Which Way to the Infirmary?

Spring is a time of renewal, rebirth and hope. And while Mets fans are hoping that their team will recover from the epic collapse that marred the 2007 season, the advent of spring training has not done much to renew their faith in the Metropolitans.

Every day brings news of another injury - the latest being card-carrying AARP member Moises Alou's impending hernia operation, which will keep him out of action for four to six weeks. Meanwhile Carlos Beltran has yet to play a spring training game after off-season knee surgery, and Endy Chavez hasn't played a game this month either.

Well, at least our infield looks good...wait, what's that you say? Delgado is hurt? Again?

That's right; as if having question marks surrounding the entire outfield isn't enough, the right side of the Mets infield is also not at 100%. Carlos Delgado has a sore hip (surprise, surprise - is Doug Mientkiewicz still available?), which required a MRI recently, and Luis Castillo is also recovery from off-season surgery.

(If Omar Minaya was smart he'd wrap Jose Reyes and David Wright in bubble wrap for the rest of March just to be safe).

Okay, so our position players are hurting - but how about our pitchers! They're looking good...right?

Not really - El Duque is still in pain...from a bunion. That's right, one of the starting pitchers for the 2008 Mets apparently shares the same problem as geriatric senior citizens. Meanwhile, our newly-acquired ace, Johan Santana, got shelled in his first outing, and question marks still surround Pedro Martinez as he enters the last year of his contract following a season where he sat out most of the year after surgery.

So there you have it - your 2008 New York Mets! Sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Insurance and Dr. Scholl's Foam Bunion Cushions.

And the sick ward gets bigger and bigger...