Wagner spent parts of four seasons with the Mets between 2006 and 2009, and his Mets’ resume includes an impressive 2006 campaign when he led the team to the league championship series and closed the door on both the NL East clincher and the Divisional Series clincher.

Wagner spent time closing out games with the Astros and hated Phillies before striking gold as a closer in New York, which the Mets saw as an advantage considering he was familiar with the rest of the division. The Braves are also satisfied at this point, considering Wagner has now been on three times in the NL East.

Wagner was a fan favorite in New York; He would march out of the bullpen to the sound of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” surrounded by the Shea Stadium faithful. He would reach the mound and unload a wad of his cheek-full of chewing tobacco before beginning his practice pitches.

These are characteristics of a stereotypical redneck, and Wagner clearly fits the bill in Atlanta. Most of the core players on the Atlanta Braves come from the Southern states, so it comes as no surprise that Wagner was born in Virginia. In fact, when the Braves visited him in the off-season, Wagner picked up manager Bobby Cox in a muddy truck.

It’s an interesting story that has unfolded, but it will be even more intriguing to see Wagner pitch against the Mets and the rest of the NL East. I don’t remember how it felt to see Wagner pitch against the Mets since I was so used to seeing him wearing orange and blue, but I’m sure I’ll be just as scared as fans of the opponent while he was on the Mets.

I’ll still feel the chills down my spine, but the chills will occur as a result of fear rather than excitement. Wagner would want nothing more than to beat his former team that traded him away.

His name is Jenrry Mejia, one of the top prospects in the Mets’ organization. Mets fans should get to know the name, because he’s pitching as if he’ll be around for awhile.

The youngster out of the Dominican Republic was initially a part of the Mets’ Dominican league team back in 2007. He pitched well there, and was assigned to the minor league system, where he blew everyone out of the water.

In 2009, Mejia was assigned to single-A St. Lucie, where he blew his brilliant cut fastball by hitters so often that he was sent to double-A Binghamton shortly after. In St. Lucie, Mejia started nine games and finished with a 1.97 ERA. Yes, you read that correctly — a 19 year old pitcher had a 1.97 ERA in professional baseball.

However, when he was rushed to Binghamton, he was roughed up en route to a 4.47 ERA in ten starts. The talent that sped him through St. Lucie obviously caught up to him when he was forced to deal with much-improved hitters at the higher level.

With all that in mind, there were several question marks surrounding Mejia but also a glimpse of hope as Spring Training rolled around. He received an invite to the major league camp and has turned so many heads that manager Jerry Manuel has hinted at the idea of having Mejia on the opening day roster.

In his first appearance of the Spring, Mejia faced seven batters and retired each one. This was on Friday, when the Mets hosted the Marlins at Tradition Field. Marlins players, scouts, and several others noticed Mejia’s sneaky cut fastball and admitted that he will be a dangerous pitcher if he is able to keep it up.

Mejia is only 20 years old, so people shouldn’t get their hopes up too much. If, at first, he isn’t all that he has been hyped up to be, he will be soon enough. Even if he takes three years, he’ll only be 23 years old. For him to be performing as well as he has so far in camp is impressive in itself.

If he keeps it up, it will be one interesting opening day roster.

Let’s face it, intra-squad games are about as informal as it gets, aside from simulated games or batting practice. The players are all on the same team, they’re in a laid-back Spring Training atmosphere, and the coaches sit on plastic chairs. It’s not exactly a nail-biter.

But today, everyone held their breath.

In his first “game” back from injury, Reyes was unleashed by the team doctors and was free to test his injured leg. This was a big step for Reyes, and the Mets knew that he would not hold back if he was given the green light. After all, he is known as the most exciting player in all of baseball.

In his first at-bat of the game, Reyes hit a laser to the back of the wall and began his sprint around the bases. Reyes rounded first without any trouble, touched second and aimed straight for third, where he jogged in with a stand-up triple. The Mets finally exhaled, and Reyes clapped his hands and pointed toward the sky, according to Matt Cerrone’s live update from St. Lucie.

It’s great to see Reyes running without holding back, and even better to see that his hitting is right where he wants it. A triple on the first unofficial game of the year proves that he did his homework this off-season and remained in great shape.

The Mets will begin Grapefruit League play tomorrow when they host the division rival Atlanta Braves at Tradition Field. The game will begin at 1:10 p.m., and fans can watch the game live on SNY.

You betcha.

Mets’ outfielder Carlos Beltran underwent surgery in January and will miss the beginning of the upcoming season, forcing his team to scramble for answers until his return. However, what makes this entire situation so interesting is how many categories are being affected due to his absence. It’s not just a matter of finding a rental-type outfielder to fill the gap for a few weeks or months until he returns, but it totally affects the way the team is being structured.

