Oh, expectations! The Mets will enter the second half of the season in first place with a 48–39 record, just a game off the best mark in the league, and they will do this despite having suffered through a terrible string of injuries. Still, all is not right in Flushing — Jose Reyes has been benched for a lack of hustle, Willie Randolph has intimated that Carlos Beltran lacks guts, and Paul Lo Duca and Billy Wagner have complained about this and that.

Nothing is wrong that better health and the return of Pedro Martinez won’t fix. Keep in mind that the Mets hit their injuryracked nadir at the same time they were playing a solid month’s worth of games against teams that made the playoffs last year. The Mets have had a lot go wrong, but they’re still poised to tear the league apart in the second half.

FIRST BASE — CARLOS DELGADO, D

There are good reasons to give Delgadoa pass for a miserable first half. He had knee surgery last fall and his first child in the spring, and endured a truly horrific April; since then, he’s been alternately out of sorts and devastating in short bursts. He’s been hot for the last few weeks and should be fine in the second half. What counts, though, is that only one team in the league got a worse OPS from their first basemen in the first half than the Mets did — had Delgado hit as well as he did last year, the team would enjoy a much healthier lead in the standings.

SECOND BASE — CAST OF THOUSANDS, C-

This is probably a harsh grade, as the aggregate production of the Mets’ various second basemen has been perfectly acceptable, but when Damion Easley is the man providing a great deal of that production, there’s a problem, and Jose Valentin, the current starter, looks like he’s done. Not every position needs to be filled by an All Star, but the Mets haven’t been stable at this position since 2001.

THIRD BASE — DAVID WRIGHT, A-

Remember April, when people were seriously worried that Wright had lost his power stroke? He of course went on a tear and is now (once you account for the drop in offense this year) hitting exactly as well as he always does. Add in 18 steals in 19 attempts and vastly steadier defense than he’s played in the past, and you have a deserving all-star. The one slight worry with Wright is that he’s so consistent and well-rounded that you have to wonder if he’s ever going to substantially improve, but even if he doesn’t he’ll remain one of the best players in the league for years to come.

SHORTSTOP — JOSE REYES, A

WhatistheretosayaboutReyes? The most exciting player in baseball added plate discipline to his game last year and has taken it to the next level this year. Far from just walking enough to maintain a decent on base average, he’s on pace to draw about 90 walks, and he’s walking more than he strikes out. He’salsoonpacetostealabout 90 bases. Last year’s 19 home runs were probably a fluke, but then they may not have been, and if he can combine the power he showed last year with the discipline he’s shown this year, he’ll be clearly the best player in the league.

CATCHER — PAUL LO DUCA, B

The problem with Lo Duca is that he’s an average hitter when he hits .320, meaning he’s well below average when hitting .274. He’s competent defensively, and he plays every day, so he’s not a problem, but he’s ever on the edge of being one. Thirty-five-year-old catchers who run like penguins are not good bets to remain even .274 hitters. Lo Duca does get a bump from a B- to a B based on the great array of insane faces he makes when screaming at umpires, though.

LEFT FIELD — CAST OF MILLIONS, D-

The Mets avoid the F here only because Moises Alou hit well before going down with a leg injury, and because Endy Chavez and Carlos Gomez played some beautiful defense before they were injured, but this position has been a real problem. It’s no one’s fault, really. Between Chavez and Lastings Milledge, the Mets had perfectly acceptable solutions to the inevitable Alou injury, but the revolving door of left fielders has probably been the team’s single biggest weakness.

CENTER FIELD — CARLOS BELTRAN, B+

One of the benefits of having a great player is that at their worst they’re still stars. Playing through some nasty leg injuries, Beltran has still put up all-star numbers at the plate and generally played very well in the field, and now, seemingly healthy, he’s hot and looks ready to carry the team. Criticism of him remains only slightly less baffling than criticism of Alex Rodriguez — of all the scrubs and loafers in the game, how can anyone spare any animus for this guy?

RIGHT FIELD — SHAWN GREEN, C+

Yes, Green was surprisingly good before becoming the 497th Met to hit the DL with a leg injury, but he hasn’t done much since coming back, and his defense has been wretched all year long. Like Lo Duca, he’s not really a problem in his own right, but with Delgado and Beltran going through extended funks and Alou injured, he’s had to bear more of the load than anyone would like.

NO. 1 STARTER — TOM GLAVINE, B+

Call me a cherry-picker if you will, but when judging Glavine’s unimpressive4.36ERA, it’sworth noting that in back-to-back June starts, he gave up 16 runs in 8.3 innings to the powerful Tigers and Yankees; take those starts out and his ERA is 3.36. Of course part of the job of an ace pitcher is to not gethammeredbytopoffenses, but Glavine is, after all these years, still a near-lock to throw a quality game, every time out.

NO. 2 STARTER — JOHN MAINE, A

Before this year, I figured Maine to be a good replacement for Steve Trachsel, which isn’t at all an insult — Trachsel had some excellent years earlier in his career. As is, Maine looks like he might be turning into an ace. He and Oliver Perez benefit from the their defense as much as any other pitchers in baseball, but even when you let the air out of his numbers Maine has been one of the better pitchers in the league, and there’s no real reason to think he won’t remain so for the next few years. One caveat here is that he gives up alotofflyballsandfewhomeruns; anything from falling in love with an iffy pitch to a nagging injury could change that quickly.

NO. 3 STARTER — OLIVER PEREZ, B+

In his second start this year, Perez walked seven and struck out two, causing the loudest collective groan heard in years. After that, oddly, he joined Maine as coquasi-ace, to coin a phrase I hope no one else adopts. What’s wonderful is that while he still has raw stuff to match most any lefty in the game, he’s dialing it back just a notch, not always going for the strikeout, and maintaining his focus — pitching, if you will. He’s very good now, if not quite as good as his 3.14 ERA makes him look, and still has enormous untapped potential. I can imagine him ending up more valuable than David Wright over the next few years, even if I don’t expect it to happen.

BULLPEN — CAST OF BILLIONS, B

The bullpen is the Mets writ small. There’s nothing really wrong with it on paper, and it can boast several incredibly impressive performances, but no one’s quite as confident in it as they might be, and for good reason. The problem is that while Billy Wagner has been bulletproof, and pitchers like Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano have been very good, the key setup men — Aaron Heilman and especially Scott Schoenweis — haven’t been of championship caliber. Should the Mets ride it out andhopethesetworeturntoform, or pay through the nose for reinforcements? I have no idea, but that might be the biggest question the team has to answer between now and the trade deadline.

MANAGER — WILLIE RANDOLPH, B+

Randolph’s story is what it has been since he’s been in Queens. Focus on the details, and he’ll convince you he should be fired; think about the big picture, and he looks like a genius. Some of his bullpen and lineup decisions and fondness for oddly-timed smallball tactics leave me with a blank, quizzical expression on my face, and some of the team’s recent yapping in the press doesn’t reflect all that well on the skipper, but what really counts in the end is that the team is winning and that under Randolph’s guidance Reyes, Wright, Maine, and Perez are developing into a terrifying core. What more can you ask of the man?

tmarchman@nysun.com