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N. Stafford grad makes Orioles debut
While speculation swirled all week about his immediate future, John Maine was out of the loop.
The Baltimore Orioles needed a starting pitcher for tonight's home game against Minnesota, and the 23-year-old Stafford County native was a prime candidate after a strong recent month with the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx.
Not that he knew it.
"I don't get the Internet in Canada," Maine said last night, "and if it's not about Toronto or Montreal, [Canadian newspapers] don't cover it much."
The headline Maine was missing was that he will indeed make his major-league debut tonight against the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards.
"I'm just trying not to think about it too much," he said by phone from a hotel in Baltimore. "I'm just going to prepare and not let the nerves build up too much. I'll probably be a little nervous when I get to the ballpark."
He might be comforted by some familiar faces and the success he's enjoyed at every level of a brief pro career.
Maine was named the Orioles' 2003 minor-league pitcher of the year after compiling a 13-4 record and a 2.25 ERA in two Class-A stops. He led all minor-leaguers with 195 strikeouts in 147 innings and earned a non-roster invitation to the Orioles' 2004 spring training.
After posting a 4-0 record at Double-A Bowie to start this season, Maine was promoted to Triple-A Ottawa in early May.
But he struggled early on. At one point, he was 1-5 with an ERA near 6.00 while facing hitters who are far more patient than those at lower levels. But in his last five starts, he's 2-0 with a 1.48 ERA.
Overall, he's 4-5 with a 4.28 ERA at Ottawa.
"My mental approach has been better," Maine said. "That's basically it. I was still making good pitches, but mentally, I was giving the hitters too much credit. As a pitcher, that's bad."
Baltimore needed an extra pitcher after yesterday's doubleheader in Boston. Manager Lee Mazzilli also considered Ottawa left-hander Bruce Chen, who has big-league experience.
But Maine's improvement and numbers were too good to pass up for the Orioles, whose team ERA of 4.97 ranks 12th in the 14-team American League.
It appeared that the Orioles had turned elsewhere when they purchased the contract of Todd Williams from Ottawa on Wednesday. Williams is primarily a reliever, but had started two games for the Lynx.
But after Wednesday night's 10-5 win in Boston, manager Lee Mazzilli announced that Maine would be his starter tonight.
Maine flew to Baltimore yesterday to rest. He's expecting 25 to 30 friends and relatives to attend his debut, and most will have to pay their own way.
"I hear each player only gets four tickets," he said. "I wouldn't feel right asking the older guys for theirs."
His visit to Baltimore may be brief. The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that Maine likely will return to Ottawa after tonight's start, unless he overwhelms the Central Division-leading Twins.
Either way, he's almost certain to be with the big club when rosters expand from 25 to 40 players after Sept. 1.
And he's planning to enjoy tonight's experience for all it's worth. It's something he's dreamed of for quite a while.
"I really wanted to play major-league baseball since I was a kid," Maine said. "Hard work finally has paid off. It's been up and down, but I'm going to stick with it. It's been a good ride so far."
To reach STEVE DeSHAZO: 540/374-5443 sdeshazo@freelancestar.com