Confidence Is Key For Maine

Joel Sherman at The New York Post writes about John Maine and how he can become a legit number two starter:

In fact, if Maine needs any further injections of confidence, he should know there is rising belief all around him. Both GM Omar Minaya and new catcher Brian Schneider predicted 20 wins are possible for Maine this year. And Maine encouraged enthusiasm yesterday with four no-hit innings against the Astros, during which his 91-95 mph fastball had its familiar hard-to-center riding action, his slider had swing-and-miss bite and his command was excellent (36 strikes in 54 pitches).

"He's right on the cusp," Peterson said. "But John Maine has to repeat himself. To be a top-of-the-rotation guy, you have to have 30-plus starts every year. And a top-of-the-rotation guy has to see himself as one of those guys. Initially, John Maine did not see himself going into the phone booth, putting on a cape and flying."

Should he? Since May 2, 2006, his first start as a Met, Maine has a better winning percentage than Peavy (.583 to .493), a better ERA than Hudson (3.81 to 4.04) and a better batting average against than Smoltz (.228 to .248).