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Projected Lineup (2003 stats) Pos. Player Avg. HR RBI SB SS Kaz Matsui .305 33 84 13 2B Jose Reyes .307 5 32 13 LF Cliff Floyd .290 18 68 3 C Mike Piazza .286 11 34 0 CF Mike Cameron .253 18 76 17 1B Jason Phillips .298 11 58 0 RF Karim Garcia .262 11 35 0 3B Ty Wigginton .255 11 71 12 *Japanese League stats Projected Rotation (2003 stats) H Player W-L ERA WHIP LH Tom Glavine 9-14 4.52 1.48 LH Al Leiter 15-9 3.99 1.49 RH Steve Trachsel 16-10 3.78 1.31 RH Jae Weong Seo 9-12 3.82 1.27 RH Grant Roberts 0-3 3.79 1.16 FANTASY BASEBALL Sign up Today! • NEW! Baseball Commissioner Full service league management tool. $99.95 per league • NEW! Fantasy Baseball Conquer your league and take home the pennant. $19.95 per team • NEW! Salary Cap Challenge Select your dream team with a $75 million budget. $9.95 per team

It's amazing how far the Mets have fallen since playing in the Subway Series three years ago. This offseason they addressed their defensive shortcomings by adding standouts Mike Cameron (centerfield), Kaz Matsui (shortstop) and moving surehanded Jose Reyes to second base. Those moves should make the Mets top starting pitchers more valuable.

If this were a lifetime achievement award the field would be stacked with players such as Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, John Franco and Mike Piazza. Unfortunately, this season's Mets are a collection of names who can make or break your team based solely on their health. When not injured, a rarity in his career, Cliff Floyd is one of the NL's most feared lefthanded hitters (.285 career average, .496 slugging). Not quite 100% following Achilles surgery last August which limited him to 108 games, Floyd is someone who may be worth the gamble as a third or fourth outfielder. Just don't invest too much in him.

When he came to the majors Timo Perez showed much promise, but after three full seasons he's become a classic defensive replacement with good speed.

Fifth starter: The Mets have a solid starting four with Glavine, Leiter, Steve Trachsel and Jae Weong Seo, but the fifth guy is a mystery. Veterans James Baldwin and Scott Erickson (who missed all of 2003) were the favorites early in the spring with Baldiwn having a slight edge. But by striking out more than a batter per inning, Grant Roberts seized the job and is worth a late round pick.

Japanese imports Ichiro and Hideki Matsui were undervalued in their rookie-season drafts and Kaz Matsui should follow suit. His forte is speed, having swiped 306 bases over his nine seasons in Japan. Matsui should rank alongside Montreal's Orlando Cabrera on your draft list, and despite the New York hype, he will be acquired for less in most leagues. For those looking in the clearance bin, overpaid defensive liability Roger Cedeno should be cheap, and even with limited playing time he'll steal 20 bases.

Looper is unproven as a closer, but the Mets don't have any other viable options right now. Look for lefty Royce Ring, who was acquired in the Roberto Alomar trade last season and who saved 26 games in Double A, to get a look at some point this year.

Mike Piazza is one of the best hitting catchers of any era and he will be a great-hitting catcher-first basemen as well. Piazza has worked hard at learning footwork around the bag and as long as his balky groin can handle the stretches, he'll be fine. Look for a big bounce-back season with nothing less than a .275 average, 30 home runs and 90 RBIs.

Karim Garcia, Jason Phillips, Ty Wigginton

John Franco, Timo Perez, Vance Wilson, Todd Zeile