New York Mets fantasy team preview

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Even after John Maine pulled the ripcord, sending the Mets back into a first-place tie with a gem of a performance (four outs shy of the first no-hitter in team history), the parachute refused to open and a seven-run first inning by Florida against Tom Glavine on the final day of the season cemented the Mets' fate.

With that one trade, 2007 is buried and forgotten. The Mets now have themselves a perennial Cy Young Award candidate heading their rotation, followed by a full season of a completely recovered Pedro Martinez, another Cy Young Award winner. The lineup is stacked, with three potential 30-homer hitters in David Wright and "Los Dos Carlos" (Delgado and Beltran). Jose Reyes and another one-time Twin, Luis Castillo, will provide speed at the top of the order. And the entire pitching staff is sure to benefit from stellar defense, led by 2007 Gold Glovers Wright and Beltran, along with three-time former winner Castillo at second base. Oh yes, and when Santana pitches, you can add another 2007 Gold Glove to the mix -- his.

Ballpark: It's the swan song for Shea Stadium. The Mets will move into brand new CitiField in 2009 but will have to endure one final season of the Arctic winds blowing in from right field at Shea. The deep power alleys conspire with frequently strong breezes to keep the ball in the park and wreak havoc on the team's power numbers. The Mets were 10th in the majors in overall home runs but ranked 17th in taters at home.

Top Sleeper: With all the star power in the Mets' lineup, it's easy to forget about the newly acquired Ryan Church. He hit only 15 home runs last season, but that came along with 43 doubles. While we just noted that Shea Stadium isn't exactly great for power hitters, it has to be better than playing at RFK Stadium, where Church had been playing his home games. True, he has had some trouble in the past against lefties (.229 in 2007), but we prefer to focus on the career .340 batting average at Shea and think positively.

Schedule preview: If the Mets have another September swoon this season, it's not going to be because they are tired from traveling. After July 4, the Mets have only one series west of the Mississippi, and that's a three-game visit to Houston in early August. Also, 15 of the last 22 games are at Shea. A rested and focused Mets lineup should put up impressive second-half numbers.

Future closer: Billy Wagner is the closer for the Mets, and they'll live and die with him. But he is 36, and won't be able to pitch forever. Enter Joe Smith. In 44.1 innings pitched for the Mets, he struck out 45 batters. Although he did struggle a bit as the season wore on, so did everyone else in the bullpen. He'll be only 24 this season, and if he can build on a 2007 that saw leadoff hitters hit only .226 against him, he'll be someone to watch in 2008 and beyond.

Stephania Bell on Pedro Martinez

His comeback from an extensive rotator cuff repair was impressive in and of itself. It's worth noting that the numbers do not support the successful return of big league pitchers after a major rotator cuff repair. Martinez deserves a lot of credit for setting his mind to the task and rehabilitating diligently to make a successful return to the mound. Of course, there should be a fair amount of credit given to his surgeon, Dr. David Altchek, as well, and to his rehabilitation team for helping him to get there. That said, though, Martinez, effective or not, is not the same pitcher he once was. His velocity is down. His endurance (no more than six innings per game, it seems) is less than that of most big league starting pitchers. This is not likely to change. Martinez is "mature" in baseball years, and his rotator cuff, as well as the rest of his throwing arm, has been put through the ringer. Owners should expect Martinez to be effective, not exceptional, and allow for the possibility of some down time during the season to rest if soreness develops.

Trainer's room: Pedro Martinez missed most of last season after rotator cuff surgery, but in his brief September comeback, he went 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a K/9 rate of 10.3. Not too shabby. He doesn't have as much zip on his fastball as he used to, and there's a very good likelihood the Mets will limit his pitch count, at least early on. But with the acquisition of Santana, there certainly won't be as much pressure on Martinez to carry the pitching staff on his shoulders, and that could make all the difference. … Castillo, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado all underwent minor surgeries at the end of last season, but no effects should linger.

Backups to (not) watch: A lot of people will look at the Mets' lineup, see Carlos Beltran and 41-year-old Moises Alou -- both had injury issues in 2007 -- and think that fourth outfielder Endy Chavez will make a good late insurance pickup. How wrong those people will be! There's no doubt Endy will get first dibs should one of the veterans go down, especially now that speedy Carlos Gomez has been shipped to Minnesota. The problem is that Chavez is a defensive specialist whose lone offensive asset is his speed, and he has chronically bad hamstrings. His left leg forced him to miss all but 71 games in 2007, and he hurt his right leg in winter ball. Mets fans might love him, but fantasy owners should stay away.

Prospects to watch for 2008: Many of the names we would have discussed here went off to Minnesota in exchange for Santana, but young Steven Register did remain behind. He saved 37 games at Double-A last season in the Rockies organization, and the Mets were impressed enough with that performance to claim him in the Rule 5 draft. As a result, with a decent spring, he's far more likely to find himself in the bullpen at Shea rather than heading back to Tulsa.

Base-running philosophy: Run early, run often. Willie Randolph certainly isn't shy about giving his team the green light. Heck, even El Duque (Orlando Hernandez) stole two bases last season. The Mets were far and away first in the majors in steals, with 56 more than second-place Baltimore. By comparison, neither San Diego nor Oakland stole 56 bases as a team. Looking for steals? You're definitely in the right place.

A.J. Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.

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• AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
• Author; How Fantasy Sports Explains the World.