NewsStreaking Mets await news on Maine
New York (48-51) vs. Colorado (54-46), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
07/29/09 2:09 AM ET
NEW YORK -- Their winning streak at four games, the Mets may suffer a loss today before Johan Santana throws his first pitch against the Rockies. By 7:10 p.m. ET, they are likely to know more about the problematic right shoulder of John Maine. Assigned to the disabled list since June 7, Maine is to be examined today in Birmingham, Ala., by noted sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews.The expectation isn't filled with optimism. The Mets no longer think of Maine in terms of this season, and two people in the organization said recently they have heard the club's private sense of the effect of the pinched nerve in his shoulder may be that he never will pitch again without pain, some of it acute.
A person familiar with the club's reports on Maine acknowledged Tuesday that the pitcher has days of no pain and other instances when he cannot throw. "He's very frustrated because he feels like he's making progress, and then it hurts again," he said.
Maine produced a 5-4 record and 4.52 ERA in 11 starts before the shoulder forced him into disuse. He underwent shoulder surgery last fall.
The club has made no plans for him, but the person familiar with his circumstances said pitching in shorter intervals -- i.e. in relief -- may be a solution: "It was talked about a lot before this [shoulder problem] came up, but not since."
Pitching matchup
NYM: LHP Johan Santana (11-8, 3.12 ERA)
In what was his least effective performance this month, Santana allowed five runs on a career-high 12 hits and three walks against the Astros in Houston on Friday. Now he returns to Citi Field, where he has produced a 1.86 ERA and 7-2 record in 10 starts this season, and where he has produced 10 quality starts. He will be making his first career start against the Rockies, one of only two teams he has never faced -- the Twins are the other.
Santana's strikeout rate is markedly down since the end of May -- 11.73 per nine innings in his first 10 starts and 4.78 per nine in the subsequent 10. And that should set off alarms. Another indication is this: He allowed one home run to a left-handed hitter in his first nine starts, then eight in eight starts, and now none in his three most recent starts. So now he has allowed nine homers in 143 at-bats by left-handed hitters, two more than he has given up in 360 at-bats by right-handed hitters.
COL: RHP Jason Hammel (5-5, 4.28 ERA)Hammel gave up three runs and seven hits in six moderately effective innings of a 3-1 loss to the Giants at Coors Field on Friday. That constituted a step forward for him. He had struggled with fleeting fastball command during home games. But this start is at Citi Field, and Hammel is a beast on the road -- 4-2 record and 1.93 ERA in 10 appearances, including eight starts, and 56 innings. He never has pitched against the Mets, and their active players have merely 12 career at-bats against him.
Tidbits
The Mets have allowed nine runs over their four-game winning streak for a 2.25 ERA. ... The shutout was the Mets' fifth at Citi Field. ... Pedro Feliciano gained the 70th hold of his career, the most in franchise history. He hasn't allowed an earned run in 22 2/3 innings at Citi. ... Jeff Francoeur has driven in 16 runs in his 14 games with the Mets. ... Luis Castillo has a .543 on-base percentage and 16 runs scored in his past 18 games. ... The Mets have signed left-handed pitcher Adam Pettyjohn to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo. Pettyjohn, 32, began the year with the Reds' International League affiliate in Louisville. He had a 1-6 record and 4.68 ERA before being released July 24. He appeared in 16 big league games with the Tigers in 2001, and pitched in three games with the Reds last season. He has a 1-7 career record.
Seven years later, the first-place Mets were swept by the eventual division champion Cubs in a doubleheader at Shea. The 3-0 and 5-1 losses and the 11-4 loss the previous day reduced their lead from 4 1/2 to 1 1/2 games. The Cubs took over first place on Aug. 2. Their four-game sweep at Wrigley Field a week later was part of a six-game Mets losing streak that ended with the Mets 4 1/2 games from first place.
And on this date in 1996, the Mets, hoping to duplicate the Keith Hernandez deal of 1983, dealt Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino to the Indians for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza. In the clubhouse after the game, Baerga asked Espinoza, "What division are we in?"
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• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Thursday: Mets (Jon Niese, 1-0, 4.08) vs. Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa, 8-7, 4.78), 12:10 p.m. ET
• Friday: Mets (TBD) vs. Diamondbacks (Doug Davis, 5-10, 3.76), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Mets (Oliver Perez, 2-3, 7.42) vs. Diamondbacks (TBD), 7:10 p.m. ET
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
