I immediately regret this decision

There is a great scene in Anchorman where Ron Burgandy - while trying to save the lovely Veronica Corningstone - jumps into the bear pit attempting to be the hero. His bravery turns to fear rather quickly as he declares, "I immediately regret this decision."

Great movie, but a scary parallel this morning - sounds a lot like the Mets. The Citi Field'ers went with what they thought was a great idea, only to regret it just a short time later.

This offseason, the Mets decided not to sign Derek Lowe, he instead went to the Braves, and the Mets said their pitching staff was good enough the way it was and elected not to make a move for another starter.

Obviously that was a bit of a gamble, but with Johan Santana anchoring the pitching staff things still had a solid chance to work out.

Now - Santana is hurting. Early reports have him questionable for Opening Day with elbow problems. And with the Mets having not signed another top pitcher, they're stuck with what they got.

Think the Mets - like Ron Burgandy - regret that decision?

Maybe Santana will only miss opening day, but the words "pitcher" and "elbow problems" don't usually go well together. What if he misses more? What if he's out a few weeks? A month? two months?

If he's out - safe to say - the Mets are done.

A look at the depth chart - without Santana - does not paint a pretty picture for the Mets. A rotation of Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine, Freddy Garcia, and Tim Redding will not win the NL East. That rotation might struggle to finish 500.

So why didn't the Mets address their starting rotation this offseason? All the attention was focused on the bullpen woes, but maybe Omar Manaya slept on their true big need.

-SB