Well we’re 16 days away from the start of the season, and here’s what our starting rotation is looking like: Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and probably some guy whose last name begins with “N-i-e.”
Jon Niese and Fernando Nieve remain the two likely candidates for that fifth spot, though neither has really made a good argument as to why they deserve it.
Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel told AP that he’d like the battle to go down to the wire.
Waiting in the wings are Nelson Figueroa and Hisanori Takahashi, who have both made the most out of their Grapefruit League appearances.