50 Years in Cards: 2008

Part 47 of our 50-year Pitching Prospect...

What is it: 2008 Topps #171, John Maine

What makes it interesting: Now this is just ridiculous. Topps didn't do well with color splotches scattered on the '07 cards, so damned if they don't come back with the same hair-brained idea in '08 by placing the team name in hideous color balloons along a pasty white border. Some team names (ie Diamondbacks) were so long that Topps instead abbreviated the name rather than having a line of tiny bubbles. Ish.

John Maine ultimately turned into one of the bigger flash-in-the-pans in Mets history, although for several seasons, many of us held out hope that that wouldn't be the case. After arriving with the Mets prior to the 2006 season as an afterthought, a throw-in in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles that rid the Mets of Kris Benson and his trashy bride, Maine surprised everyone by ascending to the Major Leagues in July and immediately hopping into the Mets starting rotation. Though he struggled early, Maine found himself on a July night against the Astros, pitching a 4-hit shutout that eventually turned into a 26-inning scoreless streak. Though he would come back to earth a bit late in the season, Maine clearly proved he belonged, and would be vital in the postseason once Pedro Martinez went down with an injury. Maine figured to throw in relief in the playoffs, but when Orlando Hernandez also got hurt, Maine suddenly found himself shoved into the spotlight and handed the ball for a Game 1 start in the NLDS against the Dodgers. A lesser rookie might have wilted under the pressure, but Maine showed his fortitude by pitching 4.1 solid innings, not enough to win, but good enough to keep the Mets afloat. His start in Game 2 of the NLCS vs. St. Louis wasn't so hot, but come Game 6, with the Mets needing a victory to keep their season alive, Maine responded with an excellent outing, giving up 1 hit and no runs in 5.1 innings and picking up a crucial victory.

Given Maine's solid performance in '06, it was widely believed that he would develop further in the 2007 season. Expectations on him were high enough that he was the #1 Key Met on this Blog for 2007, in the first post by your author. Early on, Maine didn't disappoint, starting the '07 season red hot. He kicked off the season by throwing 7 shutout innings against the Cardinals, and later had a No Hitter into the 7th inning against the Marlins. By April's end, Maine was 4-0 with an ERA of 1.35, good enough to be named NL Pitcher of the Month. Maine fell back to earth rather sharply in May, but by late June had righted himself enough to garner All Star consideration, if not a selection. His second half was somewhat more of the same. Though he was a bit inconsistent, he was great when he was good, including an outing where he hit his first, and only, Major League Home Run against the Pirates, and a crucial victory in a game in Atlanta at the beginning of September. But his signature game came on the next to last day of the season. With the Mets collapsing and ill feelings all over the place, Maine stopped a 5-game losing streak and nearly No Hit the Marlins, taking a gem into the 8th inning and striking out a career high 13 in a blowout victory. But we know how the season turned out, and the good vibes generated from Maine's outing went for naught. Nonetheless, Maine's 2007 season was an undeniable success, as he went 15-10, with a 3.91 ERA and 180 strikeouts.

Unfortunately, Maine wouldn't ever build on that. In fact, Maine spent the remainder of his Mets career struggling to get back to that level. Though he had flashes of brilliance in 2008, including a near-shutout of the Dodgers, he struggled with high pitch counts and rarely went deep into games. Too often, Maine would get 2 strikes on a batter, but be unable to put him away. The result was that Maine would spend more time moping around the mound, generally frustrated with himself rather than getting things accomplished. But clearly, something wasn't right. He left a start in Philadelphia in July with shoulder problems, and eventually it was revealed that Maine was pitching with a bone spur in his shoulder. Maine went on the disabled list following a miserable outing against the Astros in August, and although he tried to come back, his season was ultimately over, finishing with a disappointing 10-8 record and 4.15 ERA.

Counted on to rebound in '09, Maine instead had a season that mirrored '08, where he would have tantalizing moments that would lead you to believe he was going to make The Leap, but then regressing. Another shoulder injury forced him to the DL in June, and there he stayed before returning in September to make a few token starts, but by then the season was long gone and Maine was simply trying to prove he could still get the job done. Given one final shot in 2010, Maine did nothing to inspire anyone, and eventually ended up embarrassing himself in the process. After one start where he opened up by throwing 12 consecutive balls, Maine was pulled from a game in Washington after 1 batter because Jerry Manuel thought he didn't look right. Maine protested and argued with his manager, but Manuel was right. Not only was Maine headed for the DL again, but that would prove to be his final outing with the Mets.

Whether it was injuries or inconsistency, John Maine could have had a brilliant career under a different set of circumstances. A quiet, generally likeable kid, Maine's strong start to his career endeared him to a lot of Mets fans, who generally rooted for him to succeed rather than bashing him for his failures. I include myself in this group. Since leaving the Mets, Maine hasn't resurfaced in the Majors, bouncing through the systems of the Rockies, Red Sox, Yankees and now Marlins. Hopefully, he'll find himself someday.

Card back:

In Spite Of...

I'm not sure, but if I were John Maine, I probably wouldn't be too vocal about my displeasure over being pulled from last night's game. While I admire his determination, there's clearly something wrong with him. In fact, there's something wrong with most of the team.

Things lately have been dissolving into early-2008 around here. Everyone is grousing, people are calling for everyone to be fired, and for all I know this could happen pretty soon if things don't go well this upcoming weekend.

Maine's been particularly putrid lately, and it's sort of been a microcosm of the team. He goes out there and clearly, he's trying, and clearly he wants to do well, and, hell, we all want him to do well, but he's just not right. Optimally, he'd be throwing around 92-93mph, where he was when he was doing so well, but right now 2007 seems like a generation ago, and that time seems like a joy as compared to this dreck. And it's beginning to become a liability. I mean, this guy started off his last start by throwing 12 straight balls. Who does that? Seriously, who does that on the Major League level? That's High School crap. I mean, it's well and good that Warthen and Manuel finally tired of the Oliver Perez shit show and threw him in the bullpen, so let's throw Maine in there as well. Let Takahashi start, he's basically been their caddy for the first 6 weeks anyway.

