Maine Day To Day, Wilmer Flores, Replacement For Maine, Oswalt For Reyes... and Clem Labine

Maine Day To Day:

"John Maine was removed from his fourth start in the fourth inning on Friday night after experiencing muscle spasms and pain in his left (non-pitching) elbow. Maine had retired two batters and allowed a hit when manager Jerry Manuel, pitching coach Dan Warthen, trainer Ray Ramirez and catcher Rod Barajas joined him on the mound. The spasms caused considerable pain and, Maine said, prohibited him from pulling down his left arm as he delivered pitch, thereby diminishing his velocity. He was understandably dejected by yet another physical malady. "It's one thing after another. I can't get going," Maine said. Maine is winless in 2010, with an 8.64 ERA -- down from 10.38 -- in four starts. - link

Wilmer Flores:
Team: low Class A Savannah (South Atlantic) - Age: 18 - Why He's Here: .370/.481/.741 (10-for-27), 2 HR, 4 2B, 11 RBIs, 6 R, 3 BB, 5 SO - The Scoop: Flores struck out for the first time this season last Friday, in his ninth game. But as his contact rate has declined since then, his power has spiked through the roof. Six extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in a week would have been practically unheard of last season, but it could be a sign of a more mature Flores learning to identify pitches he can drive and not simply swinging at the first thing near the zone. Bear in mind, he hit all of three home runs in 488 at-bats for Savannah last season - link

Replacement For Maine:

John Maine came out of the game last night with muscle spasms in his non-throwing elbow.


Maybe the Mets saw an opportunity to stick him on the IR, send him to Lucy, and let him try and work on his velocity in non-game conditions.


If he does wind up on the DL, there’s not much to pick from folks.


Let’s see… Nelson Figueroa is on Philadelphia… knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (1-1, 3.32) and Pat Misch (0-0, 2.76) are starting well in Buffalo, while no one is major league ready in Binghamton.

My guess… rubber arm Fernando Nieve, who Jerry Manuel has used every way imaginable this season, will probably spot start and look for Tobi Stoner to be called up to possibly piggy-back with Nieve until he is stetched out.

Oswalt For Reyes:

A source familiar with the Houston Astros' thinking doesn't believe right-hander Roy Oswalt will end up with the Mets, assuming he does get traded. "They may sniff, but have no chance," the source said regarding the Mets. Oswalt, 32, has a no-trade clause and has never shown an affinity for New York. He's earning $15 million this season, $16 million next year and has a 2012 option with a $2 million buyout. The three-time All-Star is 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts this season.

Does Roy Oswalt have an affinity to money? Trust me, the right deal brings everyone to the Big Apple. Make this a simply deal. One contract for another. Oswalt for Jose Reyes. We’ll deal with the loss of Jose the day after we write down an SP1-3 of Santana, Oswalt, and Pelfrey.

Clem Labine:

(1950-1962) - Raw Career: 513 G, 38 GS, 1,079.2 IP, 3.63 ERA, 112 ERA+, 1.33 WHIP, 8.7 H/9, 96 SV, 10.1 SV/50 and 1.4 K/BB - He was basically a relief pitcher during every season of his career. He’s the only relief pitcher on this list that can be said about. He was a true career relief pitcher, like most relief pitchers today. He had an arsenal of pitches that included a sinkerball, fastball and curveball. His sinkerball was, more or less, a split fingered fastball and his curveball was a slow curve. He was a consistent relief pitcher and seemed to be good, year after year. But the best season of his career was arguably his 1953 season. During that season, he pitched in almost 40 G, 10 GS and over 110 IP. He posted a 2.77 ERA, 155 ERA+ and 1.11 WHIP.



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/382696-mlbs-10-best-relief-pitchers-of-the-1950s-kinder-shantz-stale