The Magic 8-Ball Predicts The 2012 Mets Season

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  No, it's not the day the Victoria's Secret catalog arrives at your doorstep.  (Speaking of which, I haven't gotten mine yet...the mail here is slower than Steve Trachsel with a man on first.)  No, my friends.  It's the most wonderful time of the year because Mets baseball is back!

Of course, after three consecutive losing seasons and the rapid improvement of the Nationals and Marlins, Mets fans might not be looking forward to this season as much as they would have had the team been, you know, good.

But the start of the baseball season is never the time to despair, no matter how the team looks on paper.  Everyone is tied for first.  No one is in a slump.  And Jason Bay hasn't struck out yet.  Things are good in Flushing!

This year, as the Mets celebrate their 50th anniversary season, everything old is new again.  From the return of Banner Day to the departure of the black drop shadow on the team's jerseys, the Mets are taking pride in their past.  At Studious Metsimus, we like to take pride in our past as well, so we've decided to bring back your friend and mine, the Magic 8-Ball, to make its predictions for the 2012 season.  As always, I'll ask it a question and it will provide me with an answer, or prediction if you will.  Let us begin!


It's good to see you again, Magic 8-Ball.  Now when we've done this in the past, your predictions haven't exactly been as accurate we expected them to be.  Are you confident that your predictions for the Mets will be correct this time?

I see.  Actually, I have no idea what that means.  Anyway, let's move on.  How many starts do you see Johan Santana making this year?

Really?  That's very optimistic of you, considering Santana hasn't thrown a pitch in a regular season game in 19 months.

I thought you were supposed to be confident about your answers.  You can't flip-flop just because I questioned your decision.  No one will be able to confide in your predictions.

Never mind.  Let's move on.  Let's talk about Santana's rotation mate, Mike Pelfrey.

Do you have a problem with Mike Pelfrey?  He's due to have a big year, as he always does well in even-numbered years.

Good.  That's a better attitude to have.  I don't want to hear you badmouthing Pelfrey.  We're Mets fans here and we're supposed to think positively about our favorite team.  I also expect him to do well this year.

So much for the positive attitude.  Okay, let's move away from the pitchers and talk about the hitters.  Which hitter do you think will be a pleasant surprise in the Mets' lineup?

Really?  But you've never liked Bay.  Are you talking landmark as in a return to the 30 HR, 100 RBI season the Mets expected from him when they signed him?

Then what are you referring to?  What will Bay do that will make this a "landmark season", as you referred to it?

Forget I asked anything about Bay.  Since I get the feeling what answer I'm going to get if I ask a question about David Wright, I'll move on to the two big lefties in the batting order.  What do you think the Mets will get out of Ike Davis and Lucas Duda?

You're just a barrel of laughs, aren't you?

Fine.  Let's talk about the Mets' manager, Terry Collins.  Last year, he took a team of unproven kids and underachieving veterans and had them around .500 for most of the season.  In fact, right before the two-thirds mark of the season, the Mets were 55-51 and were still hanging on to slim hopes for the wild card.  What do you think he needs to do to improve upon last season's record?

Are you saying that because you think Wright will injure Davis again, thus preventing the Mets' first baseman from having his expected breakout season?

It's not contagious, you know.

Okay, enough with the jokes and putdowns!  Let me just ask you one final question and then we can go our separate ways.  It's the usual question I save for last, so you should already be formulating an answer for me before I ask it.  What do you think will...

Wow.  How did you know it was a two-part question, that I was going to ask you what the Mets' final record would be and where they'd place in the division?

Sigh.  On that note, we'd like to wish all of you a very merry baseball season.  Try to keep your hopes up for the 2012 season, no matter what you hear from soon-to-be out-of-work Magic 8-Balls.  (Hmm, I wonder if I kept the receipt for this one...)

Enjoy the season, and as always... LET'S GO METS!!


The Magic 8-Ball has made predictions before.  To see what it said before each of the previous two seasons, please click on the links below:
2011 Magic 8-Ball Predictions 
2010 Magic 8-Ball Predictions

The Magic 8-Ball Predicts The 2011 Mets Season

Spring has finally arrived! Can you feel it in the air? This is the time of the year when you can be excited about the better weather (only to find out that a nor'easter is coming), your fantasy baseball rosters (only to stop caring in July when you're in last place because you couldn't find any takers for Luis Castillo. Hey, it's not your fault that you believed he was going to be in the Phillies' lineup every day due to Chase Utley's injury only to find out belatedly that he was released prior to Opening Day.) and Mets baseball!

To prepare you for the upcoming season, we'd like to present our annual Mets predictions. As always, these predictions are conducted scientifically and are guaranteed to be accurate. How do we know that? Because we're using our Magic 8-Ball! So what say we grab this ball, shake it up and see what happens.