So, fine. Maine's out, in comes Raul Valdez, part of the mixed bag that the Mets bullpen is, and somehow he throws 5 innings and keeps the Nationals at bay, while they go out and beat up Luis Atilano, who showed the Mets what was what just last week. An encouraging sign since the Mets used to do the exact opposite, but, then again, they saw Livan Hernandez and his heap of crap all the time last season and they couldn't manage much off him last night. Of course, 10-1, a lead that appeared to be windowdressing at the time, got whittled down to 10-7 when that mixed bag bullpen seemed to have a collective attack of 2008-itis. But, they hung on. In spite of themselves.

These victories in spite of themselves are getting all too familiar. I don't like where this is heading. They're starting to become what we thought they were, and that's not a good thing.

Already?

At the rate the Mets are going, the house is going to have to be cleaned by time they come back from this Road Trip.

I don't really see any sign that the Mets are going to accomplish much of anything this season, except for playing listlessly in front of crowds of 10,000 hearty idiots (of which I include myself). It was bad enough that their Manager openly acknowledged a lack of preparedness for Sunday's game (or was it a lack of preparedness for the entire season?), but then they went out on Tuesday night and just flat out embarrassed themselves against a Colorado team that probably was going to beat them anyway, just on general principle.

John Maine seems to be at the centerpiece of this particular clusterfuck, and rightfully so. Right now, I'm not so sure Maine is even a viable Major League pitcher. He had a chance to minimize damage and get out of the 3rd inning, but somehow he tripped over his own feet, made a bad throw, and the end result was that, whether it was out of frustration, or loss of focus, or whatever, another 5 runs ended up crossing the plate before we blinked, and the game was basically in the toilet after that. Not that Maine was putting forth anything spectacular to that point. On the radio after the game (and in my new environs, without cable, the radio is basically all I have), some chucklehead mentioned that there were positive signs out of Maine, like him hitting 90mph.

Someone needs to mention that for Maine to be at all effective, he needs to hit 92-93 with regularity. You know, like he did in 2007.

A period of time that seems so very, very far away.

Niese tonight, who can hopefully right this ship. You know, if you can watch the game without covering your eyes. I'm not so sure anyone wants to take that risk right now.

On Notice

This is #2 of 5 Key Mets Players for the 2010 Season.
This is the 4th season that The Ballclub has been naming their 5 Key Mets Players for the upcoming season, and this is now the 3rd time that I've had to name John Maine as one of those Key Mets. It's become a bit of a repetitive pattern that I'm starting to get a little tired of.

It's been a long time since Maine was giving us that "Aw, shucks" look in the Outfield prior to starting Game 1 of the NLDS in '06. Since then, Maine has tantalized us and then baffled us, to the point where I considered him at an official crossroads following a 2nd straight injury-plagued season in 2009, someone who, like most of the team, we've been sold high on based on what was basically an exceptional half season in 2007.

I'd like to think I'm wrong. But Maine has, to this point, yet to prove me right. We know what he's capable of when he's healthy, he's someone who certainly has shown he's capable of being a solid starter. But does he have the ability to hold up? Moreover, Maine has this tendency to be so down on himself when he doesn't do well, that you're also left wondering if he really has the mental makeup to succeed, or if this stuff is piling up in his head and somehow holding him back. It's a far cry from the kid I considered to have "Saturn Balls" following a pair of ice-in-the-veins performances in the '06 Postseason.

Maine is in a rather similar situation to Oliver Perez, although it's a bit more precarious considering that Maine has not only battled inconsistency, he's battled injuries for two years now, and he lacks the security of tenure and a guaranteed contract. On the upside, he's not viewed as quite the albatross that Perez is, because most people seem to point to the fact that he's been injured so often.

But, then, that's what makes him so key.

Like Perez, the Mets are basically handing him a starting spot without any real backup plan. And not only has he been injured, but when he's healthy, he's only been somewhat effective over the past 2 years. There are flashes of brilliance, but more often than not, it seems like he's making those annoying 5-6 inning starts where he gives up 3 runs and leaves because he's walked too many guys or couldn't put a batter away with 2 strikes. He's not quite so maddeningly or spectacularly ineffective as Perez, so we don't seem to notice it quite as much, but it's there, and right now it's a little too much to simply ignore it. If it happens to start up again, the Mets are in quite a bit of trouble. We saw a bit of it just yesterday, when Maine came into the game against the Marlins, got 2 quick outs, and then followed that up by giving up 3 walks, 3 hits and 5 runs in an inning that basically sunk the Mets.

Surprisingly, Maine came away from this particular outing rather pleased, which is odd because a) there wasn't much to be pleased about and b) Maine usually treats these bad outings as though they were the end of the world. Shirts vs. Blouses gave Maine the "Death Cab for John Maine" nickname 2 years ago, for what reason, I'm not quite sure. But it seems to fit him because of his hangdog, almost depressive nature when things go bad for him. I almost think he should switch his entrance music from "Seek and Destroy" to something a bit more appropriate like "Marching Bands of Manhattan" or even "Black Hole Sun." Just tell it like it is a bit more if that's how the story's going to end. After a string of 8 or 9 straight 6IP, 6H, 3ER, 5BB, 5K outings, I think we're all ready for some Death Cab.

Of course, there's one other thing he could do. He could get his act together, pitch like we know he's capable of pitching, put up another 15-win, 3.80 ERA season and finally solidify the #3 spot in the rotation. Get your name off of Stephen Colbert's board up there.

I really don't know which one we're going to get. That's part of the problem.

Return of the Death Cab

"I think I was really rushing myself and I concentrated this time and in my bullpen session on really slowing myself down. For some reason I just get a little too excited out there and it hurts me."

-John Maine

If there was ever a quote that was, basically, tantamount to "Don't Think. It can only hurt The Ballclub," that might be it.

Maine's solid outing probably wasn't the biggest story of last night's game, but in the long run, it's probably going to be the best.

John Maine so far this season had made three starts. One in which he looked pretty good but got beat on a couple of instances, and two in which he started strong and then imploded in the middle innings, generally when he ran into a rough situation.

Last night, Maine looked like the Maine from 2007 that we remember. The Maine who was battling out of every jam, making the big pitches when he had to, and performing like a Pitcher, not just a guy up there throwing the ball and hoping it goes where he wants it to.

Basically, last night was the Return of Death Cab for John Maine. The return of the pitcher who will dig deep inside to confront the demons that threaten to rise up against him and will his way out of the dark morass on his way to victory. The kind of pitcher he needs to be if he wants to be a man, worthy of being selected as one of the Key Mets players for this season.

