My projected (hopeful) 2008 roster

2008 Projected (Hopeful) Lineup

Starting Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS S

2. David Eckstein 2B R

3. David Wright 3B R

4. Carlos Beltran CF S

5. Jorge Posada C S

6. Moises Alou LF R

7. Carlos Delgado 1B L

8. Lastings Milledge RF R

Bench

9. Ramon Castro C R

10. Marlon Anderson 1B/OF L

11. Ruben Gotay IF S

12. Endy Chavez OF L

13. Damion Easily IF/OF R

Starting Rotation

14. Johan Santana SP L

15. Pedro Martinez SP R

16. John Maine SP R

17. Oliver Perez SP L

18. [Pelfrey/Humber/Mulvey] SP R

Bullpen

19. Billy Wagner CL R

20. Duaner Sanchez SU R

21. Scott Schoenweis RP L

22. Pedro Feleciano RP L

23. Joe Smith RP R

24. Orlando Hernandez RP R

25. [Rookie] RP L/R

*Johan Santana – trade two of three (Pelfrey, Humber, Mulvey), one of two (Martinez, Gomez) and Heilman

*David Eckstein – free agent signing

*Jorge Posada – free agent signing

*[Rookie] – rookie relief pitcher out of Mets farm system (Willie Collazo, Carlos Muniz)

*Gueirro Mota – release him, eat the money, not worth the pain

...okay so in reality...who knows...i do believe the posada and eckstein signing are possible and both good...Eckstein's got heart, he is a scrappy young player...and good attitude...Posada is a great leader, performs well, and again works hard...plus, with torre gone, he is more likely to sign elsewhere...and with the Mets keeps him home and in the NY spotlight and with willie again...either way, both would be great additions to the team...i don't know about you, but that lineup 1-8 is solid and would take that every day...

...as for the starters...they are going to have to be giving probably at least 2 of the 3 potentials (humber, pelfrey, mulvey) so whoever is left, gets the 5th spot...bump el duque to the pen...good relief, and can spot start...maine and perez are solid 3-4's with a santana-pedro 1-2 punch (assuming health is good)...getting santana will be quite the task...but it is doable for the right package without selling too much...

...the bullpen can be resolved from what we have already...first...bye bye mota...i don't want to see you ever again, you are worth eating the contract so we never have to see you in a mets uniform again...hopefully sanchez comes back and is healthy and can be what he showed us in the first half of '06...adding el duque to the pen gives us a bit more depth...i say give joe smith the shot...he has the whole off-season to get arm strength up and be effective...and then the last spot give to collazo or muniz in the minors...there are arms down there that we should take a look at...

...bench is pretty much the same...so with 3 solid moves...this team has a solid makeup for next year...but alas...i am not GM...so we will see...