Our Maine Man!!! / The Happy Recap!

John Young's favorite Met, starter John Maine (NOT because of the name), threw another gem today in Florida, helping the Mets' beat the Marlins, 8-2, in Jupiter. Maine's line on the day:

5 innings, no runs, 6 strike-outs, 1 walk, 3 hits, 75 pitches,
45 strikes, 9 straight innings (over 2 appearances) of shut-out ball!

We're not sure what his velocity was today, as the game was neither televised or broadcast on the radio via mlb.com - NOT a game I wanted to miss!!! (I know - it's only spring, but there's never enough good pitching to watch!)

The hitting stars of the game included Mr. Reyes - NOT Jose, that is - Argenis Reyes, batting lead-off and playing second, with 3 hits, and Mr. Robinson Cancel, catching and batting eighth, with 2 singles, a double and 2 RBI's. If Jenny Craig ever gets ahold of Cancel - look out!!!! He's a very thick person (physically), and his spring has, I'm sure, made him a potential trade target for other teams! Carlos Delgado, by the way, had a HIT today, a single, and Carlos Beltran had 2 hits, a single and double, both of which set up big innings! Nice to see "Team Carlos" making it happen, together, for a change! Jose Valentin "officially" didn't have an at-bat, as he walked twice, and scored twice while playing third, cementing, it would seem, his place on the final 25-man roster.

Saturday's game features Johan Santana, making his fourth start this spring, his first with former Twins' teammate, Luis Castillo. I can't wait to watch the master pitch again- even in the spring, he's too amazing to pass up watching! (Besides, I want to get the most from my $120 sent to MLB to watch the games over the computer!) According to an earlier article today from Jon Heyman, over at SI, a Santana-to the-Rangers deal was discussed early in the off-season between the Rangers and Twins; however, it seems that Santana's lukewarm reaction towards the thought of being traded to the Rangers meant the Twins wouldn't even pursue the deal any further. Talk about changing the whole complexion of multiple pennant races, in addition to Santana, if you remember, the Rangers were thought to be the landing ground for Texan, Torii Hunter, until the Angels snuck in and signed him to a 5-year deal. Great reading, as usual, from one of my favorite writers, Mr. Heyman!

Back with more on Saturday, including my off-season book reviews!