John Maine had a dominant spring training last year, with a 1.53 ERA and major-league-best 33 strikeouts while walking just five in 29-1/3 innings. Still, his season was cut short because of a bony growth in his right shoulder blade that required surgery on Sept. 30.
So perhaps it doesn't really matter that Maine has struggled this spring, including allowing four firstinning runs against the Marlins yesterday.
"I'm not trying to do the opposite of what I did last spring," said Maine, who maintains he's healthy. "It's just taken me a little longer than I thought to get comfortable pitching. But each start, each bullpen I'm feeling better. I don't think I walked anybody today, which is a good sign. It was a couple of pitches here and there."
03-17-2009, 07:57 PM
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