Read: Health, rotation, defense: The three biggest issues facing NY Mets in spring training

Brian Costa at The Star-Ledger says that the Mets need to avoid injuries.

Costa says that if Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Johan Santana can make full recoveries from their injuries and if David Wright and Mike Pelfrey can bounce back the Mets can at least can be in the wild-card conversation.

I agree with Costa 100% with this.

Costa also writes:
The title of the Mets' promotional campaign for 2010 is: "We believe in comebacks." And that's essentially all they can do with their rotation. They didn't upgrade it at all, so they are left to hope and believe that Pelfrey will have a dramatic turnaround, Oliver Perez will start living up to his contract and John Maine will be fully healthy for the first time since 2007.

Their fifth starter is no sure thing, either. A group that includes Jon Niese, Fernando Nieve and Hisanori Takahashi will compete for the job in spring training. But if their No. 5 starter ranks among their top concerns in a few months, they'll be in good shape.

Costa lastly writes:
By just about any measure, the Mets were among the worst defensive teams in baseball last year. They didn't just make errors. They made full-blown, blooper-reel gaffes. Much of that had to do with injuries, but not all of it. That's why manager Jerry Manuel said defense, along with pitching, will be his primary focus in spring training. Last year Manuel stressed offense and an opposite-field approach. By the time he decided to address the Mets' defense in May, it was too late. This year, defensive fundamentals will be stressed from the first day of camp.