So bad that chatter usually reserved for the Hot Stove League  — which doesn’t begin until the conclusion of the World Series –  is already under way.

Jason Marquis would love to come to the Mets, according to Jeff Francoeur, an outfielder with the ballclub.

Francoeur told the New York Post yesterday “that Marquis, whom he considers a close friend, desperately wants to pitch for the Mets next season, even as the veteran right-hander focuses on helping the Rockies clinch a wild-card berth.” I bet that’s going over really well in Colorado.

Marquis, a local product, is in the last season of a three-year $21 million deal. So money will be an issue: the article asks if the Mets “have the money to spend on a pitcher of Marquis’ caliber.” Like they haven’t wasted money before (Mike Hampton, Tim Redding, Mike Glavine, et al)

He could be considered a good luck charm: Every team he’s been on in his 10-year career (including the Rockies if they don’t collapse like a house of Mets) has appeared in the post-season.

Marquis would be the first Jewish Met since Shawn Green retired after the 2007 season.