Yes, Maine battled through a difficult first inning, that appeared to be unraveling before he even had a chance to get started. And yes, it helps when your unheralded backup catcher delivered what appears to be the first truly clutch hit the Mets have had all season, staking him to a 6-1 lead after 1 inning. But Maine still had to go out there and pitch his game, and he was up to the challenge, throwing as hard as he's thrown all season and working his way through the Marlins lineup with ease.

If, as it has appeared so far, it's going to be the case that the guy that is #3 in the rotation is going to be gigantic question marks (and I don't think I even need to mention his name, it's incumbent upon Maine to step up, prove that his poor year was directly due to his shoulder injury and his problems this season a result of overthinking and pushing himself too hard. If he's going to be out there, he needs to be there with a clear mind. Trust your stuff, John. We'll go places with it.

Exile On Maine Street

This is #3a of 5 Key Mets Players for the 2009 season.

Analyze the evolution of John Maine, and the 2008 season seems rather out of place.

During Maine's first two seasons with the Mets, he left us wanting, and perhaps expecting, more.

In 2006, Maine, then an unknown Rookie thrown into a trade, burst out of nowhere to run off a 26-inning scoreless streak and capped off his season with two solid outings in three Postseason starts. No, he wasn't eye-popping good. No, he didn't blow you out with his stuff. But he proved himself a cool, collected character of the highest order, stepping up and performing well in spots when it was needed the most. That last outing, in particular, showed his fortitude, as he worked out of a big jam in the 1st, and kept the Cardinals off the board until the Mets were able to scrape out enough runs to win the game and extend their season. If he was still a question mark, he was one with a lot of upside.

It was at this time that I named him the #1 Key Mets Player for the 2007 season. The Mets believed that he was a prime candidate to build on his success.

They, and I, were right, for the most part. Maine emerged as the Mets best starter throughout the 2007 season. He started off incredibly strong, even putting away Pitcher of the Month honors in April. By the All-Star Break, he was a solid 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA, perhaps the Mets most reliable starter most of the time. His second half, however, was uneven. While the Mets struggled around him, Maine seemed to unravel with a number of losses and no-decisions, games where he was either getting hit hard, or throwing too many pitches early in the game and becoming spent by the latter innings. He mixed in some good performances, but he wasn't quite as sharp as he was in the 1st half. But with the Mets teetering on the brink of the abyss, with two games left in the season, Maine took the mound against the Florida Marlins and delivered his signature game, a masterful 13-strikeout performance and a no-hitter for 7.2 innings. Again, with their backs against the wall, the Mets handed Maine the ball, and Maine delivered with a performance equal to the magnitude of the day.

Turned out, that would be our last memory of Maine for the 2007 season. But overall, you couldn't look at his numbers and say he wasn't a success. You don't scoff at 15-10, 3.91 and 180Ks in 191 IP in someone's first full season in the Major Leagues. It was safe, you would figure, to assume that Maine would at the very least match his '07 numbers in 2008. After all, even when Maine was at his worst, he still looked like he belonged. And he was probably just hitting the wall a little bit, or at least that was how we tried to justify it.

So a funny thing happened in 2008: Maine regressed. Which was something that none of us really expected. You didn't really notice it at first. He had a lousy first outing in Atlanta, but that was OK, it was raining and the game was delayed, etc. He followed that up with several decent outings, and all seemed to be on track. All the numbers seemed to be right in line, at least if you were looking at the box score. But he wasn't really going much past the 6th or 7th inning, except for one outing in LA when he worked into the 9th. But by Mid-May, he was 5-2 with a 2.81 ERA. That was just fine, and just good enough for me to give him a ridiculous nickname, which was actually coined by Shirts vs. Blouses, but that's neither here nor there.

Then, it all started to go downhill. Beginning with an outing in Atlanta on May 20th, where Maine got torched for 4 runs and 8 hits in 4 innings, things clearly didn't look right. Maine seemed to be getting through games, but just barely. He was throwing strikes, but too many strikes, and too many strikes that were just kinda hittable. He wasn't putting hitters away, he was nibbling and getting into too many deep counts. Jason at Faith and Fear said it best: Maine had "Leiteritis." Maine was getting two strikes on hitters and not putting them away, wasting away pitches and wasting his ability to go deep into games. Sometimes, he was just barely getting through 6 innings. Sometimes, he was getting outright pounded. He left a start in Philadelphia with a problem in his non-pitching shoulder. Whatever it was, it wasn't what we had expected. Then, finally, we found out the problem: A bone spur in his shoulder was affecting his start and stop points in his pitching motion. It wasn't doing any damage, but it was causing him quite a bit of pain, and perhaps forcing him to make an ever-so-slight change in his move to the plate. Whatever it was, Maine's season was over on August 23rd, after he got lit up for 8 runs by the Astros.
Though he would need an operation on the spur, Maine held off. Perhaps, he felt, he would be able to come back and help the team down the stretch. His Manager, however, felt otherwise. Maine was last seen warming up in the 10th inning of a desperate last-week game against the Cubs, a game that would deteriorate before he had a chance to appear. And so, though he was counted on to be the same presence he was in 2007, John Maine was saddled with a rather forgettable 2008, a 10-8 record, 1 4.18 ERA, 122 strikeouts, 122 hits and 67 walks in 140 innings. To evidence his struggles, Maine averaged 4.17 pitches per batter, a figure that led the National League. Not up to our standards, and not up to his standards by any stretch.

So, that brings us to 2009. Maine had his operation shortly after the season ended, and now stands primed to return to his 2007 form. Pitching without pain, Maine has been working with Dan Warthen on using his curveball, a pitch that Rick Peterson made him drop two years ago. It's one thing to say that the Mets need Maine to go out and be the kind of pitcher he was in 2007, and another for him to go out and actually do it. If it was indeed the bone spur that led Maine to such a string of ineffectiveness, then this probably isn't much of an issue. But, if Maine simply doesn't have the oomph to put away a hitter, that's something else entirely. Maine isn't necessarily wild, though he can go through fits and starts of walking guys. But if he's wasting a lot of strikes that just get fouled off, it means he's not going as deep into games as he needs to, which means more tax on the bullpen, which can lead to a domino effect. Though the bullpen is vastly improved from last season, the starting pitching still needs to do its job, and keep the Mets in the game. It starts with John Maine being able to recapture his success from 2007. Maine will be handed the #3 spot in the rotation (3 or 4 is really just a matter of semantics at this point. I know that Perez will start the 3rd game and Maine the 4th), and his expectations, I'm sure, have been clearly defined. He knows it, and we know it. He's tantalized us quite a bit, but he's never quite put it all together. Things always seem to finish for him just a few steps short.