The batting order, which can be one of the most difficult sciences of the game, will likely see a dramatic shift in the first few batting slots. Although Jose Reyes has been the leadoff man since the disappointing Kaz Matsui era, he may need to drop to third in the lineup in order to counteract the glaring hole left by Beltran. Last week, manager Jerry Manuel hinted at the idea of inserting Angel Pagan in the leadoff spot and said he plans to drop Reyes to the third spot in the order.

But why mess with Reyes? He is coming off an excruciating year of injury and probably shouldn’t be getting thrown around the lineup like a punching bag. He’s going to see different pitches and end up in different situations. If he doesn’t produce in the three hole, it will look much worse than if he struggles as leadoff hitter.

At the same time, it is something the Mets could try in Spring Training. Spring Training experiments don’t always translate into the most accurate results when there are double-A players patrolling the outfield, but at least it gives room for error.

Beltran’s outfield anticipation will also hurt the Mets in the beginning of the season. Beltran is known for his ability to read fly balls and track them down in a hurry, so the seemingly routine fly balls in CitiField may force more fans to hold their breath as substitute players try to step up.

On the bright side, Beltran was smart enough to follow through with the surgery early enough for him to make a mid-season comeback. Beltran has proved in the past that the second half of the season is all you need for a monster contract, as shown when he carried the Houston Astros through the playoffs after spending only a few months with the team. What came next? A 7-year, $119 million dollar contract.

Most of the topics being discussed include the progress of Jose Reyes, who required surgery after failing to make it to the all-star break in 2009. Other hot topics at hand include the questions surrounding the starting job behind the plate as well as the fifth starter job. Barring a disastrous Spring for the following players, the Mets front four of the rotation should include Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and Oliver Perez. Santana was hampered by injury last season, Pelfrey had his mental issues that required a Sport Psychologist, Maine’s durability has been questioned, and Perez’s ability to put together consecutive strong outings was a big concern. Keep in mind that the Mets will do whatever it takes to keep Perez afloat, considering his 3-year monster contract.

The attitude seems very upbeat in St. Lucie, as expected. Most of the players are very pleased with the fact that they can sweep the remnants of 2009 under the rug and look forward to their new team that includes newcomer Jason Bay. It really is amazing how laid back EVERYONE is at Spring Training. Yes, this includes the manager and coaches, who thought it would be sufficient to sit in a lawn chair when I was bat boy for the team in 2007 and 2009.

Although it seems like a relaxing Spring for most players and coaches, it will be a nail biter for manager Jerry Manuel. Manuel is under a great deal of pressure to perform in 2010, and that includes games prior to the all-star break. If the Mets are slipping out of contention by June or July, you can bet the Mets will be give Manuel the boot. They aren’t afraid of mid-season firings, as they fired former manager Willie Randolph in the middle of the night following a win on the west coast in June of 2008.

The Mets’ equipment trucks departed for sunny Port St. Lucie today, and Marty Noble from MLB.com was all over the action.

With an assist from Mr. Met, the mascot of moving, workers loaded all sorts of Spring Training paraphernalia onto a 10-wheeler… Baseball gear was included, of course, and also medical supplies, media relations supplies, the bikes of sons and daughters, playpens and some necessities of Florida living — golf clubs.

That sure sounded like the details of a reposing vacation, but a group of others decided to get down to business early. SNY analyst and former Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez was kind enough to offer on-field advice to youngsters Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans. Hernandez worked with the players on a practice field in St. Lucie, where he mic’ed himself up and demonstrated the proper way to play the first base position.

It was great to see Hernandez travel from his home in Florida, which he said was about 40 minutes away. Following the session, Murphy told reporters that he was very thankful for the opportunity to work with an established and experienced player such as Hernandez, and I don’t blame him. Hernandez is regarded as one of the best to play his position, and any Mets fan will tell you that his number belongs on the CitiField wall alongside Gil Hodges, Casey Stengel, Jackie Robinson, and Tom Seaver.

I hope the Mets will be willing to incorporate more of these sessions with the young players, as it seems to be something you don’t see every day in professional baseball. On the same token, it could be difficult to round up the former players and set up such an event once the season is underway.

In other news, it was fantastic to see that the Mets settled on a one-year contract with Angel Pagan in order to avoid arbitration. Pagan will be a major part of the outfield plans for the first few months of the year as Carlos Beltran recovers from surgery. Along with the newly-acquired Jason Bay, Pagan will be working with Jeff Francoeur and veteran Gary Matthews, Jr.