Sorry about that. I didn't realize you were so sensitive, especially since people rub you all the time. Anyway, here's our first question to you. What kind of season will Jason Bay have in 2011?


I see. Does that mean he will finish with 23 HR and no concussions or are you predicting something else?


Apparently, our Magic 8-Ball might have a concussion of its own. Let's move on to the next question. How do you see Brad Emaus performing at second base?


That's not bad, considering that Dan Uggla signed a five-year, $62 million contract extension with the Atlanta Braves during the off-season after posting his fourth consecutive 30-homer season in 2010 with the Marlins.


Well, hopefully, Brad Emaus can be a better defensive player than Dan Uggla. Now on to the pitching staff. Johan Santana will miss the first half of the season as he continues his rehabilitation and recovery from shoulder surgery. Which pitcher will become the staff's ace in his absence?


Why do you think Dickey will pitch the best out of all the starters?


Ahem. You do realize that this is a family-friendly blog, right?


Never mind. One more player question. Will Francisco Rodriguez finish 55 games this season, causing his $17.5 million option for 2012 to kick in?


Yes. What does have to do with the question I asked you about the number of times he'll be allowed to finish a ballgame?


Fine. Let me rephrase the question, if it makes you feel better. Will K-Rod get the 55 appearances required for his 2012 option to vest?


Hey, wait a minute! Now you listen to me! How come you get to say that while I was reprimanded for saying something similar?


Forget it. I'll just ask one more question and then I'll leave you alone. I have no idea why I consulted you anyway. I could have done these predictions myself. Anyway, how do you see the Mets finishing in 2011?


One rainout not made up? You're being very precise with that prediction.


On that note, I believe now's as good a time as any to wrap things up here. That concludes this year's Magic 8-Ball predictions for the 2011 Mets. Be sure to join us next year when I take a page out of Sandy Alderson's book and use a more cost-effective way to share our prognostications with you.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming Mets season. You don't need a Magic 8-Ball to tell you that.

The Magic 8-Ball Predicts The 2010 Mets Season

The 2010 season is upon us. This is the time of year when every fan has high expectations for their team (except Pirates fans). This is also the time of year when bloggers release their predictions for the upcoming season.

Studious Metsimus has only existed since the summer of 2009, so we were not around to dazzle you with our predictions last year. Had we been up and running last April, you would have read how we correctly predicted that 53 different players would play at least one game for the Mets, that Angel Pagan would finish fourth on the team in at-bats with only 343 and that Oliver Perez would actually throw a called strike before September 1. (We attended a game on August 1 where he stunned the crowd by doing just that.)

Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the 1986 World Champion Mets and will also be the 50th season in franchise history. Unfortunately, those anniversaries will have to wait until 2011. Since we are in 2010, Studious Metsimus would like to remind you that this year, the Mets will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1980 team, which long-time fans will remember as the year that "The Magic Is Back."

As a tribute to that "magical" season, this year's predictions will be made with the assistance of a Studious Metsimus favorite, the Magic 8-Ball. Let's shake the dust off and see what it says.

Apparently, it's a sensitive Magic 8-Ball. Maybe Luis Castillo dropped it as a child. Anyway, let's get started with the predictions, shall we?

Will David Wright remember to pay his electric bill so that his 30-homer power can return to him?

After Johan Santana, who will emerge as the Mets' #2 starter?

That's quite a shocker! Why Oliver Perez? Do you really think he's finally going to turn the corner and become the pitcher the Mets expected him to be when they signed him to the three-year, $36 million deal in 2009?

Will Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran return to their pre-injury forms once they take the field and once they do, will they stay healthy for the entire season?

Fine. How do you expect Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran to perform this season?

The Mets have never had an outfield where all three outfielders hit at least 20 HR in the same season. Will this be the first season that happens?

How about Francisco Rodriguez? Will he surpass Armando Benitez's single-season record of 43 saves?

Will Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya make it through the season?

What will be the highlight of the 2010 season for the Mets?

What is your final prediction for the 2010 Mets?

Thank you, Magic 8-Ball for your expert predictions. We'll check back with you at the end of the season to see how you fared with your predictions.

The week before the season begins is always full of high hopes. As long as those hopes don't take a tumble and have to be shuttled to the Hospital For Special Surgery, the Mets should be an interesting team to watch in 2010. This is the first time in five years that the Mets don't have high expectations (or in some cases, any expectations). Perhaps this is the year they actually don't underachieve.

The magic was back in 1980, or at least the marketing department was telling us that it was. Maybe this year, it truly will be back and the Mets will come out from behind the 8-Ball.