Perhaps this will be his time.

19 20 to Survive

Note: Edited because I forgot that the Mets have a Doubleheader in Atlanta on Tuesday.

I mentioned this briefly yesterday. It had been posed to me in an e-mail on Tuesday morning that the Mets pretty much had to win the final 3 games of the Nationals series because of the upcoming schedule. The Mets, over the next 2 1/2 weeks, will be playing the following teams:

Washington 3 2 (5/13-5/15)
@ Yankees 3 (5-16-5/18)
@ Atlanta 3 4 (5/20-5/22)
@ Colorado 3 (5/23-5/25)
vs. Florida 3 (5/26-5/28)
vs. Los Angeles 4 (5/29-6/1)

19 20 games against some of the league's best. True, the Yankees aren't the powerhouse they have been, but they're still a very good team, and true, the Marlins will likely come back to earth soon, but still, this is a stretch of 19 20 games that should, more or less, determine who the Mets are and where they're going in 2008. Last season, there was a similar stretch in June, where the Mets played, over the course of 3 weeks, every team that made the playoffs in 2006. By and large, they survived, although that's a fairly kind way to put it. They didn't play well over that stretch (8-10 over that 18-game stretch, although it's 8-13 if you add in the 3-game sweep by Philly that preceded it), and the result was that the team was listless the rest of the season. The performance over that stretch pretty much spelled out the rest of the season. It didn't end well.

This stretch ought to tell you about as much. I hate to put pressure on games in May, but let's be realistic. The Mets are basically teetering on the brink of obscurity. Heads are already beginning to roll, and if the team doesn't improve, wholesale changes will need to be made. The first of the 19 20 games was last night, and the Mets won. If the Mets go 9-10 10-10, it's not great. Anything worse than 7-12 7-13, and it may be time to think about rolling some more heads. 5-14 6-14, and it's time to clean house and build for 2009. If the Mets get hot and roll off a 13-6 14-6 stretch, everything's OK. This will be a good barometer for the rest of the season.

So, last night, the Mets beat the Nationals, which they should be doing on general principle. John Maine summoned his greatest inner strength, shunning the black, bleak, looming specter of doom that hovered over the stadium like a dark cloud on a cold, lonely November afternoon, and brought forth another sterling performance. He set the tone early, drilling Felipe Lopez with his first pitch ("It slipped," he said.), perhaps in retaliation for the cheerleading going on in the Nationals dugout on Monday (a word on that: Yes, it was ridiculous. But think of the possibilities. Why isn't Lastings now showered with mocking "Let's Go Millie!" chants?). After that, Maine settled right back into his regular groove, getting out of jams, and departing after only allowing 2 runs and 2 hits over 6 innings, and picking up a win when Ryan Church's line drive somehow sailed over the head of Austin Kearns for the winning double. Washington did make it close late in the game, but the Mets got the tack-on runs they needed and cruised to a much needed 6-3 victory.

Too bad John Maine can't take the ball every night. It's also too bad that Rick Peterson has conditioned him to only throw 100 pitches a game (109 last night) and God forbid he throws more than that. But that's another gripe for another time. 1-0 for the 19 20-game stretch. Claudio Vargas tonight. Why does it seem as though I'm always in attendance when these spot starters make their appearance. I've seen Lima, Jeremi Gonzalez and Chan Ho Park over the last 3 seasons, now Vargas. Well, like I said yesterday. Close your eyes and hope for the best.

Headlights Look Like Fastballs

Leave it to John Maine to take the ball when the Mets appear to be staring down the bleakest of days, falling deeper into an abyss of lost hope and shattered dreams, sailing into a sunset and watching the season fade into a maelstrom of darkness, as dark as the soul of the loneliest fan in the back row of UR48.

With another solid outing on Wednesday, Maine continued to provide a stabilizing force for the Mets. With his high fastball working well and setting up his slider (and his new looping slow slider), Maine efficiently threw shutout ball into the 9th inning—The 9th Inning!—before the Dodgers finally reached him for a run and he departed after 8.1 very solid and very important innings.

It helps that the bats woke up and gave Maine the backing he needed today, although the offense still remains the larger problem with the club. For once, the Mets situational hitting came through, plating 6 runs after 2 were out in the 5th inning, and even included a 2-run single by Maine himself, his first hit of the season. Ryan Church continued hot, Luis Castillo came up with a pair of hits, Wright finally broke out of an 0-11 skid and the Mets basically had one of those rare days where everything fell into place for them.

Now, I just hope that the Mets can do this without John Maine to provide the light at the faraway end of that dark, bleak tunnel, and play "the kind of game they're supposed to be playing" a few more times as they return home to face Cincinnati over the weekend.

The Perfect Nickname

I really didn't see enough of last night's game to write anything informed about it. Suffice it to say that what I was able to see through a bar window on my way home, that being Felix Pie joyously pumping his fist, I gathered things didn't go well.

The upside to last night, if there was any, was that John Maine, for his third straight outing, threw fairly well, only allowing 2 runs on 5 hits over his 6 innings. His walks were down and his strikeouts were up, so hopefully he's starting to find his legs and will eventually return to the form he displayed during Spring training and throughout most of last year.

Speaking of Maine, there was a long discussion on Opening Day between myself, El Guapo and SVB involving finding a better nickname for John Maine. The standards, "The Maine Event" and "Maine Man" are nice, but a bit too formulaic. The Bermanism, "State and Maine," isn't so great either. There were other names suggested, such as John "The Destroyer" Maine and "Remember the Maine," but none of them seemed to suit him well enough. It seemed a lost cause until SVB came up with what we felt was the winner.

We would like to introduce Maine's new nickname: "Death Cab for John Maine."

