Last year at this time I blogged with great optimism how things looked up for my baseball team.  The season that followed failed to meet my expectations, especially on the pitching side.  Lost Thor before the season started and Stroman opted out.  Pitching depth never overcame such a deep loss; it reverberated on the bullpen as usually happens.  Nonetheless despite no signings of the top free agents at fielding positions 1, 2 and 8, the experts find great merit in the first roster being assembled under new ownership with a recycled/new front office.  I allow myself to exude optimism.

Frankie Lindor at short, Stroman acting super confident after accepting the Mets qualifying offer.  Cookie Carrasco giving the Mets another frontline starter and the recent signing of Taijuan Walker makes for a solid 1 through 4 while young lefty David Peterson who performed very well in short-season 2020 competes with Joey Lucchesi for the five slot.  And my team expects Syndergaard to return in June.

The unresolved status of the DH leaves open the question of where some players slot on the field but not in the (batting order) lineup.  Whether eight hitters plus a pitcher or nine sluggers, the batting order presents a nice puzzle as several players who slot top or middle of the order on most other clubs may find their names six through eight or nine (if DH applies) on daily lineup cards manager Luis Rojas makes out.

And what a cool lineup (1-8) based on Twitter handles alone:

@You_Found_Nimmo

@Lindor12BC

@mconforto8

@Pete_Alonso20

@TheRealSmith2_

@JeffMcNeil805

@JDDavis26

@Jamesmccann34

Put them in coach (paraphrasing Mr. Fogerty), they look ready to play, and I’m ready to watch. Grapefruit league starts one week from tomorrow.