NEW YORK -- There was enough warmth in the room to make you forget it was mid-December, not to mention the Mets' last-place finish in 2002. There stood Tom Glavine, friendly and articulate, utterly convincing when he explained how he picked Shea Stadium over Atlanta and Philadelphia for the next three summers of his baseball life.

"Mr. Wilpon had a lot to do with it," Glavine said, referring to Mets owner Fred Wilpon who, in the three weeks it took to pry the left-hander away from the Braves and Phillies, acted not only as point-man, but as friend and father-figure.

That was Glavine's actual description of Wilpon, likening a conversation with the owner as "getting the warmth of talking to your father." Indeed, it was Wilpon who convinced Glavine that not only were the Mets ready for a rebirth in 2003, but that unlike the Yankees -- as big and faceless as Microsoft -- the Mets are a franchise run by people of good will.

	Tom Glavine is all smiles as he poses for pictures with his wife Chris during Monday's press conference announcing his signing.

That was all Glavine had to hear, even though he was honest enough to confess to a lingering emotional bond with the Braves. Had they made a reasonable offer, Glavine said -- not demanding that he defer much of his salary in the third and fourth years of a potential deal -- he would've finished his career at Turner Field.

Instead, Glavine chose the Mets, putting a shiny gloss on many of their 2002 problems. Confidently, he said, "I'd like to help the Mets get to the next level" in 2003, offering the professionalism and maturity that'll make Glavine their best No. 1 starter since David Cone in 1992.

No one disputes Glavine's blessings as a pitcher, or a resume that includes five 20-win seasons and a stunning streak of 16 seasons without a trip to the disabled list. That's testimony to Glavine's physical conditioning and a effortless delivery that, as agent Greg Clifton put it, "means Tom is going to eat up a lot of innings for the Mets, 200 or 220 or more."

Perhaps someday we'll discover why the Braves were so reluctant to offer Glavine a competitive 11th-hour offer -- whether it was a corporate, money-influenced decision, or if they glimpsed a physical decline in Glavine's second half in 2002, when he was just 7-7 with a 3.93 ERA.

Glavine shook his head and said no, his arm was healthy, his fastball-changeup arsenal as effective as ever. "The important thing is, my arm felt fine and I made the same pitches," he said. "I just didn't have the same success."

That's what the Mets are paying precisely for such self-confidence, although no one -- not Wilpon, GM Steve Phillips or even Glavine himself -- can guarantee whether any one pitcher can single-handedly turn the Mets into an Eastern Division contender again. In fact, their core-failure -- a lack of offense -- remains unresolved, and appears even more serious today than at the end of the 2002 regular season, when the Mets finished 13th in the NL in both runs scored and slugging percentage.

That's because Wilpon and Phillips refused to pursue free agent Edgardo Alfonzo with any conviction, too troubled by his diminishing HR and RBI-totals to be impressed with his .308 batting average in 2002.

The Mets declined to offer Alfonzo arbitration after weeks of negotiation. Truth was, his career at Shea was over long ago. The two sides never were close on money, as the third baseman was looking for $8 million a year for four seasons. Wilpon, who countered with barely more than $5 million a year for two seasons, said. "we never were able to bridge the gap."

	“	At this point in my career, I wouldn't make a move like this unless I thought (the Mets) had a chance to win. ”
		— Tom Glavine on signing with the Mets

What are the Mets' options now for replacing Alfonzo? They might pursue a trade for Kansas City's Joe Randa. They also plan to enter the sweepstakes for Japanese free agent Norihiro Nakamura, who slugged 42 homers with 115 RBI for the Kintetsu Buffaloes last season. But the Mets certainly won't pursue free agent Jeff Kent, not after committing $35 million for three years to Glavine, with the possibility of paying another $10 million through 2006.

Instead, the Mets are clinging to a belief that the engine that drives their offense -- Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn and Mike Piazza -- will radically improve in 2003. Why? Because, as Wilpon said, "My baseball people tell me we still have a very good team."

That's why Wilpon is leaving the Mets relatively intact, convinced that new manager Art Howe's friendly demeanor will make for a healthy clubhouse. And that Vaughn will lose weight, as he's promised. And that Alomar will stop worrying about ... well, everything. And that Piazza will respond to all the new energy around him and rebound from a subpar 2002, when he finished 41 points below his career batting average.

This is what Wilpon calls "faith." Other executives aren't as benevolent, considering the Mets are aging and without chemistry. Even Glavine admitted, "When I looked at what the Mets did last year, bringing in all those new players, I thought it would be tough for them. Change is tough at any level, and they had 3-4 guys, like Alomar and Vaughn and (Jeromy) Burnitz who were trying to get situated and comfortable and produce all at the same time."

Needless to say, Glavine believes the Mets are good enough to become relevant again in 2003. As he said, "at this point in my career, I wouldn't make a move like this unless I thought (the Mets) had a chance to win."

But such fates are beyond Glavine's control -- at least in the four days between starts. On those occasions, Glavine will be like everyone else in the Met family, watching, wondering, asking the question that'll hover over this franchise into the summer of 2003.

As talented and smart and likable as Glavine is, can he be more than just a good-looking band aid?

Bob Klapisch of The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) covers baseball for ESPN.com.