.

    The rotation is a big concern. I hope they don’t rush any of the prospects up. It might all depend on how secure Collins and Alderson are in keeping their jobs.

  3. DaveSchneck December 13, 2011 at 9:41 am
    Joe, unfortunately I do remember that late ’70s murderers row on WOR. As listed, this lineup is basically a big question mark at each spot. It could range from serviceable to a disaster based on who “returns to form” and/or who “takes the next step”. As of today, combined with the pitching, they should compete for 4th place. Let’s see how “competitive” Sandy is with upgrading the 2012 squad between now and opening day.
    • Izzy December 13, 2011 at 9:49 am
      Dave; Who do they compete with for 4th place? They finished 4th last year and the only teams close to them immediately on either side of the standings have improved dramatically. Florida has new found talent and DC has quickly developing kids up the middle and behind the plate and a healthy Strasburg and Zimmermann in the rotation, and they equal the mets in guys who underperformed last and who the fornt office prays for comebacks. Do you think the Braves fall to the Met level or the Philles. I think the good news is that we can’t finish 10th ever again.
      • DaveSchneck December 13, 2011 at 2:41 pm
        Izzy, I should have said “try to compete for 4th”.
  4. Joe December 13, 2011 at 9:55 am
    I can’t believe that Murphy is their starting 2nd baseman myself, but his bat isn’t the problem if he is. Davis is fine at 1st, if he’s healthy. They need to find someone else for 2nd or SS. Wright is workable at 3rd. Duda has potential. Bay, you just hope he’ll give you something (fences, you know). Probably will see another OF getting some playing time. Thole isn’t too exciting at catcher. Starting pitching is a concern.
  5. NormE December 13, 2011 at 10:31 am
    Defensive holes at 2B and RF concern me.
    But, as others above have pointed out, the real problem (aside from Fred and jeffy) is the starting rotation. It’s the worst in the division and possibly the league.
  6. Joe Gomez December 13, 2011 at 10:36 am
    2 to 6 is not bad. I think that Davis and Duda are going to surprise a lot of people next year. Lets not forget that we have new dimensions at Empty-Field.

    I was kind of hoping that Flores from the Nats wouldn’t be tendered but I guess they did. He would be better than Thole for sure.

  7. MikeT December 13, 2011 at 11:21 am
    Two things often overlooked.

    How long until Bay and Duda are platooning in LF? They might be the perfect platoon partners because Bay (for all his awfulness) still exploits southpaws and Duda is actually one of the better hitting RFers in the NL last year. That would improve the defense because presumably someone more capable takes over in right (Kirk?).

    That lineup is actually pretty deep. Lest you are forget the Mets scored the most runs in the NL East last year and had the second highest OBP in the NL. Some argue that that Mets left so many men on base so why is OBP all that important? Simple: opportunity. The Mets had many opportunities to score more runs than other teams and thus they had more opportunities to leave more men on. If the Mets increase their Slugging this year they might lead the league in runs scored since you score more runs when you need fewer hits to score (i.e. a homerun requires one hit while some runs require up to four singles). The point is simply that the Mets will score this year because they can hit, even without Reyes, and they could score more if they simply hit for a higher SLG.

  8. Dan B December 13, 2011 at 12:37 pm
    For all those using 2011 stats to project 2012, please keep in mind that the Mets lost Reyes who led the Mets in ABs, runs, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, stolen bases, and average. He was also second on the team in OBS, SLG, and OPS. Who was the leader on the Mets in OBS, SLG, and OPS? Carlos Beltran. Beltran also led the 2011 Mets in HRs, RBIs, and BBs. Beltran was also second on the team in total bases and third on the team in runs and doubles. Our two best offensive players from 2011 are gone. How does that project for 2012?
    • joe December 13, 2011 at 1:08 pm
      Not well, but also Wright was out for months, Davis only played for a couple months and someone else might have a hot streak or good year. So, it is somewhat better than it might be.
      • Steve S. December 13, 2011 at 2:13 pm
        I’ve been thinking the same thing, basically. The infield, overall, should be better in terms of hitting, with Davis, Murphy, and Wright all playing a lot more in 2012. Even the outfielders, with Duda playing the entire season should be better at the plate, as well.
  9. Kranepool December 13, 2011 at 4:14 pm
    I think Jimmy Rollins would completely transform this lineup! 🙂
  10. BCA December 13, 2011 at 7:36 pm
    We need Craig Swan back!
  11. Ian December 18, 2011 at 2:03 am
    i honestly don’t see why players like endy chavez and xavier nady aren’t being discussed. these guys played tough for us and came out every game going hard. i was so pissed when we got rid of both and even jeff francouer. frenchy was the only player i liked on the team that year. same goes for nady and chavez was just a spark plug that had the right mentality. nothing special but he was a gamer. if we could get nady and/or chavez, it adds depth to our outfield and someone to share right field that is NOT duda…i’m sorry, but he can not play right field.
  12. Mongooch December 18, 2011 at 11:27 am
    If Bay,& Wright bounce back to form ,Murphy stays healthy ,Davis & Duda live up to expectations we could be competitive.We won’t have to reshuffle the lineup this year everytime Reyes was out of the lineup due to injury.I’m optimistic.
  13. Jim December 19, 2011 at 10:04 am
    Well said, Maybe if we are lucky we could get our hands on a prospect such as Dan Norman 🙁
  14. Mac December 19, 2011 at 3:34 pm
    Eternally optimistic Mets fan here… If that is the best line-up we will see (along with current starting rotation) I guarantee the 2012 Mets will be in last place at the end of the season.