John Harper at the Daily News writes about the Nationals manage Manny Acta and his opinion of John Maine:
"I consider him one of the top pitchers in the league," Acta said. "When he has that fastball working, it's almost like an invisible fastball. That's what we call it in the dugout, because it looks invisible sometimes."
Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about John Maine and how he says that he is feeling no pain in his hip that caused him a lot of pain during the second half of last season:
With nary a knock on wood, John Maine responded to this inquiry Monday morning in a way that might have tempted the gods in charge of injuries.
The question: "Has your [left] hip been a problem?"
The response: "Not yet."
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).
Bart Hubbach at The New York Post writes about John Maine and his desire to stay in New York:
Maine is hoping the Mets will reach out to him with a multi-year offer before he gets to the arbitration process next offseason. A source close to the 26-year-old starter told The Post preliminary talks already have begun.
"[Maine] loves pitching in New York and loves pitching for the Mets," the source said. "He's not a guy who worries about what other people are doing."
"I'm thankful for everything I make in this league," he told The Post. "It's still a lot of money, and I'm grateful to the Mets. That's just the type of person I am. I'm lucky to be doing this for a living."
Over at The Metropolitans they discuss what the Mets rotation is going to reflect next year versus last year:
To put the point differently, we can compare what the Mets would look like with and without Santana, using Dan Szymborski's excellent ZiPS projections, which are available at baseballthinkfactory.org. According to Szymborski's numbers, Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Hernandez, and Pelfrey project to pitch 796 innings this year, with a 4.10 earned run average. Swap Pelfrey out for Santana, and the rotation looks good for a 3.69 ERA in 880 innings.Just to give you an indication of how tremendous that is, only 22 qualified starters in the entire big leagues posted a 3.69 ERA or better and the Mets project to have their entire starting staff average ERA there. As for team ERA for starters, the Padres, Indians, Cubs, Boston, Angels, Giants, and Toronto rounded out the top eight with a 4.11, 4.19, 4.19, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, and 4.24 respectively.
The Mets were 11th with a 4.40 and it should be noted, Tom Glavine helped pull down that number as he was on the wrong side of 4.40. Of course there will be injuries, but Mike Pelfrey is one of the better 6th options in the league so I feel pretty comfortable saying the Mets might be odds on favorites to lead the league in starter ERA with a full year of Pedro and Johan in the fold.
The scary part is the Mets were already sixth in the bigs for starter k/9. Tampa was first with 7.71, Boston was second with 7.01, Baltimore was third with 6.95, the Cubs were fourth with 6.92, the Angels were fifth with 6.87, and the Mets were sixth with 6.85. Minus Tom Glavine's 4.00 k/9 and add in Johan and Pedro's innings at an aggregate of 9.00 k/9 or more and you have something that makes a grown man giggle.
Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about the Mets starting rotation and how they have become a force to be reckoned with now that Santana is at the top:
Now, though the corral gate is open wide, waiting for a genuine stallion to enter and become its prize steed. Johan Santana may not replace Martinez as Randolph's choice for Opening Day, but he clearly displaces Martinez as the Mets' primary starter. So as long as the Mets satisfy Santana's contract desires by 5 o'clock on Friday, they will have a special pitcher on the mound and in their rotation come March 31 when they play the Marlins.
The pitching can be significantly better because a two-time Cy Young Award winner can be on the Mets' mound every fifth day. With a likely rotation of Santana, Martinez, Maine, Perez and Mike Pelfrey or Orlando Hernandez, the Mets again are a legitimate contender in the National League East.
It's not that a 200-inning starter secures automatic entry into the postseason, but to reach 200-225 innings in a 30-34 start season, a pitcher must complete the sixth inning with some degree of regularity. And if he does, relievers' arms benefit. Now, for a princely sum no doubt, the Mets can have that.
If Maine and Perez continue developing, the Mets could have three starters close to 200 innings, and that would do wonder for the bullpen that conceivably could include El Duque.
