BY ROB SHAW

Twitter: @RobShawSports

The New York Mets can finally move on from the loss of Jose Reyes, as they opened the season with two straight wins against the Braves.  The team has accomplished the hot start because of the rise of young talent including Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, and Ike Davis as well as some help from old friends most notably David Wright and Johan Santana.

The two wins were not exactly expected.  Mets fans had been in mourning for several months as the news of the Madoff scandal attracted the most attention and the poster boy for the Mets reversal of financial fortune was the loss of the greatest shortstop in franchise history, Jose Reyes to the rival Marlins.

Wright understands as much as anyone how difficult it is to replace a talent like Reyes, but he also knows that the team has to move on, “You know one player, granted he’s very good and he’s a great player and great teammate, but you cannot worry about who is not here.  I have a tremendous relationship with Jose, I’ve got a ton of respect for him, like I said, I think he’s one of the best position players to put this Mets uniform on, but that’s not how this game works, we’ve still got games to play and games to win and we need other players to step up and fill that void,” said Wright.

Another former teammate of Reyes and Wright, Endy Chavez explains the shock he felt when word came out that Reyes was no longer a Mets shortstop, “That was unbelievable, I understand this is a business, but to Reyes leaving New York, just saying Jose Reyes is like saying New York Mets, so it’s something crazy, but you know things happen in baseball and that’s one of those things.”

Finally, Reyes himself understands that he has to move on.  His role goes from helping the Mets to now competing against them with a long-time rival, “You know in the beginning it was a little weird for me because all of my career I played with David the same thing, but now I have to adjust to the new team, so I know I was there with David for a long time and we every year became very good friends, I’m going to miss David and I wish him all the best.”

While the loss of Reyes is certainly hard to swallow for Mets fans, one thing that would make it easier is the return to prominence of Wright.  The 29-year-old franchise player has tallied five hits and two RBI through the first two games of the season.  It looks like the drawn in fences could be exactly what Wright needs to get his confidence back.  The young up-and-coming Mets look at Wright to set the tone.

“Huge, huge key for us, David is.  Not only as a player, but clubhouse guy.  He’s awesome in the clubhouse and he keeps us motivated, we follow him and where he goes we go,” says Mets slugger Lucas Duda.

First baseman Ike Davis adds on Wright, “Definitely a big part of our lineup and he’s going to be the leader of the team and it’s really exciting seeing him play again.”

Meanwhile, the pitching has been great and the biggest surprise of them all is Johan Santana.  After picking up 29 wins the first two seasons with the Mets, Santana has just 11 over the last two seasons, missing all of 2011 due to surgery.  However, he was back on the hill on Opening Day and gave the type of performance that will gain confidence in the ball club.

“He’s been the bright spot so far this spring, just his health, the way he’s throwing the ball, so I’m excited about what he’s going to bring to the table this year, and it will be a lot of fun to play defense behind him,” says Wright.

As impressive as the Mets have been, this is still very much a rebuilding year.  In fact, if Jason Bay and/or Johan Santana can sustain their production, there is a really good chance that they will get traded.  The Mets may be able to hang around .500 for the majority of the season, but the bright days ahead will be when their top pitching prospects develop into stars that can compete with Jordan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg on the Nationals.  Maybe then, the big three in Philadelphia will no longer be in their prime.  The question is whether David Wright will still be a Mets third baseman.