Maine, Carmona and Mets Pitching

According to Adam Rubin, here, John Maine did not feel right after his rehab start in Buffalo.  This will cause the Mets to "re-evaluate" their plans with John Maine.  I think this is basically what everyone else had expected, that the Mets would find a way to not have to activate Maine.  The rotation has been good, the bullpen has been pretty good and it's hard to deny that the team has been better since guys like Maine, Perez and Cashstealo have not been around. 

But some think, myself included, that the Mets can find ways to improve their pitching.  And one option, as reported by Buster Olney in this blog post, is Fausto Carmona.  As good as Dickey and Takahashi have been, there are better options out there and Carmona is definitely one of them.  And I would argue after the way Westbrook pitched against the Mets during the week, and considering the prices of both Oswalt and Lee, that Carmona may be the best fit for the Mets. 

Carmona is a guy I have always liked, BUT, I have liked his upside in a similar way to the way I liked Ollie Perez' upside, so take that for what it's worth.  It does seem, however, that Carmona has turned his control issues around and has proven to be a quality starter again this season, which is especially impressive considering how bad the Indians have been this year.  Another interesting bonus to Carmona is that he's under contract, at reasonable prices, for the next few years.

For now, the rotation is fine as it is, BUT if the Mets want to win the division they should make a move.  And whoever they acquire, hopefully will allow either Takahashi or Dickey to move to the bullpen and therefore strengthening both the rotation and the bullpen.

Regardless, this is a good Mets team, much better than last year.  And at some point a move will be made to try to push them over the edge, and when it does, the rest of the NL should watch out...