Insert Corny Title Here

The possibilities are endless to make a corny title with John Maine's name, but I'll abstain. When I imagine where this Met rotation would be without him, the bodily function known as regurgitation occurs. John Maine has been so solid for the Mets, it makes Omar look like a genius who supposedly would not budge on the Benson deal until Maine was included. He did not feel Julio alone was good enough for Benson and pushed for the young pitcher who fell out of favor with the Orioles.

Since July 1st, Maine has had the lowest h/9 with 5.54, whip with 0.92, bb/9 with 2.77, and ERA with 2.08 out of ever starter. The closest person in h/9 was Pedro Martinez with 7.08, the closest whip was Pedro with 1.13, and the closest ERA was Steve Trachsel with 4.87. His k/9 was second to only The Duque, who posted an impressive 8.9 k/9 since July 1st. He has flat out dominated.

Maine has the highest average game score since July 1st and not by a little bit. He is sitting at 61 with The Duque at 49.1, Pedro at 49.5, Glavine at 42.3, and Trachsel at 44.6. It really has not been close as to who has been the Mets best pitcher since the All-Star break and one has to wonder what type of numbers he would have put up if he had not gotten injured and was in the rotation since May 2nd. John Maine has looked like the real deal.

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This could quite possibly be the single best thing I've ever watched.

Fernando Martinez went 2 for 5 with a run scored and a double as Jesus Flores went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base in St. Lucie's 4-1 win over Clearwater.

Deolis Guerra is a stud. Hagerstown won 5-0 behind five hitless innings by Deolis in which he struck out six en route to his sixth win. Guerra did struggle with his control a lot and walked six, but it seems he is his own worst enemy at this point. His control has been markedly improved since early in the year, but he does relapse every once in a while.

Tobi Stoner had yet another good outing for the Cyclones and went six innings and gave up six hits, two runs, and two walks while striking out three in Brooklyn's 2-1 loss to Auburn. Joseph Holden also continues to hit well and went 3 for 4 with a run scored, a walk, and a double.

MLB is still interested in Paul LoDuca's reported gambling problem.

Major League Baseball hasn't placed the Paul LoDuca gambling investigation in the cold-case file just yet.

MLB sent two investigators from its security office to Philadelphia during the Mets' series against the Phillies this week to interview the All-Star catcher about gambling issues, the Daily News has learned.

Preston Wilson has reached out to the Mets to let them know he is interested in coming to New York. Shocking.

Here is an interesting tidbit. Kazmir struck out the first seven batters in his start yesterday and had ten total. Kazmir's ten strikeouts yesterday brought him to within two of the club record.

Scott Kazmir's 370 strikeouts are two off Victor Zambrano's Rays record. His 1.95 home ERA leads the league.

Kazmir has done it in 63 games and 358 innings and Zambrano needed 481.2 innings and 135 games.

Bob Klapisch is concerned.

Pedro Martinez's latest setback in the war against time is being called a mild calf strain. Before that, it was food poisoning and a sore left hip, which was preceded by the damaged big toe on his push-off foot. Little by little, one trip at a time to the disabled list, the Mets keep learning just how fragile Martinez really is, and why the trip to October somehow hangs over the Mets like an anvil.

It's there, some scouts whisper, that Pedro's vulnerabilities will be fully exposed, if not in the Division Series or League Championship Series, then certainly in the World Series against a more powerful American League team.

All of these strange injuries are certainly concerned. I know the story that the Mets and Pedro tell that if this was the playoffs, he would be ready to go. However, it is hard not to wonder what is really going on with Pedro.

It looks like it will David Williams on Saturday.

Willie Randolph said Dave Williams is more likely to replace Pedro Martinez as tomorrow's starter against the Colorado Rockies than left-hander Oliver Perez.

"We'll talk about it, but he might be the front-runner," the Mets' manager said about Williams. "He's pitching a little better at this point."

Williams is 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA in six starts with the Class AAA Norfolk Tides.

Perez, who came to the Mets from Pittsburgh in the Xavier Nady deal, was 2-10 with the Pirates with an ERA over 9.00.

Give us Perez. Tell him to just go out there and chuck.

From Newsday.com:

Jose Reyes' first-inning homer in Tuesday's 11-4 loss to the Phillies was the fifth time he has led off the game with a home run this season, tying him with Kaz Matsui (2004) for the single-season franchise record. But it also was the seventh of his young career, only two shy of the team mark shared by Tommie Agee and Lenny Dykstra. This season, Reyes is third in the National League, trailing the Astros' Craig Biggio (six) and the Nationals' Alfonso Soriano (eight).

From Dailynews.com:

Carlos Beltran's solo homer in the fifth was his NL-leading 23rd on the road, tying Howard Johnson's club record for most in one season away from Shea. Beltran also enjoyed the 15th four-hit game of his career and his third of the season.

AskBA answers a Kevin Mulvey question.

Now that righthander Kevin Mulvey is in the fold for the Mets, where do you think he ranks in their system and where do you see him eventually fitting into their plans? I didn’t hear much about him in the run up to the draft.

Pete Duffy
New York

New York's top pick in the June draft, Mulvey ranks in the Mets' second tier of prospects. He's behind outfielder Fernando Martinez and righthanders Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber, and alongside players such as righty Deolis Guerra, lefty Jon Niese and outfielder Carlos Gomez.

There was talk that he could go in the supplemental first round, but the Mets landed him in the middle of the second round and signed him for slot money, $585,000. He has three solid pitches, including a low-90s fastball, a curveball or a slider. Despite his good stuff, Mulvey didn't dominate mid-level competition at Villanova, so that's a red flag. But if he develops as hoped, he should be a nice mid-rotation starter for New York two or three years from now.