NL East

It was Aug. 10, 2010.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones had just made one of the best defensive plays of his career. The 38-year-old sprinted into foul territory to field a ground ball, gloved it, and made a rocket throw to first in time to get the runner—while in mid-air.

However, before viewers could finish processing what they just saw, Chipper landed awkwardly and the camera zoomed into a close-up shot of Jones' face, wincing in pain.

The Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel era is officially over and new manager Terry Collins has the Mets focused. 

If you haven’t read Collins’ letter to all New York Mets fans, you really should.

The New York Mets opened their season against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium, hoping to rebound from a subpar season in 2010. Unfortunately, the bad play from the previous campaign reared its ugly head in the first game of the 2011 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.

The weather is getting nicer outside, and Opening Day came and went with six games that each had interesting endings.

We had studs like Mariano Rivera and Heath Bell shutting the door on their opponents, and John Axford and Ryan Franklin looking just a bit shaky.

Let's take a look at the news we missed in the preseason edition and then dive into Opening Day.

Quick News

The 2011 Philadelphia Phillies have had a rough spring so far, losing closer Brad Lidge and second baseman Chase Utley for indeterminate periods.

Luis Castillo could not even lock down the starting second-base job, which will now fall to Wilson Valdez for Friday's season opener.

In light of Jayson Werth's debut in Washington, it's time to examine the five most likable ex-Philadelphia Phillies.

This is a list of active players who we could all agree that we like (and secretly root for when they're not playing the Phils).

We may not have always liked them when they were with the Phillies. However, the fact of the matter remains, they were appreciated.

I hate to be the ultimate Debby Downer. I love my Mets. I always will love my Mets, because they will always be my Mets.

But let's be realistic here, the Mets aren’t in great shape financially and they’ve had bad karma of late because their team was purchased using “Madoff money.”

After an exciting winter and encouraging spring, the Washington Nationals could not wait for Opening Day 2011 to arrive.

After an uneventful 2-0 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Braves though, the day turned out to be one the Nats will want to forget. The day was marred by umpire Tim Welke's amoeba-like strike zone, frigid temperatures and ominous dark clouds.

But it's Opening Day, so let's forget about the bad and look for the silver lining.

I was a little bummed to go onto Metsblog today to see that Rich Coutinho had stole my thunder by saying he thinks the Mets are an 85 win team. Right now I have them penciled in for 85 wins minimum with a chance for a little more and a possible wild card push.