New York Mets vs Colorado Rockies: Rapid Fire Series Preview Interview

Frank Gray
MM Editor

After the in-climate weather in Minnesota this past weekend, the Mets travel further west to Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies. Weather will be the biggest story in this series as well. Each game of the four game set comes with a chance of snow or rain. Hopefully, the baseball gods smile down upon these teams and allow the games to proceed as scheduled.

Should this happen, it will be an interesting series. Both teams are off to good starts and both have young talent that can be exciting to watch. With that said, we turn to our friend David Martin at Rockies Review for our Rapid Fire segment.



MM- What is the biggest news story for your team entering this series?  

DM- The biggest news story for the 2013 Colorado Rockies right now is their early season success. This is a team that some experts were predicting to lose well over 100 games. It is early, but the Rockies have gotten out of the gates quickly.

Their offensive firepower has been far greater than anyone expected. Their lineup, top to bottom, is very potent. They have scored the most runs in the National League West so far this season, and they have hit more home runs than any team as well. All of that has been done while only playing three games at Coors Field.


MM- Who is the one pitcher due to break out this series?

DM- I am not sure there is necessarily a pitcher who is due to break out this series. The Rockies pitching staff is the biggest question mark that this team faces. The starters set all sorts of records last season with their struggles.

There is talent there, Juan Nicasio, Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa and Jon Garland are all very good pitchers, however they are all coming off of injuries that essentially washed out their 2012 seasons, making them question marks for success in 2013. The majority of analysts suggest that the Rockies pitching staff is one of the worst in the league. However, their early season success might suggest otherwise.


MM- Who should the Mets be afraid to face and why?

DM- The national media would suggest that the Mets should be afraid to face Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki and not give any thought to anyone else in the Rockies lineup. If that happens, the Mets will be hurting. Dexter Fowler is having a baffling early season stretch where suddenly the leadoff hitter who has occasional pop is hitting balls into the upper deck at Petco Park.

Fowler is hitting .298 so far, notching six home runs and nine RBIs. The crazy thing about Fowler's success has been that he is doing it from the left side of the plate, a place where most Rockies fans were insisting was the weakest part of the switch-hitters game.


MM- Who on the Mets are your fans most interested in seeing and why?

DM- Rockies fans are going to have a unique Met that they are interested in seeing come to Coors Field. The citizens of Denver are a tight-knit group and they love to see one of their own succeed, therefore, everyone in Colorado is rooting for Kirk Nieuwenhuis to succeed.

Nieuwenhuis attended Denver Christian High School and grew up in the Denver area. His success in the big leagues makes him a hero to many in the area. Fans in Denver will be thrilled to see one of their own in the big leagues.


MM- What are your predictions for this series and why?  

DM- This series is extremely difficult to predict. The Mets and the Rockies have both been hitting the ball out of the park like crazy. However, as the Mets seem to be used to, the weather is going to be terrible.

Denver is expected to get four inches of snow on Monday morning, and the temperatures aren't going to get above 35 degrees for the entire series. That means that in all likelihood, at least one of the games will be postponed, and there could easily be a doubleheader involved somewhere. Playing baseball in cold weather always makes for a difficult prediction.

However, the Rockies are determined to turn Coors Field into a home field advantage again, something they haven't done well at the past few years. If the games are played as scheduled, I believe the Rockies will win three of four. If the weather becomes an issue, the series could easily be split.


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New York Mets Offseason: Projecting the Starting Outfield

Alex Bouraad
Mets Menu Contributor

As you all may know, the New York Mets have an outfield predicament. While they may have young, up-and-coming talent by the names of Matt Den-Dekker and WIlmer Flores, fans are stuck looking at what the outfield should be on Opening Day 2013. 

While some other parts of Mets farm system are very promising, like the pitching prospects, the outfield has a long way to go. If the season started today, the starting outfield would most likely be Mike Baxter in LF, Kirk Nieuwenhuis in CF, and Lucas Duda in RF. 

Let's start with Mike Baxter. Mike Baxter or the hometown kid, will always be known as the man who saved Johan Santana's no-no. Baxter is definitely not the answer for a playoff contending team. While he is a solid fielder, his offense is just not good enough for a playoff contending team. In 89 games last year, he only hit for a .263 AVG with three home runs.

Next is Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Even though he has a crazy last name and his style of play is entertaining to watch, he should not be considered the solution in CF. He is just simply not fast enough and does not have a quick enough first step to patrol a solid center field. This brings up an interesting point, because of Nieuwenhuis deficiencies in the field, will this cause Sandy and Terry to fast track a young prospect by the name of Matt Den-Dekker to the majors in time for opening day?

I believe that this will happen. Matt Den-Dekker has been on the minds of Mets fans for years; a speedy but very steady fielder in center with some pop in his bat. Den Dekker's career fielding percentage is a whopping .988. This guy is the future center fielder of your New York Mets.

Finally, we move on to Lucas Duda. While Duda had a rather disappointing 2012 with the big club. including a visit to Buffalo, he could be a potential mainstay in one of the corner outfield spots. His power numbers have not yet translated to Major League level, with only 15 HRs last year, but I believe that Lucas Duda can and will be a consistent 30-40 HR hitter.

While we never know what lies in the future, I believe that your New York Mets Opening Day outfield will be:  Lucas Duda in RF, Matt Den-Dekker in CF and in LF will be Kirk Nieuwenhuis  to start the season.