LAST NIGHT’S GAME:

The Mets topped Washington, 5-2, in Port St. Lucie last night…Chris Young worked 5.1 innings, allowed four hits and one run…Ike Davis was 2-3 with three RBI while David Wright was 2-2 with two runs scored and a stolen base…Francisco Rodriguez closed out the game to earn the save with a scoreless ninth…Oliver Perez worked 0.2 innings, allowing only a walk to pick up his second win of the spring.

WHO’S HOT:

The Mets have won three of their last four games…IKE DAVIS is batting .360 (9-25) with two home runs and a team leading nine RBI…TAYLOR BUCHHOLZ has not permitted an earned run in 8.0 innings…MIKE O’CONNOR has not allowed a run in his four spring appearances (3.0 innings)…DANIEL MURPHY is hitting .324 (11-34) with seven RBI…JOSH THOLE leads the team with 13 hits this spring.

Thanks to the Mets for these daily Mets Notes they send us.

Now to some serious business… The following are my notes, and not from the Mets.

BELTRAN IS PALYING BASEBALL AGAIN, I THINK:

Mets camp is all a buzz with the news that Carlos Beltran has resumed baseball activities. That is Mets-Speak for being able to take 25 swings in the batting cage without grimacing.

Can Beltran play in the field? No. Can Beltran play catch? No. Can Beltran run the bases? No. Can Beltran swing from the left side? No. Can Beltran throw? No. Can Beltran slide? No.

But rest assured he is participating in all the other baseball activities he has resumed.

Are we still going to keep up the pretense that Carlos Beltran will be in the Opening Day lineup?

Apparently so. Terry Collins said Beltran only needs ten days to be ready and everything is just hunky-dory.

Alderson isn’t worried either. Beltran is a well conditioned athlete who is doing things to ensure that he will be there come Opening Day and last the entire season, he says.

Oh, I guess I’m just flaky and a bit dense because I thought that being he has never played rightfield in his whole career, that he might want to get in there and get some reps before he’s set to play the second most difficult rightfield in the majors for the next six months… But that’s just me.

Three at-bats as a DH, and eleven days later he is still on the mend. Oh brother…

SECOND BASE MISH MOSH:

So this second base drama has become the gift that keeps on giving it seems. Yesterday, Collins had ample opportunity to snuff out the story that Luis Hernandez would be the opening day second baseman. But regardless of how everyone is spinning it, he didn’t do that. In fact, he clinched it for me.

He will have to play nice with Luis Castillo a little while longer, but he will get his wish in the end and Castillo will be cut.

Early season favorite Brad Emaus muffed up a double play ball and was charged with an error yesterday. I don’t know if he was doing his best Daniel Murphy impression or if he really just sucks in the field too. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. 

Don’t worry Terry… Sooner or later one of these second basemen will turn a clean double play this spring.

Huh? What’s that you say? Hernandez already turned in two of them in only half the number of games played?

Well by all means sign him up, we can use a good glove like that.

GOOD OLLIE DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE:

So have you heard the good news? 

Reportedly, Oliver Perez looked great in yesterday’s relief appearance getting two outs and not allowing a run.

Great my BUTT!

He walked the first batter he saw, and fell behind the next two batters (3-2, 3-1) before finally retiring them.

Do we really want to see Perez coming into a critical spot in the game to face one batter when he walks close to a third of the batters he faces?

How can ANYONE with a walk rate like Oliver Perez ever be considered as a candidate for lefty specialist? This couldn’t even happen in Bizarro World.