What began with glimmer of hope, that sank to the deepest spots, has now began to climb out of the hole that was dug. The rough offseason for the New York Mets began with the loss of Jose Reyes to the newly christened Miami Marlins. Instead of siting idly by, General Manager Sandy Alderson used that money to acquire some new pieces to help sure up a bullpen that struggled mightily after the trade of closer Francisco Rodriguez during the All-Star break. None of the pieces that were acquired were quite as flashy as the man they replace but still effective. Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, and Ramon Ramirez all have the task of strengthening a 'pen that consists of Tim Byrdak (aka Hulk Hogan), Pedro Beato, and Manny Accosta.

In January the Mets waived the once highly touted outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, after struggling to stay even remotely healthy for the past two seasons. Later in the month it was revealed that the team's financial struggles were even worse than previously thought. It seemed as though the team would be caught in the middle of a tug-of-war that would cost the Wilpon and Katz family millions of dollars.

February started out quiet but soon became tragic with the passing of Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter after a long battle with brain cancer (on a side note, please buy the "RIP Kid" t-shirts from our good friends at The 7 Line. All proceeds go to the Gary Carter Foundation). Things soon took a turn for the better with the first bullpen session Johan Santana threw. It marked the beginning of his comeback attempt since his last major league appearance in September of 2010. The diagnosis of Valley Fever for Ike Davis came as a shock to all. Many believed that it would be a similar situation to Conor Jackson. Jackson contracted the disease back in May of 2009 and has yet to reach the potential that he once showed. It still may affect Ike but after a full and successful spring it shows no signs of the disease.

It was not that successful of a spring for the Mets record wise. But with the successful springs of most of the starting rotation (outside of Mike Pelfrey) and a many of the lineup (except Jason Bay), the Mets may do better than many have predicted.

COMING SOON: Mets 2012 Season preview. Read More...

Looking to build off their first series win since late July, the Mets look to continue to cause some havoc in the postseason race when they take on the Florida Marlins. The Marlins find themselves 5.5 back of the Colorado Rockies in the Wild Card and 6 back of the slumping Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The Marlins lead the season series 7-5, including 3-3 at Citi Field. Six of the twelve games played against these two have been decided by 1 run; the Mets being 2-4 in those games. Tonight, the Mets get a huge boost to their lineup as Carlos Beltran makes his long awaited (albeit way too late) return. My guess is that this will move Angel Pagan to left field and Cory Sullivan back to the bench.


Pitching Matchups for this series:

Tonight: Rick Vandenhurk (2-2 4.91 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (2-4 5.70 ERA)
Vandenhurk's last start (ND 8-7 vs. ATL): 5IP, 3R (2ER), 6H, 3BB, 3K
Career vs. NYM: 0-1 11.25 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .314 BAA in 3 appearances (all starts)
Road this season: 1-1 4.80 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, .288 BAA in 3 appearances (all starts)
Redding's last start (ND 2-5 @ COL): 6.2IP, 2ER, 7H, 1BB, 6K
Career vs. FLA: 5-5 5.54 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, .271 BAA in 13 appearances (all starts)
Home this season: 1-2 6.33 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .260 BAA in 13 appearances (5 starts)

Wednesday: Ricky Nolasco (10-8 5.27 ERA) vs. Pat Misch (1-1 3.25 ERA)
Nolasco's last start (W 8-3 vs. ATL): 6IP, 3ER, 7H, 1BB, 7K
Career vs. NYM: 2-6 6.44 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, .344 BAA in 13 appearances (11 starts)
Road this season: 5-4 5.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, .261 BAA in 13 appearances (all starts)
Misch's last start (W 8-3 @ COL): 7IP, 2ER, 4H, 2BB, 3K
Career vs. FLA: 0-1 13.50 ERA, 2.36 WHIP, .333 BAA in 2 appearances (1 start)
Home this season: 0-1 4.61 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, .240 BAA in 10 relief appearances

Thursday: Sean West (6-5 4.61 ERA) vs. Bobby Parnell (3-7 5.25 ERA)
West's last start (ND 9-6 @ WAS): 3IP, 5ER, 7H, 1BB, 4K
Career vs. NYM: 1-0 1.38 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .204 BAA in 2 appearances (2 starts)
Road this season: 1-3 6.55 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, .295 BAA in 7 appearances (all starts)
Parnell's last start (ND 6-2 vs. CHC): 7IP, 0ER, 5H, 3BB, 7K
Career vs. FLA: 0-0 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .368 BAA in 7 relief appearances
Home this season: 2-5 4.94 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .260 BAA in 33 appearances (4 starts)

Don't let the records of the two teams deceive you. This will be a more evenly matched series than people anticipate; plus avoiding Met killer and Cy Young candidate Josh Johnson is HUGE. I'm torn on this. While I would love nothing more than to aid the Marlins and help them catch Philly; after the way they've knocked us out of the playoffs the past couple of seasons (and the celebrations to boot)...I wouldn't have any sympathy for them either. How will the young Marlins handle the pressure of being in the playoff chase? Can Redding, Misch and Parnell build off of their quality starts? How much of an impact will Beltran's return have on our starting lineup? Stay tuned.

For those tracking at home by the way, the Tragic Number to official elimination is 10 in the Wild Card; 11 in the Division. The Magic Number to avoid last place in the NL East is 11 as well.

Random "Why should I care" Fact: I'm going to Citi Field on Thursday for the 4th time. I am 2-1 this season; seeing 2 of Oliver Perez' 3 victories ha. Lifetime in games I've gone to however, I am 1-5 vs. the NL East (1-3 vs. PHI; 0-1 vs. ATL; 0-1 vs. FLA).
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