Over at
MetsBlog, they answer a question asked about the 2007 Mets starting rotation. Here's his response...
Quote:
keep in mind that perez is out of options, and will not be sent to the minor leagues, so you can more or less ink him in to the starting rotationÂ…second, though Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya will publicly down play John Maine, as they should, as long as he can stay poised and comfortable on the mound i feel you can ink maine in the rotation tooÂ…
Â…couple maine and perez with Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez, and you are left with just one spotÂ…
Â…the Mets continue to praise Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber, as they shouldÂ…and i do not doubt for one second that both minaya and willie feel these two youngesters can be impact pitchers down the roadÂ…however, if they have total faith in pelfrey and humber for today they never would have expressed interest in Tomo Ohka, or Tony Armas, and others, despite minayaÂ’s love for stock-piling pitchingÂ…
Â…in other words, i do not think the Mets intend to start the season with humber occupying the final spot in the rotation, and unless pelfrey dominates spring training i feel the same may go for himÂ…
Â…i suspect that by the end of march, instead of humber and pelfrey, we will be debating who out of sosa, Aaron Sele or Dave Williams, and the like, will step in to round out the rotationÂ…
Â…remember, the fifth starter is used far less in april then he is during other monthsÂ…therefore, my gut feeling is that they will send pelfrey and humber back to the minors to refine their skills and control their emotions, while a player like sosa or williams can hold down the forte until either a) an earned promotion by pelfrey or humber, b) a trade is made, or c) Pedro MartinezÂ’s returnÂ…
Â…again, this is just a hunch, as i sit here freezing my toes off in the late JanuaryÂ…in other words, a lot can change over the next nine weeks, which is how long we have until opening dayÂ…
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I can see this. I believe it's a surefire bet that four out of the five spots are already knotted up barring something unforseen. Glavine, El Duque, Maine and Oliver Perez are all set. Now that 5th spot looks like it will be a battle in spring training between the likes of Aaron Sele, Dave Williams, Phil Humber, Mike Pelfrey and anyone else they may bring in during camp.
Not the most appealing rotation but I'm sure Minaya is working on something to improve it. And besides, the bullpen looks great. I just hope it isn't overworked early in the year.