Now, I can get on board with a guy like Jason Marquis, although if we sign Lowe, which I really hope we do, then I think we could use a lefty in the 5th slot to help balance out the rotation, especially given the way the Phillies lineup is constructed- afterall, it did work this year, as Santana, and especially Ollie, did extremely well against the Phils, and helped key us to a 11-7 record against our rivals.

I really think Randy Wolf would be a great complement to a Derek Lowe signing. Now, Wolf occasionally gets hurt, but I think this is when Niese can make his starts and get familiar with the major leagues. There you go, it all works out. Otherwise, let Niese pitch in the pen. He would give us a second lefty.

But please, Omar, you have done so well so far, and if you get Lowe, I will be so psyched because I think we would have a rotation that stacks up with anybody’s, even the Yankees, but please Omar, have a care with the 5th spot. That spot could be the key that unlocks this whole rotation, and thus the team as a whole. Think about it, every four days, we could pound out four good to great starters in a row with Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, and Lowe (remember that stretch right before the all-star break, when we got 4 consecutive 3 hit games given up by the pitching staff, and then the 5th game giving up only 1 hit! How amazing was that? I thought this feat deserved more credit and more attentionthen it got. But that’s our potential, not literally of course, but the talent is there). So, if we have an actual 5th starter who can win 12 or so games like Wolf can, while at least giving us a chance to win most of his starts, then we would be so damn good. We could have numerous winning streaks, and just streak through large chunks of the season, simliar to what we did after Manuel took over. When we were winning so many games, winning just about every series, winning 9 games going into the break, winning 4 of 6 at home against the Phils and Cards (and should have swept them both, ah, but that bullpen), then after a poor road trip through Florida and Houston (again, bullpen, plus weak offense), we came back home to win 4 of 7, with a another blown save, then a 6 of 7 on the road, the home again going 5 of 7, then 6 of 8, then the collapse, with the bullpen killing us… point is, we were tearing up the NL for a while there, and our starting rotation was a huge reason why, as they kept is in just about every single game.

You can do it Omar, you can do it!

On the other hand, is Ollie legit #2 or even #3? I think you can make an argument for #3, but you can also make an argument for #4 as well.

Price difference between the two would probably be 4-5 mil and 4-6 wins.”

Excellent point. There really is no contest between Lowe and Perez.. And while Ollie was getting knocked around the park, while walking the whole National League, Lowe was helping to pitch his team into first place and into the playoffs with a 0.58 ERA in the final month. Not bad. He also has pitched pretty well against the Phillies the past 3 years (including playoffs, 6 starts, 3 wins, 1 loss, 2 ND, 3.03 ERA, 1.12 WHIP).

For those who want to argue for Big Game Ollie, where was he when we needed him in that Cubs game? Delgado gave him a 5-1 lead with a huge, clutch GS, and Ollie was darn quick to give it all back. Of course we still had the chance to win the game with Murphy on third with no outs. I think most Mets fans are going to remember that moment for a long time, and that game overall for all its twists and turns- and despite it all, despite giving up a 5-1 lead, despite threatening to take back the lead in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings, with men on third with less than two outs in at least two of those innings,yet still failing each time, they STILL had control of their own destiny after Murphy tripled. UGH!!! By the by, that’s why I love the idea of Murphy in LF and batting second. He will be so clutch for us. You think the Mets scored a lot of first inning runs before, keep in mind, they never had a consistent #2 hitter, yet they still lead the world in scoring right off the bat. With Murphy in the two hole, forget about it.

And these early runs will be all the more important now that we have such a strong Endgame with Putz and K-Rod. But who’s gonna step up and pitch the 7th? Duaner? Maybe. Stokes? I don’t think so. I like him more as a floating relief pitcher. Whoever it is, it should be one of our best crossover guys. I’d like to see Omar go after Joe Nelson who could come extremely cheap, or try to bring in Chad Cordero who could sign real cheap as well- low risk, high reward. How sweet would it be to have a former 35+ saves guy in the 7th, an utterly domiant 40 saves guy in the 8th, and the saves season record holder who averages over 40 saves a year pitching in the 9th? Now THAT would be a bullpen.

Cordero wouldn’t be ready for about a month into the season, but I think he would really be worth it. Remember, he’s pitching the 7th, not the 8th or 9th. I really feel that in order for the values of Putz and K-Rod to be maximized, in order for that duo to be able to push the Mets over the top, we need a very strong 7th inning guy, not someone we hope can claim the job, someone who could wind up losing the spot with a few bad performance because he doesn’t have an actual track record. Getting the ball to the Deadly Duo is vital. We can expect all our starters to go at least 6 innings, but not always 7. So, for all those games where the starter only goes 6 innings, or tires out during that inning and needs help getting out of it, we will need a reliable 7th inning guy, preferable a K guy. Of the current Mets, the only guy I would feel comfortable with letting him try to win the role is Duaner Sanchez, because it’s possible he can still get his old form back… Stokes is a maybe, but like I said, I think he would be more valuable in other spots. We will still need relievers in other types of games. Other than Sanchez, maybe Kunz, but we don’t know if he can handle it yet, and he doesn’t intimidate ML hitters yet, though given his height, if he does well, he could be quick to gain that kind of recognition. I don’t know who else I would be comfortable with on the Mets. Like I said, Chad Cordero or Joe Nelson could be great in that role, especially since I think either can be had for a small amount.

I wouldn’t mind Redding for the 5th starter’s job. He kills the Phillies.

The Red Sox just made a huge offer to Texeira. So they’re not that aggressive in pursuing Lowe. Signing Lowe now may be a better bet for the Mets because if they lose out on Texeira (odds say they will with the O’s, Nats, Angels and Yankees all in it), because the Red Sox want to make one impact signing. Outside of the Red Sox though, who is at least willing to give Lowe like 4 year/52-56 million? Maybe the Brewers or Blue Jays?