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The Mets are featured on this year's Sports Illustrated MLB preview issue, one of four teams to receive their own alternate cover. This week's issue also features variant covers for the Astros, Cubs, and Giants. Most of the northeast and mid-atlantic United States will be receiving the Mets edition.
Sports Illustrated also revealed their MLB postseason picks, predicting that the Mets will repeat as NL East champions. Baseball Prospectus's PECOTA projection system recently made a similar prediction, while USA Today picked the Mets to finish second in the division and miss the playoffs.
The cover for the Mets' version of Sports Illustraded's MLB preview issue features pitchers Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Jeurys Familia with a headline that reads "Straight Fire." With most outlets focusing on the Mets' young rotation, it's nice to see Familia receive some deserved attention. Still, after so much has been made about the Mets' starting pitchers, there is something peculiar about seeing a cover that features Harvey and deGrom but not Noah Syndergaard.
Although some fans will bemoan the fact that the Mets are featured on the cover of a popular magazine, suggesting that it will somehow "jinx" the team's chances of winning a World Series, it should be noted that the Kansas City Royals were featured on Sports Illustrated's 2015 MLB preview issue and then again in May. Also, there is no such thing as a jinx.
#Mets pitchers will be on the cover of Sports Illustrated's annual baseball preview issue. Here's a look: pic.twitter.com/YLRgOtOccH
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 22, 2016