The Mets are essentially going with the same bullpen as last season except that they substituted Matt Wise for Guillermo Mota and that’s a good tradeoff for them. 36-year old lefty Billy Wagner returns as the closer for the Mets. He pitched in 66 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 2-2 with 34 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Wagner also whiffed 80 batters in only 68.1 innings which shows that he still has good stuff.

29-year old righty Aaron Heilman will be the top set-up man for the Mets this season. He pitched in 81 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 7-7 with 1 save, a 3.03 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Heilman could be the Mets’ closer of the future.

31-year old lefty Pedro Feliciano has been a great specialist the last few seasons for the Mets. He pitched in 78 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 2-2 with 2 saves, a 3.09 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Look for another solid season out of him in 2008.

32-year old righty Matt Wise was signed as a free agent in the off-season and he should provide some quality innings out of the bullpen for the Mets in 2008. He pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 3-2 with 1 save, a 4.19 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

34-year old lefty Scott Schoeneweis will be the #3 lefty in the pen for the Mets this season. He pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the Mets last year and he was 0-2 with 2 saves, a 5.03 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Mets shopped Schoeneweis all off season and no one wanted him.

24-year old righty Joe Smith will be the likely long man in the bullpen for the Mets this season. He pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 3-2 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

If the Mets’ starting rotation stays healthy, not many teams can match up with them. 29-year old lefty Johan Santana was brought over in the mega trade with the Twins in the off season. He started 33 games for the Twins last season and he was 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has now pitched in 251 games (175 starts) in his major league career and he is 93-44 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He also has whiffed 1,381 batters in only 1308.2 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. With this Mets lineup and bullpen behind him I expect him to win 20+ games and win the National League Cy Young Award in 2008.

36-year old righty Pedro Martinez injured himself in yesterday’s start and the Mets hope it isn’t serious because they are depending on him this season. He started 5 games last season and he was 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Martinez now has a career record of 209-93 with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. It will be interesting to see how Martinez adjusts to life without his once big time fastball.

27-year old righty John Maine was a very pleasant surprise for the Mets last season. He started 32 games last year and he was 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Look for Maine to duplicate those numbers for the Mets again in 2008.

26-year old lefty Oliver Perez really pitched well last season as he threw more strikes than ever while maintaining his good stuff. He started 29 games for the Mets last season and he was 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He will have another really solid season as long as he doesn’t try to whiff everyone.

38-year old righty Orlando Hernandez will start the season on the D.L. but the Mets would be happy if he could start around 25 games this season. He pitched in 27 games (24 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 9-5 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. “El Duque” now has a 90-65 career record in the majors with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He is still a solid pitcher when healthy.

24-year old righty Mike Pelfrey will open the season as the #5 starter for the Mets and they need him to live up to his potential. He pitched in 15 games (13 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 3-8 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.

30-year old righty Tony Armas will start the season in AAA and wait for an opportunity to show what he can do. He pitched in 31 games (15 starts) for the Pirates last season and he was 4-5 with a 6.03 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He is a better pitcher than he showed last season. He has now pitched in 182 games (166 starts) in his major league career and he is 52-65 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.

25-year old lefty Jason Vargas will open the 2008 season on the D.L. He started 2 games for the Mets last season and he was 0-1 with a 12.19 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. He also pitched in 24 games in AAA last season and he was 9-7 with a 5.11 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A-

The over/under for wins in Las Vegas is 93.5 for the Mets in 2008. I think they will come out smoking this season after collapsing last September. Getting Johan Santana in a trade with the Twins and seeing Pedro Martinez getting back healthy is enough for me to bet on the over.

29-year old lefty swinging Ryan Church will be the starting RF for the Mets in 2008. He played in 144 games for the Nationals last season and he was 128 for 470 (.272 avg, .813 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 15 homers and 70 RBIs. Church didn’t appear in RF for the Nationals last season but he was an impressive defender in both LF and CF last year. He played in 41 error-less games in CF last season while showing outstanding range. He also played in 91 games in LF last season making 3 errors while showing outstanding range. He should do well in RF and improve the Mets overall OF Defense.

Angel Pagan played in 29 error-free games in RF last season for the Cubs while showing below average range. Brady Clark played in 15 error-less games in RF last season and he showed league average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B-

31-year old switch hitting Carlos Beltran is one of the best players in all of baseball so the Mets need him to stay healthy. He played in 144 games for the Mets last season and he was 153 for 554 (.276 avg, .878 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 33 homers, 112 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. He played in 141 games in CF last season and he made 5 errors while showing above average range. Look for Beltran to be a 30/30 man this season as long as he can stay healthy.

26-year old switch hitting Angel Pagan will be the primary backup in CF for the Mets this season. He played in 71 games for the Cubs last season and he was 39 for 148 (.264 avg, .743 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Pagan played in 34 games in CF for the Cubs last season and he didn’t make an error while showing below average range.

Endy Chavez played in 10 games in CF for the Mets last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range. Brady Clark didn’t make any errors in 14 games in CF last season while showing league average range. Ryan Church will be the starting RF for the Mets this season but he played in 41 games in CF for the Nationals last season and he didn’t make any errors there while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A