Maine Without Pain

John Maine pitched for the first time since having bones spurs removed from his (right) pitching shoulder. Maine struck out two, allowed one hit, and one walk in two scoreless innings.

Said Maine, "My arm feels great. My body feels great. I just feel like it's been such a long time. The mechanics are a little off and I was rusty a little bit, but other than that, and more importantly, my arm feels good."

Maine had a solid first inning when he struck out Luis Castillo on three straight fastballs, got Jose Reyes to fly to center,and sent Carlos Beltran packing with a strikeout.

About his off season rehab Maine said, "I worked hard in the winter, going through the rehab and all the therapy and all that to be able to come out here and have no setbacks, so I am happy with it and I am happy with where I am at right now."

When discussing the change-up that lofted over Reyes' head, Maine had this to offer, "It's been a while since I've thrown that thing, and it's tough to get it game speed. It was the first one, and it was just a slippery ball. ... I think in my bullpens now I've got to start giving it a little more effort, get the feel for it then and hopefully get a couple games in and be ready to go."

Maine is another former Peterson prodigy who abandoned the curve ball for the change-up, but like the other's, he is going back to the curve under the tutelage of Dan Warthen.

Mets skipper Jerry Manuel was impressed with the outing of his 27 year old starter, "John Maine was throwing strikes. He hadn't been out there in a while, and he let the ball go. He pitched, so it's definitely for him, and for us obviously, a big step in the right direction."

Source: USA Today