Does No One Want to Pitch in Queens?

So it's been a year and a half and I am finally back. What the hell have I been doing? Well I was pretty busy with a lot of things, but that's neither here nor there because I am back now. While I was gone the Yankees won the World Series, the Giants didn't make the playoffs, the Islanders went from worst in the NHL to not so terrible now, the Rangers are still around, the Jets made it to the AFC Championship Game with rookie QB Mark Sanchez, and the Mets? Oh the Mets, they lost 15 players to the DL last season and finished with a 70-92 record, good for second to last place.

Now this offseason, they are in desperate need of starting pitching especially with Ollie Perez, John Maine, and Johan Santana coming off major injury, but it seems as if no one wants to pitch at the now year-old Citi Field. Jon Garland? Signed with the Dodgers. Ben Sheets? Signed with the A's. Joel Pineiro? Signed with the Angels. John Lackey? Signed with the Red Sox.

It seems as though the only option the Mets have left is over-the-hill 42 year-old, John Smoltz. The only real impact player the Mets have signed at all this offseason is Jason Bay and a potential low risk, high reward reliever in Kelvim Escobar.

It seems that no one wants to play for the Mets. The need a catcher, and for the second time in three years could not close the deal with Benjie Molina, as he re-signed with the Giants. The Mets have plenty of holes to fill, but they have no one to fill them. They are interested in Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba, but who knows if they will want to play for them. And they are looking into having Fernando Tatis as the regular first baseman, but let's see what happens.

The benefit for the Mets, though, is that they get plenty of All-Stars back from injury for this season; however, Carlos Beltran will miss at least a month because of his controversial knee surgery.

So what will become of the Mets in this new decade? Well, only time will tell but I definitely see a brighter 2010 for the team from Queens than they had in 2009 just because of the players they are getting back from injury.