Quote: John Maine will be Starter, Reliever, Whatever
“They’re going good right now, so they might want to use me differently. I just want to go back and pitch. Starter, reliever, whatever. Of course I prefer starting, because it’s what I know, but I’ll do what they want me to do.”
~ John Maine, quoted by the Daily News
…well, well, well… that’s awesome to hear… hopefully this situation, with maine, Dan Warthen, Jerry Manuel, and being pulled from the game after five pitches, etc., has helped… i had someone close to the team tell me maine needed to be ‘knocked down a peg,’ and so there was concern if he’d ever pitch for the Mets again, because he was NOT happy about how things were handled… hopefully, this suggests otherwise…
…i actually think a free-and-easy, let-it-rip, unencumbered maine would be best in the bullpen, where he wouldn’t have to worry about pitch counts, extending himself, mixing his pitches the second time through the rotation, etc., he could just fire away, be able to slow down and focus on one to three specific batters and be done with it… in the bullpen, warming up, he and Randy Niemann could talk specifically about the hitters he is going to face, he’d have a game plan for those few men, and he could enter to attack… and that’s it… nothing more, nothing less… i mean, even at his best, maine struggled to pitch beyond four and five innings anyway, which also put a tax on the bullpen… and so, this could be best for everyone involved…
…that said, initially, i think the Mets would like to return Hisanori Takahashi to the bullpen sooner than later, thinking he, like maine, is not good a second and third time through the opposing lineup… and so, maine might be needed in the rotation right now, in the short-term… in the lon run, though, the Mets know they have to acquire a better, more reliable, consistent, innings-eater for the rotation, and that could eventually push maine to the pen…
Maine said yesterday he expects to rejoin the team toward the end of the month, after making at least two minor-league rehab appearances – the first of which will be this Sunday for Binghamton.
