Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

John Maine held the Pirates scoreless for five innings in a no-decision Monday afternoon. Maine also threw five shutout innings in his first start back from the disabled list last week. His velocity was down Monday and he walked four batters, but he’s now allowed zero runs on three hits in 10 innings since coming off the shelf. He exited holding a 2-0 lead, but the Mets’ bullpen coughed up five runs to let another game slip away. (Rotoworld) Maine said after his start Monday that he doesn’t have the pain he felt in Miami before going on the DL with a mildly strained rotator cuff, but he has felt stiffness in both starts since his return, the NY Daily News reports. Maine had no life on his fastball Monday, as his velocity was mainly in the 88-92 range, down 4-8 ticks from where he normally is. Pitching coach Dan Warthen said that Maine will likely be in that range the rest of the season and he maybe capped at five to six innings in most starts, unless his pitch count is very low. The Mets have four off-days from August 28 to September 12, so the Mets can try and alter the rotation to give Maine an extra days rest. After that, the team plays every day rest of the way, so don’t look for Maine to receive extra rest before those starts, meaning that he will need to rely on his other pitches and find a way to gut it out in each outing; not always a recipe for success. (Rotowire)

John Maine pitched five shutout innings Wednesday in his return from the disabled list. Maine let up just one hit and struck out six. He walked four, but worked easily out of jams. Maine was bolstered by a Met attack that gave him an early 10-0 lead and he was removed after throwing 90 pitches. Maine’s ERA fell from 4.13 to 3.97 and he’ll face the Pirates next. Maine reported some soreness in his right shoulder following his five-inning start Wednesday, probably a lingering effect from the rotator-cuff strain that landed him on the disabled list back on August 3, the NY Newsday reports. he soreness was not enough to prevent Maine from pitching, but there is no predicting how much of a factor that discomfort could become in the future. Maine will have a better read on the shoulder Friday, 48 hours after this start, as he prepares for his next one. Maine’s velocity was more in the 91-93 range than his usual 96 mph, and while he hopes that the velocity will return over time, there is no guarantee it will given the shoulder soreness. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

John Maine (strained rotator cuff) is slated to be activated off the disabled list and start against Washington Wednesday, the NY News reports. To clear room for Maine, the Mets optioned Carlos Muniz to Triple-A New Orleans. Brian Stokes will work out of the bullpen, and may get an occasional start down the stretch to give extra rest to the five regular starters. Maine threw a 61-pitch simulated game Friday and has had no issues since then, paving the way for his activation. Maine is a nice two-start sleeper for Fantasy Week 21 (Aug. 18-24) at this point. Watch his return start before considering him, though. He had been struggling with high pitch counts, looking like a five-inning pitcher, which is real bad news on a team struggling mightily in the bullpen. Don’t worry too much about Maine becoming a reliever, though, because he has the potential to be one of the Mets true aces down the stretch. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Up:

• P John Maine
• P Joe Blanton
• 3B Chipper Jones
• OF Chase Headley

Down:

• OF Gregor Blanco
• OF Steve Pearce
• P Matt Lindstrom
• P Carlos Villanueva

Move:

• 3B Casey Blake to Utility
• U Jody Gerut to OF

John Maine (shoulder) threw a 61-pitch simulated game before Friday’s game. Maine showcased all of his pitches and declared himself ready for his scheduled start on Wednesday. Unfortunately, he has struggled recently, going less than five innings in four of the last six games. Still, against a weak team like the Nationals, you might want to go ahead and start him. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

The Mets were so encouraged by the bullpen sessions Maine (strained right rotator cuff) threw Sunday and Monday that he is slated to throw a simulated game Friday at Shea, the NY Daily News reports. This would keep Maine on schedule to pitch Wednesday at Washington and seemingly lessen the need to add another starting pitcher, such as the rehabbing Freddy Garcia. (Rotowire)

John Maine (shoulder) had a successful bullpen session Tuesday and is scheduled to throw a simulated game Friday. Barring a setback Maine is on track to return from the disabled list with a start next Wednesday versus the Nationals. (Rotoworld)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• OF Brandon Moss, Pirates [$3 bid, Add to Actives]
• P Matt Lindstrom, Marlins [$0 bid, Add to Actives]

Up:

• P Brett Myers
• P Carlos Villanueva

Down:

• OF Chase Headley
• P Jason Bergmann
• P Jason Marquis
• P John Maine

Cut:

• OF Ryan Spilborghs
• P Seth McClung

Notes:

• Lindstrom had been drafted originally by Get Off Kong! in the 4th Round of the Minor League Draft, thus his salary of $10
• Moss came to the NL in the Manny Ramirez - Jason Bay - Andy LaRoche 3-Way trade at the deadline last week.  He had been on Boston’s AAA squad in Pawtucket.

