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The Mets have to think long and hard about pulling John Maine from the rotation. But he’s had two awful starts to begin the 2010 season. And what has he done recently that he deserves any more of a chance than that? The Mets can’t allow him to put up stinker after stinker. Where’s the fast start that Jerry Manuel’s been telling us about? Maine is killing that fast start.
You may recall that I recommended that the Mets non-tender Maine last October. Clearly, that’s looking like the right move in hindsight. But that’s neither here nor there at this point.
Despite getting bombed for 3 runs in 0.1 IP last night, Fernando Nieve should take over the spot. He can lengthen out after working out of the bullpen. He was fighting Jon Niese for the last spot in the rotation three weeks ago. So it won’t take him long to be ready. It’s a no-brainer to me.
Some people may mention Hisanori Takahashi. Others will like Pat Misch for the job. But my money is on Nieve.
If you listen to the audio from John Maine’s post-game interview, you’ll hear a guy that’s completely lost right now.
Jerry Manuel talked about his level of concern about Maine and said baseball is a performance business. That’s not a good sign for Maine.
The Mets Report 