Carlos Beltran

After the loss of star slugger Albert Pujols to free agency over the winter, the Cardinals were seen as a team surely on the mend. 

Three weeks ago, the San Francisco Giants sat multiple games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West.

About two of every three games was a one-run contest, and they won a like ratio of those games. Taking about half of those remaining games was good enough to make a second-seed seem almost certain.

In part eight of the greatest Mets in team history, we move onto outfielders.

The Mets have certainly had their fair share of talented outfielders. Whether it be power, speed or defense, many Mets outfielders have excelled in at least one or two aspects of the game.

Jason Bay, Angel Pagan and Lucas Duda are the current starting outfielders for the Mets. All three have been disappointing this year, but hopefully, they will improve soon.

With this being said, here are the top ten outfielders in Mets history.

Going into each season we wonder. We wonder what rookies will step up and make a name for themselves. We wonder which teams will fall flat on their faces and even which teams will shock the world.

We rarely wonder which of the players on our team is going to take a nosedive in terms of production. We try not to wonder which of our favorite players may just be entering "stiffdom". That's why I'm here.

I saw this today on ESPN.com and just couldn’t help but comment on it: 

"There's nothing the Mets would love more this spring than to have Carlos Beltran play well enough to make himself tradable in July. So scouts are already bearing down on him just in case.

Last night against the Washington Nationals, Carlos Beltran broke out in a big way. He slugged two home runs against Tom Gorzelanny and scored a third run off of an error to help lead the New York Mets to victory. This is something the team, and fans, need to see more of during the duration of the season.

The New York Mets open the 2011 regular season tonight against the Florida Marlins with Mike Pelfrey set to oppose Josh Johnson.

Heading into this season, the Mets have a lot of questions that need answers. Can the rotation step up without their ace, Johan Santana. Will Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran stay healthy? How will the bullpen perform without Pedro Feliciano, their most reliable reliever last season?

We'll start to get those answers tonight.

That said, here is your Mets 2011 season preview.

Adam Rubin has a good source reporting the Mets have placed Nick Evans, Pat Misch and Luis Hernandez on waivers.  All three players have 48 hours to either clear waivers or be claimed by another team.

Carlos Beltran took part in a simulated game on a back field in Port St Lucie, Florida on Thursday. He hit from both sides of the plate, ran the bases without hesitation and fielded his position with what he later described as 100 percent intensity.

Winter is finally over, and with it one of the most turbulent offseasons in the history of the New York Mets.

Usually, New York baseball during the months of December, January and February are dominated by the Yankees uncanny ability to sign every single All-Star free agent possible. Instead it was a quiet and disappointing off-season for the Bombers, as Cliff Lee instead opted to head back to Philadelphia.

As for the Flushing Bumbers, the Mets have been in the news just about every day.