New York Mets 2011: A Team of Potential

As we approach the 2011 season, it seems as though several teams in the NL East have significantly improved this offseason.

The Phillies brought back Cliff Lee to set up one of the best pitching staffs, at least on paper, in recent history.

The Braves added Dan Uggla to solidify the middle of their order.

The Nationals signed Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche, and Rick Ankiel in an attempt to improve their offense.

Even the Marlins made some moves, trading for All-Star utility man Omar Infante and signing Javier Vazquez as well as John Buck.

And then there's the Mets.

We signed D.J. Carrasco and Taylor Bucholz for the bullpen and Chris Capuano for the back end of the rotation. Ronny Paulino will be a nice right-hand hitting complement to Josh Thole.

But that's about it thus far. Looking at the moves by the other teams, it would appear that the Mets have been left in the dust.

However, the Mets must be looked at as a team of potential.

Many things must click this year, but if each player plays up to his potential, there's no reason why this team cannot compete for the NL East crown or, at the very least, the Wild Card.

Here are some of the possible stat lines for some of our core players. I'm not saying that if the players reach these milestones the Mets will automatically win. But if they play to their potential, who knows what this team could accomplish?

All these numbers are hypothetical, but I tried to be as realistic as possible based on track record and potential. Baseball is more than just numbers, but you have to start somewhere.

It's safe to say that it is basically impossible that each player will have a career year in 2011. But if they play together and pick up each other's slack, this could be a dangerous team.

Ike Davis: .275 BA, 23 HR, 80 RBI

Jose Reyes: .290 BA, 15 HR, 65 RBI, 60 SB

David Wright: .305 BA, 25 HR, 110 RBI, 20 SB

Carlos Beltran: .280 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI

Jason Bay: .270 BA, 25 HR, 90 RBI

Angel Pagan: .285 BA, 10 HR, 70 RBI, 30 SB

Mike Pelfrey: 17-10, 3.25 ERA

Jon Niese: 15-11, 3.50 ERA

R.A. Dickey: 15-8, 2.90 ERA

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