Seven games into the season is a mere second in terms of the marathon that is the baseball season. There are still a number of things that remain to be seen about the 2010 New York Mets.
That being said, I can't remember the last time I have seen a pitcher so broken in every aspect of the word. Especially after only two starts.
Plenty of Mets haters and fans alike are quick to point out the fact that Maine's propensity to deal up gopher balls has no end in sight.
It is hard to argue with them. There isn't much to defend about his three inning outing last night. His fastball was consistently up in the strike zone and had no bite. It seemed like the Rockies were able to wait for their pitch and hammer it, or wait for John Maine to walk them.
One can easily observe Maine's brokenness watching his body language on the mound. There is nothing about him that shows an ounce of confidence in his ability. His face only reads of disbelief and discouragement. His hands on hips and drooping shoulders don't exactly exude self assurance either.
The scariest thing is listening to him speak. Here is an excerpt from his interview last night:
"....It’s frustrating. I mean, I don’t know. It’s just frustrating… This is awful right now… I hate everything that’s going on with me right now."
A pitcher can not possibly get much lower than this. Physically, mentally, or vocally.
I have always pulled for Maine during his tenure as a Met. He very clearly wants to improve and seems to put in the work required to do so. I wonder if he is the type of athlete that thinks too much and this thinking gets in the way of his success.
It is likely that Maine will start at least one more game for the Mets. They don't have that many options to replace him right now. Waiving Nelson Figueroa doesn't look like such a good idea at this point in time...
My hope is that Maine miraculously finds his way. This pitching staff definitely could use such a transformation from one of its members.
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