The 2013-2014 offseason (for the Mets and other non-playoff teams, anyway) is almost two weeks old, and Mets fans are abuzz with speculation about what the Mets will do to improve their team.

Trying to predict the future can get kind of repetitive. The same names keep coming up – because those names will be available via free agency, or are widely believed to be trade candidates. But there’s only so much you can say or write about until deals actually start to happen.

That doesn’t stop us bloggers from trying, however.

With John Buck returning from paternity leave tonight, the Mets have decided to keep Travis d’Arnaud in the majors as their starting catcher.

The Mets feel d’Arnaud, the centerpiece of the trade that sent R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays, has learned all he can at Triple-A. It’s time for him to learn the game at the big-league level, and most importantly, develop an on-field rapport with the pitching staff.

D’Arnaud is 0 for his first 7 at bats with 5 walks. He hit .304/.487/.554 during his injury-shortened stint in Las Vegas.

Anthony Recker has been sent down to Triple-A to make room. He’ll likely be back with the Mets when rosters expand on September 1. Terry Collins has been pleased with Recker, in particular how he handled pitchers and provided a little pop off the bench.

Buck, meanwhile, will serve as d’Arnaud’s backup most of the time. Imagine the uncomfortable dinner conversation between John and his son years from now.

Dillon Gee has been on fire over the past three months, posting an ERA of 2.27 since May 30th. In particular, his changeup has been outstanding.

On the occasion of Marlon Byrd‘s 20th homer of the season, Faith and Fear looks back at other Mets who have hit 20 or more in a season.

Real Dirty draws parallels between the Mets and Pirates, and wonders if the 2014 Mets can echo the success Pittsburgh is enjoying this year.

To do so, they’ll have to make some upgrades, particularly in the outfield, and maybe shortstop.

The Mets begin a two-game series with the first-place Braves tonight at Citi Field. For recaps and reactions, keep checking out Mets Today.

The non-waiver trade deadline is scheduled to hit at 4 PM EDT today. To quote Douglas Adams, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” For the Mets, the deadline will likely whoosh by without any trades being made.

The Mets are in a delicate situation. Some pieces of the future puzzle have begun to fall in place, particularly on the mound. Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and closer Bobby Parnell would be valuable pieces of a 2014 team that, with a couple of offensive upgrades, could contend for a Wild Card spot. Conventional wisdom states that they’ll have about $40 million more dollars to play with during the offseason, which should make them players in the free agent market for the first time in the post-Madoff era.

Given that train of thought, a complete sell-off doesn’t make sense. The Mets have been gauging interest in players like Marlon Byrd, Daniel Murphy, and Parnell. The Mets don’t feel they can get a top prospect for Byrd, and Parnell, like most relief pitchers, just wouldn’t net a lot of value in return. For instance, the Houston Astros got a minor league outfielder who projects to be a fourth outfielder at best in the majors.

Parnell’s having a career year, despite the fact that his strikeouts are down (7.9 K/9) and his BABIP is low (.258), which could either mean he’s a little lucky, or he’s really keeping hitters off-balance, or both. Some of the ground balls he’s getting could start finding holes. If he does regress, I doubt if it will be that much.

Last night, Zack Wheeler threw strikes, got ahead of hitters, and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He lost the no-no and the lead in that frame, but the Mets got out of their own way long enough to score 2 runs in the 10th pull out a win against the mighty (against us, anyway) Marlins. But are the Mets messing with his mechanics too much? Also, check out this Chad Qualls celebration fail.

In other news, organizational cancer Frank Francisco advised Jenrry Mejia to stay in Port St. Lucie and collect his money instead of returning to the majors, just like his ol’ pal Frankie! It will be such a relief when Francisco’s contract runs out, and he’s as far away from the Mets franchise as possible.

And finally, for no particular reason, here’s Nino Espinosa.

Whoosh.

In addition to a great ballgame, the Mets honored the heroes of Superstorm Sandy.

It’s too bad championships aren’t won on Opening Day, because the Mets would be a dynasty.  New York is now 34-18 all-time to start the season, and 34-10 since losing their first 8 Opening days.

The Mets started off the 2013 season with an 11-2 victory over the Padres.  Yes, there are 161 games to go, but with all the negativity surrounding this franchise, an energetic win such as this can only help a beleaguered fan base.  Heck, some people are already thinking Wild Card.

Of course, this Opening Day worked out much better than the one in 1994, which was a real Tuffy for Dwight Gooden.

Also opening up the season is the newly minted Triple-A affiliate for the Mets, the Las Vegas 51s.  Here’s the Opening Day roster.  Stay off the strip, boys.

The Mets much-maligned outfield looked good on day 1, with Collin Cowgill, Marlon Byrd, and Lucas Duda all contributing.  For all the competition this Spring, isn’t it odd that there are no platoons?

In another Opening Day subplot, 14-year minor league veteran Scott Rice made his major league debut in the ninth inning for the Mets, and retired the Padres in order.  14 years in the minors…the lefty is either extremely persistent or completely insane.  But he’s easy to root for.

Finally, another Mets LHP you might have heard of, Johan Santana, had successful shoulder surgery.  So, it’s back on the mound, right?  Of course, Johan has another long road of rehab ahead of him.  And we Mets fans are left with wistful memories of his time in New York.

Coming up…game 2!  Matt Harvey will make his season debut.  Make sure you come back to Mets Today for opinions and reactions.

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed Danys Baez to a two-year contract. The veteran righty reliever missed all of 2008 due to an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery, and came back last year to pitch in 59 games and post a 4.02 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP and 40 K in 79 IP. Without knowing the dollar value on the deal it’s hard to say whether it’s a great signing, but he is potentially a very good addition to the Phillies bullpen — he essentially replaces Chan Ho Park in the 7th-inning role, but with his closing experience could also move into either the job of setup man or possibly closer if Brad Lidge has more meltdowns. Before the TJ surgery Baez had electric stuff and once saved 41 games — as far as raw skills go he wasn’t far from K-Rod. His performance dropped considerably in 2006, and in early 2007 he began to complain of “forearm tightness”, eventually hitting the DL with that symptom — which is nearly always a precursor to an elbow injury. So it’s possible his woes in ’06 — his walk year — may have been due to a hidden injury.

In any case he threw enough last year to prove he was healthy. I didn’t see him first-hand so can’t comment on whether he still has the lights-out stuff. The numbers say “no”, but he was in his first year after TJ surgery, in the AL East, and not in a closer role — so who knows? It’s a good move for the Phils considering that they are not necessarily counting on him to be more than a middle reliever.

In other news, the Cubs signed Marlon Byrd to a 3-year, $15M contract. So far Jim Hendry has not been assassinated, which is amazing considering that this asinine decision comes a year after the equally ill-advised signing of Milton Bradley (and trade of Mark DeRosa). When Byrd first came up with the Phillies he was a “five tool” player but he never flashed all five tools at once. His career path is eerily similar to that of Gary Matthews, Jr.: toolsy youngster, never better than a 5th outfielder, suddenly erupts with a career year at age 31 in Texas under the tutelage of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo (and any other “help” ?) in a walk year, then signs a ridiculously over-valued contract. OK, Sarge Jr. got a stupid 5/$50M, but a 3/$15M for Byrd is nearly as irresponsible — was anyone else in the bidding?

Nothing against Marlon Byrd. He’s a nice enough guy, he might hit .285, and he’ll provide good defense, but my bet is the Cubs will rue this signing more than they celebrate it.