At the time of this writing, it is 77 degrees and partly cloudy
in Port St. Lucie, Fla., with a warm breeze gusting from the
southeast. Or as I like to call it, baseball weather.  Already,
players have begun to trickle into Mets camp, with many more to
follow in the weeks to come. There may be snow on the ground in
New York City, but baseball season is deceptively close.  Until
then, here are some more questions and answers about the
upcoming season:  Why waste a roster spot for Scott Hairston and
let go of Fernando Martinez? Give F-Mart all those at-bats and
actually see what he has to offer the team. He still is very
young. -- Lou G., Kenosha, Wis.  Effectively cutting Martinez
was an extremely difficult decision for the Mets, who do not
like giving up on premier prospects any more than fans do. Had
the Mets believed at all that Martinez might still blossom into
a productive Major Leaguer, they would have kept him. Certainly,
they do not want to see him finally fulfill his potential with
the Astros.  That s