Mets placed RHP John Maine on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 29, with a strained right rotator cuff. This is the right move for the Mets. Giving Maine a full two weeks off to deal with his minor shoulder issue makes a lot more sense than trying to rush him back. The team could call up Claudio Vargas to start Friday. (Rotoworld)

John Maine, who has been diagnosed with a mild strain of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, no longer is officially listed as Sunday’s starter in Houston. The expectation is Oliver Perez instead will pitch on standard rest that day against the Astros, the NY Daily News reports. Maine may not miss a full turn, and could re-enter the rotation as soon as Tuesday at Shea. However with off-days Thursday and Monday, the Mets would be better served allowing Maine to build strength in the surrounding area and not have him start until August 9. Both Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner have spoken about how painful the injury is and the need for building strength in the shoulder and rest, so hopefully the team errs on the side of caution and doesn’t let Maine talk them into letting him start Tuesday. (Rotowire)

The Mets are calling John Maine day-to-day after an MRI revealed a mild rotator cuff strain. If only it was guaranteed to be the only problem, it’d be great news for the Mets. The team still hasn’t ruled out having him pitch Sunday against the Astros, but it is more likely that he will be skipped one turn. (Rotoworld)

Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll had a contrary view in today’s Under the Knife:

Yesterday, someone in the chat fed me a quote from the Mets new pitching coach saying that he’d told the media that Maine’s soreness in the back of his shoulder was a “good sign” and not in a “trouble spot.” It’s a good thing that he’s not a doctor, because the images showed a strained rotator cuff, something most pitchers would call a real trouble spot. Maine’s pain and inflammation is definitely a worry, especially the way that it appeared to increase in severity during his start, sapping velocity and causing a noticeable reaction on Maine’s face. With the return of Pedro Martinez, Jerry Manuel can juggle his rotation to give Maine a little bit of extra rest, but getting him back out there even after the extra time off is going to be risky. The Mets think Maine can come back without heading to the DL, but I’m not as confident.

John Maine will undergo an MRI on his right shoulder after leaving Monday night’s game. Carlos Muniz replaced Maine after the starter threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Maine has been dealing with soreness in his shoulder for weeks. “You get soreness,” Maine said, “but it’s never felt like this before.” It seems quite likely that Maine will miss his next start, but pitching coach Dan Warthen says the pain is in the back of his shoulder, which is not a “trouble spot.”

Maine said after his abbreviated start Monday that he’s been dealing with pain in his right shoulder since his last outing. “It was sore, but I told them I could go out there and pitch,” he said. Maine has yet to throw 200 innings a season and is highly unlikely to reach the mark this year. The Mets may want to give him a couple of weeks off to give him a better chance of being close to 100 percent in September and October. (Rotoworld)

The problem lies in the back of Maine’s right shoulder — not a trouble spot, according to pitching coach Dan Warthen — and has caused him pain throughout recent weeks. But the Mets were not entirely concerned until they noticed a hitch in Maine’s mechanics during a pitch sequence to John Baker in the fifth inning Monday. Warthen didn’t like how Maine began dropping his arm angle, potentially exposing him to risk of other injury, as the shoulder pain intensified, which is why he was pulled from the game. The injury has nothing to do with the dead arm that affected Maine earlier this month in St. Louis, nor is it the type of injury that should cost him significant time. He could miss one start, but with Pedro Martinez slated to return Friday and two off-days over the next week, there are ways to skip Maine’s spot while keeping him in the regular rotation. A better sense of the extent of the injury and how long - if at all - Maine needs to be sidelined will be known once the exam results are in. (Rotowire)

John Maine allowed three runs in seven innings to defeat the Phillies on Wednesday night. Maine allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five to get the victory. He was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first but surrendered back-to-back home runs in the second to lose it. After that, he allowed just a run on five hits over his next five innings, showing good movement and life on his fastball and bite on his slider, to improve to 9-7 on the year. Maine hadn’t lasted into the sixth in his last four outings, so it is encouraging to see him have such a solid performance against Philadelphia’s fifth-ranked offense. He’ll get Florida in his next start. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

UniWatchBlog reader Dan Snider notes that John Maine is once again wearing his cap over his ears, a phenomenon we first discussed a few months ago. Here’s a snap:

John Maine allowed five earned runs over 4 2/3 innings Friday as the Mets fell to the Reds. Maine walked five and has now looked pretty awful over two consecutive starts. He managed five strikeouts, but needed 102 pitches to get through the short outing. His ERA sits at 4.22 and his record drops to 8-7. Hopefully he can get things figured out in time for his next start against the Phillies. (Rotoworld)

The New York Mets will trot out starter John Maine on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds from Great American Ballpark. Maine will face Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. In his last start, Maine gave up two hits, three earned runs and five walks with two wild pitches in 4 2/3 innings. An uneven performance to say the least. He hasn’t escaped the sixth inning in his last three starts. Still, in a short week for Fantasy week 16 (July 17-20), Maine’s stock is higher than normal. Go ahead and get him starting for the red-hot Mets. (CBS Sports)

RotoProfessor posted an article today to Buy Low on Maine:

Entering the season, there were a lot of people who were extremely high on John Maine. Last season it appeared like he emerged as a solis #3 fantasy option, at the worst, after going 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA. He struck out 180 batters in 191.0 innings and had people thinking that he had the potential to strikeout 200 batters this season. He walked 75 batters while giving up 168 hits.

Thus far, he certainly hasn’t taken the next step. In fact, you could say he’s stagnated, if not actually regressed a slight bit. He threw 108.1 innings in the first half, going 8-6 with a 3.99 ERA. He has struck out 93 while walking 49 and allowing 94 hits.

If he can just get the walks down and the strikeouts up, things should fall right into place for him. I’ve already acquired him in my keeper league and expect big things from him moving forward. I would recommend you do the same, especially if the owner in your league isn’t looking for a lot in return.