Maine knows he still has to win spot

Anthoney Rieber at Newsday, writes about John Maine and him knowing his status entering spring training:

Asked at Thursday's Mets minicamp at Tradition Field if he considers the 25-year-old Maine someone he can "depend on" going forward, Randolph said, "Depend on? We'll see. Obviously, every year's different. To me, I turn the page totally."

Maine was one of two major- leaguers at minicamp Thursday; lefthander Dave Williams was the other. The rest of the participants were minor-leaguers. The camp concludes Friday.

"I think I'm better than I was a year ago," Maine said. "But who knows what that means? We'll see when we get to spring training. I think I'm a better pitcher for what I learned last year and the coaching and experiences. Still got to make the team."

His manager agrees. Minaya said Wednesday that he thinks Maine and Oliver have "a leg up" on the competition because of their postseason success -- Perez pitched well in Game 7 -- but Randolph doesn't see it that way exactly.