Pre-Season Outlook: New York Mets

Batting Order: The Mets are going to heavily rely on small ball to win, but they've got a lineup tailor made to winning with singles, speed, and hitting with runners in scoring position. Jose Reyes may be the game's best leadoff hitter and looks like he'll be a triples machine. Ricky Henderson and David Wright look to drive him in, both having high On-Bases, doubling at 16, and plenty of speed themselves. Mike Piazza stands out as the lone true power hitter on the team, but he's got plenty to spare. The roster is rounded out by five players all OB 9 or better, including Roger Cedeno, who'd hit leadoff for most other ball clubs. They could have trouble playing catch up, but this is an offense built to effectively manufacture runs the old fashioned way.

Rotation: RA Dickey is a true ace, and an affordable one at that. While he's only a control 4, his fantastic chart (complete with high K rate) and IP 8 give the Mets one the NL's best pitchers. Supporting him are fundamentally the same pitchers, although Gee only has 5 IP. If Leiter and Neise can churn out fine seasons, the Mets could find themselves in contention.

Bullpen: A thin but surprisingly solid bullpen. Rick White is one of the best long relievers in the game and Bobby Parnell looks like he's more than capable of handling the closer position. Wendell is serviceable. Not the best in business, but a good cast of relievers to support a decent starting staff.

Overall: The Mets have to compete with the Phillies, but look like they've got a team capable of hanging around all season and maybe pushing for a wild card berth. David Wright is poised to drive in a ton of runs behind Reyes and Henderson, and if Piazza can find his HR stroke often, the Mets could be playing baseball longer than most pundits believe.