Ted Berg at SNY gives a comparison of Erik Bedard in 2006, John Maine in 2007 and posts the question, "Is John Maine like Erik Bedard"?:John Maine could also be the ace the Mets are searching for. After all, as a 26-year-old in 2007, Maine won 15 games with a 3.91 ERA and an impressive 180 strikeouts in 191 innings. With the increased stamina, control and wisdom that come from a year of Major League experience, Maine can be expected to improve in 2008. It's impossible to predict by how much, but his 2007 was very similar to a recent effort of another young pitcher from the Orioles system, Bedard. In 2006, the left-handed Bedard won 15 games with a 3.76 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 196 1/3 innings. It's hard to expect Maine to improve in 2008 the way Bedard did in 2007, but it's not out of the question. With his high strikeout rate and proven ability to come up big when the Mets need him most, Maine could in 2008 earn the All-Star nomination he deserved in 2007.
Over at the Herald Tribune, they write about the Mets and their reliance on John Maine and Oliver Perez:
I think sometimes we lose sight of what those guys did," the GM said. "Wait a minute, let's reflect, we do have some young guys who have done it, who are proven. Sometimes you get caught up — we need pitching. Well, we do have pitching."
If they can't fortify the rotation with a new arm, the Mets will count even more on Maine and Perez in 2008.
"If we don't get another pitcher they're going to really need to step up," Randolph said. "These guys came off nice years. ... They're going to get better, hopefully."
Anthony Di Como at Mets.com writes about John Maine confessing to playing with pain in his hip all season:
Maine admitted on Monday to playing most of this season with pain in his left hip.
The Mets' unquestioned ace in the first half, Maine said the problem cropped up in Spring Training and never completely subsided. He recently had an MRI exam on the hip and will see a doctor on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Maine wouldn't rule out offseason surgery, but also said he didn't anticipate the issue affecting his status for next Spring Training.
Michael Phillips at Mets.com writes about John Maine and why Willie Randolph left him in past the fourth:
Manager Willie Randolph said that he didn't consider taking starter John Maine out of the game in the fourth inning, because he didn't think the right-hander was struggling.
"I thought he was throwing the ball pretty good, actually," Randolph said. "I didn't think he was losing it."
"He's one of my better pitchers," Randolph said. "So you let him ride, you let him go."
At Rotoworld they write about Oliver Perez, John Maine and the last rotation spot in the playoffs:
Oliver Perez surrendered five runs -- two earned -- in just 4 2/3 innings against the Phillies on Sunday but didn't factor into the decision.
The Mets committed five errors in this one, so most of the blame won't fall on Perez's shoulders. However, it was another subpar outing with six hits and six walks. If the Mets can hold off the Phillies down the stretch they'll likely keep Perez in their post-season rotation, but it's no guarantee. The club is going to use Pedro Martinez unless he's awful down the stretch, and Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernanez, assuming good health, are also locks. That leaves one spot for Perez or John Maine, both of whom have earned the opportunity. Since Maine has struggled some of late, consider Perez the slight favorite.
Now I’m a big John Maine fan and would love to see him back on the stage where he made his Mets name last year, but I just don’t see it happening. I’m not saying that it won’t happen, just that it’s unlikely that the Mets will move Oliver Perez to the bullpen in the post season.
Imagine, if you will, the game is tied in the later innings of a National League Championship game and the Mets need two innings of no run ball from the bullpen and Jorge Sosa has been burnt out with use. Who do the Mets turn to? John Maine, who has gotten his blister under control and is one of the Mets with, going to be 15 wins. He comes out and sets the opposition down in order to prevent any bleeding.
Not a bad scenario is it?
In the beginning of my thought process I was almost physically upset knowing that my favorite Met pitcher wouldn’t get a single start in October, but then I realized that John Maine has the opportunity in a way that only one Met, El Duque knows.
