Pitching outlook

The biggest concern of most Mets fans is the lack of pitching depth/any one besides Johan Santana. And I'm here to confirm, yes, all these worries are true. And that is why you will/should hear the Mets linked to every high profile free agent starting pitcher, as well as exploring every pitcher on the trading block (Roy, A Harang, B Arroyo etc). #1- Johan. He is everything we could've wanted and asked for since Omar pulled off the trade of the decade. Yes he is coming off of a elbow clean out of some bone chips, and yes he has had this procedure previously, but he should be fine for spring training. The best news was that during the surgery when examining the UCL (the famed Tommy John Surgery/Ligament), it was intact and not needing a repair (and a 12 month rehab). Hopefully the clean out will also help Johan return to throwing his slider and give him another tool to return to the top 3 pitchers in the National League. #2- Mike Pelfrey. UGH. That just pained me to type #2 and follow it up with Pelfrey. I have no problem with Big Pelf and think he will take a big step forward this year, but he needs to enter the year as our #4. He has the stuff to be a ground ball machine and also has the fastball that can beat most hitters, but it's the matter of him finally putting it together. I will get my Big Pelf shirt, but only if he is our #4 starter. #3- John Maine. Another pitcher with a ton of question marks (yes this will be a recurring theme). Even when he's been healthy, he has never been a great pitcher. He has the stuff that could be a #3 pitcher, but some how never can stay healthy and/or last more than 5 2/3 innings (his career average). Hopefully he has been compliant with his rotator cuff strengthening exercises and we can finally figure out what exactly John Maine is. (He is arbitration eligible and could be non-tendered, but he is expected to re-sign with the Mets eventually) #4- Oliver Perez. Another pitcher with a ton of question marks (yes this will be a recurring theme). He had surgery on his knee in September (similar to a surgery Beltran had 2 off seasons ago, and should be fully healthy by Spring Training). There isn't much to be said about Ollie that hasn't already been said. But hopefully Beltran finally got through to him and he's working out at the famed Athlete's Performance in Arizona. Hopefully he throws more than 66 innings this year for the 12 million a year he's earning. His best season was 15-10 record, 3.5 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. I think every Mets fan would sign up for that in a heart beat for the next 2 years if possible. #5- J Niese/ T Redding/probably Livan Hernandez/El Duque/J Contreras (yes I'm only half kidding about the last 3. We all know Omar loves these guys). J Niese = Another pitcher with a ton of question marks (yes this will be a recurring theme). He is coming off surgery to reattach his hamstring tendon to the origin (near his glutes, so opposite of the surgery Jose Reyes had which was at the insertion, behind the knee). Although there aren't many baseball players/pitchers to have this surgery, he has plenty of time to rehab and be ready for the season. He showed some promise in his starts (7 innings 1 er vs houston), although I would like him to miss some more bats, he's still young (23 years old). I wouldn't have any qualms having him compete for the #5 starter job with Ollie and Maine, but he is the only one with options so most likely will be in Triple A. Tim Redding was a bad signing last year (no reason why we needed to give him a guaranteed contract), and don't know what role he has on this team unless we dont' get 2 legit starters, then in that case, we can't compete, and might as well see what you have with Niese. Bullpen: K-Rod is everything an Angels fan knew he was. Some Mets fans thought he was going to be lights out, but he is more like John Franco. Throws a ton of balls and hopes he gets hitters to chase. But he is effective and is not a liability. Not exactly what you would hope after signing him to a big contract, but at least he's better than Brad Lidge. Sean Green and P Feliciano are great match up pitchers, as long as Green isn't overworked (Got that Jerry?) I would love for the Mets to re-sign Putz, but it doesn't seem like he's on their radar. I hope they reconsider, as he has high upside if he's healthy (as he should be now, and never was as a met). I will post my hopes for who they get to revamp the rotation, but who do you guys want them to target? Have a great day! - Anthony