Announcing The Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan Contest Winners

The Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan Contest, our favorite annual tradition around here, has officially come to an end. There were many excellent entries, and we whittled down the field to five finalists, which were presented to the community for a vote. The results are in!

First prize, first prize, first prize, first prize...

AAOP by Bobby Baseball (Bobby Baseball). -AAOP. Thanks. by Bobby Baseball — 60 Votes

Here's Bobby Baseball's conclusion:

This is a Mets team that has no holes. The lineup is solid from top to bottom, with a mix of table setters and power hitters. It is balanced throughout, with 4 lefties and 4 righties. We added a solid leadoff hitter and center fielder (de Aza), a very good 8th hitter who can play different positions in the case of injury and act as our super-utility man (Keppinger), a veteran catcher who hits very well (Pierzynski), and a young star right fielder with unlimited potential (Upton). The bench is solid as well, and we have Kirk playing every day in the minors and ready to come up if an injury occurs. The rotation remains a strength, with 4 pitchers (Hefner, Mejia, Familia, McHugh) competing during Spring Training for the fifth starter spot. The bullpen goes from perhaps the worst in the league to perhaps the best in the league, with the additions of 3 possible closers (Soria, Lindstrom, Capps) as well as a solid lefty specialist (Choate) and a possible diamond in the rough (Heath). The 2013 Mets will be the team to beat in the NL East.

Congratulations, Bobby Baseball! You've won the first place prize: New York Mets 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition DVD Set from A+E Home Entertainment/MLB Productions.

Second Place

AAOP: Streets Ahead by Ogre39666 — 57 Votes

Here's Ogre39666's introduction to his AAOP:

With the advent of the second Wild Card, it has become easier than ever to make the playoffs. The Mets haven't made the end-of-season tournament since 2006. Since that season, they have come up short in varying degrees; I aim to change that. The Mets are still hampered by the Wilpons' Madoff involvement, but that doesn't mean we can't improve the team. We have an impressive crop of young players and a pair of All-Star-caliber veterans. With some smart moves to compliment these assets, a trip to the post season should be within reach.

After a somewhat predictably laborious offensive season without Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes (t-20th in the MLB with a 93 wRC+), the team needs an offensive infusion of talent to go along with a pitching staff that shows promise, but needs augmentation (20th in the MLB with a 4.09 ERA, 15th with a 3.93 FIP).

Congratulations, Ogre39666! You've won the second place prize: New York Mets 50 Greatest Players DVD + New York Mets Baseball's Greatest Games: Santana's 2012 No-Hitter DVD from A+E Home Entertainment/MLB Productions.

Third Place

AAOP: My Girlfriend Loves Ike Davis More Than She Loves Me by Mike Clemente — 28 Votes

Here's a snippet of Mike's take on the David Wright dilemma this winter:

The Mets have control of David through 2013 at $16MM. Many teams would be clamoring for an elite level 3B to put them over the top, and the Mets could bring back a lot of pieces to fill the numerous holes in their lineup and bullpen. But trading from a weakness, the offense, to fill holes in your weakness, the offense AND bullpen, is probably not the most prudent behavior. With Wilmer Flores still hitting in the minors and making a 2013 or 2014 appearance in the majors a likelihood, trading Wright is less unforgivable.

Congratulations, Mike! You've won the third place prize: New York Mets History Newspaper from AnyDate.com.

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We're already looking forward to next year's AAOP. Thanks again to everyone who participated in the contest this year.