I caught that in Adam Rubin’s Morning Briefing today on ESPN New York.

I guess if you go by their won-loss records you could certainly make that claim, but it’s not that simple.

With all the latest reports now confirming what we’ve all been waiting for since Carlos Beltran was shipped off almost two years ago, the question now is:

If Zack Wheeler is in, then who’s out?

Obviously, Jon Niese is safe so the choice will come down to either Jeremy Hefner (5.00 ERA), Dillon Gee (6.04 ERA) and Shaun Marcum (6.59 ERA). The early consensus has the one with the lowest ERA as the odd man out, Hefner’s 0-5 record I’m sure will weigh heavily in the decision, but he also has a lot less experience than the other two and we all know how Terry loves his veterans… Right, Ike?

Jared Diamond of The Journal calls Hefner “unlucky,” and to a point he’s right. “Jeremy Hefner pitches for the Mets on Friday,” he writes. “Therefore, the Mets probably won’t win.

“Baseball isn’t always fair, especially when you play for the Mets. All eight of Hefner’s starts this season have ended in a Mets loss, putting him in an unfortunate and lonely club: He is the only regular starter in the majors whose team has lost all of his starts.”

Honestly, Hefner hasn’t been nearly as bad as his record would indicate, and as Diamond points out, after a tough first couple of games his ERA has been just a tick above league average which is exactly what one would expect or hope for from their fifth starter. The right-hander has has a 4.06 ERA over his last five starts, while the National League average comes in at 3.77.

The Mets’ offense hasn’t exactly had Hefner’s back whenever he takes the mound, averaging about three runs a game whenever he pitches. He could just as easily be 3-2 instead of 0-5 when you examine a few of his last five starts, especially his April 30 start when he took a shutout into the ninth inning against the Marlins. In his start before that, he tossed seven solid innings against the Dodgers and allowed just one run. Of course the Mets lost both of those superbly pitched games.

I do agree with the majority opinion and that Hefner will indeed be the one that Wheeler ultimately replaces, but it might not be a bad thing either for Hefner or even the Mets. Hefner seems to have trouble once the opposition gets that third look at him as do most pitchers. The problem with Hefner is that he doesn’t have those plus-pitches that could help him navigate through a lineup late in games. He doesn’t possess any electric stuff and eventually the other guys can figure him out. That’s a problem for a starting pitcher, but not so much for a long reliever. Hefner could be what the Mets have lacked ever since Darren Oliver bolted for the Angels after the 2006 season.

Zack Wheeler may not spell the end for Jeremy Hefner, but it might mark the beginning of something new and possibly better.

They could have also used Sadecki in 2007 or 2008, which is when I chose his name on the LoHud blog when John Delcos was running the site before Howard Megdal. Those two seasons will always be remembered for how we collapsed and needed to rely upon the likes of Brian Lawrence getting starts and Aaron Heilman and his cohorts blowing game after game in the bullpen.

Tonight Jeremy Hefner delivered a brilliant performance and needed the bullpen to preserve his shutout heading into the ninth. Unfortunately, things unravelled and his solid start went into the loss column.

This wasn’t the first time that Hefner was let down by his bullpen. Usually, the kid is done after five or six innings and he’s had to get 3-4 innings out of his pen. It was the perfect assignment for a true longman, but alas the Mets don’t have a true longman. In fact the Mets have not had one since Darren Oliver in 2006.

Now back to Ray. He was signed as a 19 year old bonus baby by the Cardinals in 1959 and won 20 games for them during their 1964 championship season.

In 1965, Sadecki’s record plummeted to 6–15 and his earned run average skyrocketed to 5.21. On May 8, 1966 he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Orlando Cepeda. In 1967 he went 12–6 with a career-best 2.78 ERA and he followed that up with another solid campaign 1968 when he posted a 2.91 ERA but with a 12–18 record, the 18 losses tying him with Claude Osteen for the the most losses in the majors.

After a 5–8 record as a spot starter in 1969, Ray Sadecki was again traded, this time to the New York Mets.

In 1973 Sadecki pitched for the Mets’ National League champions who, like the 1964 Cardinals before them, unexpectedly won the pennant, trailing by as many as nine games behind the Chicago Cubs and winning the National League East title on the final weekend. (Coincidentally, four years earlier the Mets, prior to unexpectedly winning the World Series, had also won the division title by jumping past the Cubs.)

Sadecki pitched as a “swingman” for the Amazins’, appearing both as a relief pitcher and spot starter in a rotation that boasted Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack and was instrumental in helping the Mets win the division.

He pitched four of the seven games of the World Series, which the Mets ultimately lost to the Oakland Athletics, and earned the save in Game Four.

In his 18-year career, Sadecki won 135 games against 131 losses, with a 3.78 ERA and 1,614 strikeouts in 2,500 innings pitched.

I always appreciated Sadecki’s dual role with the Mets and realized the value of having someone like that in the bullpen. It’s not a sexy or glamorous role, but in today’s game the best teams all have a solid longman.

