While the Madoff lawsuit has dominated the headlines and overshadowed the Mets this winter, there is still a team to be constructed and a 162-game season to be played. Given the glare of the Wilpons financial woes, how are new GM Sandy Alderson and new manager Terry Collins doing with that task?
The team is still finalizing its rotation, but a couple of things are clear: Oliver Perez will almost definitely not be a starter, and will likely not be a Met in a few months time, while new pitchers Chris Capuano and Chris Young seem to have spots locked up as long as they stay healthy. They'll join Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese in the rotation until Johan Santana returns from injury in mid-summer.
Meanwhile, Carlos Beltran has agreed to move from center to right field for the final season of his seven-year contract with the team; he told the News that it hasn't always been enjoyable in the NYC spotlight: "Honestly, my first year here wasn't that fun." After playing in only 64 games last season due to injury, he's hoping his move to right field will help extend his career a few more years.
But very soon, the Mets team who were one at bat away from the World Series in 2006 will largely be gone; Beltran may leave for the AL where he can be DH, Luis Castillo will likely be let go sometime soon, and the Post believes that Jose Reyes will become the "Carmelo Anthony of Mets" next year. They talked to five non-Mets executives and asked where they thought Reyes would be in 2012, and not one said the Mets: "An NL GM synthesized the group’s thinking, saying, Reyes staying a Met 'would be a huge shock.'"
