Mets put Maine on disabled list; he still wants to pitch

A few hours after John Maine repeatedly said all he wants to do is pitch, the Mets took that option away from him. For the next two weeks, anyway.

Just before the Mets hosted the Yankees on Friday night, the team announced that Maine had been put on the disabled list with "right shoulder weakness" in the wake of his five-pitch outing Thursday night against the Nationals.

He is scheduled for tests at the Hospital for Special Surgery next week, the team said.

Maine still was bothered by getting pulled so early when he showed up in the clubhouse Friday afternoon, but he forced himself to look forward, saying he would prepare himself for his next start - whenever and wherever that is.

"I want to pitch," he said. "Even if I have to go out there and throw lefthanded, that's what I want to do. I want to go out there and pitch."

When Maine's words were relayed to manager Jerry Manuel, he said with a laugh, "He might have better stuff lefthanded. We might have to try that."

At its core, the issue between the pitcher and manager surrounds Maine's health. Maine said he feels no different from the way he has all season, but Manuel believes there is a physical issue behind his drop in velocity.

"My gut tells me there's something there physically," Manuel said, "but I could be wrong."

Precisely what that issue is, the Mets don't know yet.

After Maine was removed from Thursday night's game, the Mets announced that he would be seeing a doctor Friday. That was news to Maine after the game, and it still was news to Maine on Friday afternoon. He said he hadn't seen a doctor and didn't know when he would.

"They didn't tell me anything," he said. "They haven't said anything about anything. I don't have a clue about anything."

The only thing he knows, the only thing he wanted to speak about, was that he wants to pitch. And that attitude appears to be part of the problem. Manuel described Maine as "very, very, very competitive" and suggested that Maine might rather pitch through an injury than admit one.

"I don't know how he weighs competitiveness with getting hurt," Manuel said. "That's the part that gets blurry. I know he's erring on the side of competitiveness, not the physical part."

Pitching coach Dan Warthen took that thought one giant step further Thursday night when he called Maine a "habitual liar" about his health. Warthen meant that in a positive way, calling Maine "a competitor and a warrior" in the next breath. But Maine didn't take the comment well.

"Yeah, I heard that, I heard that," he said. "It does upset me."

Maine also said he watched video of his five-pitch outing and noticed two things: His mechanics were normal and his velocity hit 89 on his final two pitches. As for his body language after walking the leadoff batter - he bent over and looked at the ground - he said he did that because he was frustrated, knowing that he was on a short leash.

"That was more of me saying, 'Why?' I saw the guy warming up after the first pitch, and I said the guy wasn't needed in the bullpen," Maine said. "I was disappointed."

Elmer Dessens, a reliever at Triple-A Buffalo, took Maine's spot on the roster.