Well he might not have exactly earned it with his spring training performance, but Mike Pelfrey is the Mets fifth starter.

The Mets placed Orlando Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, choosing to begin the season with Pelfrey instead of El Duque. Hernandez, who has been bothered by a bad toe this spring, had a good outing on Friday.

The Mets are still on high on Pelfrey, but Randolph says it’s time for him to step up. He’ll get his chance against the Braves on Saturday.

The rest of the starting squad is Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez and John Maine.

So which one will end the 46-year-old NoNoHitters streak? Cast your vote on the right side!

New York Mets Manager Willie Randoph says we’ll know the identity of the team’s fifth starter on Sunday.

Randolph, speaking to ESPN from the dugout during the annual Civil Rights game in Memphis on Saturday, said team officials will hunker down and make the decision Sunday.

“We’re going to go down to the wire,” the Mets’ skipper said.

The Mets had their final spring tuneup Saturday, and it was pretty smooth sailing for most of the pitching staff.

John Maine started with four scoreless innings, striking out five while allowing four hits. Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, Billy Wagner all did their jobs with their innings.

Scott Schoeneweis struggled, walking three and yielding a hit and two earned runs in 2/3 of an inning of work. Technically, he should have given up a three-run home run on a play scored E-9, as a deep fly ball by Carlos Quentin, which hit Ryan Church’s glove and landed over the fence, but the ball hit a Sox fan’s hand and bounced back into the field of play.

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen argued, but the umps didn’t change the call (replay anyone?)

Our first chance to change the Nono count comes Monday. Personally, I’d rather retire it quickly, but it might be nice to have the historic event happen at Shea.

If we go solely on today’s performance, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez appears to have won the fifth and final spot in the New York Mets’ starting rotation.

Hernandez made the most of his final spring training start, giving up just one earned run and four hits in five innings worth of work.

The other pitcher vying for No. 5, Mike Pelfrey, seemed to be making his case as well, throwing three scoreless innings in relief. But Pelfrey couldn’t close the door in the ninth and wound up giving up three runs to take the loss.

No word yet from Mets’ officials, but that inning could have earned Pelfrey a spot on the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs’ opening day roster.

The New York Mets’ fifth starter remains a mystery just four days shy of Opening Day.

Mets’ Pitching Coach Rick Petersen, speaking to the ESPN announcing crew during today’s 9-4 Grapefruit League win against the Atlanta Braves, said both Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey will get a chance to earn the spot Friday in Fort Lauderdale against the Baltimore Orioles.

“Right now it’s going to be a photo finish, I feel,” Petersen said.

Petersen added that El Duque continues to work on his new, toned-down windup, which the 41-year-old righthander is adopting to alleviate pressure on his toe.

Neither Hernandez (3 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 earned runs) nor Pelfrey (4 1/3 innings, 13 hits, 8 earned runs) did much to make their cases for the fifth rotation spot against the St. Louis Cardinals on Easter Sunday.

Friday marks the 2008 Mets’ final spring training game in Florida.

The team heads to Memphis on Saturday to play the White Sox in the annual Civil Rights game, which commemorates the U.S. civil rights movement.

Then it’s on to the regular season, and 162 more chances to break the no no hitters curse.

The latest “Who’s our fifth starter” rumors are pointing to Mike Pelfrey. The New York Daily News and Sports Illustrated are reporting that the New York Mets’ fifth starter will be Pelfrey, despite his less-than-stupendous spring.

The 6-foot-7, 24-year-old righthander is 5-9 with a 5.55 ERA during his short career.

Yesterday’s rumor was pointing toward Jorge Sosa, but now the word is he’ll stay put in the bullpen.

We should get a more definitive answer within the next couple of days, but there’s apparently plenty to argue about until then. Loudmouths Chris Carlin and Adam Schein debated whether Pelfrey deserves to be No. 5 on SNY:

Jorge Sosa’s strong relief work for the Mets this spring may have earned him a spot in the starting rotation.

Quoting a “person in the Mets hierarchy,” an article on the Mets’ Web site says the team is considering the 30-year-old right-hander for the final spot in a rotation that includes Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez and John Maine.

Sosa has a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings of work in Florida this spring.

Either Orlando Hernandez or Mike Pelfrey was expected to fill the slot, but neither has pitched well enough this spring to earn it.

John Maine is making a case this spring to enter the season as our favorite to break the no no hitters curse.

Maine threw six shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles today, giving up just one hit - a two-out, up-the-middle single by Nick Markakis.

Sidewinder Joe Smith (0 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk in 1 2/3 inning) and Nelson Figueroa (0 runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout in 1 1/3 innings) closed the door for the Mets, giving New York a combined two-hit, 1-0 shutout.

Maine this spring has a 1.78 ERA, fanning 28 batters in 25 1/3 innings.

Wow! Let’s hope he keeps that up!

We now know who will be the Mets’ opening-day starter against the Florida Marlins.

It is, of course, our 137.5 million-dollar man, Johan Santana.

Manager Willie Randolph made the announcement today, announcing four-fifths of the Mets starting rotation. Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez and John Maine round out the squad.

No word yet on the fifth starter.

Neither Orlando Hernandez (3 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 earned runs) nor Mike Pelfrey (4 1/3 innings, 13 hits, 8 earned runs) did much to earn that spot today. Randolph says both will see some action on Friday in an exhibition against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.