Miss two full seasons, then come back—at his age—to rattle off 10 or 12 or 15 wins? Almost never happens.

Matter of fact, it hasn’t happened in more than 60 years. Want to guess the last pitcher, age 35 or older, who won 10 games or more after being out for two years? Good luck.

The answer, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: Schoolboy Rowe, who went 11-4 for the 1946 Phillies after missing all of 1944 and 1945. Except he hadn’t even been hurt. Joined the Navy during World War II.

Eventhough I have concerns too, the competition has problems…...

And Anderson is a really good pinch-hitter, if you have room for a pinch-hitter who cannot field an position at a major league competence.

But at the end of the day, its spring training and the Mets have two major-league everyday hitters healthy enough to play, Reyes and Wright.

MAYBE Beltran’ll be healthy enough for opening day? MAYBE?

Maybe it is Yankitis (yankenvy?), but it is not required that a team have the best offensive player in the league at every position. It is actually normal to have a couple of stars/studs/big sticks in the lineup to do the heavy lifting, and have them supplemented by role players.

The key is to have a balance in the lineup, and guys that might not be all starts, but can put up solid numbers, get hot for a while and pick up some slack, and play good D and do the “little things” that help a team win.

If the top 4 is in place, that is the meat. CHurch, Schneider, and even Delgado are supplemental pieces that can still do some damage (they do have to carry their own weight), but shouldn’t be expected to put up MVP numbers. Alou would fit into this catagory too.

So, Pagan can handle LF for a month +. Delgado should be in the game, but who knows if he can hit. If not, eventually he will get replaced. Some new spare parts will come in to fill in the gaps.

Look at everyones favorite offensive team, the Phils. Ignoring the fact that their park skews the numbers, they have Rollins, Utley and Howard as the main cogs. Beyond that, 3B last year was a black hole, C fair to OK.

This year, they have Burrell (2 good months in the last 3 years! And an injury risk) – basically our, slightly healthier, Alou. Beyond that, retreads, back ups and role guys. ALthough I wouldn’t mind having Jenkins about now!

Easley doesn’t really excite me. Yeah, he had some good pop for a stretch last year, and some big hits, but if he goes down, they can easily replace him with another (hopefully healthier and more flexible) spare part.

But forgive me if it doesn’t fill me with skittles and beer.