AAVR Magazine

Four Aces in Queens, Or One Ace and Three Jokers!

Baseball is America’s pastime and a sport that I follow very closely. Just recently the Mets acquired three-time Cy Young pitcher Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins and signed him for six years at 137.5 million. In his past, Johan has certainly proved himself to be worth the money. The only debate now is, can the Mets now win a championship that has eluded them for more than 20 years?

Personaly, I still have major doubts about their chances. There are still so many question marks placed on the team. Right now the projected starting rotation is Santana, Martinez, Maine, Perez, and Hernandez.

I have few doubts about Johan being able to pitch under the pressure of New York. My main concerns lie with the rest of the rotation. The Mets keep telling the media that Pedro will be fine for the entire season, but I think this is false. After such a big surgery, Pedro was only able to throw in four games. Granted he did win three out of the four, but I do not believe he will be able to maintain his stamina for the year. His velocity is also not what it used to be. Pedro relies a lot on his velocity, hitting 95 and blowing people away right down the middle. However, if his speed drops to 92 or so he will have to work on spotting the ball which might lead him to make some costly mistakes.

John Maine is another guy that I have concerns with. The kid did show he had some good stuff last year, but I think that good hitters in the NL will be able to get a better look at him in year two. Last year he went 15 and 10 with a just under 4 ERA (Earned Run Average). I do not think that these numbers will repeat themselves. I project he will have around 15 wins but add another two or three losses on there.

Dropping down into the four spot is Oliver Perez. I have some hope for the pitcher. With so many good pitchers in front of him he will be matched up with the other number four starters and may just fly under the radar on some teams. Last year, he too went 15 and 10 with a 3.56 ERA. I think he will maintain these numbers pretty well and is not going to be spectacular but somewhat reliable.

The fifth starter is Orlando Hernandez. I cannot say enough about this guy. I absolutely loved him when he was a Yankee and was sad to see him go. (Yes, I am a die-hard Yankees fan.) Orlando is a finesse pitcher who uses his veteran status to his advantage. He does not throw hard at all, but uses great command and a sick-nasty curveball to freeze batters. He is also very versatile, because as he showed last year, he can come out of the bullpen for long relief. Depending on how the Mets use him he may just get them 10 wins.

So there you have it, the Mets starting rotation. Let’s see how spring training goes and we shall see how all five guys hold up throughout the season.

Here is just an agenda for my next few columns: Yankees starting five, Mets and Yankees bullpens, Rest of the League, and the Sanman’s Bold Predictions.

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