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If you thought losing a seven-game lead with 17 games to go hurt, try heading back to spring training the next year. The Mets are discovering daily that getting in shape for the season can be a painful proposition.

They’ve accumulated a long list of injured or inactive players. Here is a list of notable players who are still nursing ailments:

1. Alou
2. Beltran
3. Delgado
4. Schneider
5. Church
6. Anderson
7. Gotay
8. Easley
9. Hernandez
10. Sanchez
11. Castillo

It’s luck for the Metropolitans that the season is still a few weeks away because this is a talented list of players. Their depleted squad sure as heck wouldn’t have an 8-4 record if they were facing major league-caliber opposition.

But how do you get ready for the regular season when a substantial portion of your ballclub can’t participate in exhibition games? That’s the quandary facing the Mets right now and some New York-based sportscasters are already discussing the idea that the Mets might start “slow” out of the gate (“slow” being a sports euphemism for lousy).

In general it’s too early to sound the alarm. Not a single meaningful game has been played yet. But after obtaining the best pitcher in the game, Johan Santana, in an effort to erase the embarrassment of last year, this under-performing Mets squad doesn’t need any extra pressure.

Just don’t give in and pick up Barry Bonds as Buster Olney has advocated. There couldn’t be a more expensive or distracting liability.

The New York Mets are suffering from a terrible combination of high expectations and residual embarrassment from their historic collapse late last season. The news was good this off-season with the signing of my erstwhile favorite pitcher in the game, Johan Santana. And commentators are drooling over a rotation featuring young talent like John Maine and Oliver Perez anchored by two Cy Young winners. But when you’re a popular pre-season pick for NL East champion, the only place to go is down.

Cue Carlos Delgado, or rather his hip. Delgado experienced discomfort in his right hip yesterday and has been dispatched back to the Big Apple for an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. As is common in these cases, officials with the club have been downplaying the seriousness of the situation. The AP quotes Omar Minaya, the Mets GM, as saying, “I just don’t expect [the injury time] to be extended.”

But you have to wonder when the injury requires a trip from Florida to New York and an MRI. Of course the Mets are being cautious because they don’t want a player of Delgado’s talent exacerbating an injury sustained this early. If that were to happen, he might be hampered by it the entire season. Still why not prescribe some rest and physical rehabilitation? They must have some concern that they’re not admitting.

I hope, for Mets fans, this isn’t the first in a series of disappointments in 2008. I’m not sure they could survive it.

The injury bug didn’t take long to strike some unfortunate ballplayers in the first week of Spring Training. Here is a couple of situations that interested me:

Brad Lidge, a major pick up for the Phillies in the offseason, was destined to anchor the Philadelphia bullpen this season. It was an infusion of talent meant to allow Brett Myers to return to the rotation and keep the aged Tom Gordon from becoming the stopgap closer once again. That dream expired after one batting practice pitch Saturday. Lidge reportedly caught his spike on the mound as he threw and felt a pain in his knee. This is the same knee that doctors operated on last October. Now it looks like he’ll be going under the knife once again to repair this new injury on Monday. The estimate is that he’ll be out between three and six weeks.

In situations like this at the beginning of the season when hopes are high for every club and the beautiful spring sunshine promises renewal and rejuvenation, it’s common for teams to underestimate the time needed for recovery from an injury like this. Surgery is a major event and recovery takes time. My guess is Lidge will not pitch in the majors until at least mid-May. And that’s if he’s lucky.

Mark DeRosa had to be taken off the field Saturday after suffering from an irregular heartbeat. Team trainers examined him, and he was brought to an Arizona hospital for monitoring and kept overnight. The hospital released him Sunday, according to team officials. Apparently DeRosa has suffered from this condition in the past.

On a serious note, I wish DeRosa the best and pray that this condition will prove to be harmless.

More lightheartedly, it’s good to see that he’s still got a passion for the game. Why else would it set his heart aflutter?