Here’s what John Maine had to say about getting his contract renewed: “I’m not even worried about it. It’s still good money. I’m not going to sit there and argue over $5,000. It’s still good money for me. I’ll be able to pay off my cell phone bill.â€
It tells you his mind is in the right place. He’s very analytical when talking about his slider and what he needs to improve. He shows that he’s thinking more and more.
Of the two, Oliver Perez might have better natural stuff, but I would take Maine for one game.
Your thoughts?
11 Comments
I totally agree. Maine pitched very creditably when unexpectedly asked to open the playoffs two seasons ago, after barely pitching a season in the majors; and he pitched exceptionally well in two absolute must-have games, game six against the Cardinals (and Carpenter) in 2006, and last year in the second to last game of the season when he not only pitched well, but pitched the best game of his career and came close to a no hitter. Maine has excelled under the toughest pressure, and although Ollie probably has purer good stuff, he’s more erratic whether the pressure is on or off.
Maine no doubt about it.
OP has to learn to control his emotions w/o losing that fire that can make him so good.
I dunno, that game against Florida last year notwithstanding, Ollie is pretty money in a big spot. Plus he has absolutely filthy stuff.
Maine I suppose. I’m just ecstatic we got this guy for Kris Benson. Thank you, Jim Duquette and Peter Angelos.
Long-term, over the next 4-5 years, I think Maine will end up to be the superior starter. Both he and Ollie are pretty much even at this point and both have proven themselves to be big game pitchers.
But Ollie is more likely to implode and totally lose it on the mound. The Mets were right when they told the arbitration panel that Ollie is very inconsistent. He gave up 20 unearned runs last year, the highest in the majors. Which shows he has problems keeping his composure and limiting damage when errors are made. Worse, many of these errors were his own.
It’s close, but right now Maine is the better bet.
Maine will probably end up better over the long term because he’s a pitcher. He doesn’t just rely on his pure stuff the same way Ollie does.
JD’s question is so tough is because he asked who you would take for one game.
The difference, in my mind, between Perez and Maine is that… Perez is easily flustered but Maine just sometimes completely spaces out.
Perez blows up because of an error, you know, or a weird call by an ump.
Maine can pitch five perfect innings and then… just outta nowhere… the seven and eight hitters whack homers off him.
I’ll take Perez’s predictable implosions over Maine’s completely appropos of nothing implosions if I have to choose.
Does Maine have the better natural stuff? Probably.
But at least I know when Perez will collapse.
Maine gives me heartburn, sometimes. A great guy to have as your #4, don’t get me wrong, but he just befuddles me.
Maine does not have better stuff. But pitching is just about stuff. It is also about the head. Maine is way ahead of OP when it comes to the mind.
Maine.
Gotta love Perez’s fastball-slider combination, but when it comes down to it Ollie just doesn’t have the mentality of a #1 or 2 pitches. Even though Maine has had some of his own collapses (they definitely don’t seem to be as many or as frequent as OP’s), I’m feeling confident everytime he takes the mound And even when Ollie is on, he still has a tendency to walk to many batters and falling behind in he count.
Maine knows how to work the count and is only getting better at it—his consistent placement and movement on his pitches (especially the fastball) make him dangerous. I can see him being a solid #2 starter for us in the future.
Finally, as much as I like OP and have been a HUGE fan of he Perez-Maine combination for the last 2 seasons, I can’t help but get the feeling that Maine just loves baseball (and the Mets) more…I might be completely wrong about that though.
OK, for just 1 game, right now, coming off last season, I’d have to say it’s almost a tossup. But I think one of them will distinguish himself from the other this season, and I think it will be Maine.
If Ollie’s season is as good as last year, he’s probably a goner as Boras is going to demand too much. And I predict Pedro will have a great year so the Mets will decide to pay him the big money after this season instead of Ollie. I think that without The Jacket mentoring him, Ollie will not fare as well with his new team. He will frustrate them to hell just as he’s done here with the Mets. The difference is, someone will be paying him upwards of $10 million or more a year for that privilege.
I don’t know. Ollie can be awsome and then just suck. For one game I think it depends on the opponent. Over the next 10 years I think Maine will be better. He seems to be one of those guys who just works. He takes his lumps and learns from them.
Last year I heard various comments on how he appreciated watching and learning from Tom Glavine. This year it will be Pedro and Johan. With Ollie his problems are self inflicted. He may never be able to control himself. Great stuff, weak head.