And you thought Livan Hernandez's 6.05 ERA last season might be enough to end his career. Think again, sports fans; looks like he's about to win a big job with a big club:

Omar Minaya referred to Livan Hernandez as "inventory" when the veteran pitcher signed on Feb. 14. Now, Hernandez is on the verge of claiming the No. 5 spot in the rotation, while team officials appear to be seriously weighing the release of pre-camp favorite Freddy Garcia. Hernandez took a stranglehold on the fifth-starter's role by limiting the Braves to one run on five hits while striking out three and walking none in a 58-pitch effort over five innings Wednesday. He ran his scoreless streak to eight innings before allowing an RBI single to Brandon Jones in the fifth in the Mets' 7-4 loss. --snip-- "I'll tell you what, he was pretty good today," Jerry Manuel said about Hernandez. "He has a good presence about him on the mound, in the dugout. It's like he brings a different energy for us. I would have to say he's put himself in a real good position." Said Hernandez: "I don't come here to take a job from anybody. I try to do my job." When Hernandez signed a minor-league deal as camp was getting underway, Minaya indicated it was likely that the righthander would open the season at Triple-A Buffalo. That was before Tim Redding's shoulder trouble surfaced and Minaya announced Redding would open the season on the disabled list. And it came before Garcia imploded. Garcia allowed five runs on seven hits in two innings in relief of Hernandez, lifting his spring ERA to 16.71. The damage included a homer with two out in the sixth by Martin Prado, which scored Kelly Johnson and Greg Norton. The inning included a bad break for Garcia. Earlier in the frame, Johnson's bat broke and headed for Nick Evans as the first baseman was preparing to otherwise comfortably field Johnson's grounder. The ball got by Evans and scooted into the outfield for a hit. While a week ago Mets officials suggested the fifth-starter's race would go to the final week, none would now commit to Garcia making another appearance, and it appeared the momentum was moving toward him being released. Hernandez would earn $1 million in base salary, with the opportunity to earn another $1 million in incentives, as the fifth starter. That's a fraction of the price Pedro Martinez seeks, and Mets officials continued to insist Wednesday that Martinez's re-signing was unlikely. Hernandez went a combined 13-11 with a 6.05 ERA last season with Minnesota and Colorado, and said his right knee now feels significantly better.

Gosh, I'm not real sure this is a good idea. Significantly better right knee or not. Are we supposed to completely ignore last season? Are we supposed to completely ignore the fact that for three seasons running, Hernandez hasn't done anything well? OK, that's not fair; last season he gave up 43 walks in 180 innings. And you couldn't make a living waiting for him to uncork a wild pitch. But the hits! And the home runs! I do believe that Hernandez is a better investment than Pedro Martinez. Hernandez might be decent, and he's one of the more durable hurlers of our time, having now started at least 30 games in 11 straight seasons. I do not think he'll run that streak to 12, though. I think he's a cheap and perhaps adequate placeholder while the Mets wait for Jon Niese to prove that he deserves a rotation slot.