Is 2005 the Year of the Mets?

The Mets, for some reason, have always remained an afterthought among sports teams in New York. They have been a coda to a musical symphony, if you could call, often landing over-priced and over-sized starts, who were well past their prime.

And their winning record would barely make a footnote in the record books in New York sports history. Their only recent note of merit came in 1986 when they denied Boston a World Series and helped extend the so-called curse to 2004. The Mets have gotten a strong fan base and also enjoy the overwhelming support of the Yankee Haters Club.

But the 2005 offseason news have been heart-warming for the collectors of 'Met-ographics.' Owner Fred Wilpon signed Omar Minaya, who has embarked on a gluttonous journey to gobble up a host of players that make look the Mets comfortable.

If newly-signed GM Minaya's offseason imports perform to the prognostications, then the Mets' saga is sure to reach a new level in 2005. Who knows may be even a World Series appearance or probably a World Series ring could adorn every Met.

For so long, it used to be your daddy's Mets who were failing to attract explosive starts and projecting an image of playing abode to stars whose career plummeted as rapidly as Dow Jones.

However, Minaya's swift swoopings have made Queens, for a change, the centerpiece in the baseball landscape.

Minaya got on the act quickly. His first acquisition was getting Willie Randolph as the coach. Randolph became the first African-American to coach a New York team. More importantly, Randolph comes from New York, hence wouldn't act like a schmuck when it comes to managing New York clubs. It's fair to say that he is adept in handling the shtick that New York usually throws up. Most of it all, he has served under Joe Torre's leadership and that should come good in the coming season.

If you wonder that something dramatic has happened to the Mets, you are probably right. Primarily, there has been a paradigm shift in the Mets' brainstrust (read as owner Fred Wilpon). Wilpon, after all, witnessed the dramatic rise of the Mets during that glorious World Series in 2000 to the abysmal depths the team scaled pretty much after that.

The Mets, inexorably, had the habit of second-guessing. They seemed to backpedal after bidding for Alex Rodriguez. They let slip Vladimir Guerrero through their hands like Mike Piazza struggled at first base. They seemed to make real baffling decisions that would've made look The Osbournes wiser. The Victor Zambrano-for-Scott Kazmir trade would still induce nightmarish dreams for the loyal Mets fans, who of course, were immune to such outlandish acts.

However, Wilpon brought Minaya, the manager of the itinerant Montreal Expos. Minaya has experienced first-hand the agony that comes as a result of remaining in the dungeons of the baseball scrap heap. He understands the frustration and more importantly has faced failure and despair time and again. Hence, he won't fluster as soon as you mention failure to him. It wouldn't have been more appropriate for anyone else than Minaya to manage the Mets, a team that has induced its fans to wear the cloak of inferiority.

Minaya, after signing manager Willie Randolph, eyed Pedro Martinez, his Spanish-speaking former Expos pitcher. And once he got wind of the rumblings between the Red Sox management and Martinez, he got into overdrive. He acted fast and smart and Martinez was officially signed as a Met to strengthen their rotation which already has the sub-par Tom Glavine.

If you looked at plugging holes in the Mets, they needed tones of cement. Their pitching looked scratchy and begged for a major facelift, while their defense was equally bad and their batting, too, needed a spark.

The happy days of Glavine and Mike Piazza seemed to be confined to ESPN Classic and their other players Kaz Matsui, Jose Reyes, and David Wright either were injured or lacked experience.

After making a successful run for Martinez, Minaya certainly played bully with his crosstown rival in the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes. Beltran was arguably the glittering offering of the offseason from the Scott Boras Showroom.

On previous occasions, the mere sight of Brian Cashman and his cohorts negotiating for the same star would've automatically thrown the Mets out of the equation. But Minaya and Wilpon showed resilience and stayed put. They even managed to drag their way to Puerto Rico to entice Carlos Beltran.

Surely, Minaya's vision of a Hispanic dream team would've played in Beltran's signings. Beltran was offered seven years and $119 million. And finally the unthinkable happened. The Yankees opted out of the race and the Mets landed the prize deal. For those who are superstitious, isn't this proof enough the Mets are certain to blossom in 2005? They have thumped the Yankees for once in the offseason.

Though Beltran and Martinez are sure to improve the Mets' standing in the baseball universe, they still need a qualify first baseman. Instead of angling for Sammy Sosa, who again belongs to the Mo Vaughn, Roger Cedeno clan, if Minaya could make a run for Doug Mientkiewicz, their defense is sure to go up a notch. Minaya could inflict a double whammy on Boston if he could play the "ball-gate" in his favor. If he fails, he could always fall back to John Olerud. After all, Olerud has played in New York and can adapt to the pressure-cooker situation. Incidentally, Olerud hit the game-winning homer against Pedro Martinez in Game 2 of the ALCS.

But Beltran and Martinez need time to cope with the new team. Most managers would vouch that the key to success in baseball not only relies on a powerful outfit, but also on clubhouse chemistry.

Martinez is known for his occasional flare-ups inside the clubhouse. He needs his space. Though Martinez is expected to be a hit in the DH-less world of NL, he seems to tail off once he reaches the 100-pitch count. (One certainly hopes Randolph doesn't commit Grady Little-esque mistakes when it comes to handling Martinez.)

Beltran, after having spent six and a half seasons in Kansas and half a season in Houston, certainly needs to acclimate to New York levels of pressure and expectations. Call that big market baseball. Beltran, last season, put up astounding numbers. He batted .267 with 38 home runs, 104 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases, which might seem mediocre. His October performances have elevated his star value into the stratosphere. In the three months with Houston, Beltran batted .435 and hit 8 home runs, 14 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 12 playoff games in the postseason, more than Barry Bonds.

Apart from these two marquee names, the Mets seemingly remain unaltered. Glavine, Kris Benson, Steve Trachsel, and Victor Zambrano will share the rotation with Martinez and Braden Looper will return to his role of a closer.

However, the momentum certainly seems to be on their side and 2005 could very well turn out to be the year of the Mets.