Adam Rubin From the Daily News reports, John Maine tossed 24 pitches against five Mets batters this afternoon at Turner Field. His velocity and control weren't what he'd like, but Maine said if he wakes up tomorrow feeling healthy, he'd be ready to be activated Monday against the Cubs.
"I think it's all right," Maine said. "No pain."
Maine still felt the tightness, or knot, at the back of his back shoulder.
UPDATE: The always blunt Dan Warthen described Maine as rusty and with velocity equivalent to the first week of spring training. The pitching coach said Maine will again face batters Monday in a simulated setting before being activated. Warthen believes Maine could get batters out with this type of pitching, but to be a true help in late innings, he'd need to get to the mid-90s mph, not what he estimated as today's 86-87 mph.
Here are some answers from Maine:
"I felt like a little knot, a little tightness back there, but no pain, which is good. I'm just a couple of ticks off because I haven't seen a hitter. The control's not there, but it was pretty good."
On whether he can get in a game soon:
"I hope. I think it really all depends on what it's like tomorrow. If I can't throw tomorrow then there's no way. We'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Whether his mechanics were out of whack, exposing him to risk of other injury:
"The only thing (pitching coach Dan Warthen) was looking at was my arm angle. He said it was fine. When I was missing, I was missing down. That's always a good sign."
Why he didn't have regular-season pop on fastball:
"It's different anyway in a game. I don't think even if I was healthy I could come out and have a lot of pop on it anyway. I think it's just like spring training throwing to hitters. You don't have your best stuff. It's better than I thought."
Whether it felt natural:
"It feels kind of foreign because it's been over three weeks. I guess it's been a month since I last pitched. It's different. I've been doing what I can just shadow boxing in the pen, but it's not the same. Until I got on a mound, it was a little different, but it will come back."
Whether he can be effective:
"I think I can get guys out. Yeah. The more pitches I throw, the higher the velocity and the better control is going to be"
Original Story:
http://ddmetsfanblog.blogspot.com/fee...
"I think it's all right," Maine said. "No pain."
Maine still felt the tightness, or knot, at the back of his back shoulder.
UPDATE: The always blunt Dan Warthen described Maine as rusty and with velocity equivalent to the first week of spring training. The pitching coach said Maine will again face batters Monday in a simulated setting before being activated. Warthen believes Maine could get batters out with this type of pitching, but to be a true help in late innings, he'd need to get to the mid-90s mph, not what he estimated as today's 86-87 mph.
Here are some answers from Maine:
"I felt like a little knot, a little tightness back there, but no pain, which is good. I'm just a couple of ticks off because I haven't seen a hitter. The control's not there, but it was pretty good."
On whether he can get in a game soon:
"I hope. I think it really all depends on what it's like tomorrow. If I can't throw tomorrow then there's no way. We'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Whether his mechanics were out of whack, exposing him to risk of other injury:
"The only thing (pitching coach Dan Warthen) was looking at was my arm angle. He said it was fine. When I was missing, I was missing down. That's always a good sign."
Why he didn't have regular-season pop on fastball:
"It's different anyway in a game. I don't think even if I was healthy I could come out and have a lot of pop on it anyway. I think it's just like spring training throwing to hitters. You don't have your best stuff. It's better than I thought."
Whether it felt natural:
"It feels kind of foreign because it's been over three weeks. I guess it's been a month since I last pitched. It's different. I've been doing what I can just shadow boxing in the pen, but it's not the same. Until I got on a mound, it was a little different, but it will come back."
Whether he can be effective:
"I think I can get guys out. Yeah. The more pitches I throw, the higher the velocity and the better control is going to be"
Original Story:
http://ddmetsfanblog.blogspot.com/fee...