John Maine could get the opportunity to secure the NLDS, the NLCS, or even the WS if he’s lucky and that my friend is something that is held in the highest regards with the fans. If Maine was to get these opportunities, then he would definitely be brought back on an extra long term contract when his current one runs out.
So instead of looking at this, possible opportunity as a glass half empty situation, he should be looking at it as an opportunity to shine and cement his legacy for Mets fans, for generations to come.
Anthony Di Como at Mets.com writes about John Maine and the blister onhis middle finger of his pitching hand:
"Some people get them, some people don't, I guess," Maine said. "It comes out there every time I pitch. It's not a big deal. It's going to be painful tomorrow, but five days from now, it's going to be fine."
"It was something that was nagging him," Randolph said following his club's 4-3 victory. "He said he couldn't really feel his slider like he wanted to, so I made the decision to take him out. He didn't complain about it. He just said it was something that was annoying him a little bit."
With the slight of hand and a spark of his charisma, General Manager Omar Minaya has changed the Mets almost seemingly over night. Now, although some of hiss trades haven’t looked pretty up front, his hart is definitely in the right place. Unlike the General Manager’s of the past, Omar has rarely ever gone for the easy fix and traded away the farm system for a big name. In fact, he has become sort of a savant for seeing talent where no one else, including the team with the player, does.
In the 2005 off season Omar Minaya went ahead and traded away Kris Benson to Baltimore for reliever Jorge Julio and minor league pitcher John Maine. Now let’s not forget that before the 2004 season the Mets traded Jason Bay to the Pirates to obtain Benson, but that didn’t stop Omar from shipping Kris and his wife for a washed up closer and a nobody pitcher.
Most of the fans cringed at the sight of seeing the Mets third starter depart for Julio, but as many didn’t know, there was an underlining purpose to this deal.
After rebuilding Julio’s image to an almost dependable set up man, he was spun half way through the 2006 season for Orlando Hernandez. The Diamondbacks were glad to make the deal, because El Duque was showing them that he had finally lived out his baseball career, or at least that’s what they thought anyway. El Duque came back to New York, this time to Queens, and showed why he was once a dominant starter.
A month later the second part of Omar’s deal with the Orioles came into the picture and started showing the Mets fans why Omar was so willing to give up Kris Benson. John Maine went on to have his best showing in the Majors and with injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, wound up starting game one of the NLDS for the Mets.
So, when we sit back and look at the Brian Bannister deal and start to call for heads, just remember that Omar Minaya can’t bat 1.000 all of the time and that the good he has done for this team sorely outweighs the bad.
Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about the Mets success as of late and attributes most of it to the rotation:
The rotation has hardly been flawless since the last time a reliever won -- Billy Wagner was the winning pitcher on Aug. 21, when the Mets beat Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. But starters winning 10 straight decisions is uncommon. The Mets starters hadn't done it since an 18-game sequence in 2005.
In the chart below, notice the run support and the number of games in which the Mets allowed none or just one run in both streaks.
To see the chart use the link above.
David Lennon at Newsday writes about the Mets playoff rotation and Willie Randolph's desire to use a six man rotation down the stretch: Assuming Orlando Hernandez is healthy, he could be the Game 1 starter, followed by Tom Glavine and Martinez. That might land both Maine and Perez in the bullpen, with Maine as the fourth starter for the NLCS. At the moment, Randolph said the Mets will be using a "modified" six-man rotation, and the plan is for Mike Pelfrey to get at least one more start. But if a starter is going to the pen, it might have to happen before the playoffs. Said Randolph, "We'll try to get them adjusted - but it's a short period of time, so it might be impossible."
With the magic number dwindling by the game, the Mets playoff chances get better and better. They’re a mere fifteen games away from clinching the National League East title for a second straight year and unlike last year will finally might have the entire pitching staff at full strength.
So the only thing for us to do is to take a look at some possible questions that the Mets are going to be faced with as the playoffs loom.