I'm not sure what the thought process was for this whatsoever. I don't think this means SVB thinks John Maine is a Cutie. I'm pretty sure, based on his use of Metallica as his entrance music, that Maine doesn't even listen to Death Cab for Cutie (I can't vouch for SVB, but I don't). In fact, there's a fairly good chance he has no idea who they are. Although Maine can be soft-spoken, he's certainly not Emo, at least not from what I've been able to gather from interviews. Maybe it has something to do with his offseason impostor's proclamation that he was a "Piece of Ass." But, if nothing else, it's a thought-provoking nickname that makes me laugh (despite the fact that the thought might be "What the hell are you talking about?"). So let's spread the word on this one.

Death Cab for John Maine. Hopefully, it'll stick.

That's My $12 Ace

You know, the guy on the right.

The keepers for my Fantasy Baseball league were due in today. After my 9th place finish last year, I figured it was time to rebuild. But there was one pitcher I decided to keep. He lasted the entire season in my starting lineup, despite some slumps, and rewarded me with an all-around great season.

That's John Maine. Last year, he was a Key Met. We weren't sure what we were going to get from him. But he showed us he was the goods. Now, with that successful season under his belt, he's out for more. Billy Wagner, for one, believes he's well capable of it. The article in today's Daily News certainly makes that clear. This year, there's no "whatif he can..." for John Maine. In 2007, he came through time and again in big games, games the Mets needed to win, and saved his best outing for his final start of the season. Yes, there were some bad moments. Every pitcher has them. But Maine still finished up with a sterling 15 victories, a 3.91 ERA and a team-leading 180 Ks. But for a bad inning here or a bullpen flameout there, Maine could have added to those numbers. And right now, there's no reason to believe he won't.

That's why I'm keeping him around. Perhaps I'll pop $25 or $30 for a Roy Oswalt or a C.C. Sabathia at the draft, but I'll know what's what. I've already got my $12 Ace.

John Maine is Mets Ace in the hole [Daily News]

Maybe he meant Piece of Ace, not Piece of Ass!

When you win 15 games, I believe you are afforded some "eccentricities."

Reported today at Page 6, and followed up at the Daily News and again at Deadspin, it seems that John Maine has decided to make a fashion statement. While out at a New York nightclub opening last week, Maine apparently asked several women to wear their dresses for a nominal sum of cash money.

Just about everyone naturally declined him.

For Maine, who is known to be a rather soft-spoken and sometimes milquetoast individual, who carries himself with little emotion on the mound, this behavior is indeed out of character. Apparently, Maine was ingratiating himself to people by stating loudly, "I'm John Maine! I pitch for the Mets! I'm a hot piece of ass!"

It was charming last season when we read about Maine's slight obsession with Jennifer Aniston, despite the fact that Maine is a married man. There's also this photo of Maine getting dressed up as a samurai while on tour with the MLB All-Stars in Japan. Now, we have the dress incident last week. Perhaps, after his success in last year's postseason, and building on his success in a very solid 2007 season, Maine is just allowing his humorous, adventurous side to come out a bit more. Or, maybe Maine just likes to dress in Japanese outfits and Women's clothes. Sort of like how Annie Savoy wanted Nuke LaLoosh to wear garters in Bull Durham.

At first, I thought no good could possibly come of this. But in reality, the only harm is that the non-Met fans (read: Haters) over at Deadspin are leaving a bunch of snarky comments about the article. Like I said, Maine won 15 games and nearly pitched a no-hitter in the biggest game of the year. Let's not send him up the river because of some ill-advised public displays. I'd be willing to bet the farm that Maine was likely inebriated at the time, and who hasn't been drunk and made an ass of themselves at one point or another?

Let's just hope that this doesn't make the Mets lump him in with the "rabblerousers" and deal him to Arizona for Tony Clark and Chris Snyder.

John Maine loves the Little Black Dress [Deadspin]
Mets Pitcher is a Drag [NY Post]
Met's pitch is a Changeup [Daily News]

Zero Hour

So it all comes down to this.

After the Mets resurrected themselves from the ashes in a most impressive display on all fronts, and dragging all their fans in from the ledge, we find ourselves once again dead even with Philly. It all comes down to one afternoon to try to sort out the mess that has been the National League Playoff scenario.

The Mets blasted out of the gate on Saturday, playing fast, loose and free, without a care in the world. The clutch hits and the good at-bats that seemed to have eluded this team for much of the season, and almost entirely over the last two weeks seemed to have melted away, as the Mets poured it on and didn't let up. The game was already out of reach by the 3rd inning, and by the time the bizarre fisticuffs erupted in the 5th, there was little drama left in this laugher of a game.

While you could certainly see that the Marlins were frustrated and tired, and being beaten off the field by the Mets, it was rather odd seeing Miguel Olivo going completely apeshit and charging Jose Reyes off the mound and ultimately close-fisting Sandy Alomar, Jr, touching off a real Bench-Clearing Brawl, the kind the Mets haven't had in quite some time. Sure, there was the Pedro Martinez/Jose Guillen incident last season, and who can forget Dennis Cook/Marvin Benard in 2000, but I don't even know if I can remember the last time the Mets really dusted it up with anyone since the Kevin Foster/Pete Harnisch/Scott Servais brawl way back in 1996 (not to be left out is my personal favorite, the Pat Combs/Doc Gooden/John Kruk/Strawberry/Mackey Sasser fight in 1990).

Instead, the crowd at Shea got to sit back and watch John Maine mow down batter after batter in what was by far and away his best outing of the season. True, Maine has been uneven this season, and at times was downright hideous, especially through much of the second half. But the Mets turned to him today, when they needed it the most, and Maine delivered with a performance as clutch as the day itself. If this all works out for the Mets in the end, Maine's outing today could live on for a long time in Mets lore as one of the most dominant big game performances in team history (right up there with Bobby Jones or Al Leiter).

But, while the 13-0 thrashing was certainly welcomed by all, and certainly much needed for all of us who have suffered the slings and arrows and indignities of the last two weeks, where the Mets for the most part looked lifeless and hopeless, it would have meant very little in the larger scheme of things unless things worked out right in Philadelphia. And the Nationals helped the Mets out bigtime, as Matt Chico threw shutout ball into the 7th, and the Nationals Bullpen was able to get out of a jam, and escape with a 4-2 victory to knock the Phillies back into a tie, setting up what will certainly be a wild Sunday.

