MET NOTES

With their bullpen struggling, the Mets have turned to a familiar face – Ricky Bottalico – for some relief.

The Mets re-signed Bottalico late Thursday night, approximately two weeks after cutting him at the end of spring training. The right-handed reliever was set to debut at Triple-A Norfolk yesterday.

The move is a smart one for both sides: During the spring Bottalico, who showed he was healthy and could pitch, was only a casualty of the numbers game. The 34-year-old Connecticut resident posted a 2.51 ERA, but lost out on a bullpen spot to Dan Wheeler and Orber Moreno.

While he’s in Norfolk now, Bottalico is a good bet to return to the big leagues soon, especially with the Mets’ bullpen hurting. Wheeler and Grant Roberts both have struggled and the Mets have blown several late-inning leads or allowed games to get much closer than they needed to be (witness last Monday’s win over the Braves, which went from 10-0 to 10-6).

Bottalico’s contract terms are the same as his original minor-league deal, which calls for him to earn $500,000 this year plus incentives.

* A day after experiencing shoulder stiffness, Tom Glavine played catch yesterday and said he still felt soreness but wasn’t alarmed.

“It might be a little bit sorer [than it was the day after previous starts], but so’s the rest of my body,” Glavine said. “So hopefully it’s just the cold weather.”

Glavine said he was unsure whether he would do his typical between-start routine but still figured to be able to make his next start Wednesday.

*

Vance Wilson made his first start of the year at catcher, while Mike Piazza played first. Wilson had a fine day, collecting two of the Mets’ four hits in the 2-1 loss . . . Art Howe said Cliff Floyd, out with a strained right quadriceps, has been doing “preliminary [rehab] stuff” down in St. Lucie. Floyd is on the 15-day disabled list, but very likely could be out for several more weeks.