Moving to the infield, it appears that the Mets have been flipping through their old media guides in hopes of trying to find former players that are still active. The Mets are supposedly close to signing former first base prospect Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal. Jacobs spent a few solid seasons with the Florida Marlins, where he was notorious for striking out but popular for his home-run hitting abilities. Last season, Jacobs struggled as a member of the Kansas City Royals and only hit 19 home runs.

If anyone remembers, Jacobs hit a 3-run pinch-hit home run in his first major league at bat during his first stint with the Mets. Five seasons later, he is only one home run away from his 100th career home run.

If I knew nothing about the baseball or football playoff system, and somebody asked what I thought the meaning of Divisional round meant, it would be an easy answer. Teams from the same division would play each other, or maybe division winners would face off. But in reality, that is not always the case.

In baseball, the divisional round features three division winners and a wild card team (best team that failed to win their division) in each league. So what’s the catch? Opponents within the same division cannot face each other in the Divisional round. It makes almost no sense other than the potential for a more exciting Championship Round.

However, baseball only has one wild card team as opposed to the two wild card teams in the NFL. It is much more likely that two teams from the same division could face each other in football, but it doesn’t mean they will face each other in the Divisional playoffs. The teams could face off in the wild card, or in some possible cases, the Championship round. For example, the 2006 Mets squad faced two teams in the 2006 playoffs from two different divisions. Neither of their opponents played in the same division, the NL East.

Another round that forces me to scratch my head is the Championship Round. Generally speaking, a Championship round of any kind of game or tournament is the final round and that no further rounds would be played. Usually, the winner of the Championship round would be the winner of the entire tournament. In baseball and football, you can be crowned as a Champion of your side of the league or conference, but not the entire league. You would still have to play the Super Bowl or World Series.

Even the World Series fails to makes sense considering teams are not playing internationally.

In other news, MLB.com has reported that free-agent first baseman Carlos Delgado has signed with his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays. The 37 year old Delgado played winter ball in Puerto Rico this off-season after his 2009 campaign was cut short due to injury. The Blue Jays have refused to comment on the situation likely due to the fact that he has not yet followed through with a physical.

Bengie Molina works, but the recently-conservative general manager Omar Minaya really seems content with resorting to Omir Santos to carry the load at the catcher position.  My guess is that Minaya could assimilate Thole into the mix by having him catch day games after night games and just scratch the idea of Molina entirely.

On that same token, the Mets have built successful teams over the years and have failed to execute their plans, leaving many writers, fans, and others scratching their heads. Minaya knows that he needs to do what is best for his short-term job status in New York because 2010 will be a very important season for him.

Moving to the outfield, Jeff Francoeur and the Mets settled on a cheap, one-year contract in an attempt to avoid salary arbitration. It is fine and dandy that the Mets avoided arbitration, but Francoeur really needed more years. Minaya has had a difficult time signing free-agents and Francoeur is a solid player that was one of the bright spots of last year’s disaster. The Mets have always seemed to have some kind of a void in the corners of the outfield, but keeping Francoeur could prevent this once and for all. To top it all off, he could potentially lend the Mets some inside information on the Atlanta Braves as he spent many years in the organization.

At first base, the Mets should seize the opportunity to re-acquire first baseman Carlos Delgado by signing him to a contract loaded with incentives. It is the perfect time for a contract like this, especially coming from a guy who may be getting old but has certainly shown his potential in recent years for the Mets. The Mets absolutely need to avoid giving Daniel Murphy a starting role at all costs. Murphy is overrated and makes mistakes that will cost games throughout the season. He was thrown in the spotlight too early and needs to take a backseat. Everyone praises his workout regimen but it is important that he allocates enough resting time in such an arduous 162 game season. A reduced utility role would work well for him.

In Philadelphia, the Eagles were shocked when their General Manager ditched the team for the Browns. I know, it sounds like the craziest idea ever. The GM must have had serious connections with Mike Holmgren or the Browns in general, because his job security in Philadelphia was probably pretty comfortable. The Donovan McNabb uncertainty rumors began to float around yet again as his age increases, but coach Andy Reid shot down any rumors and confirmed that McNabb will be his leader in 2010.

The Giants shook up their defensive coaches in a hurry following their owner’s furious rant. Owner John Mara was disgusted with how the team performed in the final game at Giants Stadium with the playoffs on the line. He promised changes, and the promise was fulfilled later that day as news broke that New York fired rookie defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan after one season. The Giants surprisingly followed up by firing defensive assistant Mike Waufle, who was credited with the development of the dangerous defensive line that won a Super Bowl only two seasons ago. Big Blue shouldn’t be too worried as long as they are able to patch up some holes in their secondary. The offense won’t need any help, so the focus can be zoomed in on the defensive back position.