All the good Mets teams of the past have all had had a guy Sadecki in the bullpen. Remember Pat Mahomes in 1999-2000? And let’s not forget Roger McDowell In the mid-eighties who seemingly did it all as long man, set up man and even closer.

The versatility of a reliever like Oliver, Mahomes, McDowell and Sadecki may seem unimportant to some in the grand scheme of things. But in this age of relief specialists and one at-bat relievers, a workhorse reliever who can do whatever the team needs, is an integral part of any good bullpen.

I wouldn’t mind seeing the Texas Rangers win their first ever World Series, but I would more so like to see the former Mets play well.

Texas has five players/personnel with Mets ties.

ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz was actually a Met farmhand. Our old buddy Steve Phillips traded Cruz to the Oakland A’s in 2000 for back up shortstop Jorge Velandia.

As I’m sure most of you remember, Rey Ordonez went down with an injury that season, so the Mets traded for Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick. However, Phillips thought it best to bring in another shortstop in exchange for Cruz.

Granted with prospects, it’s always difficult to determine if they will pan out. But just imagine if the Mets had NELSON CRUZ batting in the middle of their order. The guy has raw power that he will hopefully keep displaying this week.

The Rangers have another outfielder with Met ties. Maybe you remember him: Endy Chavez.

Chavez was an unsung hero for the Mets during the 2006 season. How could we ever forget the incredible catch he made in Game 6 against the Cardinals that propelled the Mets into the World Series…or at least it should have.

Chavez has the difficult task of backing up Josh Hamilton in Texas, but he can be a valuable defensive replacement or pinch runner.

It’s been great to see Endy back on the field after a few injury plagued seasons.

Another key Met from the 2006 team, Darren Oliver, is firmly entrenched in the Rangers bullpen. Oliver was thought to be washed up when the Mets brought him in for 2006, but he had one of his best seasons. He was ‘Mr. Consistent’ all year.

Oliver signed with the Angels in 2007, but found himself in Texas for the past two seasons. Despite his age, he posted a 2.29 ERA this year.

While the Rangers are known for their potent offense, it’s been their bullpen, including Oliver, which has been their strength. He’s been buried being Mike Adams, Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz, but he may be called on in a big spot, especially to get a lefty out.

Technically, Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba was connected with Mets for a time. However, the Mets called off the deal in 2007 after getting the results of his physical. He’s Mike Napoli’s backup, so don’t expect to see much of Torrealba in the World Series, since Napoli is on fire right now.

There’s one other person involved with the Rangers who has Met ties, and that’s Nolan Ryan, the team’s owner.

I won’t spend too much time on this one, because I know it’s an issue that still pains Mets fans. The hard-throwing Ryan couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn while in a Met uniform, but his career took off after the Mets traded him.

At least Jim Fregosi worked out for the Mets…NOT!

While Texas has a few people connected to the Mets, the St. Louis Cardinals only have one.

Back in 1999, a young righty named Octavio Dotel burst onto the scene for the Mets. He was a bit inconsistent but had a ton of potential as a starting pitcher.

He even made the postseason roster and played a role in the two-game comeback against the Braves in the NLCS.

However, Dotel was included in the Mike Hampton trade. Hampton was a nice find for one year, and he helped pitch the Mets to the World Series in 2000. But he immediately signed with the Colorado Rockies the year after. I hope his kids have top-notch educations, since Hampton cited the school system in Denver as one of the reasons for the switch.

As for Dotel, he went on to pitch for 11 different teams. He was dealt from the Blue Jays to the Cardinals at this summer’s trade deadline and has pitched lights out. He is in search of his first career World Series title.

The Cardinals bullpen has rivaled that of the Rangers, so we’re in for a tight battle.

Does good pitching truly beat good hitting? We’ll find out soon.

According to Sponichi, Takashi Saito has eight teams interested, including the White Sox, Cubs, Braves and Mets. The Braves had some interest in Saito way back in 2002 but he wound up remaining with Yokohama.

Saito turns 40 in February, and had a solid season for the Boston Red Sox in 2009. In 55 innings pitched he had a 2.42 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP, while striking out 52 batters.

Saito became a free agent when the Red Sox declined his $6 million dollar option last month.

As much as I commend Saito for a fine season coming off an elbow injury in 2008, I don’t believe he’d be a good fit for a team that has plenty of less riskier and much better options available to them in free agency.

The Mets would probably be better off signing Darren Oliver who had a better season and is a year younger, but more importantly he has proven to be very durable. Additionally, Oliver is lefthanded and fills a more significant need for the Mets bullpen.

Oliver, who has already had some success with the Mets, appeared in 63 games last season for the Angels and had a 2.71 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 73 innings. He struck out 65 batters while walking just 22. He shows no signs of slowing down.

If I’m laying out $3 million bucks for a reliever, I think I’d rather have Darren Oliver instead of Saito.