The question posed to Rick Peterson was whether the Mets pitching coach was in favor of going after Pedro Martinez.

Peterson sounded almost stunned that someone could even ask.

“Pedro Martinez?” he replied incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That speaks for itself.”

Of course. Peterson is in favor of going after Martinez, the vaunted free agent right-hander whom the Mets have already placed a very high bid on. The team has offered Martinez three years and $37.5 million and included a fourth-year option that could bump the total to approximately $50 million.

And if Martinez ultimately accepts the offer and comes to Shea, count Peterson and current Mets ace Tom Glavine among the supporters of the signing.

“It’s obvious how good he’s been,” Peterson said in a phone interview. “When you look at Pedro, he’s at the top of the list of performance among free agents.”

Glavine, who said Martinez “certainly would be a big addition,” noted that he wasn’t real worried about how Martinez would fit into the clubhouse, saying that even if there is any differential treatment with Martinez, “If [the team is] up front with it and the players know what’s going on, there’s not going to be any second-guessing and worrying about what’s going on.”

Added Glavine, “In terms of bringing him in, of course it would be a good thing. You’re adding a guy that has great credentials. All the other stuff can work itself out.”

There wasn’t much news on the Martinez front yesterday, as his camp did not submit a counterproposal to the Mets. The Mets, though, are hoping to get a resolution quickly with Martinez because if they lose out on their top prize, they want to be able to move on to their backup options.

There is no definitive No. 2 choice behind Martinez, but the Mets have expressed interest in Matt Clement and Matt Morris and could speak with Carl Pavano as well.

The main focus, however, remains on Pedro, and the Mets front office is universally sold on his greatness. In fact, when asked whether he had watched tape on Martinez, Peterson replied that he had “seen enough tape on Pedro,” noting that you primarily watch tape on people you have question marks about. Peterson then asked with a chuckle, “Would I need to see tape on Cy Young?”

Peterson, who’s big on between-start preparation, also said there would be no problems with the fact that Martinez may like to, say, march to his own drum.

“When you watch tape on guys and say a guy who marches to his own drum, if that drum’s beating out gold records each year, keep playing,” he said, laughing.

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At first base, the Mets are very interested in free agent Richie Sexson (though there has been no offer yet) and maintain some interest in trading for Boston’s Doug Mientkiewicz.

However, pursuing Angels’ free-agent third baseman Troy Glaus (who would be willing to shift to first base in the right situation) is a longshot.