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John Maine pitched 8.1 innings and allowed one run while striking out four in yesterday’s win over the Dodgers.
He has thrown a Quality Start, i.e., at least six innings and three or less runs allowed, in five of his seven starts this season.
Maine is 4–2 on the year, with a 3.00 ERA through 42 innings pitched, during which opponents are hitting .231 against him.
…he had a great spring, stumbled out of the gate, and now is back to being the pitcher we all know he can be…the key, so far, has been his change-up, which has been his go-to pitch…i don’t recall this being the case last season…
During yesterday’s game, Maine also had a two-out single to drive in two runs.
Maine, regarding his offense, talking after the game:
“I’ve got a batting average, and Pelfrey doesn’t. That’s the only thing that matters (laughing).”
…maine and pelfrey must be becoming good friends…i get e-mails all of the time from people who spot them hanging out on occasion around New York City…
He’s starting to show that the Spring was no fluke. Good for John. If we can just get Ollie straightened out – and even he has shown flashes – then our rotation looks to be as good as promised.
Our number one and two pitchers are about to shine! What about the remaining three jobbers? C’mon boys…pick it up! Is it me or do you think Randolph relieves the pitchers earlier than expected. I mean, can these pitchers pitch more than five or six innings in a given game? Or they too worried about a pitch count?
John has nothing left to prove, in my eyes.
Unfortunately Mike “Cold Shower” Pelfrey is NOT a quality pitcher, and he’s looming over the horizon as the Mets try to build off of Maine’s win.
gotta love these one note trolls…
wow, astute observation, thank you for sharing!
Pelfrey is not a quality major league pitcher… yet.
Do we expect all of our young players to experience immediate and permanent success at this level? They are going to show flashes of what they can be from time to time, and utterly frustrate us other times. Give him time. He’s still young and really raw.
pelfrey did pretty well in the two game that schnieder caught him. not so well in the games that cassanova caught him. whats peoples opinions on whether this is coincidence or whether schnieder keeps him in check?
I think Schneider has played a large part in Pelfrey’s success this year. I don’t think Casanova calls a great game to begin with, but I think Schneider has somewhat of a calming effect on Pelfrey. I want to see what Pelfrey does in this next start with Schneider back again before I rush to judgement on him.
Well, we shouldn’t rush to make a long-term judgment on Pelfrey regardless.
I personally think he should be in AAA right now but I still love his potential, unlike many.
We’re lucky we’ve done as well with Cassanova in the line-up as we’ve had. No knock on Cassanova he’s been pretty tight as a backup, but Schneider is one of the top game-callers around. Hopefully Pelf and Ollie will show some improvement now that he’s back.
I think Pelfrey has done a pretty good job this year, especially with Schneider behind the plate. Sometimes young pitchers just need a steady hand to guide them through the game. He has definitely shown some promise so far this year.
As for Maine, he is showing that he can possibly be a dominant pitcher. He has definitely turned it around since his first start in Atlanta where he was over throwing. When he is pitching within himself, he has great stuff…hopefully the quality starts will continue
i guess i was a bit slow in hitting the “Add Coment” button.
Pelfrey last year at this point was 0-4 with a 6.39 ERA. Any improvement is good.
I dont really care about the blowout more than i care about maine going 8. Finally a starter not afraid to go out there after 100 pitches. Thanks willie for staying away from the 100 limit you have for your pitchers and let the just roll. Hopefully the other starters will follow the example.
The thing is, he was economical in this start. His last start, he hit 100 during the 5th. The Met pitchers in general need to pound the zone.
Yes! Pitchers like Maine and Pelfrey who throw hard should pound the zone. So should Ollie. Figueroa can be forgiven for nibbling on occasion. The funny thing is, he pounds the zone!
Great win yesterday. It’s funny, after that thread about what we want yesterday, it’s almost as if the Mets read it and said, “oh good!”
