THE Marlins were faced with winning a doubleheader yesterday to cut the Mets’ National League East lead to 10½ games, so frankly, whatever suspense is left in the division race must be killing Willie Randolph. For lack of any other compelling reason, the manager decided to save the major-league debut of Mike Pelfrey for the nightcap.
“That’s the way I decided to do it,” said the manager. “There may be something to be said for him sitting and watching.”
Whatever that something to be said was, Willie wouldn’t say. Keeping the kid out of the harsh glare of Fox’s backup Game of the Week? Better chance against the Marlins’ potentially B second-game lineup? That would assume Pelfrey would recognize their A lineup.
Was it to keep Jose Reyes, whose pinky was in a splint after a dumb dive into first base Friday night, company on the bench? To wait for Pelfrey, only 22 years old, to mature as much as possible before taking the mound?
Maybe it was to give Pelfrey an opportunity to size up his direct competition to stick in the major leagues on the first try. By coincidence – actually not – the first-game pitcher was John Maine, taking his third try at proving worthy of the fifth spot in the Mets’ rotation, the one abdicated by Alay Soler, before it was abdicated by Jeremi Gonzalez, before it was abdicated by Jose Lima, before it was abdicated by Brian Bannister, and, technically, by Victor Zambrano, too. The Mets have searched all the way from Venezuela to Maine to fill the spot, covering quite the territory, even before Pelfrey, born and schooled in Wichita, took the hill.
It was the job of Maine, the more seasoned though decidedly less highly-regarded prospect, to show Pelfrey this isn’t Kansas anymore. After failing to last six innings in two previous attempts, the latest against Pittsburgh Monday night, Maine took a better shot this time, giving up only six hits in six innings. Unfortunately, three of them were solo home runs, to Miguel Cabrera, Josh Willingham and Hanley Ramirez, the last after the Mets had rallied to tie the game on consecutive bases-loaded walks issued by Josh Johnson in the fifth.
“I missed my spots on those three pitches and they hit it out.” said Maine. “I didnt have my best fastball but I went a little deeper in the game than [the last two times].
“I just tried to be a little more aggressive instead of nibbling at the plate. All I can do is pitch the best I can, let [the Mets’ brain trust] decide.”
“A few pitches up the zone hurt him,” said Randolph. “But he showed good velocity and movement on his pitches.”
Since the Mets lost their second straight to the Marlins, 3-2, for other reasons, like managing only three hits, Maine’s start certainly qualified as a quality one, particularly the part where he threw 59 strikes in 96 pitches. Still, as the Mets went 1-2-3 in the ninth, and the stage set for the show people had come to see, what the first-game starter did wasn’t enough to Remember another Maine!, 108 years after the original.
Perhaps he should not despair. Practically everybody who ever made it big once was somebody else’s warm-up act. It’s just that being rated the Orioles’ second-best organizational prospect in 2003 by Baseball America doesn’t have the same sex appeal of being a Mets-record $3.8 million bonus baby, compared by Randolph in spring training to Randy Johnson.
Pelfrey certainly has the 6 feet, 7 inches to draw such comparisons, and the exploding fastball off an apparently effortless motion, too. He needs to work on the scowl and the muttering, but that will come, along with demands to keep the kid here, if he debuted well.
“Maine threw the ball pretty good last time, we’ll see how it develops,” said Minaya.
Certainly we didn’t see anybody leaving after Game One.