On the Mets beat

There was plenty for the Mets to be happy about after last night's 12-0 blowout of the Nationals. Best of all, the victory put them back into a first-place tie with the Phillies, who suffered their third straight loss in LA.

But the fact that John Maine's right shoulder still felt a "little sore" during his 90-pitch, five-inning stint was a red flag. As was his dip in velocity, down to 91-93 mph rather than his usual 96. It might be nothing, but Maine did say he figured to be pitching with it for the remainder of this season.

Maine already has been diagnosed with a rotator-cuff strain, and after two weeks, an injury like that doesn't just go away. It must be managed, with treatment and exercises, so Maine isn't exactly out of the woods yet. He said he'll have a better idea of his condition on Friday, 48 hours after the start, so we'll check back then.

If Maine does continue to have problems, the Mets do have alternatives. There's always Jon Niese, who is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA at Triple-A New Orleans, or even Brian Stokes, who picked up the four-inning save last night. Manager Jerry Manuel called Stokes' stuff "electric" and his changeup can be a fantastic pitch.