Mets Barely Get A Passing Grade?

I just finished reading Ump Bump's take on the Mets 2009 forecast and I couldn't disagree more with their assessment. They graded the Mets a C- and here is their final analysis, though I encourage you to read the full article. I suppose it's to Omar Minaya's credit that he didn't push the panic button after two consecutive late-season failures. Then again, the Mets didn't have many tradable assets. The only area of the team that received much attention was the bullpen, which is, on paper, improved quite a bit. However, the Mets cannot count on Murphy and Tatis to perform as well as they did last season. And the clock is ticking on Carlos Beltran, who is no longer young. Plus Delgado, Schneider and Castillo are past their primes and in decline. If logic holds, the Mets will not score as many runs this year as they did in 2008. So the question becomes: can they prevent more from scoring? Johan Santana is still among the elite. While he had a very strong 2008, ...