I'll be there today. I had figured I would wait until the game ended today to see if I would go, but by the time the Mets had gone up 8-0, I figured it was pretty safe to go ahead and get a ticket. Good thing, too, since by the time the Philly game ended, the game was sold out. Shea is going to be rocking today, guaranteed, from start to finish. And we won't need those silly little hankies they give out in Philly, either (with that said, watch them hand out rally towels today).

But let's keep it all in perspective. This still isn't over. The Mets are going up against a Marlins team that has little to play for, but they are facing one tough cookie in Dontrelle Willis, who has always been hard on the Mets. Tom Glavine is battle tested, and has proven time and again to be a big game pitcher. But the Mets really have to come out with the same chip on their shoulder that Lastings Milledge spoke about after the game Saturday. Get ahead and keep the foot on the gas, don't let up until the game is over. Because a loss, and it's all moot, and all the bad feelings, and the snide remarks and the collapse is still there. Philly has a tough matchup of their own, with ageless Jamie Moyer taking the mound for them. And that's not even taking into account the Wildcard scenarios, and San Diego and Colorado, and lord knows who else could pop into the picture.


It all comes down to one day to sort it all out. I'll be at Shea, with 55,776 of my closest friends. We're behind the Mets 100%, just like we've always been. We're prepared for arrogant hope or desperate shame. Whatever happens, we just have to close our eyes, hope for the best, and take that leap...

It's My Fault

It's my fault. I'm sorry.

After I wrote about how John Maine deserved to be in the Mets postseason rotation, he went out and tossed a real stinker in Cincinnati Wednesday afternoon. He started out by giving up another HR to Brandon Phillips, who seems to just own him, in the 1st. Then, he followed that up by grooving one to hotshot Rookie Joey "Fuhgeddaboutit!" Votto, who whacked it out for his first Major League hit. And only downhill from there.

It was pretty typical of Maine's bad outings. He missed high and outside, and got killed when he did get the ball over the plate. It seems like this has been his big downfall all season. When he can hit the corners and mix in his slider, he's been great. But when his fastball starts drifting, it's been bad news and yesterday's game was a prime example.

Meanwhile, the Mets were again stymied by a pitcher they had never seen before, another memorable name mixed in with the Bucket Brigade Reds pitching staff.

Overall, you can't be too thrilled with ending this road trip at 5-5, but then, considering how things started out, I suppose we should all be thrilled with a .500 record here.

What Comes Around...

Meanwhile, down in Atlanta, where our two most favorite teams were doing battle, it was the Phillies throwing down the Epic Choke Job against Atlanta. The mighty bullpen tandem of Tom Gordon and Brett Myers somehow managed to piss away an 8-2 lead in the 8th inning, and coming away with a 9-8 loss. I only saw this on Sportscenter, but it appears that the Braves began by getting around 8 straight bloop singles off of Gordon in the 8th, and then following that up by loading the bases in the 9th against Myers after 2 were out, and then Matt Diaz (who I am officially sick of—toss him in the Hated Pool with Larry and Andro) hitting a long 3-run double to win it, setting off a giant kazoo blowing party down in Dixieland, and keeping the Mets lead at 5 games. I guess I should be happy about this, but then, how can I be happy watching the Braves celebrate?

A recycled comment. Both those teams can eat themselves.

The Drive For Five

For the eighth time this season, the Mets entered a game with a chance to win what would be a season high five games in a row.

For the first time this season, the Mets managed to succeed in winning their fifth game in a row on Tuesday night in Cincinnati.

It's about damn time.

The game was not without its drama, as Perez seemed to unravel in the 4th and 5th, losing control, losing composure and almost losing the game completely. But tonight, the Mets would not be denied; not on a night where Paul LoDuca somehow managed to cram what for him is about a month's worth of HRs and RBIs into one magical night, as he smacked a pair of 3-run HRs in Cincinnati's tiny Great American Ballpark Steroid Park #3, where the Mets have plated 10+ runs for the second game in a row, against a team mostly devoid of Major League-quality pitchers.

Meanwhile, Atlanta and Philadelphia continue to beat up on each other, as they have swapped victories in the first two games of their three-game series. I'm not sure who exactly to root for more. Conventional wisdom says to root for Atlanta since they are further behind, however rooting for the Braves comes as easily to me as chewing on glass. This as compared to rooting for Philly which is as easy for me as drinking fermented Yak bile. So let the two of them beat each other up while the Mets keep winning. They can both eat themselves.

As the season continues to wind down, we have been hearing more and more about which pitchers the Mets will carry in the postseason. Gary, Ron and Keith were discussing it on SNY tonight and Howie and Fritz were talking about the same on WFAN. Even Homeboy and the Little Guy were discussing it this afternoon (on a rare day when I was coerced into subjecting myself to them).

Right now, with Pedro back, it would appear that the Mets would be wise to go with a rotation of Maine, ElDuque, Glavine and Pedro, start them as you will, and have Oliver Perez coming out of the bullpen. This being all fine and good assuming Perez can a) Deal with being the odd man out of the rotation after performing admirably well as a starter last October as well as all of this season, and b) Come out of the Bullpen and throw strikes and get people out. I have more faith in him to do this than several other members in the bullpen, but that's neither here nor there. It would appear that the battle would be between Perez and Maine for that final spot; certainly you wouldn't put Pedro, Glavine or ElDuque in the 'pen given their collective history in the Postseason. It could be that Maine might be more a more reliable choice from the bullpen, but then, both he and Ollie have had their moments with the strike zone over the course of the season. But then, Maine also performed admirably last October as well, and furthermore has had a better season overall than Perez has, despite their numbers being basically the same (Maine: 14-8, 3.57, 144 Ks in 27 games, 163.2IP; Perez: 13-9, 3.46, 149Ks, 25 games, 153.2IP). Both have had outings where they were completely dominant. Both have also had totally miserable starts as well. But the one thing that we have seen Maine do far more consistently that Ollie is display that little extra something, that one extra intangible to buckle down and get the big out to get himself out of a jam. We've seen Maine do this all season long, and in some pretty big games. Perez has done this less frequently. Moreover, he has a tendency to lose his composure when things go bad, and this has led to bad innings snowballing completely out of control. Now, this becomes equally frightening coming out of the bullpen in the Postseason, but then, I could easily see Perez come out of the bullpen and throw darts for an inning or two and be done before he ever had the opportunity to get into trouble.

