Remember the Maine - It's about time!

By Stefi Kaplan
Posted Monday, July 2, 2007

Everyone focused mostly on the acquisition of Jorge Julio when Anna and Kris Benson were shipped to Baltimore for Julio and some guy named John Maine. At the time of the trade, the buzz surrounded Anna Benson’s departure and to a lesser extent, Jorge Julio, the heir-apparent to former Mets closer Armando Benitez. I remember thinking that while a throw-in like John Maine couldn’t hurt, I didn’t think he’d be in the majors anytime soon. I consistently had trouble remembering his name when I thought about potential arms.

Apparently, I was not alone in downplaying Maine’s chances of being in the starting rotation. On the day the trade was completed, Omar told ESPN, “We were able to get a power arm on the back end of the bullpen and we were able to get a young player, Maine, who had pretty good numbers in the minor leagues. It gives us some depth. Now Aaron Heilman can get an opportunity to start.” Right.

Early in 2006, the starting rotation was already in shambles. Brian Bannister outdueled Aaron Heilman for the fifth spot, but fell to a hamstring injury by May. Not surprisingly, Maine was in AAA and most of New York had forgotten he existed. Many fans had declared the Benson/Julio trade a bust, as Julio was lit up game after game and Benson’s absence left an opening in the rotation once Bannister went down. Maine was one of a team of forgettable backup fifth starters to put forth mediocre to despicable starts in May. Maine was probably the best of the bunch, surrendering 6 hits and 4 runs in 5.1 innings in his lone start against the Nationals, but the injury bug sent him to the DL after the start. And once again, I forgot that Maine existed for a while.

July rolled around and Maine had a second chance. After a few rough starts and a brief stint in the bullpen (1 inning), Maine reemerged and finally earned a spot in the rotation in mid-July. Maine followed with 26 scoreless innings, including a complete game 4-hit shutout, until surrendering a solo HR to the Nationals (the Nats apparently were Maine’s kryptonite in 2006). Maine’s streak was the longest ever by a Mets rookie pitcher. Homeruns and walks prevented him from going deep into games, but after his 0-3 start, Maine went 6-2 for the remainder of the season with a 3.11 ERA and .203 BAA. Not bad for a rookie throw-in.

Maine solidified his place on the team with his surprising postseason success. No one expected Maine to get a start in the postseason, but after the injury bug struck our pitchers yet again, Maine ended up starting a game in the NLDS and two in the NLCS. We all remember Maine’s brilliance in Game 6 of the NLCS, forcing an unlikely Game 7 by outdueling ace Chris Carpenter. Maine became the 7th rookie pitcher ever to start and win an NLCS game.

When I thought about the 2007 rotation during the offseason, I consistently omitted Maine. It was completely unintentional, but somehow his reputation as a throw-in rookie had never really dissipated for me. While Oliver Perez could be characterized as a throw-in as well, it’s hard to forget his 2004 career year or his animated leap over the foul line. But in my mind, despite setting records for scoreless innings and rookie NLCS starts in 2006, Maine had not yet painted his indelible mark on the Mets.

2007 has only gotten better for John Maine, as April’s NL Pitcher of the Month had a 1.35 ERA. While many attributed his success to “luck,” characterized by his low BABIP (for a detailed discussion on this, see fellow FU Blog Professor Matt Himmelfarb’s column from April), there’s something to be said for his high fly ball and low line drive rates affecting these stats. Further, when you add in the HRs he gives up (which don’t factor into BABIP) and the Mets defense, his numbers seem less lucky. And even if he is a bit lucky with his BABIP, I’d rather have a lucky pitcher like Maine over a lucky guy like Steve Trachsel any day! As a Met, Maine has given up only two homeruns with more than 1 runner on base. Both to Albert Pujols, in the same game. Clearly, the solo HR has been a blip in Maine’s record, particularly when they have come in doses (see June 12, 2007), but I guess Maine likes to set records, for better or worse.

Of course, as Matt predicted, Maine has regressed to the mean since April, but only slightly, with a still impressive 2.74 ERA through June 30, good for 4th in the NL. Meanwhile, he is tied for 2nd in the league with 9 wins and is 13th in strikeouts (behind #12 Oliver Perez by 1K) with a 1.15 WHIP. Those are ace-like numbers no matter how you look at them. Sure, Oliver Perez is more electric and excitable on the mound, but Maine, despite his quiet and cool demeanor, is a treat to watch. The movement on his fastball makes it unhittable most of the time and his recent decrease in walk totals has resulted in longer outings for the young starter. So far this season he has equaled or outpitched aces Dontrelle Willis, Randy Johnson and Cole Hamels three times (though getting only 1 win v. Hamels). Maine has given up more than 3 runs in only 2 outings this year and has pitched at least 6 innings in 12 of his 16 starts.

Maine’s post-game interviews exhibit his most impressive qualities – he has the unique ability to display humility and extreme confidence at the same time. On and off the mound, Maine has utmost confidence in his game, but you can also tell how humbled he is by the greatness that surrounds him on this fine Mets team. At age 26, Maine still has a lot to learn and knows it, so he is not content to pat himself on the back for his “minor” accomplishments just yet. You get the feeling Maine wont really be satisfied with himself until he retires, because that’s when he will no longer feel he can improve upon his game.

So while his contributions have been unexpected and at times forgettable, there is no question that Maine has emerged as one of the top arms on the Mets staff. Another product of the great Rick Peterson, John Maine has been beyond impressive in 2007. Maine has risen to the competition in each instance and pitched with poise and a wealth of calmness, never rattled by his own or his teammates’ mistakes. Perhaps his best examples are in-game adjustments when he hasn’t had his best stuff. He trusts his pitches, trusts his catcher and trusts his defense. Now it’s time for me to come around and start trusting him. It’s time for me to remember the Maine, because he has more than earned his keep on this rotation. I’m not going to don him the Mets ace, but I am certainly going to remember to pen him into the Mets rotation next year.
 

Stefi Kaplan writes every Monday at Flushing University, as well as on her blog at You Can't Script Baseball.

John Maine's perfomance can no longer be ignored with his 2.74 ERA, his 9 wins and his 1.15 WHIP Related info: Discuss In Our Forums