Maine Was Overlooked

I was befuddled by the fact that Cole Hamels found his way onto the All-Star pitching staff and John Maine found his way to a vacation. There was no doubt in my mind that Maine was going to be one of the pitchers. I guess it just goes to show you that hype and an extra large mouth will bring you attention over a guy who quietly puts together an All-Star caliber season.

While Maine and Hamels both sport the same record (9-4), there are a mountain of differences between the two that just point to Maine for the All-Star team with one of those cartoon hands that have been blown up.

Hamels has a 3.87 earned run average and has been know as a pitcher who likes to give the opposing hitters their home runs (19). Maine on the other hand has given up only 10 home runs and some Phillies fans may point out that Hamels has one more start than Maine or that they play in a band box. It all comes down to one key piece of information, don’t give up home runs.

Hamels does have Maine’s number with strike outs (116 to 84), but Maine isn’t a strike out pitcher by trait, he’s a classic contact pitcher who has shown that he is nothing short of consistent in almost every one of his starts.

Maine is sporting a 2.74 earned run average and in his last four of his five starts has lasted at least 7 innings. Yet again another sign of consistency. Hamels has lasted at least 5 innings in that same time span.

This comparison is just a little bit of what I am trying to allude to. John Maine was hosed for a pitcher who is, right now, over hyped, has a big mouth, and is just not ready to step on the mound of the All-Star game. If the game is lost because of Hamels, I am not going to be happy and will be forced to hate the Phillies just a little bit more, if that’s possible.