Defeat the Empire

The Kris Benson deal blew. And of course, it wasn't intended to do anything different, as the Mets were simply dumping Anna and $15 million. But a guy they specifically requested from the Orioles, John Maine, has a chance to make it a little less painful.

At first glance, Maine's 2005 MLB numbers look awful: 2-3, 6.30 with 64 baserunners in 40 innings and a 1:1 BB:K ratio. But up until his last three starts, Maine was very effective; he had a 3.27 ERA going into a September start at Yankee Stadium. He then hit a brick wall, and also got rocked against the Red Sox and Tampa Bay.

Why did Maine crash? My best guess is fatigue. At that point, with AAA and MLB combined, Maine was approaching 160 innings pitched. That's hardly a daunting task, but it dwarfed any other total Maine posted as a pro. Also, facing the Yanks and Sox is a tough task for any pitcher, let alone an Oriole. At that time, Baltimore was fielding a AAA team plus Miguel Tejada, while the Yanks and Sox were fighting for their playoff lives.

A refreshed arm and a move to the National League and Shea Stadium could do wonders for Maine, who will turn 25 next Monday. He throws four pitches, although none extraordinary, and his fatball can hit the low-90s. He's pitched very well at Norfolk thus far, with a 2.63 ERA in four starts and just 26 baserunners in 24 innings. He's easily been the best starter on a struggling Tides team in '06. (Struggling except of course except for Lastings Milledge, who was hitting .357/.500/.524 with 7 steals heading into play on Monday.)

If he can reach his full potential, Maine projects as a Steve Trachsel/Brian Bannister type pitcher, a guy who can contribute six solid innings towards the back of a major league rotation. In 1999 and 2000, the Mets found guys to do this such as Orel Hershiser in 1999 and Glendon Rusch in 2000.

Maine will get his crack on Tuesday.

2009

The Mets are scheduled to move into their new park in 2009. A solid young core could accompany them. Check out the projected 2009 New York Mets:

SS: Jose Reyes
3B: David Wright
OF: Lastings Milledge
OF: Carlos Beltran
OF: Xavier Nady
SP: Mike Pelfrey
SP: Philip Humber
SP: Brian Bannister
SP: Aaron Heilman
SP: Scott Kaz...uhhhh...

The point is, the Mets have a solid young core as well as the veteran stars such as Carlos Delgado, Pedro, and Ponce de Tom Glavine. We could have a solid 5-6 years of winning baseball on our hands if we don't screw it up.