Reason for optimism: Even Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and Jerry Koosman are impressed with this rotation.
Reason for pessimism: A hypothetical movie featuring the tortured history of New York Mets fans would run longer than a Ken Burns miniseries.
The cast of "Friends" famously turned the tables on NBC by adopting an all-for-one, one-for-all salary negotiation package that had the effect of transferring leverage from employer to employees. In baseball, of course, once free agency beckons, almost all of the leverage lies with the players. And in Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, four 27-and-under flame-throwing starters with a combined career ERA well below 3.00, the Mets have the most valuable quartet of arms ever assembled. How valuable are they?