PLAYING CATCH UP...

That's what I'm doing after missing a day of big news. The Mets announced on Tuesday that Brian Bannister would indeed be the fifth starter, meaning Aaron Heilman will be pitching out of the bullpen. This means a lot of things.

• First and foremost, Heilman is in the role he didn't want, and Bannister got the job Heilman felt he earned. Heilman, though, says he wants to be a part of the team, because he knows this team could be special, and he's willing to do this for the team. Willie Randolph says the whole point of this decision is that it makes the team better. Another note is that Heilman and Bannister have developed a friendship this spring, which has tempered Bannister's enthusiasm for being named the starter, and probably makes this a slightly easier pill to swallow for Heilman.
• This does make the team better. The Mets are counting on Heilman to be the primary bridge from the starter to Billy Wagner. Think Mariano Rivera to John Wetteland...or, a slight downgrade from that.
• Heilman pitches very well against lefties. That means the Mets, when they break camp, could possibly carry one less lefty in the 'pen. The Mets have a strange situation because they have Chad Bradford, a specialist brought in to face only righthanders. So when there is a lefty that Bradford would have to face, chances are he's coming out...so he's almost a waste of a pitcher's spot. Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano are the favorites to make the team from the left side (although I have my doubts about Oliver - he might very well have had some impressive springs in recent years, which might explain some of his sorry Major League seasons the past few years - not counting last year, when he wasn't in the majors).

All in all, I think the Mets are a better team. And I think they really want to appease Heilman...just not this year. I think in 2007, Heilman will graduate to number three starter, or thereabouts. But this year, in the hunt for the World Series, Heilman will be strengthening the bullpen.

SI PICKS: Got the 'Sports Illustrated' baseball preview edition today, and I haven't had much of a chance to go through it yet, but I did see that they pick the Mets to be a wild card, but bow out of the playoffs in the first round (losing to the Cardinals - no way). They pick the White Sox to beat the Cardinals in the World Series. It's fashionable to pick the White Sox this year (see my picks), but I'm having second thoughts. They've had a bad spring, and I'm reading bad things about Bobby Jenks. But they have a deep rotation, and that could take them far. I'm standing by my pick of the White Sox losing to the Mets in the World Series, but consider this paragraph the White Sox disclaimer.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE: The Bensons are breaking up. I've been seeing on some other blogs that Anna Benson has filed for divorce from Kris. I hope I'm not spreading a false rumor here, but it isn't a stretch. I feel kind of bad for Kris Benson in all of this. He seems like a fairly normal guy. He has three kids, and a wife who, let's say, makes life a little difficult. And she's filing for divorce from him. I bet he gets the kids.

BEAT THE STREAK: My pick for Sunday night (in case I don't get to write again this weekend) is Grady Sizemore. All he needs to do is get a hit to get me off on the right foot. I forgot if I've already mentioned this, but keep an eye on the Phillies Opening Day - Jimmy Rollins is taking a 36-game-hitting streak into this season.