While there's been plenty of concern on the offensive side for the New York Mets, the pitching staff seems to have solidified itself even more this spring. You knew Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez would provide a lethal 1-2 punch in the National League, and everyone's always talked about the ace-like stuff that Oliver Perez brings to the table. But maybe the biggest key in making this a seriously dangerous comes from the development of John Maine.
In the spring of 2006, Omar Minaya struck an under-the-radar deal with the Baltimore Orioles, sending Kris Benson to the O's in efforts to add bullpen help, which came in Jorge Julio. With Benson's so called "potential", Julio wasn't quite enough, and Minaya requested a young pitcher by the name of John Maine. The Orioles accepted, and the Mets rid themselves of one-half of Black Friday '04.
Maine began the year in the minors and wasn't given real consideration for the rotation in his brief stint at Mets spring training camp. But due to an injury-plagued team in 2006, he got his chance after Brian Bannister and Victor Zambrano (the second and worse half of Black Friday '04) went down with injuries. To no surprise, Maine developed a blister during warmups of his Mets debut. Despite a so-so outing that evening (at a game I was in attendance), Maine still looked to have good stuff. He soon returned and proved himself to be a winner at the big league level, putting together a string of 23 scoreless innings to begin the 2nd half of the season. His most impressive showings came in the postseason, having to fill in as the NLDS Game 1 starter and then showing up in the biggest game the Mets had played at that point, Game 6 of the NLCS with the Mets facing elimination. He showed up both times, and in Game 6 he pulled out a win with a tremendous performance shutting down the Cardinals.
Then last year, he was incredible to start the season. Maine went 12-5 in the early goings, but finished 3-5, stumbling a bit with all the innings. You can't knock him though, he had a tremendous first full ML season for someone who was a "throw in" during spring training 2006. And once again, showing up on a day the Mets without a doubt needed a win, Maine was nearly perfect, going 7-2/3 shutout innings only allowing the one hit which was a dribbler down the third base line to Pat Hoover. And oh yeah, he had 14 strikeouts.
Now Maine is expected to be an impact guy on this team. No, he doesn't have the dominance that Santana brings to the table, and no, he doesn't have the charisma that Pedro has, but he's got all the right tools to be a 17-game winner. Hell, if all the cards fall into place, he could be a 20-game winner.
It's no secret that I'm personally a big John Maine fan. Maybe it was being at his Mets debut, but there's something about him that I've always liked. He's got a great attitude and goes out there to win. He realizes his importance to the team each night he goes to the mound. He's not a kid anymore, he's a proven pitcher. And I'm sure some will continue to question Maine, and that's fine. But don't be shocked when he rolls through opposing teams this season. Just look at what his spring has been; dominant.
He's reliable and he's one of the reasons the Mets are more than alright even if Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado go through constant injuries this season. There's a lot of teams in baseball who would love to have John Maine in their rotation, and for the Mets he'll be a No. 3 or No. 4 guy. That's pretty damn good if you ask me.
It's hard to find a better Maine Man.
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