The New York Mets are rolling through spring training lately because their starting pitching is rounding into form. Pedro Martinez (4IP, 0ER against Detroit) is throwing much better than last season and lets face it, he needed a full year to heal correctly, but he gutted it out last year and now he is mentally and physically ready for the 2008 season.

Johan Santana pitched a solid six recently and he had seven strikeouts without yielding a run. Now that the Mets have an ace that can strikeout opposing hitters at will again it’s hard to believe that they will go on many five-game losing streaks this year.

John Maine went 5 2/3 in his last spring start as well. Oliver Perez threw five scoreless to boot. Right now this is the kind of production the Mets are hoping to get out of their starting staff so they don’t have to tax the bullpen early this season. That’s part of the problem that they had last season and when the starting pitching was hurting the pen failed them too and the team was done.

Last year’s monumental collapse will keep the fans at bay this year and they won’t get too excited about their Mets until the very end this time. This team still has some question marks like the health of Orlando Hernandez, the effectiveness of Mike Pelfrey, Carlos Delgado’s hip and Duaner Sanchez’s arm. Will all that said if their starting four are as strong as they seem to be it will be the best rotation in baseball and that could give them the season they thought they were going to have last year.

You can’t put too much stock in spring stats because the lineups are always missing players. The Braves look like they can compete this year and the Phillies have the best hitting lineup in the National League. Both of those teams don’t have the pitching that the Mets do and that’s what could carry them through.

Shea Stadium is closing this year and the team would like to go out with a bang. They want to avenge their pathetic September last season. So far they look good so lets see what April brings. Teams that get out to a good start in the month of April are usually hard to beat.

The baseball season is a long one and that’s why you see quotes like that from players. No team coasts through and stays completely healthy so depth is the key to a long season. Pitching can win championships and a long bench is another big factor. So far it looks like the Mets have both but lets see how they play going into the All-Star break before we predict that they are a lock for the World Series.

At this time of the year nobody is a lock and that’s the beauty of baseball. Every team has the same chance on Opening Day. Every team is hopeful heading into the All-Star break. After the All-Star break is what separates the pretenders from the contenders.