Even the best teams hit their ruts during the long season, so there’s no reason for the Mets’ recent shoddy play to cause hysterics. A sweep at the hands of the white-hot Red Sox, a series loss to the Yankees, and an ugly couple of games against the woeful Pirates make a bad week, not a reason for panic, especially with a double-digit lead in a terrible division. These things happen.

Dreadful as the Mets’ starting pitching has been over the last eight games, a bit of perspective is in order there, too. A 7.98 ERA over any eight games isn’t pretty, but most of that is down to Alay Soler, who gave up 16 runs in seven innings in his last two starts while doing a marvelous impression of a batting practice pitcher; he isn’t on the major league roster anymore.

In non-Soler starts, Mets starters mustered a 5.07 ERA over the last week – poor, but not horrible, especially considering that the Red Sox’ and Yankees’ offenses are not only of exceptionally high caliber, but especially dangerous against soft-tossing change-up artists of the sort who start games for the Mets. This looks like a skid, not a reason to start worrying about the Phillies.

The Mets do have a problem, though, and there’s no sense denying it at this point. Pedro Martinez’s surprise hip injury isn’t that big a deal in its own right, unless it’s far more serious than has been let on. The ace has been pitching through injuries for years, and had an ERA north of 6.00 last month, when the team destroyed the competition and established itself as the best in the league. He just needs to get healthy for October, and there’s no reason to think he won’t.

Martinez missing a turn or two in the rotation, though, combined with Soler’s implosion and an upcoming doubleheader, exerts pressure on the rotation, which exerts more pressure on an overtaxed bullpen and a crowded roster. It’s the equivalent of a cascade injury – stubbing your toe might not be that big a deal, but if you start favoring your other foot and end up blowing out your knee, it can be quite a big deal indeed. And the Mets are already favoring their other foot.

Jose Lima, possibly the worst pitcher in major league history and owner of a nifty 8.79 ERA, and Mike Pelfrey, a Double-A pitcher who throws one pitch, are probably going to start games for the team this week. (Incidentally, has there ever been as drastic a drop off from one player to another as there is from Martinez to Lima? It’s even more impressive than Cubs manager Dusty Baker’s decision to replace Derrek Lee with Neifi Perez when the star first baseman was injured earlier this year.)

John Maine, who has problems not walking pitchers and not walking in runs against the impotent Pirates, has gone suddenly from an acceptable option for the fifth starter’s slot to a rock of the rotation; the same with Orlando Hernandez, who really should be relaxing on the beach in Florida and getting ready to spin his postseason magic.

The ongoing messiness in the rotation is all the more worrisome with Aaron Heilman seemingly needing to adjust to a league that has adjusted to his fastball/change-up combination; Duaner Sanchez coming down with mysterious ailments under a heavy workload; and Heath Bell, who was quite effective in his 14 games and could have eased the burden on the top setup men, having been optioned to the minors so the team could call up the wretched Lima.

This being the basic situation, the pressure to find a true solution is really on GM Omar Minaya, who was already quite aware that Steve Trachsel is not really who you want starting the third game of a playoff series. Happily, there are actually a lot of solutions available.

A trade for Hernandez’s brother Livan – who’s currently floundering for a crummy Washington team but has a good playoff track record and,if nothing else, will take the ball and spare the bullpen every fifth day – seems to make a lot of sense. Out in Chicago, the White Sox have six starters and are enduring quite a bit of sniping over not having found a spot for top prospect Brandon McCarthy. With Jon Garland having a crummy year (he has a 5.60 ERA and is on pace to give up 50 home runs) and due $16 million over the next two years,one would think Sox GM Kenny Williams might be open to moving the young, durable pitcher who had a near-Cy Young caliber campaign last year for some outfield help.

The Angels have designated Jeff Weaver for assignment; he’s no prize, but he can obviously be had for little and, like Garland, would if nothing else eat innings.

All of these pitchers have demonstrated the talent to be the kind of pitcher the Mets need; whether it’s a matter of focus, finding a ballpark that plays to their talents, or learning a new pitch, all are also quite fixable, and with a big lead, there’s no reason not to take on a project.

These aren’t the sexiest options, but they’re realistic ones, and they have one thing in common: They will all take the mound, and unlike Lima and (probably) Pelfrey, they’re major leaguers.A month ago, faced with a similar crunch, Minaya found creative solutions that got the Mets through a jam. This is the third time he’s going to have to patch the same bald tire, though, and this time he’s going to have to find something that will actually keep the car rolling.