Well, that flew by quickly.

Taking a glance at the calendar, pitchers and catchers report in 45 days and we are a mere 57 days from the first Spring Training game, on February 26th against the University of Michigan.

Looking back at this off season so far, the Mets have made four significant changes.

The first is the loss of Tom Glavine. Glavine’s return to Atlanta will have a large effect on the Mets starting rotation. Currently he is replaced internally by placing Mike Pelfrey to the back of the rotation and moving everyone else, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Orlando Hernandez, up a slot with Pedro Martinez up top but with 2 months left, Omar may still look to add a pitcher via trade or free agency.

Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon have been mentioned recently as possible targets. Colon has received positive reviews of his performance in the Dominican Winter League. Omar Minaya famously moved mountains to get Colon while GM of the Expos. Garcia will not likely be ready to pitch until June. Interest in Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, and Joe Blanton has cooled. The Mets remain a dark horse in the Johan Santana sweepstakes, but could surprise many as the Red Sox and Yankees appear involved only to ensure neither of them wins the rights to his services.

The second major change is replacing Paul Lo Duca with Brian Schneider. Lo Duca’s offense has regressed but he’s still a better hitter than Schneider. The upside with Schneider is his defense and ability to manage a pitching staff. It remains to be seen if this element will make up for his hitting deficiencies.

The third major change is the addition of Ryan Church in right field. Church should be an upgrade offensively for the Mets in right. He hits a ton of doubles, has decent power and he’s a proficient defensive outfielder.

Pedro, Maine and Perez make for a solid top end, but the Mets have question marks at the back end of their rotation. Mike Pelfrey has yet to prove he can be a productive major league pitcher, and will have much to prove to those who question his abilities. Orlando Hernandez has been outstanding when he is healthy, but his age and his fragility are a big concern.

The fourth change is in the bullpen. The Mets have sent Guillermo Mota packing, to the delight of pretty much all Mets fans, and will hopefully see Duaner Sanchez finally return. The Mets also added Matt Wise who was quite good until he struck Reds infielder Pedro Lopez in the face with a pitch. Wise apparently was shaken by the incident and his performance suffered, posting a 10.45 ERA in his final 16 outings. He brings an excellent K/BB ratio and a decent 6th inning arm to add to the Mets bullpen depth.

The Mets still have an outside change of landing Johan Santana. If Omar can pull that off, the Mets will have quite a formidable roster entering the 2008 campaign.