FanNation

When I watched John Maine groove that first pitch right at Felipe Lopez Tuesday, I had to stand up and watch it again as they played it in slow-mo. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. For the first time since forever it seems, a Met pitcher actually threw a purpose pitch. It was revenge from the night before when several Nationals players led by Elijah Dukes heckled the former Mets starter Nelson Figueroa. A livid Figueroa made light of their antics after the game and referred to them as a bunch of “softball girls.”

The Mets went on to lose the Figueroa game in a stinker, and not once did any Met retaliate. Not once – not even in their home park.

Enter John Maine.

It didn’t take our new “stopper” longer than 5 seconds to retaliate and exact revenge on the lowly Nats. First he did it with some “chin music,” then he followed that up with yet another stellar performance. He improved his record to a team leading 5-2 while trimming his ERA to an impressive 2.81.

In my opinion, John Maine is the heart and soul of this pitching staff. He took on that role after throwing that gem during his last start of the 2007 season. While the rest of the team was bailing out, Maine was stepping it up. Those are the times in which leaders are born, giving it their best effort when the odds are stacked against them.

What Maine did last night will hopefully open some eyes in that clubhouse. Maine has got swagger – something the Mets have lacked since Carlos Beltran stared at a called strike three during the 2006 NLCS.

Maine is the reason I am so forgiving of any bad moves Omar Minaya makes. His acquisition (from Baltimore for Kris Benson) erases a ton of bad moves as far as I am concerned. Maybe it’s time to start talking about a nice long contract extension for Maine.

We can officially laugh at all the experts who called Maine a fluke the past two years. It goes to show you how much they know. They make their judgments based on stats and skills, but they forget the most important thing of all – Heart!