Last Night's Action: Rembering Maine
-Mets 7, Astros 0: As WIllie Randolph's Mets cruise through the second half of the season to the playoffs, pundits will say their postseason success will rest on their pitching. John Maine, part of the deal that sent Kris Benson to Baltimore, threw a four-hit shutout in the Mets' victory over the Astros on Friday. Maine's performance -- on short notice, no less -- will allow for optimistic Mets fans and management to see him in the third or fourth rotation spot come October. But a shutout against the Astros doesn't make a dominant starter, and, as impressive as it was, the Mets should wait to see more.
-Blue Jays 7, Yankees 3: The Yankees lost their second straight to the Blue Jays, and Alex Rodriguez made another error. This one wasn't on a throw but on a pop-up he said he lost in the sky. Even though Rodriguez is New York's favorite whipping boy, maybe Yankee fans should appreciate what they have. In what most people call a tough season for him, he has still produced some of the league's best numbers, and without his production who knows where the Yankees would be. Some day in the future, some writers will compare the New York media's treatment of Alex Rodriguez to how Boston's media treated Ted Williams. That said, he'll need to play better until the Yankees either add a bat, arm or get Hideki Matsui or Gary Sheffield back from injuries.
