As Emily Litella used to say, “never mind.’’ John Maine looks great early, then gives up a couple of long flies and doesn’t make it out of the sixth. Willie Randolph said Maine has a tendency to lose focus at times, and this, it would seem is one of those times.
Teach me to sing a guy’s praises before it is an official game.
2 Comments
I have to say that despite a bit of a meltdown in the 6th, Maine was terrific last night. Factor in that he was also hit by a pitch, and had to sprint first-to-home to avoid having Reyes run up his back on the triple, and it’s not surprising that he may have run out of gas a litte.
Also, Soriano is one of the hottest hitters in baseball this month – no shame to have him crush a mistake.
Every time I see this kid pitch, I like him more. He varies his fastball – two seamer and four-seamer – and his other pitches are definitely big-league. His entire demeanor on the hill has also taken giant strides forward over the course of the last couple of months.
He’s only 24, I think, which is about the time that the light goes on for some very good pitchers. I’d be shocked if he isn’t a very effective member of the rotation next season, and won’t be surprised at all if he is a major contributor in the playoffs this season.
Also, read today that the Mets intend to make Fernando Martinez the youngest player ever to take the field in the advanced AZ fall league this year. That’s a lot of confidence to show in this kid, and if he can handle that, I’m thinking that he begins next season at AA with a bullet. No matter what happens, he won’t get the record for youngest Met ever – that was Eddie Kranepool who was 17 when he made his big league debut. But if he has a big year at AA, we just might see him get a cup of coffee next September as an 18 yr-old. The future just keeps looking brighter for this club.
AJ …
The future really does look bright, and they are making a lot of right decisions. One thing that should be considered about Maine is he’s getting better coaching than in Baltimore, where there has been a revolving door with pitching coaches. It was that way when Mike Mussina was there and it hasn’t changed.
Maine’s stuff is good and he’s getting more confidence in his secondary pitches, which is the big difference between him and Mike Pelfrey. And, of course, the money.