WASHINGTON — The Mets finally got a win last night, but still wound up with a mess on their hands.
John Maine was removed after just one batter — a five-pitch walk to Washington leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan. Maine was still livid about it nearly four hours after it happened, and after he was pulled, he had an argument with manager Jerry Manuel in the dugout following the first inning of a 10-7 win over the Nationals.
Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen were concerned with Maine’s lack of velocity — he failed to break 85 miles per hour on any of the pitches after bouncing several warm-up pitches before the first and decided to make a move.
“We just didn’t think John had enough to compete,” Warthen said. “When he’s throwing that way, there’s gotta be something incorrect in that arm. John’s a habitual liar in a lot of ways about his own health. . . . We have to be the boss out there.”
Now Maine, who has struggled with his velocity and health throughout this season and beyond, will visit a doctor today and according to a club source, will get an MRI exam on his right shoulder.
When Maine saw Manuel coming out to the mound after the walk to Morgan, he was in disbelief.
“It was the first batter of game,” Maine said. “Cut me a little bit of slack. They want to see 95 [mph] and didn’t see it. . . . I’m sure he doesn’t have any confidence in me.”
He said that there wasn’t anything more physically wrong with him than there has been in the past, but admitted that he wasn’t 100 percent.
“I felt pain for two years,” Maine said. “I’m over it. I’m well enough to pitch. . . . I’m telling them everything that’s going on.”
Manuel and Co. aren’t convinced and Rod Barajas said Maine didn’t look “right.”
“He said he would loosen up and then we saw 82, 83,” Manuel said. “I told him I didn’t want take a chance. He wanted to pitch. We got into a little exchange about that. I told him I was trying to protect his best interests. . . . If he’s upset at me about that, that’s OK.”
He was.
“I didn’t get asked and that’s what I’m concerned about,” Maine said. “They never asked see how I was. They just said, ‘You’re out.’ ”
Fortunately for the Mets, Raul Valdes came in and pitched well for five innings and the offense, which had been dormant for so long, came alive with 10 runs.
“He was tremendous,” Manuel said of Valdes, who ended up surrendering three runs in five-plus innings.
And after Valdes faltered in the sixth, things got interesting in the later innings, as Jenrry Mejia surrendered three more and the Mets needed Pedro Feliciano to induce Adam Dunn representing the tying run into hitting a fly ball to left with the bases loaded to preserve a 10-6 lead.
Francisco Rodriguez gave up a run in the ninth to preserve the win that got perilously close to slipping away after the Mets took a nine-run lead.
Despite the win, it’s clear the Mets still have plenty of issues. Jon Niese is on the DL with a strained hamstring and with Maine clearly in jeopardy of missing a start, the rotation is in chaos.
“We’ll have some decisions to make,” Manuel said. “We’ll determine what direction we’re gonna go.”
That could include bringing up Pat Misch from Triple-A Buffalo.
And they also have to figure out just what’s going on with Maine.