Mets Geek column: A Guide to Mets Blogs

Check out my latest Mets Geek column, where I gave a quick rundown of the best Mets blogs out there. It's not an exhaustive list, and feel free to comment at Mets Geek or here about any that have been omitted. In the meantime, enjoy this bizarre picture of John Maine and Duaner Sanchez taken during photo day. (via The 'Ropolitans)

Scott Kazmir reminds me of John Maine

Scott Kazmir and John Maine are both great young talents. However, they share two unfortunate attributes - excessive amounts of walks and the inability to pitch deep into games. Attribute #1 is a big cause of attribute #2. Here are Kazmir and Maine's regular season BB/9:

Kazmir (2008): 4.14
Kazmir (career): 4.13

Maine (2008): 4.31

Maine (career): 3.91

These are not very impressive. Postseason walk rates are not factored in here. Note that Maine's BB/9 in the playoffs is 7.24(!), and Kazmir's is 6.31(!). Let's take a look at the number of regular season starts in which each pitcher lasted more than 6 innings, compared to total number of starts.

Kazmir (2008): 6 out of 27 starts

Kazmir (career): 40 out of 124 starts

Maine (2008): 5 out of 25 starts
Maine (career): 22 out of 81 starts

A couple caveats - a) IP/start might be a better barometer for this analysis; b) early in each player's career, their teams most likely exercised caution by limiting innings pitched, meaning they had less opportunity to pitch more than 6 innings. Nonetheless, as great as Kazmir is, and as solid as Maine is, neither has shown an ability to consistently last deep into games. Perhaps as they mature they will be able to control their walk totals, which would aid in lowering pitch counts.

John Maine as reliever?

John Maine is scheduled to throw a simulated inning today, to see how his arm reacts to live throwing. I would love to have John join the bullpen this week, but only if he is throwing 90+ mph and pain-free. There is no reason to risk John's future for what would be at most 3 relief appearances (not counting potential playoffs). I am excited about the prospect of a healthy John Maine pitching in relief because of the following 2008 stats:

1st inning:
.228 batting average against, .633 OPS against

First time through the lineup:
.196 batting average against, .572 OPS against

In this way, John is like the reverse Pedro Martinez. Just for good measure, Pedro's 2008 stats in the same situations:

1st inning:
.366(!) batting average against, 1.064(!!!) OPS against

First time through the lineup:
.311 batting average against, .864 OPS against

John Maine's entrance music

According to Adam Rubin at the Daily News, John Maine says that his closer entrance music would be "Posse on Broadway" by Sir Mix-a-Lot.

Click here to listen to this ridiculous song. I couldn't think of a more hilarious and less intimidating sight than John entering in the 9th inning with this blaring over the loudspeakers. This likely will never happen, as Omar Minaya shot down the concept of Maine as closer.

My closer entrance song with be Wagner's instantly recognizable "Ride of the Valkyries." I think it would be a nice change of pace from the standard Metallica and AC/DC heavy metal that most guys use.

Saturday, August 23 Game Thoughts: Astros 8 - Mets 3

A disappointing start by John Maine marred the final Saturday night regular season game in Shea Stadium history. Tonight's game ran my season record for games attended to 6-4. Here are your game thoughts:

- Maine is not himself. 12 baserunners in 5.2 innings is not gonna get it done. If he pitches poorly next time out, it may be wise to weigh some other options for Maine (bullpen, DL, etc.)

- David Wright made 2 spectacular plays in the field tonight, reminding everyone how great of an all around player he is.

- I hate to keep writing about this, but Argenis Reyes is just killing the lineup right now. How is he batting 2nd and Dan Murphy is batting 6th???!!!

- It was curious to see Fernando Tatis in the on deck circle ready to pinch hit for Carlos Beltran in the 8th inning. I guess Jerry Manuel feels Beltran needs a wake up call. He's 0 for his last 12, and and 6 for his last 34. If the Mets are to win the NL East, a hot Beltran will be necessary.

- Brian Stokes has decent stuff. His fastball was around 95-96 mph during 2 innings of work. In 14IP with the big club, he has 11 K's, 1 BB, and a 1.07 WHIP. Yes, very small sample size, but I think Stokes could prove useful, and not just in mop up work. He should get a chance in a meaningful spot.

- Lance Berkman is an elite hitter with a pretty swing, so when he goes 3-5 with a homer and 5 RBI you don't get too upset. However, watching David Newhan and his .597 OPS go deep at Shea is disconcerting.

Game 3 on Sunday afternoon features a matchup of lefties, as Randy Wolf faces Oliver Perez. Perez has been on fire, as every Met fan knows. Wolf has had an overall poor year (4.81 ERA, 1.47 WHIP), but in 12 IP against the Mets, he's given up 1 ER, going 2-0. Wolf has more wins (11) against the Mets than any other opponent, sporting a 3.25 ERA against them. I'd rather the Mets face Brandon Webb or Danny Haren than Randy Wolf.

Monday, August 18 Game Thoughts: Pirates 5 - Mets 2

When your bats and bullpen don't perform well, you can't expect to beat any team. This was the case for the Mets today, but I guess 3 out of 4 on the road ain't bad. Here are your game thoughts:

- John Maine had a typical John Maine start: high pitch count, few innings, few hits, many walks, inability to locate the strike zone. That said, he gave up no runs in 5 innings.

- Nick Evans continued to be strong against left-handed pitching, going 2-3 with 2 doubles vs. Pirates lefty ace Paul Maholm. Evans is a very respectable .317/.378/.439 vs. lefties this year (before today's game), so I applaud Jerry Manuel's decision to start Evans today. I like the Dan Murphy/Evans platoon right now.

- What I do not understand is Manuel putting Argenis Reyes in the leadoff spot. His OBP is an embarrassing (especially for a leadoff hitter) .316. He has shown no patience at the plate, nor an ability to steal bases. With Jose "Joe Kings" Reyes getting a day off, why not put Carlos Beltran or even Evans in the leadoff spot? It is simply illogical to put A. Reyes in a position to get more plate appearances than any other player in the lineup.

- Duaner Sanchez is glad to get the hell out of Pittsburgh. His statline in 2 games this series:
1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB. YIKES. Duaner had pitched well recently before this series, but there have to be serious concerns about his confidence at this point, and, more importantly, his severely decreased velocity.

Those pesky Braves come to town this week. They got shut out by Barry Zito (!!!) today, so hopefully their anemic offense (to quote Keith Hernandez) will continue to stink.