Well that's good news

I don't know if this Jayson Stark ESPN.com article is Insider only, but let me quote the part that has the most relevance to this blog:

Mets (6-9, last place in NL East)

Rating: Reality

Twice in the last week, we've heard two scouts make a remark like this: "I think Washington is a much better club than the Mets."

From where we Rumblers and Grumblers sit, we wouldn't go that far. At some point, you can take these predictions to Vegas: Jason Bay will hit a home run. And Carlos Beltran will get a hit. And Francisco Rodriguez will save a game. And a starter other than Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey will win a game. But is this a good enough, or deep enough, team to hang with the Braves, Phillies and Marlins? We're not hearing anybody say that except the Mets themselves.

"You know, baseball needs the Mets to be good," one scout said. "Baseball is more fun when the Mets are good and that rivalry between them and the Phillies is cooking. But this just isn't a real good team. If you look past Santana, and Pelfrey the way he's pitched so far, you see where the Mets' problems lie. They've got legitimate concerns in that rotation. I watched that bullpen six days, and they've got four guys on pace to pitch over 80 games. That says their starters just are not getting deep enough. And I don't see that changing."

Strap in boys and girls, it's going to be a looooong season! Here's an awesomely awful photoshop to celebrate!