Maine Signs

The Mets and John Maine avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing on a contract for 2009. Maine had submitted an arbitration figure of $3 million and the Mets had offered $2.2 million. The perfectly reasonable settlement split the gap right down the middle at $2.6 million, plus the Mets dusted it with sugar by adding an innings-pitched incentive bonus.

The fact that John was going to be a Met for '09 was never really in question ... still, it's nice that they were able to avoid the arb hearing. Only Pedro Feliciano remains eligible for arbitration this winter.