I am now back at school and all settled in. However, I was most disturbed by what I read in this morning’s Bergen Record.

It gave a list of pitchers that the Mets are interested in for this coming year. As it stands, the Mets starting rotation is Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez and the likely fifth starter will be Mike Pelfrey, because, well, who else is going to do it?

But this list of possible free-agent signees, well, it made me sick. There’s only one name who I thought would do any good for the Mets.

Livan Hernandez.
For the right price, he’s worth a shot. I wouldn’t pay him much, but he’s worth it if he comes cheap. He’s listed at 32 years old, but that’s just a flat-out lie. Hernandez, like his half-brother, is much older than he says he is, as I place his age at roughly 36 years old. Nevertheless, he’s pitched 200 innings nine times in his career and the Mets have Martinez and El Duque who have a slight tendency towards being injury-prone. At the price, he might be worth it. Latest rumors have him close to a deal with the Mets.

Odalis Perez
Could be worth a flyer, again, if he comes at the right price. This isn’t the dumbest idea I’ve heard this off season. He went 8-11 with a 5.57 ERA with Kansas City. Maybe he’ll be so happy to get out of there he’ll pitch that much better. I wouldn’t expect another 15-10, 3.00 season like in 2002, but 11-11, 4.00? That’s possible.

Kris Benson
Now we’re getting ridiculous. Where do I begin here? He’s already been a Met once, so in theory, the Mets should already know how much this guy sucks. They should also know (again, in theory) that he’s made 30+ starts in the majors only three times since 1999. And, oh, you know, didn’t pitch at all last year. Toss the year away if this guy gets signed.

Bartolo Colon
Its a shame he’s out of shape, he could still be a great pitcher. Just two years ago he went 21-8 with 3.48 ERA in his first season with the Angels. But now he’s about 250 pounds, is in horrible shape and subsequently, he’s 7-13 in the past two seasons, making only 29 starts.

Kyle Lohse
This guy sucks. If the Mets have to reach this deep into the desperate well, 2008 is a lost cause. His career is ERA is sitting disturbingly close to 5.

I hope none of these guys get signed, though I hear Livan is close to a deal. The Mets could easily have the oldest starting rotation next year despite the presence of two pitchers in their mid 20s. Think about that and try to sleep during baseball season this year. Only time will tell.