Thursday, April 8, 2010By Mike Steffanos
Marlins 7 - Mets 6 (10)
There were several different story lines running through this one -- the offense was pretty bad, some dumb plays on the bases, and the Marlins bullpen looks a little shaky in the early going.
The biggest story, however, was John Maine's struggles. He lacked velocity and location all day, and needed over 90 pitches to navigate five rather unsuccessful innings.
Maine started out behind in spring training, and doesn't at all look like the pitcher he was two years ago. There's talk in the media and around the blogs of replacing him already.
I'd be inclined to give him a few starts, although I'd like to see his fastball bounce back into the low 90s consistently. The Mets really need to make a decision once and for all on Maine this year, but certainly not right now.
Well run clubs (or those that at least aspire to be) don't make snap decisions on their players. If it's mostly a question of arm strength with Maine I don't have a problem running him out there. There are no great alternate options, anyway.
I loved Nelson Figueroa's story as much as anyone, but 36-year-old starters belong on win-now clubs. I don't see the Mets in that category, and I feel like they are better served long term by finding out if Maine can bounce back.
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