According to the Mets website, Willie Randolph is not sure who his opening day starter will be. Randolph says that is a great predicament to be in, and of course he is right. It must be great to have two people you can look to as possible opening day starters.
That being said, I really do not see a choice or a debate. With all the money they paid for Santana and the numbers he has put up the past couple of years in comparison to Pedro, I see no other alternative than starting Johan Santana.
Even in terms of looking to vary between a left hander and a right hander, you still want Johan as the opening day starter. The Mets will start the season with two lefties, Santana and Oliver Perez, and three righties, Pedro, John Maine and either Orlando Hernandez or Mike Pelfrey.
Given this scenario, at some point the Mets are going to have to throw back to back righties. Even if you start with a right handed pitcher and sandwich lefties in-between, the fifth starter would be a righty followed by the first starter, another right hander.
As a result, it should be lefty Johan Santana followed by right hander Pedro Martinez, followed by right hander John Maine (the place in the rotation that would end up with back-to-back righties), followed by left hander Oliver Perez, followed by right handed El Duque or Mike Pelfrey.
I am guessing that is what Randolph will end up with. Perhaps he is taking this way, about not knowing who to start on opening day, to appease Pedro Martinez. Still, I clearly see Johan Santana as the ace of the staff and the opening day starter.
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