œI was pretty upset with not only how the team played, but with how I played last year, knowing that™s not me, Mike Pelfrey confessed to the New York Post’s Mike Puma yesterday. œI had a lost year. I had a terrible year. A campaign, Puma gently suggests, that might’ve been hampered by a lack of conditioning. Sound familiar?

Pelfrey doesn™t blame his weight for last season™s troubles ” he says he got to 257 pounds at one point last summer and will arrive in Port St. Lucie around 230 ” but also knows that better shape physically translates into a better mental approach.

œI™m going to come out and have a good year, not only for myself but for the team, Pelfrey said. œWe need to come back and start off good and get the ball rolling.

œI understand that people look at the rotation and they have question marks. There should be, Pelfrey said.

œGuys got hurt. I had a bad year, but guys are healthy now and I™m going to bounce back and have a good year. It™s amazing to me how big of a question there is about the rotation [by fans]. I hear about it and I just laugh..

Pelfrey praised the Mets™ decision to sign Kelvim Escobar. The right-hander won 18 games for the Angels in 2007, but is expected to compete for the eighth-inning setup role.

œWhen he first got signed, I thought maybe they were going to give him a chance and throw him in the rotation, Pelfrey said. œI thought maybe he could be a dark horse. Slot him in there and he could be a big-time difference maker. I don™t think that is how it™s going to be, but that idea excited me at first.