— John Maine has a bone spur in his shoulder that may have him headed under the knife at some point. When? Well, if tomorrow’s side session is as make or break as it sounds, it could happen sooner than later. It appears Maine’s season is at a breaking point.
When the media asked Maine today if his season might be over, he said: “I guess that’s an option, but it’s not what I want to do.”
Jerry Manuel understands Maine’s commitment to persevering through pain, but he has said he won’t let it happen at the expense of the team. He said Maine will not be sent to the bullpen if he’s can’t start. In fact, he will be shut down for the year.
— Luis Castillo, the starting second baseman in limbo, will platoon with Damion Easley when he returns. Apparently that could happen as soon as tomorrow night. (Of course, we were told that Friday as well.)
Manuel said Castillo will bat in the No. 2 hole. Nick Evans will remain in the No. 2 hole when Easley starts, presumably vs. LHP.
— This wasn’t a good loss today for the Mets. It wasn’t just the home runs to Ausmus and Erstad, which I mentioned earlier. It was their continued late-game offensive struggles. Fifteen in a row were retired to end the game.
Think about that? In this series alone, the Mets had a streak of 34 in a row (20 on Friday plus 14 on Saturday) and now 15 (and counting). They have lost games started by Brandon Backe and Randy Wolf, who have a combined ERA of over 5.00.