Arbitration Is A Joke, Maine Wants 2.5 MM Raise

John Maine earned $450,000 last season in a season that was plagued with a shoulder injury, two trips to the disabled list, and surgery to remove a bone spur that finally ended his season. He went 10-8 with a 4.18 ERA in 25 starts for the Mets last year, after winning 15 games the year before and posting a 3.91 ERA. His strikeout to walk ratio was significantly worse as he seemingly lost his control which some attribute to his injury,. As the arbitration deadline for exchanging figures came and went, the Mets offered Maine $2.2 million dollars, a very significant raise for such a lackluster season and a pitcher who has yet to throw a pitch off the mound after season ending surgery. John Maine submitted a figure of $3 million dollars. That puts the Mets and Maine $800,000 apart. The problem with the arbitration system is that it's flawed. Rather than paying a player based on his production the season before and letting that be the barometer for how big a raise he should get if a...