New York Mets

With much publicity surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets have the opportunity to sneak up on the perennial division winners and catch them off guard, assuming certain players on their roster step up and rebound from tough, even dismal 2010 seasons.

With that in mind, here is a list of those five players that the Mets most need to overachieve this season.

In the early going to the 2011 season Terry Collins has had trouble managing the Mets bullpen because of the ineffectiveness of just about every pitcher in it. The problems started from the get go with a blown save in the second game of the year by closer Francisco Rodriguez and seems to have had a trickle down affect on everyone else.

The Mets have played just 10 games this year, but it is not too early to be concerned about some of the team’s issues.

I am giving the disclaimer in advance that we are dealing with small sample sizes at this point of the year.

It is early, but the team is currently sitting in last place in the NL East. While the Mets won’t spend the year in the cellar, there are some issues that will certainly keep them from competition for a playoff spot.

With a less-than-spectacular supporting cast surrounding them, these 10 players will be looked upon by their respective teams to carry the offense workload during the 2011 MLB season.

Whether its injury, age or just flat-out underproduction, any team is prone to struggle at some point in the season and that’s when they'll need their offensive stars the most.

In their 49-year history, the New York Mets have had some success in developing minor league prospects. Though many of these players went on to play for other teams, the Mets still did their job of ensuring these players were as Major League-ready as possible.

Tom Seaver, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Jose Reyes and David Wright all were drafted by the team and made an immediate impact for the big club.

Amidst the recent bullpen shakeup after the New York Mets respectable 4-5 start to the 2011 regular season, questions arise as to how fourth outfielder Scott Hairston will continue to fit himself into the Mets future plans.

There is one word to describe the New York Mets bullpen this year: Ugly. Even when they have gotten through innings without giving up a run, they have frequently walked batters, gotten behind in most counts and have thrown more balls than strikes.

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.

Last season, the Mets were supposed to be strong offensively and weak in the starting pitching department.

It was the opposite.

This season, the Mets are firing on all cylinders and sit at 3-2 without playing a home game. For a team that went 32-49 on the road last season, they're off to a good start.

I am going to start this article off by adding the disclaimer that we are still only five games into the season.

However, the Mets have gotten off to a quick 3-2 start. The team has looked good with the exception of Mike Pelfrey.

It is already obvious that this is a different Mets team than the one we saw last year. Last year’s incarnation of the team would have just laid down and rolled over once they were down 7-0 to the Phillies.