Monday, March 5, 2012

Back From Hibernation In Time For Spring Training

So, attempt #1 at Bleeding Blue and Orange fizzled out due to the Islanders fizzling out.  There wasn't much too say at some points, but somehow as crazy as it sounds, the Islanders are only 5 points out of a playoff spot.  There are a number of teams between them and that spot though, so I wouldn't hold my breath, but stranger things have happened.

Even with the team not being world-beaters this year, there were definitely some positives to this season:

     1) Matt Moulson proved he wasn't a fluke

     2) John Tavares is a beast.

     3) Evgeni Nabakov actually turned around and decided he likes Long Island.

Now, whether or not anything else comes of this hockey season remains to be seen, but keep watching regardless.  You never know.

That said, though, as I sit here with a chicken roasting in the oven, it's t-minus 45 minutes until game time for the first Mets spring training game of the year.  As much as I have been furious and disgusted with the Mets over this off-season, somehow I'm finally in the mood for baseball.  I think it's because it's just been long enough where I'm ready for the first sign of spring...baseball.  I think the soreness of the Reyes deal is finally done and over with.

But the big question is, what do I expect of the season?  I think that if I go in with low expectations, I might be pleasantly surprised.  With the potential of some of the young pitchers like Matt Harvey, who some people expect to see by the All Star Break, and the return of Johan Santana, depending on how the chips fall, the pitching could be good or terrible.  The same can be said for the offensive part of the team.  With the departure of Reyes, this team definitely needs to shift from a speed based offense to one more revolving around power.  With guys like Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis, David Wright, and Jason Bay in the lineup consistently, this team really could show some signs of power.  Especially with the changing of the field's dimensions.  Even Lucas Duda could turn into a hell of a ball player.

All in all, it's a matter of being able to see what happens.  I'm hoping to at least be entertained and not have to turn off the game in disgust.  I think this team may be capable of that, and then some.

Either way, it's time for baseball.