Maine Throwing Pain-Free & Ready To Go

The Mets and their fans have to be excited about John Maine coming back healthy,with a fire burning down deep in his belly. Maine is throwing pain free, since returning from season-ending surgery in September to shave a large bone spur in his right shoulder socket. I can still remember watching him take the mound knowing he was in pain, yet refusing to give in. Maine is a BULL DOG!!!

Maine had a little bit of chirping aimed towards the Phillies in Kevin Kernan's article in the NY Post:

There is something else Maine wants you to know. He is not just that happy-go-lucky, crossword-solving right-hander that he has so often been portrayed as.

"I'm a little meaner than people think," Maine said. "And I'm not as naive as people think. As clichéd as it is, I can't stand losing. It drives me crazy. I hate losing more than I like winning. It really aggravates me when things don't go all that great."

Yes, it's been a tough two years for Maine. After two straight nightmare finishes and his Mets being labeled choke artists by Phillies ace Cole Hamels, Maine offered this: "They won the World Series and I say, "Congratulations.' Let them celebrate it, but just don't worry about what's going on in New York. We'll take care of it. And if I can remember; we beat them head-on last year, didn't we?"

John Maine says, "he's throwing five, six times a week" , promising he will show up for spring training early and ready to go. Ah, music to my ears.