Your 2010 New York Mets Are....

The New York Mets are currently down in Port St. Lucie, Florida deciding exactly who will travel back to Queens to start the season. There are a few questions already answered. For example, will Josh Thole be with them? No.

He was sent down to AAA already with Dickey. All of you fans that were holding out hope that the knuckleballer could bring a Tim Wakefield type performance to Citi, now is the time to give that up. Josh Thole is no doubt the future, but not the present.

In an attempt to help answer the questions remaining, this is my prediction for the roster that will remain when the smoke clears. We already know that Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes will not be with the club for at least the first month and possibly longer. Although Beltran's rehab is going well and he expects to be ready sooner, don't any of you expect it. This franchise will not clear him to play until they know for certain that he will not reaggravate anything.

The same applies to Reyes and not only his thyroid concern, but his legs now that he has ceased all baseball related activities. He will need time after he adjusts to a new lifestyle, to get back into shape. With these things in mind, let's move forward. The everyday lineup as I see it.

At first Daniel Murphy, who makes Mike Jacobs obsolete, despite the power and experience advantages, because he bats left like Jacobs. I actually ran this past Mets beat writer, Marty Noble, who concurred, that it will be Murphy. The franchise loves him and with good reason. He will get the job, although I believe they should keep both, they won't. The back up will again be Tatis, who can play multiple positions including third to spell David Wright for a game here and there.

At second, Luis Castillo, unfortunately. He is not sure handed and not exceptional with a bat, but gets the job done. He has had a rumor filled off season, but remains with the club, despite it all. He will be backed up by Ruben Tejada. Tejada is capable of playing both infield positions and is only going to probably make the big club because of Reyes' injury. If not for that, he never would have had a chance.

I expect Frank Catalanotto to be on the depth chart somewhere here also. His versatility to play several positions will keep him in Queens, despite his bat. I expect Alex Cora to be the starting short stop on opening day. It's a far cry from the spark plug that is Jose, but he will fill in nicely. He will also remain with the team, later on as Reyes comes back and Tejada is sent down to make room.

Do we really have to talk about third base options? David Wright. No brainer. He has Tatis to back him up, but I already mentioned him at first because he will see much more action there. The catchers will be Rod Barajas starting and Blanco backing him up.

In the outfield, I see the team carrying five players until Beltran returns then dropping two of them down. I see the obvious ones, of course. Jason Bay, and Jeff Franceour. I also see Angel Pagan being the starter on opening day in Beltran place, and moving to the bench when he comes back. The other two, Gary Matthews Jr. and Fernando Martinez.

When Beltran comes back, though, Martinez goes down and I think Matthews does too, but many will disagree with me there. I think the last everyday roster spot goes to Nick Evans. I think his power and energy brings something special to this team that Manuel will be looking for. It's his time to stay. That's a look at the everyday players you'll probably see in early April.

The heart and soul of the New York Mets, like any other team, is their pitching. There are actually more questions for the opening day roster here than anywhere else. But, this is how I believe it will shake out.

For the pitchers, I'd like to take a different approach. I would like to start with the bullpen. Much has been written about this pen, and even more will be in the next few weeks as the last remaining free agents finally choose their homes. But this pen is the strength of the club, if healthy and properly used.

First and foremost, the closer, Frankie Rodriguez. I love him because we have the name first name. He is dominant and he is full of stamina. He is almost always effective and stable. The only times he was under question last season really came with questions of overuse. That has more to do with managing than him. He will be solid.

The main question then, is who will set him up? It was supposed to be the weak armed one, Kelvim Escobar. Forget it. He'll be lucky if he can ever throw a ball to knock down bottles at a carnival game. He is done, the rest of the stories he has coming out centered around his comments, are only an attempt to save face for both him and the franchise.

The setup man should be Ryota Igarashi, but it won't be. He has enough experience and enough stuff to bridge the gap. Unless, of course that the team ends up overpaying for Beimel, which I believe I predicted a few weeks ago would happen. Keep watching, it will. If not the Mets, then someone will.

The team will end up unfortunately going with Jennry Mejia. His stuff is electric and he is the closer or dominant starter of the future. He is the Mets' answer to Jaba, but he needs time to be seasoned. He has only been pitching for five years at any level.

The media and the 'baseball people' love him, though and Manuel is enamored with him, so he will probably go to Queens. I actually hope I'm wrong on that, because I would hate to see this team rush another great talent.

The specialists are Pedro Feliciano out of the pen against lefties, especially those with P's on their shirts. If Mejia doesn't stay, then Sean Green will be the arm against the righties out of the pen, otherwise, it will be Igarashi in this spot. The long relievers will be Bobby Parnell and Nelson 'Figgy' Figueroa.

The starters are a little more harder to predict. We all know who is first, after all the media nickname for these guys is Santana and the four rainouts. Johan Santana is the ace of this staff and has been from day one. That is undisputed and with good reason, he is better when he's hurt than any of these guys when they are healthy.

The next four are shaky at best. We know that the next three are Mike Pelfrey (if he's sane), John Maine (if he's 'into it') and Oliver Perez (dear God why). The last spot has been hotly contested between a few players. Hisanori Takahashi, Jonathan Niese and Fernando Nieve.

It will be Niese. His youth and stuff gives him an excitement that the Mets are looking for right now. Nieve will go back to the minors waiting for the inevitable injury as will Takahashi. The only way Takahashi stays, would be if the teams goes with him instead of Figgy and I'm not sure Jerry wants to give up Figgy's experience, so probably not.

I hope I'm wrong about a few of these, as I have my favorites like any other fan, but I'm probably really close on this. The only ones I believe hold the biggest questions, are the backups for second and outfield. I think the rest really will all depend on free agency and the production of the remaining players. Let the debate begin.