John Maine owned the Houston Astros last night. He wasn't perfect, but he's grown into a top starter in the National League and headliner of the Mets rotation. With Oliver Perez on the DL, Glavine & El Duque struggling, and youngsters like Vargas & Pelfrey forced into the limelight, the Mets need John Maine. Especially last night.
The Mets badly needed a win to right this ship and John Maine's 6th inning alone was enough to boost morale. With two men on and no outs, John Maine showed a combination of finesse and power to get out of the inning unscathed. He struck out Lance Berkman on some high heat. Got Carlos Lee on consecutive fastballs, and then Loretta to pop out.
Shawn Green said it best with this quote about John Maine: "[Maine] showed that he is the biggest snub of the whole All-Star thing. He's developing into a top of the rotation guy without recognition."
Maine through an unprecedented 121 pitches. I was glad to see Willie Randolph let Maine go as far as he could. And thanks to Beltran for finally doing something in Houston. It seemed like he went 3 years without a decent hit amongst the boos in Houston.
Thank you John Maine for your first half performance. I look forward to your continued success after the All Star break.
1 comment:
Perfectly written. Right on the money. That 6th inning told me Maine is the real deal and he has asserted himself as the ace on this staff. All Star game nothing, this guy has a shot at the Cy Young.
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