As the slow march toward spring training continues, it's impossible to not notice the amount of attention being paid to the Mets' pitching rotation... or lack thereof. The lack of a solid fifth starter is certainly disconcerting, especially where we are right now, mere weeks away from the day when pitchers and catchers are expected at Port St. Lucie. Yet I have to believe that the Mets, as a team, have a pretty firm head on their collective shoulders when it comes to the right way to fill a hole in the lineup.

In an MLB.com article today, Marty Noble quoted Tom Glavine as saying, "I think our organization was smart in not spending the money on [Barry] Zito." Glavine is stating what's turned out to be a pretty fundamental truth for Major League Baseball in general, and the Mets in particular. After all, when was the last time a big-name, big-money acquisition worked out the way we thought it would? Mo Vaughn, who began the 2002 season by falling on his face (literally) in the Angels clubhouse and ended that same season as a multi-million dollar drain on the Mets' roster? Pedro Martinez, who for all his experience, and all his clubhouse charisma, spent the entire playoffs on the DL?

Now, I'm in no way discounting the impact that Pedro had on the regular season, nor do I question the very real effect he has on the clubhouse as a team leader. At the same time, though, situations like that are endemic to a MLB system that values past performance over future potential. The Mets, on the other hand, have been one of the few teams that have shown a proven ability to avoid the temptation of, say, a $126 million deal with Barry Zito. The Mets' biggest stars -- guys like David Wright and Jose Reyes, the backbone of the squad from both a on-field performance and public perception sense -- all grew up in the Mets farm system. The Norfolk Tides were clearly able to produce players that made major contributions to the major league team, and AAA players have always been critical to the success of the Mets. The core of the 1986 team all spent time in Norfolk: Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Dwight Gooden, and Mookie Wilson, just to name a few. Now, there are questions as to whether the newly-affiliated New Orleans Zephyrs will be a competent replacement for Norfolk, especially considering that the Zephyrs didn't have a particularly strong 2006 with the Washington Nationals.

The point, though, is that the Mets have to trust the farm, because the farm has always been good to them. Rather than looking to spend tens of millions of dollars on a "proven superstar" that could very well not live up to expectations, the Mets need to do what they do best: save their money, and promote from within.