 Monday, February 25, 2008
Will John Maine win 20 games?
John Maine went 15-10 last year with 191 innings and a 3.91 ERA. He was the best pitcher in September and had a few games taken away from him by the bullpen. According to the NY Daily News Billy Wagner said yesterday: "He can win 20," Billy Wagner said. "Heck, he could have won 20 last year if the bullpen had helped a little more and he didn't let an inning get away from him here and there. Johnny just needs to believe he's that good, that he can be as good as guys like Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz, because we've all seen how he can go out and dominate." John Maine was a different pitcher in 2007 than in 2006 when he started Games 1 of the NLDS and must win Game 6 of the NLCS. Those experiences matured him and propelled him to start the home opener in 2007 as well as pitch near perfect in April very well during the September collapse. If you remember the day before Tom Glavine gave away the farm, Maine pitched 7.2 innings of 1 hit ball, walking only 2 and striking out 14. This was a must win game and Maine brought his A game. A serious win in the clutch. In 2006 Carlos Beltran performed much better than in 2005. The reason? Carlos Delgado arrived and took a lot of pressure off Beltran. I think you can see the same thing happen with Santana. Santana can reduce the pressure on Maine and allow him to shine. Plus with a better pitching staff in 2008 then 2007 and a slightly upgraded bullpen, the bullpen should be less worn down and can save more wins for Maine. Pitching wins pennants. If Santana and Maine both flirt with 20 game seasons, Pedro says healthy, and Oliver Perez earns his raise and wins 17 games or so, you can see a very good 1 through 4 punch. Posted by Steve in New York
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