Too early to write off pen, but pressure on new guys

PORT ST. LUCIE — By any definition it was a feel-good day here for the Mets on Sunday, as Johan Santana officially defied the odds by making it through spring training without a significant setback to be named their Opening Day starter.

And yet it’s impossible to ignore the ominous signs that surround such news. For one thing, Santana was so sore following his start last Monday that he couldn’t finish his long-toss session between starts and needed an anti-inflammatory injection as he continues to fight through the effects of his 2010 shoulder capsule surgery.

As a result, the Mets are going to be extra careful with their ace early in the season, limiting him to fewer than 100 pitches per start, as well as giving him extra days of rest between starts.

Even a limited Santana is crucial for the Mets, of course, but if he can only go five or six innings, at least for the time being, that highlights the need for a strong bullpen to support a rotation that could range between mediocre and solid.

And that’s the most ominous part, at least based on spring training.

The one area of the ballclub the Mets spent money on last winter was the bullpen, after late-inning meltdowns from their relievers were perhaps most responsible for the second-half slide last season.

So far, however, neither of their freeagent signings, Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch, has pitched well enough to inspire much confidence that they will lock down the eighth and ninth innings.

Francisco, Rauch, and Ramon Ramirez, the reliever acquired from the Giants in the Angel Pagan trade, all have ERAS of well over 5.00.

Obviously spring training numbers aren’t necessarily an indicator of regular season performance, but in the case of Francisco, particularly, there is enough concern that people close to him have reached out to Terry Collins to tell the manager not to worry, that Francisco has another gear when the season starts.

Collins’ reply was that he’d like to see some of that right now from his closer, especially since Francisco’s fastball had been hovering around 90 mph, raising eyebrows among the Mets’ staff.

So when Francisco went out and hit 96 on the radar gun Saturday, Collins was encouraged. “It hasn’t been great,” the manager said of his bullpen on Sunday, “but lately there have been some bright spots.’’

However, that was before Rauch, who was signed to be Francisco’s setup man, took a pounding from the Tigers, giving up three runs on four hits, including a home run, as his ERA soared to 7.94.

Daniel Herrera, who is expected to start the season until Tim Byrdak returns in the next week or so from arthroscopic knee surgery as the situation lefty, was worse than Rauch, giving up five runs in 12/ in

3 nings, as the Mets lost 9-2 to the Tigers.

Afterward Collins was more interested in talking about promising young lefty Josh Edgin, indicating that he’ll be a factor before the end of the season. But another Mets person was blunt about the state of the bullpen. “When Bobby Parnell has been far and away your best reliever, what does that tell you?”

It would be hard for anybody to be better than Parnell and his 0.00 ERA this spring, but you get the point. The Mets would be more excited about the fireballing Parnell’s dominance this spring except for the fact that he failed badly when presented the opportunity to be the closer late last season, and his history is that he pitches best in low-pressure situations.

If they had any faith in Parnell they wouldn’t have given Francisco, who has hardly been a sure thing in stints as a closer for the Blue Jays and Rangers, a two-year, $12 million contract.

GM Sandy Alderson had to take a chance on some mid-level closer, however, and it remains to be seen if he made a good choice. More significantly, he wanted to add multiple power arms to the bullpen, hoping that a couple will emerge as dependable over the course of the season.

Considering the Mets’ financial limitations, this was Alderson’s only chance to do some real Gm-ing, if you will. The Mets desperately need Alderson to be right about S the way he rebuilt this bullpen. antana’s status as the Opening Day starter gives this team a muchneeded psychological boost, but for this team to surprise people the new relievers are going to have to turn this bullpen into a strength.

Spring training or not, so far they aren’t making many believers.