The staff here has finally whittled down a whopping fifty-six entries to the best five, and we are glad to present the finalists for the Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan Contest. It's now up to you to vote for your favorite. The first, second, and third place finishers will each receive a prize. There were a ton of great entries in the contest, ranging from thorough, serious attempts to improve the Mets to intentional troll jobs. A quick check with the Amazin' Avenue stats department says this was the all-time record for number of AAOP entries.
The Poll is after the jump and will remain open until 5:00 pm EST on Friday, November 18.
The Prizes:
The grand prize winner will receive a $65 Amazon.com Gift Card. That'll net you a brand new video game, tons of mp3 purchases, or nearly cover the cost of a brand new Kindle, if you're into the e-reader thing.
The second place winner will receive a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card. That's enough Amazon dough to pick up one or two small things or apply the gift card to something you were already planning to purchase.
The third place winner will receive a $15 Amazon.com Gift Card. Perhaps I'm the only one who still purchases CDs, but that's what I'd buy with this gift card.
The Finalists:
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For Their Health! by Ogre39666.
There is hope however, as there are some young, promising players who have shown they can produce at a high level in the majors and a quartet of young arms waiting in the wings. The offense produced well last year (5th in the NL in wOBA, 3rd in wRC+) but the rotation was bad (10th in the NL in FIP, 12th in xFIP). My plan sets out to make improvements from last season's roster while not blowing anything up and with an eye to the future.
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The making of a dynasty: (Part 2. In which our heroes go from also-rans to upstarts.) by robotoverlord.
The main priority in 2012 is to build our pitching future. We will do this at the big league level primarily by putting our existing pitching prospects in the best possible situation to succeed. That entails focusing on defense, winning, prospect acquisition and leadership.
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The Sad Offseason by sjohnson125.
If you look at the post-Reyes Mets, almost all of their offensive strength is in players on the easier side of the defensive spectrum (LF/RF/1B/3B). This is a problem, and one that we need to address this offseason.
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I Have An AAOP, And My AAOP, I Like My AAOP (2012 Edition) by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan
As a result, I targeted two kinds of players, while doing my best to maximize performance in relation to payroll: Peripheral individuals who would be making the 2012 team better (bench players or bullpen pieces around for just the year), and individuals who will be sticking around past 2012, who will have the ability to make the Mets a better team from 2013 on, when the Mets are more meaningful contenders for postseason baseball.
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A Title Run in 2013 by DanDotLewis.
I don’t see us seriously contending in 2012, especially not with the $110MM payroll we will likely have. (That said, my team could surprise a few people.) I do, however, see a huge opportunity to get well, quickly, and be a contender in 2013.