The situation which has presented itself to the NY Mets starting rotation is indeed a serious one. If the loss of the NY Mets ace (Pedro) wasn't enough, now the post-season ace (El Duque) is also down with a calf injury. The ramifications of this play-off winning guru being injured will hurt the Mets' chances a lot, but in the end, it's always how you finish.

Is this going to be something to worry about? To a point, yes, however, the Mets have been surviving with starting pitching issues all year. The answers, are already with the team. If only Randolph would open his eyes.

John Maine will likely get the NLDS opener as it falls on his regular 5th day of work. There has been a lot of debate as to who would grab that start. It was between Maine, Dave Williams and a long shot in Brian Bannister. To be very honest, I have a ton of faith in any of those 3 pitchers. Dave Williams and Brian Bannister more so than John Maine, even though we can't deny Maine's ability to get quality starts. I just feel that the other two have far more control of their pitches and they don't only rely on a fastball.

Dave Williams had one bad start and any thought of him as a post-season starter had been erased. Why is that? I don't have an answer for you. He can control all of his pitches very well and pinpoint them with very god accuracy. He can bat along with the best of the hitting pitchers and most importantly, does not seem fazed at all by his playing in NY in pressure situations.

It's pretty much the same can be said in relation to Bannister, but hopefully he keeps the walks down. He has actually added a good 3-4 mph on his fastball's velocity while showing great poise and an improved curve and cutter. Bannister can help this team go a long way for a long time.

I wouldn't mind seeing Williams, Bannister or Oliver Perez starting in the 4th spot vacancy left by Maine's place in the rotation. I truly feel they are great assets to this team and should be in the mix for a spot in the rotation next year, even if the Mets wind up landing Zito.

These guys are your future and need to be called upon to get through this first series and possibly beyond.We'll find out tomorrow as they won't provide any further info until then.