Maine has shoulder surgery, out for season

LOS ANGELES - New York Mets right-hander John Maine had arthroscopic surgery Friday to clean out scar tissue from his shoulder and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

The Mets said the procedure was performed by Dr. Michael Citotti in Philadelphia. Maine has been sidelined since May 21 because of weakness in his shoulder and had a setback while making a rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo about a month ago. He is 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA in nine starts for the Mets and did not make it past the sixth inning in any of them.

"I think it takes a lot off of his mind," Manager Jerry Manuel said yesterday. "I'm happy because I know he's satisfied that he's finally got this thing rectified, hopefully, and will be ready to come back."

Maine was diagnosed with tendinitis in his right rotator cuff on May 24, four days after throwing only five pitches in a start at Washington. Maine got into an argument with Manuel in the dugout after being pulled for his own protection after he walked the first batter with a fastball that was clocked in the 80s. In his previous outing, he walked the first three Florida batters he faced on 12 pitches.

"John Maine threw the ball regardless of how he felt," Manuel said. "When I confronted John Maine, most of our discussion wasn't me getting on John Maine. I was getting on John Maine for hurting John Maine, and that's what people don't understand.

"I like John Maine," Manuel added. "My argument was: 'You're hurting yourself, and I'm not going to let you do that.' That was the basis of the argument. I didn't see the same guy. People took it to say that I was getting on him because I thought he was hurting the team. But that was never the case."