PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The composition of the Mets' Opening Day roster came into sharper focus in some ways Friday night after it had blurred a bit in the afternoon.

In a period of a few hours, questions arose about Kris Benson (strained pectoral muscle), Mike Cameron (sore left wrist) and finally Bartolome Fortunato (lower back pain).

Then after the Mets' final home game of the spring -- an 11-9 loss to the Marlins, Willie Randolph answered the question that had the team wondering for days. How big is the bullpen?

The manager said he intends to begin the season with 12 pitchers, including seven relievers. He said he could change his thinking before midnight Saturday, when rosters must be submitted to Major League Baseball, and the availability of Benson and Cameron could create the need for changes he'd prefer not to make.

But before Randolph left the clubhouse Friday, he said the bullpen included closer Braden Looper; primary setup man Mike DeJean; veterans Manny Aybar and Roberto Hernandez; and three left-handed pitchers -- Mike Matthews, Felix Heredia and Dae-Sung Koo.

Randolph presented his relief pitchers in that order and then, in an afterthought, mentioned Matt Ginter, the pitcher who seemingly would be necessary as a spot starter if Benson's problem is more serious than anticipated.

Ginter, who hasn't allowed a run in 14 innings this spring, is out of options and the only reliever with long-relief capabilites. The Mets almost certainly will lose him if they remove him from the 40-man roster through outright assignment.

It seemed more likely Ginter would be on the Major League roster and Heredia wouldn't, even the though the left-handed veteran is owed $1.85 million.

Not out of options and, as a consequence, out of the Major League picture, for now, is right-handed reliever Heath Bell. Randolph told him the business side of the game is the reason he was optioned to the Triple-A Norfolk affiliate.

"He told me I'd pitched well enough to be on the team," Bell said. "The good part is that I'll probably be the guy who comes up when they need help. Being here in April and May isn't as good as being here in August and September," he said.

Bell, though, had allowed two home runs and three runs in two innings Friday.

Fortunato will not make on the Opening Day roster because he will be optioned to Norfolk or assigned to the disabled list. He experienced significant pain in his lower back while pitching in the seventh inning after he had allowed five runs.

The club also reassigned Luis Garcia, Jose Santiago and Ron Calloway to the minor league camp, leaving 27 players in major league camp, including Fortunato and Ginter.

Tough love for gloves: No one was playing catch in the Mets' clubhouse Thursday morning, but the unmistakable sound of something hitting leather was clearly audible. Carlos Beltran was in another of the final stages of Spring Training. He was preparing his new glove for Opening Day.

As he sat at his locker, the Mets' center fielder held a bat upright between his knees and pounded the pocket of his glove down onto the head of the bat, 10, 20, 30 times. Then Beltran slid his left hand into the leather and used his right fist to do more pounding. Then, the bat, then the fist. Then lotion applied to the pocket.

"You want to make a hole [actually a pocket] so the ball sets in there when you catch it," Beltran said.

Beltran arose to fetch a pair of pliers to use to tighten the laces, then resumed the bat-and-fist routine before catching a weighted baseball with the glove.

Beltran breaks in a glove on one day, and he plans to use one, perhaps two gloves this year, a more economical practice than what Rey Ordonez used when he was the Mets' shortstop. Ordonez, Gold Glove winner in 1997-99, often discarded gloves after a week's use, hardly breaking them in at all.

News and features: • Mets notes: Cameron gets good news • Ginter dealt to Detroit; Colyer to Mets • Amazin' offense shines in Florida finale
Multimedia: • Mets broadcaster Ed Coleman:  • Kevin Czerwinski on the Kaz Ishii trade  • Interview with Darryl Strawberry:  350K
Info:	Schedule  | Ballpark  |  Tickets MLB.com's complete coverage

Things change as gloves change. Buddy Harrelson used to break in gloves for players when he was a Mets coach, and each one certainly took him more than one day. The new leathers used are softer, more pliable.

Other players used other methods. Keith Hernandez soaked his first baseman gloves in water, let them dry, then rubbed the pockets with lanolin. But Hernandez wanted to keep the backs stiff for blocking throws in the dirt. Call it "How to Make a Gold Glove."

Players in the '70s broke in gloves by using them in pregame infield practice, but teams rarely "take infield" nowadays. Players in the '50s used to hit their gloves with bats -- repeated full swings -- to break down the leather.

And Ron Blomberg, the first designated hitter ever, in 1973, had his own, unique way. "I let mine sit in my locker," he said.

Final tuning: Tom Glavine, scheduled to start the Mets' second game of the regular season Wednesday in Cincinnati, made his final Spring Training start on Friday, pitching four innings in a minor league intrasquad game. Glavine was followed by Braden Looper and Mike DeJean. Together, the three surrendered four hits and an earned run.

Leiter-ing: Al Leiter preferred not to pitch for the Marlins against his former team Friday night, citing the possibility that he might get "amped up" and injure himself. Instead, Leiter pitched against a Cardinals Triple-A team and walked six in four innings. He threw 38 pitches in the first inning and 94 over four.

A minor memory: Glavine is featured prominently in the Mississippi Braves' marketing promos for this year. the Braves' Double-A affiliate in Greenville, S.C., in 1986, his third season as a professional. The club relocated to the Southern League and is pushing former stars as it kicks off its inaugural season in Pearl, Miss.

Remembering Mahler: In ceremonies before their final home exhibition game Friday, the Mets honored the late Rick Mahler, their Class A pitching coach who died March 2. Mahler's family was presented Mahler's jersey, signed by the Major League staff and framed. Mahler's daughter threw out the first pitch.

Coming up: With Kris Benson scratched from Saturday's start against the Marlins, the Mets probably will use a minor leaguer in their final game in Florida. Dae-Sung Koo and Felix Heredia are scheduled to pitch in relief in the game, which will start at 12:05 p.m. ET in Jupiter. Former Mets farmhand A.J. Burnett starts for the Marlins.