Mets IBC Year in Review

[Mets]

2012 - 78-84 record +13 Run differential

Wanna see an average team? Road: 39-42 Home: 39-42
Division: 34-38
Interleague: 8-7
vs. LHP: 23-27
vs. RHP: 55-57
Tied after 7: 13-13


What went right:
Wheels: Mets finished 3rd in IBC with 185 stolen bases (DET & TEX). Wright & Pagan each stealing over 40.
Putting it in play: As has been the precedent of past Mets teams - the Mets lead the league striking out the fewest times on offense (1015). League average was 1222.
Pitching wins championships: Only 7 teams had a better team ERA than the Mets 3.92. Of those 7, only the Cubs and Astros (lost 163) failed to make the postseason.
K-club: Only 4 teams pitching staffs had more strike outs than the Mets 1338 (league average 1222).
Pen-manship: Record when leading after 7: 62-10
Aces High: Josh Johnson leads MLB in ERA with 2.61. Castoff AJ Burnett makes 20 starts with 3.02 era.
Random stat: Mets only committed 1 balk the entire year - Eric Hamren.
Health code: Only 6 pitchers made starts for the Mets in 2012 - and this was due to a demotion of Leake and not injury. Otherwise the Mets would have had the same starting rotation the entire year!

What went wrong:
Live by the sword, die by the sword: Mets were 4th in caught stealing
Average, very average: Mets slash - 257/320/393. League avg. slash - 258/323/407. Mets were slightly below league average - reflected in the record.
Power outage: League Avg. HR - 161.9 Mets HR - 140
Comeback kids. No: Record when trailing after 7: 3-61. Playoff teams find a way to win these games. Mets did not even come close.
Kryptonite Teams: CIN: 1-7, PIT: 1-6, StL: 1-6. Keep me out of the central.
Fox hole: Jake Fox lead my team in HR...with 22 in 400 ab's. That's bad.
NY Flop: Miquel Montero slash in his first season in Queens: 238/312/364
Air mail: #2 starter Ian Kennedy vastly underachieves with a 4.54era and giving up 28 HR in a pitchers park to go along with 17 HBP and 11 WP - this from a "control" guy. Mike Leake is jeckyl and hyde with a 5.04 era - being banished to the farm - yet leading the team in Complete games with 3. Bobby Parnell's 5.13 era is not what you expect from a future closer.

Looking ahead:
The rotation is set - Josh Johnson stayed healthy the entire season. Kennedy and Anibal will be solid mid-rotation starters. AJ Burnett won 16 games in the MLB and Jose Quintana came out of nowhere to add a lefty for the 2013 staff.

Dropping out of the race early allowed me to move parts like Polanco, etc. that will not be useful next year. I was also able to address my bullpen depth for 2013 and have the equation solved already.

Solid years from David Wright, Michael Cuddyer, Angel Pagan, Chris Johnson, Juan Pierre & Miquel Montero will anchor the offense - but is not nearly enough. There is very little depth in the farm and the likes of Jason Bay, Ryan Raburn & Carlos Lee are all waiver material. Filling in the cracks will be hard without breaking into the rotation - but we will see.