Omar's Wish: Livan is the 5th Starter

It took a few years, but it looks like Omar Minaya's wish will finally come true. Livan Hernandez looks like the 5th starter in the Mets rotation.

I think Livan has been linked to the Mets in trade rumors every year for the last 4 seasons, and somehow we've gotten lucky and didn't give up anything for him. But here he is now and we'll see how much gas he has left in his tank.

The good news about Livan is...well...wait...hold on....ok, he eats up innings...in theory. Frankly, there's not a whole lot of upside to Livan Hernandez at this point in his career. He normally doesn't get injured a lot and he has a history of being able to throw a ton of pitches with zero long term effect.

But he doesn't exactly strike fear in the hearts of batters, and we're guarnateed to have a 10 run performance at least once a month from him. I have to keep reminding myself that no ballclub has a dominant 5th starter so Livan is merely just bridging a gap until Santana pitches again.

If we get 8 wins out of Livan this season, I'd be pleased. I do expect Jon Niese to make an appearance this summer if Livan becomes unbearable.

But please tell Freddy Garcia to go home.

Mets Reality Show: The 5th Starter

The folks over at VH1 or Fox Reality Channel should be calling Omar Minaya any day now about a new reality show called, The 5th Starter.

You see with the bullpen in better order than last year and the fact that the Mets are not getting Manny, the only drama left for spring training is who will be the 5th starter in the rotation? And just like any good reality show we definitely have a cast of characters.

You have Jon Niese, the young stud looking to fulfill the hopes and dreams of his childhood by being a big league starter. We have the washed up veteran in Freddy Garcia who is trying embark on a comeback for one last flight of glory in the majors (a la Mickey Rourke). Then we have the teacher's pet in Livan Hernandez who was long coveted by the GM, but didn't get him until he had one foot in the pitching grave. And lastly there's the unknown, no-name, dark horse, Tim Redding.

There should be a rose ceremony or at least Ryan Seacrest appearance in there somewhere. The fact is the Mets 5th starter will be a revolving door this season. I don't think any of these guys will last an entire season. Livan has the longevity, but we all know he's losing his stuff. Garcia is guaranteed to be injured if not utterly implode. Redding and Niese will have their ups and down and find their getting 10 days rest inbetween starts.

My money is on Livan getting the 5th starter job to start the season just because he's Omar's favorite. However by June I expect Redding or Niese to be getting spot starts. I want Niese to get the job just to see what he can do when he's in a regular rotation instead of getting spot starts like he did last year.

Whatever happens, the fact remains that the 5th starter is just that. He's a guy to fill in the gaps and not an arm to be relied upon. Don't let the drama make you think anything different.