My choice is Maine in the rotation and Perez in the 'pen. Also doesn't hurt to have that extra lefty out there to ease the burden on Feliciano and Schoeneweis. Then again, if the Mets play a team like Philadelphia in the NLCS, you might have to start Perez. It's a tough call.

Stand Up, Delgado!

Sometime last April, El Guapo and I attended a Mets/Brewers game on a Friday night at Shea Stadium. It was a rainy night, and the game ended up being delayed for a couple of hours. When the game finally began, we decided to move around to better seats, since what was the point of sitting in UR43 when there were better, drier seats to be had. We sat somewhere around UR11, near a group of young, probably inebriated gentlemen. As the Mets took the field, this is what they were yelling:

"STAND UP, DELGADO!"

Yelling in derision of Delgado's decision to not stand for God Bless America while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. El Guapo was not amused. We left those seats and found others.

Well, Delgado stated that he would stand for God Bless America when it was played.

Friday night in Atlanta, Delgado stood up in a different way. A way much more important to the Mets cause and in a way that he had done far too infrequently this season.

In a game where the Mets needed it most, Delgado stood up and delivered a mighty blow, one that broke the ice against a tough pitcher in Tim Hudson, gave the Mets a lead that they hadn't had in quite some time, and sent them on their way to a victory that they absolutely had to have.

Speaking of standing up...

The last time John Maine took the mound in a game with this sort of pressure was last October 18th at Shea Stadium. That night, Maine delivered a solid outing enabling the Mets to come away with a much-needed victory.

Friday night, he may have outdone himself. Maine had been scuffling quite a bit in his last few outings, barely being able to pitch himself through the 6th inning, and sometimes not even being able to get that far. But on a night when the Mets needed it most, when the Bullpen, already suspect and depleted, needed a break, Maine delivered one of the finest outings of his young career. With 8 strikeouts mixed in over 7 innings in which he kept a potent Braves lineup in check, Maine not only righted his own ship, he also gave the Bullpen a break, bridging the game straight to Heilman, and then as the Mets put the game away in the 9th, to Schoeneweis. With this outing, Maine earned his 14th victory of the season and further solidified his reputation as a pitcher who we can count on to come up big in a big game.

Mayhem and Milestones

It was unfortunate that I was unable to use my ticket for Tuesday Night's game, missing the One-Man Wrecking Crew that is John Maine unleash a new wrinkle to his game plan.

He hits, too.

El Guapo kept me apprised of the happenings via text message, so I was aware of Maine's first career HR shortly after it happened, though I didn't see it until later. Maine's shocking display of power was certainly welcome, although it was his efforts on the mound that served to nail down the victory on Tuesday night.

Wednesday night saw more strong pitching efforts, and a standout offensive performance from LoDuca as Glavine's 6 innings were enough to secure his 299th victory.

Both games saw the Mets build up early leads and keep the Pirates mostly off balance for the duration of both games, and for once, we've been treated to a couple of drama-free, cruising victories against a team that the Mets should be beating soundly. But more welcome than that is the fact that these have been sound victories where the team has been both hitting and pitching well at the same time, something that has been lacking overall over the past 2 months.

I made a lot about this week's games last week, while the Mets were busy piddling away in San Diego. These are games the Mets need to win, and win soundly. Against the hapless Pirates, a team that boasts a few young, talented players in Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez and Tom Gorzelanny, but little else exciting. Washington is in next, and they're currently getting their clocks cleaned in Philadelphia. Kicking off a week in which the key phrase for the Mets is "Smash the Flea with the Sledgehammer," the Mets have come out running, and can look for the sweep later this afternoon behind Oliver Perez, off his fine outing last weekend in LA, certainly with a chip on his shoulder against the team that prematurely gave him away last season.

Philly and Atlanta are beating up on bad teams this week, too. Let's keep the pace.

Seek And Destroy

Thank you for bringing some much needed sanity to us all last night.

Gimme Fiction

With the Mets now deeply lost in the dark forest, as Keith would put it, I'm left looking for a foothold, a sense of meaning, a way out, something. I was thinking about this the other day: those who root for a perenially losing team feel the misery as a dull, constant ache. Think back a couple years ago. It wasn't anger you were feeling as much as a thudding depression. Now the situation is different. Glancing away from the sad Cavs loss-in-progress over to the other bar TV in time to see Maine give up his third home run in a row, this time to the opposing pitcher (who flipped his bat like Bonds, the little asshole), that searing shot of fire in the chest is nothing other than the anger of the arrogant brought low.

What. The. Fuck. are they doing losing like this, over and freaking over? This is not what this team is supposed to be doing.

You know something? It's an ugly feeling. I'm not proud of it, the fact that I now assume that they're supposed to beat the stuffing out of everyone. That those magical rallies, miracle catches, and crowd-stunning drag bunts are a Met fan's birthright. I mean, who the hell are we, Yankee fans circa '97-'01? Bellowing from our high and mighty perch, we demand our wins. On the other hand, with this team and, ahem, payroll, why shouldn't they be winning, and why shouldn't we expect it? It's just that big supposed to that leaves me feeling uncomfortable, on shaky karmic ground.

So I'll ask: are we being punished for something? Because what's rational about this slump? It isn't entirely the injuries, although personally I think a healthy Moises Alou would count for a lot right now. Still, nobody is hitting with runners in scoring position, and the starting pitchers have all been bitten by the same mystery bug ... except one. Jorge Sosa, who is now one of the most improbable "stoppers" imaginable, and yet there you have it. He's the stopper, the guy set to salvage the team's pride and divisional standing before they limp home to take on the suddenly resurgent Yankees. No pressure, though.

So in trying to do my part, I dug up this photo I think I stole from Deadspin a while ago and have been sitting on, waiting for a time to use it. I can't say why, but I really think it might have some serious hex-breaking capacity. We'll see:

That Game Sucked.

To the loyal readers: My apologies for my absence from The Ballclub for the past week, however work has taken hold and posting has become difficult to do, although I am of course able to leave my thoughts in the peanut gallery. I had planned to post now, although El Guapo has asked that I try to keep this to under 10,000 words. I'll do my best.
As El Guapo mentioned, we were in attendance for the finale of the Ballyhooed Subway Series at Shea. Of course, we were both fired up. After winning the first two games of the series, I was ready. I wanted blood. I wanted to see Yankee fans cry. I wanted the head of Joe Torre on my desk on Monday Morning.


