Davidoff: Suddenly, Mets have too many choices

Angel Pagan crushed the Justin Verlander fastball over the head of Austin Jackson and then some last night, cruising around the bases as the ball rolled toward the wall. With Jose Reyes motoring ahead of him, Pagan had a first-inning RBI triple, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

No, it's not quite time to track down Joe DiMaggio's attorney Morris Engelberg to get an official comment. But considering that Pagan's day began with discussion of another Hall of Fame-caliber New York centerfielder, his big hit carried significant weight.

You officially can start the return clock on Carlos Beltran now, as the long-gone centerfielder will kick off his 20-day rehabilitation Thursday night for Class A St. Lucie. The plan calls for him to move up the Mets' chain as Beltran's health and the weather allow it, and if all goes well, Beltran and his surgically repaired right knee will make their 2010 debut July 15 in San Francisco.

So Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel find themselves with a different, but no less important, challenge: How to balance playing time and egos against the greater goal of a bona fide playoff run.

"It would just be a manner of handling it, with rest," Manuel said, before the Mets kicked off a three-game series against Detroit. "Keeping them fresh. Keeping them somewhat happy as to what is going on. Really the key will be, is the team having success? . . . Are we winning games?"

We've seen Manuel and Minaya deal with the opposite of this problem. Really, the No. 1 criticism of Minaya since he took over the Mets has been his lack of regard for roster depth.

So this, relatively speaking, is a good problem.

"It's easier" than last year, Manuel said, unleashing a trademark guffaw. But it doesn't come without pitfalls. For Exhibit A, we give you the 2006 Yankees, who seemed to lose their offensive identity once Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield returned from the disabled list.

Pagan, one of Minaya's best acquisitions, has performed wonderfully in Beltran's stead, excelling on offense and defense. He'll now revert to the fourth outfielder role for which he originally was slated.

"That was my role from the beginning," Pagan said. "It's just getting adjusted to whatever comes my way."

Perhaps by the start of the second half, Jeff Francoeur will be Bad Frenchy, swinging at everything and missing pretty much the same, thereby granting Pagan the everyday job in rightfield. For the moment, however, Francoeur has earned the right to play some, particularly against lefthanders (a .415 on-base percentage and .483 slugging percentage, heading into last night).

Jason Bay? Might as well rest him every now and then, too, to get Pagan an occasional start in leftfield. Maybe he'll benefit.

And of course, we'll see what Beltran himself can handle. Maybe he'll need to rest every third day, or every fourth day. If it's a worst-case scenario and he looks as raw as Reyes did upon his triumphant return - and remember, Reyes didn't have the benefit of all this preparation time - then the Mets might have to give him a few consecutive days' rest and see if that helps.

But remember, for all of the talk of Beltran's limp and what he's been through, we are talking about a previously elite player who still will be above average even if he has lost a step or three.

We'll see how Minaya and Manuel handle this rare challenge of abundant riches. Really, though, Minaya's primary focus should be finding another starting pitcher.