The five million dollar question

Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about the questions surrounding Pedro Martinez and how everyone wants them answered:

The Mets play three games here this week, three games of no consequence in terms of their playoff positioning. Pedro Martinez starts one of them, though, and for him and the Mets, his start Wednesday night is all about consequence or, as Willie Randolph said Tuesday, "how he comes out of it.

"So consider this the "How He Comes Out Of It" series. By late Wednesday night, the Mets will have an idea and by Thursday morning, they'll know as much as they're likely to know about Martinez's readiness for postseason duty. For now, there are these words Randolph spoke Tuesday as a way of explaining the uncertainty that shrouds Martinez: "It's always a possibility that he might pitch here, there or not at all, depending on how he comes out of his next start. We don't know that.

"The "not at all" part was an indirect response to a question prompted by Randolph's remark Monday: "I can't tell you for sure if he's going to go," the manager had said. "He might need more time, and would be pushed back."