I got an egg on my face. And a raw, sore throat. It was another one of those losses that just rankled me, and, yes, it was probably mainly because it came against the Yankees, and I hate losing to the Yankees, and I hate being present when the Mets lose to the Yankees (and my post here at UMD frpm 2005 pretty much sums it up). And, after the Mets had won the first two games of the series, I wanted in on the fun. I had none of that.

For the third time in a row, Maine really didn't look great, and for the second time in a row, it really seemed like he was battling himself out there. Of course, we were present last Tuesday, when Maine wriggled in and out of jams, and minimized damage that came about mostly from his own doing. On Tuesday, Maine came out and promptly walked Ryan Theriot leading off for the Cubs, walked Soriano 2 batters later, and was one pitch from getting out of the inning before he hung one to Daryle Ward, and Ward parked it for a 2-run double. Maine was overthrowing, wild high, and walking too many guys. He could have been worse, but managed to get some key outs, before the game unraveled completely after he left.

Sunday night, same thing. He started off by going 3-0 to Damon. Fastball after fastball shooting high and outside. And, again, he managed to weave in and out of jams. In the 3rd, he managed to give up back-to-back doubles to Jeter and Matsui without a run scoring (on a ball that was about 50/50 for Beltran--nobody's going to kill him for that). But there's only so many times you can get yourself in jams and manage to squeeze out of them. But it came down to one pitch —the 2-2 pitch to Damon—And Damon hit a popup that really should have been caught (why Green and Beltran were so deep is beyond me), and that pretty much spelled instant doom for Maine. He'd already thrown over 80 pitches by that point, and then he just hung one to Jeter, who hit it out of sight.

And, on the other side, the Mets really had a chance to light up Tyler Clippard. He was totally on the ropes in the second. He gave up a laser beam of a HR to Wright, followed that up with another shot by Green, and walks to Easley and Maine, and fell behind Reyes 3-1...And all the Mets fans were up, sensing the death blow was about to be struck...And Reyes let him off the hook.

And that was it. Clippard settled down, his lanky, swing-armed motion kept the Mets off balance, and he totally shut the Mets down the rest of the way. And, yes, I spent the entire night screaming at El Guapo, "Who the Fuck is Tyler Clippard?" but you have to hand it to the kid. He threw a hell of a game.

Lost in the Box Score was the unusually high number of fights that broke out during the game. The drunken fistfight is bound to happen at games like this, in fact, El Guapo and I almost started one two years ago, but it's become a lost art for the most part, gone with the non-alcohol sections. But there was a doozy in the Upper Reserve down the right field line. I would have to assume that there were a smattering of transplanted Yankee Stadium Bleacher Creatures there, and the combination of them, Rabid Mets fans, and a lot of beer is just a nuclear reaction waiting to happen. And there it was, in the 5th, you could see the beer cups flying up and down, and the mass of security guards streaming down the aisles, and the fans standing and watching, and people being ejected. And it happened again in the next inning. It was bad enough that there was a phalanx of security guards holding post down the aisle in a line for the rest of the night. Fortunately, most of the stadium emptied out by the 7th inning. I did run down the aisle during "God Bless America" just to try to piss the Yankee fans off, though.

So, bottom line is, from my standpoint, That Game Sucked.

What really worries me is that I've been to a few too many shitty games this year. This happened two years ago as well, every game I went to was an unmemorable clunker. Last year was pure magic. The games I went to bordered on legendary. One classic after another. This year has been a different story. Sure, Opening Day was great, and Maine's great effort against Colorado was also good. But mixed in were games like Sunday, and the 10-1 meltdown against Chicago, and Oliver Perez's 7-walk outing, and the Chan Ho Park bloodbath. And it worries me. I probably take these things too personally, but I really hate going to games and seeing the Mets lose. I've always hated it. I know it's unavoidable, but still.

It's always killed me when the Mets win 2 of 3 in a series, or 3 of 4 in a series, and I've gone to the game they lost. I sort of got screwed out of a W on Wednesday because of the rain, although despite my protests, it was probably better off that I listened to El Guapo and left Wednesday's game before it got started (although as I mentioned in my comment, that we left doesn't bother me as much as that they started the game at 10:15, gave freebies to games I couldn't go to and basically screwed me out of a ticket). But we had sat through Tuesday's debacle (and my thoughts on Schoeneweis have already been well documented), and the Mets won the other 3 games in the series. I wouldn't have been at Thursday's comeback game anyway, and I tend to eschew day games (the vampire in me has always preferred the evening affairs, Opening Day notwithstanding), but I can imagine that that would have been a fun game to be at, provided that I wouldn't have gotten fed up and left with the score 5-1. But I usually stick these things out.

Friday night, we watched Oliver Perez continue to evolve, as he put forth his second straight strong outing, which negated the point El Guapo made in his last post (I didn't buy it either). Perez and Maine are not dissimilar, they both throw about as hard, they can both bring their fastball, and if they're off, they miss the strike zone and walk a lot of people. Unlike Maine, we've seen Perez begin to get frustrated and lose it completely, and that's why he's had that inconsistent pattern. But when they're on, like Perez was against Milwaukee and again on Friday, watch out. And it seems like perhaps Perez may be on to a little bit of a hot streak. Next outing in Atlanta, where he threw a great game in early April. We'll see if he can keep that up.

Friday's other story was just another case of Endy being Endy. Endy was up with LoDuca on 2nd and nobody out in the 5th, and squared to bunt on the first pitch. He took ball 1. Willie took the bunt sign off and let Endy swing away. So, of course, Endy swung at the next pitch and whacked it over the wall. And of course, that's the difference in the game. Uncanny the way he does it.

He makes Willie look like a Rhodes Scholar.

Saturday, David Wright stole the show with his 2 HRs, but right behind him, there was Endy, with 4 hits, 2 runs and an RBI, each time against a different pitcher. And the Mets built up a big lead, which was promptly made a little hairy by the stellar efforts of Schoeneweis (and you can pretty much file him along with David Newhan in the M2M Doghouse), but even a sloppy win is still a win. And last night was last night, and we'd all like to forget that.

Now, back to Dixieland. Have things changed?