I didn’t mean they said “oh good.” I meant to say “oh good, we can do that.”
i also thought it was great that after maine’s start against the braves last week, he pitched well, and got the win, but said he was mad at himself for not being able to go deeper. what does he do his next time out? comes two outs away from pitching a complete game.
if everyone on the team had that same attitude, there would be no questions as to how great this team could be.
i’m looking at you, oliver.
In Maine’s last two or three starts he was getting visibly frustrated with himelf for not being able to work past 6. And that’s why Met fans have so much more confidence in him than OP.
I think that it is pretty well settled that because pitchers are coddled so much early in their careers, very few have the stamina to be effective after 100 pitches. For example, Maine was much less effective in the 9th (throwing pitchess 100-110) than he was in the first 8 innings. Sure in a 12-0 game you can throw him out there and let him go for the CG, but in a close game, I want an effective pitcher out there, if the mets starters can’t get through the 6th in less than 100 pitches, so be it, the bullpen will have to earn their paychecks.
Also, this is an NL team, in a close game there is no way Maine hits in the 9th, regardless of his pitch count.
On the 100 pitch mark…doesn’t Santana kind of take himself out of the game or let Willie and Peterson know that 100 is about his limit? I had heard he doesn’t like going more than 7 unless he is in a situation where theres a no hitter or shutout?
I really don’t have a problem with a starter going 7 innings. However, it drives me nuts when they can’t make it past the 5th or 6th inning. It seems like Santana has a lot of pitches fouled off in every at bat. Yesterday, Maine was hitting bats and was economical. Let your defense do the work, not you.
METS should be thinking about locking up the young man…don’t know who his agent is, but as of now it is NOT boras…
I agree, he should be locked up longterm. Perez, I am now willing to wait until the end of the season and treat him like any other potential FA.
agreed. Would be interesting what kind of money boras will command for OP’s services. Judgement has to be rendered at the end of the season i believe but so far does not look very inspiring
I am guessing what was reported yesterday. 5/60. Silva type numbers. As much potential as he has, I would almost be more intrigued by a guy like Jon Garland who should get about the same money. At least you know what you are going to get.
Just a side note that I am sure most are aware of.
Mets are 12-7 vs NL East .632 WP
Phillies are 3-6 .333 WP
Braves 8-10 .444 WP
All 3 teams have won 6 out of their last 10 games.
As I said yesterday, we are not where we want to be but it could be a lot worse.
“We are not where we want to be but it could be a lot worse.”
I think you just stumbled on the marketing slogan for the 2008 Mets!!!
:-)
As I recall, he had a refreshing atitiude regarding his salary this year.
I didn’t realize he could throw 97mph.
A keeper.
It’s not just the velocity either. Someone, I think USA Today, polled hitters in the AL and NL last year and the pitcher they said was the hardest to hit against in the NL was Maine. One of them said that it’s impossible to read his fastball or tell where it’s going to end up and that in his opinion it was the best fastball in the league. I’ll see if I can google the survey and post it if it’s still around.
It was a nice gesture on the part of the Dodgers fans (at least those who remained in the 9th), largely giving him a standing ovation as he left the field.
thats funny. howie and wayne made it sound like they were also applauding pagan after his catch. sort of funny that they’re getting applauded on the road and booed at home. go figure.
Yeah, Dodger fans by-and-large are a pretty classy act. The main complaints are that they arrive late to games and there are always a few burgeoning starlets talking non-stop on their mobile phones right behind home plate (Drives me crazy that they do that while sitting in those choice seats.) However, they know the game for the most part, have a solid attitude and a great history.
Maine needs to be locked up immediately. He is just as important to the future of this team as wright or reyes!
It was interesting to see the two of them pal-ing around a bit in the dugout at the end of the game as they came out on to the field. If the transition Maine made in 2006 (when at first he kept losing his focus and constantly needed Willie or Rick to get him back in the game, but then became a real rock of the rotation in the postseason) rubs off on Pelfrey, then very good!