There are two kinds of .500 teams. Some, like the Chicago Cubs, just putter along, scoring four or five runs every day and giving up just as many, sometimes catching the breaks and sometimes not. Others, like the New York Mets, seem to transform from day to day.

On Friday night, the Mets somehow gave up seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning against a distinctly unimpressive Pittsburgh offense, then managed to top the feat on Saturday by frittering away what had been a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. In a complete turnaround yesterday, they struck out to a 2-0 lead in the first and never looked back as Pedro Martinez struck out nine Pirates with seemingly as much effort as he’d have needed to play long toss.

Going into the All-Star break, the problem with judging the Mets is that before the season began, there was no clear consensus on how good the team was; reasonable people can be either enthusiastic, dismayed, or completely nonplussed. I had the Mets down as a .500 team in spring training, so I’m less than stunned by their 44-44 record at the season’s halfway point, and I think the last three months have seen the team laying the foundations for a serious run at the 2006 pennant. Still, it’s easy to understand the griping of fans who think this team should be better than it is. Had a few things gone differently, the Mets could be sitting atop the NL East right now.

A lot has gone right for the Mets, with the development of David Wright at the top of the list. The 22-year-old third baseman ranks with Miguel Cabrera as one of the two most valuable young position players in the game. There are still holes in his game – particularly on defense – but those can be fixed with time and experience. In Wright, the Mets have the most precious commodity in baseball – a genuine franchise player being paid about 2% of his market value.

Next on the list is Jose Reyes. However maddening his flaws are, he’s been able to stay on the field, and that’s the most important thing. With good health, he has a good shot at becoming the player people think he can be – a .300 hitter with great speed, line-drive power, and enough of a batting eye to make him a plus in the leadoff slot. Balancing Reyes’s long-term development against the current needs of the team is one of the most vexing problems facing manager Willie Randolph this year, but his decision to train Reyes as a leadoff hitter by hitting him leadoff will, I think, be vindicated in time.

It’s hard to believe that some thought Martinez was washed-up when the Mets signed him. He was quite obviously a bargain at the time, and he’s ranked among the league leaders in every important category while proving more durable than even optimists predicted. Beyond his 2.78 ERA and league-leading 138 strikeouts, his artistry and charisma have made the Mets transcendent when he pitches, something unseen in years.

These are the main positive developments for the Mets, but there have been others. Cliff Floyd has stayed healthy and Mike Cameron has unexpectedly hit .300; between them, they’ve been one of the best pairs of corner outfielders in the league. While the bullpen has been a mess at times, it now looks as if the trio of Aaron Heilman, Royce Ring, and Heath Bell could grow into a young, cheap, and very good late-inning setup corps. And the oft-derided Victor Zambrano and Kris Benson have done exactly what they need to do as solid mid-rotation starters: Eat innings, keep the team in games, and occasionally pitch brilliantly.

Each of these areas held the potential for disaster entering the season, and it’s easy to imagine a scenario where all the youngsters needed to be sent to Triple-A, while Martinez blew out his shoulder and Floyd and Zambrano were injured and ineffective. In every high risk/high reward area, the Mets have earned the reward, and that’s not to be taken for granted.

On the other side of the ledger, most of the Mets’ worst problems could have been – and were – foreseen. At both first and second base, the Mets have the worst OPS in the National League; I was far more optimistic than most about the prospects for Doug Mientkiewicz and Kaz Matsui, and even I thought they would be mediocre. Granting that the 2002-04 Mets were such a disaster that not every hole could be filled, the failure to find quality starters for these positions is what stands between the Mets and first place.

Some inexplicable decisions regarding the pitching staff have hurt the team even more. Using Mike DeJean as a set-up man to begin the season wasn’t the worst idea; the Mets were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle like they ended up doing with Roberto Hernandez. But it was a mistake to use DeJean in a crucial role long after it was clear he had nothing left. Similarly, using Kazuhisa Ishii as the fifth starter in April was entirely reasonable, but he’s 2-8 with a 5.57 ERA right now, while Jae Seo has a 3.19 ERA and is striking out a man per inning in Triple-A. There may be no good options on the right side of the infield, but starting Ishii over Seo is indefensible, and it’s costing the Mets crucial games in a tight division.

The biggest disappointment in Flushing, though, is Carlos Beltran, who ranks just seventh among NL center fielders in OPS. That’s not to say he’s dragging the team down – he’s been playing with a bum hamstring, and, given the unexpected production of Floyd, Cameron, and Victor Diaz, the Mets have gotten more out of the outfield than anyone expected. The Mets made an eight-year commitment to Beltran, and he shouldn’t be judged by how he does over three months during which he’s been hurt and having problems adjusting to a very good pitcher’s park. If he gets hot in the second half and carries the team to the wild card, no one will remember his first-half slump.

Just as the Mets’ season has had its good and bad, so has Randolph in his first season as manager. One has to hold him accountable for moves like keeping Ishii in the rotation, but he deserves credit for the development of Wright and the resurgence of Floyd and Hernandez. Overall, he’s balanced the difficult job of trying to keep a flawed team in the race this year while keeping in mind that the team is built to be a perennial contender starting next year.

All that to say that I feel much the same way about the Mets now as I did three months ago. They’re an exciting and deeply flawed team that could win the World Series this year and would probably be better off focusing on next year. The team can rely a ton of talent at Shea and on the farm, money in the coffers to replace Mike Piazza while fixing up the infield, bright management, and a feeling of hope surrounding the team for the first time in years. There are good .500 records, and bad ones; the Mets’ is a good one.