PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -John Maine looked at the schedule and was pleased to see his first live batting practice session was set to come against the likes of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
“You pitch against those guys, you can pitch against any lineup, I think,” Maine said Thursday after a workout for the New York Mets. “I’m glad. I’d rather face guys like that. I’m always up for the challenge.”
Maine is trying to build on last season, when the right-hander went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA while throwing a career-high 191 innings.
Maine got off to a pretty good start Thursday by breaking Beltran’s bat, a moment that drew the attention of the Mets batters waiting to hit.
“I wasn’t very result-oriented today. I felt good. I just wanted to get action on my pitches and I did. You know, it’s tough to go out there the first time against hitters.”
Maine said he’s not looking to add anything special this spring.
“I’m still learning how to pitch,” he said. “The overall process, you know, it’s not complete. Just going out there and being more consistent with my mechanics, I think everything will fall into place.”
Notes: Relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis returned to camp on Thursday, though he came too late to participate in drills. He is expected to be back in practice on Friday after missing workouts Wednesday and Thursday for personal reasons, manager Willie Randolph said. … RHP Tony Armas and INF Fernando Tatis are still out of camp because of visa problems. … Ace pitcher Johan Santana has not thrown a live batting practice yet. Randolph said he was not sure when Santana was slated to throw against live hitters. … Starting pitcher Orlando Hernandez said he is “50-50” on retiring following the season. Hernandez has gone back and forth on the issue this spring and is in the final year on his contract. … Randolph raved about the power of offseason acquisition Ryan Church, who was acquired in a trade with the Washington Nationals. “He’s a strong kid. He’s a lot stronger than I thought when you walk up to him,” Randolph said.
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