Is Mota playing come October?
The first problem is an enormous one and it all falls on Willie Randolph’s shoulders. Is Guillermo Mota going to be allowed to be on the post season roster? There are an astronomical number of reasons why he shouldn’t and the number on reason is his 5.82 ERA. This should be reason enough for Mota to be sent home packing come October, but we all know how Willie thinks that he will turn his game around come playoff time. The only problem with this train of thought would be, and we all know it’s going to happen, that Mota is going to be brought into a big situation and give up the game.
Pedro, the Number One Starter?
With his first two starts since coming off of rotator cuff surgery, Pedro Martinez is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. Should this warrant him as the top dog in the Mets playoff rotation? I firmly believe so. With Pedro atop of the Mets rotation, they look more intimidating than the Peavey, Young combination in the National League.
Is Ramon Castro going to be ready for October ball?
Castro has just started his rehab assignment for Brooklyn and still isn’t ready to come back to the big club yet. Knowing that Paul Lo Duca is going to make most, if not all, of the playoff starts, could Willie bring Castro up before the post season begins? Well he should because I don’t think I could see Lo Duca going down and the remainder of the games played out by Di Felice, can you?
Who’s on first?
Carlos Delgado is apparently out for the rest of the season and that brings a plethora of questions to light. Could Shawn Green cover first in the post season? If not how about Conine? These questions are ones that I don’t want to ask, so Delgado had better suck up the pain come October and make a repeat of his effort last year, when he destroyed LA and the Cardinals hitting .354 with 4 home runs. That kind of production would be sorely missed if he can’t make it back.
Who’s the fourth starter?
Maine and Perez both came up big for the Mets last October, but that was when Pedro and El Duque were side lined, so they won’t be asked to make the same kind of repeat this year. Paul LoDuca already said that he believes that Oliver Perez wouldn’t be a good option out of the pen because of his erratic style. Good enough for me, so my fifth starter would have to be Oliver Perez or even a two headed beast of Perez and Maine. How about a little three or four inning show from each in the same game?
At Rotoworld they write about John Maine and his dismal outing todayagainst the Reds:
John Maine was lit up for six runs in 4 1/3 innings by the Reds on Wednesday.
Maine surrendered two homers, three doubles and four singles while watching his ERA jump to 3.80. He could be in serious danger of missing out on a spot in the postseason rotation if he doesn't put together a strong finish.
David Lennon at On The Mets Beat held a poll for fans to make thedecision for the playoff rotation. Here are his results:
...Based on our unscientific poll and your votes, here's the Mets' postseason rotation:
1. Tom Glavine (12 votes)
2. Pedro Martinez (10)
3. John Maine (9)
4. Orlando Hernandez (8)
5. Oliver Perez (5)
So it looks like Perez is the long man.
Tim Marchman at The New York Sun writes about John Maine and Oliver Perez and how they both deserve a playoff spot:
In the end, this really looks like a choice between Perez and Maine, whatever the merits of the cases. Martinez and Glavine are simply going to start; whatever you might say about where Glavine really is in the pecking order, baseball respects age. El Duque is only slightly less a lock, assuming he's healthy; his bullpen experience will be canceled out by his October pedigree and his consistency this year. And this means that Perez and Maine, both of whom were just brilliant in last year's playoffs, will be competing for a rotation spot down the stretch. The math just won't work any other way, unless someone gets hurt or one of the veterans quietly tells management to do the right thing, seniority be damned.
Is this right? Probably not. Perez and Maine have earned the right to start in the playoffs, by how good they've been this year and how good they were last October, when the Mets turned to them in desperation and were rewarded with the sight of two players they'd picked up off the scrap heap blossoming into quasi-aces. But this is Mets baseball, and it wouldn't be if something bad or obviously wrong weren't happening. The bright side? They usually find their way right in the end. The suffering just comes along the way.
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