The NL East: New York Mets

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Most of the off-season news concerning the Mets revolved around two things: hiring a new manager and the financial "matters" of the owners.

New GM Sandy Alderson was laid the task of replacing Jerry Manuel after a few sub-par seasons. The Mets have a fair amount of talent, but the results never matched that talent. Alderson brought in Terry Collins. Collins career MLB record (with stints in Houston and Anaheim) is 444-434. That''s not going to grab you especially when you consider he's never taken a team to the playoffs in his six seasons as a skipper.

The financial fiasco surrounding the Wilpon family has been widely covered so I won't delve into that. The last I read/heard, the trustee for Bernie Madoff's clients was attempting to recover a figure around $1 billion. Yes, a cool billion in dough. The Wilpons are in the process of possibly selling 20-25 percent of the franchise and MLB provided the Mets with about $25 million in November. Always about the almighty buck, isn't it?

Now on the the team...

Around the infield, again, there is talent. First baseman Ike Davis proved that he could not only handle big league hitting, but he possesses also can handle a glove as well. Over at the other corner is David Wright who, despite having what was labeled an off year, is steady with the glove and the bat. Jose Reyes, when healthy, is one of the best in the game as a shortstop.

But the position that has become somewhat under fire is second base. Luis Castillo has lost a bit of range and a bit of luster from the three Gold Gloves he owns. His bat has been spotty over the last three seasons. He's lost a bit of his legs on the basepaths as well. The Mets would have like to have gotten some alternative besides Daniel Murphy, too. Mets fans have been less than enamored with the play of both.

All-in-all, not a bad infield though.

The outfield has many question of which one has already been answered. Angel Pagan will play center. Pagan is coming off his best year both in the field and at the plate. Now, the questions arise from the corners in Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran.

Has Bay fully recovered from his concussion? We've seen that the Twins Justin Morneau has only recently be able to take the field. Bay is a little ahead of Morneau, but you do have to worry about his reaction if he has to approach any wall. The bat is pretty much back though. Bay is working on taking the ball to all fields which can make him doubly dangerous. Beltran?