What began with glimmer of hope, that sank to the deepest spots, has now began to climb out of the hole that was dug. The rough offseason for the New York Mets began with the loss of Jose Reyes to the newly christened Miami Marlins. Instead of siting idly by, General Manager Sandy Alderson used that money to acquire some new pieces to help sure up a bullpen that struggled mightily after the trade of closer Francisco Rodriguez during the All-Star break. None of the pieces that were acquired were quite as flashy as the man they replace but still effective. Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, and Ramon Ramirez all have the task of strengthening a 'pen that consists of Tim Byrdak (aka Hulk Hogan), Pedro Beato, and Manny Accosta.

In January the Mets waived the once highly touted outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, after struggling to stay even remotely healthy for the past two seasons. Later in the month it was revealed that the team's financial struggles were even worse than previously thought. It seemed as though the team would be caught in the middle of a tug-of-war that would cost the Wilpon and Katz family millions of dollars.

February started out quiet but soon became tragic with the passing of Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter after a long battle with brain cancer (on a side note, please buy the "RIP Kid" t-shirts from our good friends at The 7 Line. All proceeds go to the Gary Carter Foundation). Things soon took a turn for the better with the first bullpen session Johan Santana threw. It marked the beginning of his comeback attempt since his last major league appearance in September of 2010. The diagnosis of Valley Fever for Ike Davis came as a shock to all. Many believed that it would be a similar situation to Conor Jackson. Jackson contracted the disease back in May of 2009 and has yet to reach the potential that he once showed. It still may affect Ike but after a full and successful spring it shows no signs of the disease.

It was not that successful of a spring for the Mets record wise. But with the successful springs of most of the starting rotation (outside of Mike Pelfrey) and a many of the lineup (except Jason Bay), the Mets may do better than many have predicted.

COMING SOON: Mets 2012 Season preview. Read More...

Today officially marks the end of an era. Or as some would call it, an error as the Mets have officially released Oliver Perez from the team. Having failed to live up to his 36 million dollar 3 year contract, this result certainly was not unexpected. But it is sad to think about what once was for the Mexican Titanic, as he is referred to by some.

With the announcement of Terry Collins as the new manager on Sunday the new regime was completed. With Sandy Alderson leading the charge and Paul DePodesta along with JP Riccardi in the background we should see a rise in the team relatively soon. I for one am not a fan of Collins (Melvin was my choice) I am certainly glad it is not Wally Backman. Having only held a Major League job for less than a week due to personal issues, one can only imagine what other skeletons would come out of the closet if he were to be named manager.