Those Are Some Mainely Balls

Wow, was I wrong. I saw John Maine as another gutless disappointment of this Met Era. Every start we see him sulk and mope and brood on the mound as he tries to force pitch after pitch. And as we watch the frustration build on his face as each pitch drops low and outside or sails high and away I pegged him as a another one of those Mets who begin to fall apart the second they face adversity. So, I thought he was just another Met without any balls.

While his little tantrum over being pulled on Thursday night was predictable, his comments afterward were shockingly ballsy. As Maine continued to sulk in the clubhouse after the game, he then cried to reporters that "Manuel doesn't have any confidence in me" and that he should "cut me a little bit of slack." Cut you a little bit of slack?!?!?! John, for three years this organization has "cut you a little bit of slack." You have done absolutely nothing since September 2007. The Mets have coddled you as if you were a little league player- doing everything they could to protect your fragile psyche. Going into this season you were inexplicably guaranteed a spot in the rotation despite the fact that there are pitchers in the bullpen and in the minors that have out performed you. And the organization never waived from this position, despite your horrendous spring.

Rarely do you give your team a chance to win, constantly piling up absurd pitch counts in very few innings- of course sulking after everyone of them. And your last start will go down in Met history: walking the first three batters of the game on 12 straight pitches- not one pitch coming close to the strike zone. In essence, it was typical Maine, only even more extreme.

And as the Mets continue to free fall, coming off a terrible road trip, in which you were front and center, you have the nerve to say, hey "cut me some slack" after topping off at 83 and walking the first batter. Man, those are some Monstrous Balls!