Adam Rubin is reporting that the Mets have signed IF Abraham Nuñez to a minor league deal. He will report to Triple-A New Orleans. Nuñez hit .234 in 136 games for the Phillies last year.
I don’t really understand the rationale here, especially with Fernando Tatis hitting as well as he has in Triple-A this year. I guess it’s always good to have depth in the [depleted] minor league system.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Mets, Fernando Tatis, Abraham Nunez
The Marlins Beast of the Week is…
Dan Uggla, 2B. Whatever Dan Uggla is drinking, the entire team needs to start following suit. For the past week, Uggla hit .545, .615, 1.000 with 2 HR and 4 RBIs for an OPS of 1.615. He is now fourth in Major League Baseball for OPS on the year (1.066). How do you describe Dan Uggla? Beast.
Runners-Up: Wes Helms, Matt Lindstrom, Mike Jacobs
And the least of the week is…
Alfredo Amezaga, Util. Amezaga, who is platooning with Cody Ross in center field, did not have a good week (.211, .211, .263). It has been speculated that Jacques Jones could win the starting job altogether, shifting Amezaga back to his role as utility infielder off the bench. That would probably be better for everyone.
Runners-down: Hanley Ramirez, Taylor Tankersley, Mark Hendrickson
Categories: Marlins
Tagged: Alfredo Amezaga, Beast of the week, Cody Ross, Dan Uggla, Jacques Jones, Least of the week, Marlins, Matt Lindstrom, Mike Jacobs, Wes Helms
The Braves Beast of the Week is…
Brian McCann, C (.345, .387, .655, 1 HR, 9 RBI on the week). We award this honor to Brian with apologies to Chipper Jones, who also had a stellar week (.462, .548, .654, 1 HR, 3 RBI). But come on, Chipper, you can’t win every week. Chipper, who hits right in front of Brian in the Braves lineup, is a big part of McCann’s success, giving him plenty of RBI opportunities. Both players combine to make for a formidable middle of the Atlanta lineup.
Runners-Up: Chipper Jones, Kelly Johnson, Mark Kotsay
We bestow the least of the week distinction upon…
Chuck James, LHP. James optioned to Triple-A Richmond after a terrible start last Thursday against the Phillies, in which he surrendered 5 earned runs on 6 hits in 4 innings, walking 5 and striking out none. He’ll be replaced by Jorge Campillo in the rotation.
Runners-down: Royce Ring, Mark Teixiera
Categories: Braves
Tagged: Beast of the week, Braves, Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, Chuck James, Jorge Campillo, Kelly Johnson, Least of the week, Mark Kotsay, Mark Teixiera, Royce Ring
The New York Mets Beast of the Week is…
David Wright, 3B. A good week for David (.346, .393, .654, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 SB) turned into a great weekend for the Mets, as the lineup (finally) started to fire on all cylinders against two tough Yankees pitchers in Andy Pettite and Chien-Ming Wang. If those stats look a bit lean, it’s because the entire team went to sleep against the Nationals. David remains one of the two most important hitters in the lineup, and his production is crucial to the team’s success.
Runners-Up: Jose Reyes, John Maine, Oliver Perez
The Mets least of the week is…
Aaron Heilman. The man who was once considered one of the league’s elite set-up men is now eating innings in middle relief. Maybe he’s injured, maybe he’s just ineffective. But for the week, Aaron pitched a whopping third of an inning in last Wednesday’s loss to Washington. He wasted no time, though, surrendering three earned runs on three hits and a walk, coming in with a whopping 81.00 ERA and 12.00 WHIP on the week. It seems that the days of Aaron Heilman in a Mets uniform may be numbered.
Runners-down: Carlos Delgado, Marlon Anderson, Jorge Sosa
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Aaron Heilman, Andy Pettite, Beast of the week, Carlos Delgado, Chien-Ming Wang, David Wright, John Maine, Jorge Sosa, Jose Reyes, Least of the week, Marlon Anderson, Mets, Oliver Perez
I haven’t recapped the Mets game from last night yet, but if you watched any part of the game or any moment of highlights, you know that Carlos Delgado got robbed of a home run that was called a foul ball by home plate umpire Bob Davidson. ESPN reports that Davidson admitted to his mistake after the game.
“I (expletive) it up. I’m the one who thought it was a (expletive) foul ball. I saw it on the replay. I’m the one who (expletive) it up so you can put that in your paper,” Davidson said. “Bolts and nuts, I (expletive) up. You’ve just got to move on. No one feels worse about it than I do.”
Obviously it didn’t matter, because the Mets won 11-2, but a blown call like this on Sunday Night Baseball in a Subway Series game will only add fuel to the fire in the debate over instant replay in baseball.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Bob Davidson, Carlos Delgado, Mets
According to ESPN.com, Braves RHP John Smoltz might not return this month, as was previously reported.
“It could be anywhere between the [late May] timetable I discussed and a lot longer,” Smoltz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for Monday’s editions.
If Smoltz is delayed much more, expect the Braves to look for bullpen help, either within the organization or outside.
Categories: Braves
Tagged: Braves, John Smoltz
As was predicted, FA OF Jacque Jones has signed a deal with the Marlins, and will report to Extended Spring Training soon. Ken Rosenthal says Jones, who was recently released by the Detroit Tigers, will serve as a left-handed bat off of the bench. However, according to Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald, Jones could replace the platoon of Cody Ross and Alfredo Amezaga and start at center field. Jones was hitting .165 with Detroit, but is a career .278 hitter.
Categories: Marlins
Tagged: Alfredo Amezaga, Cody Ross, Jacques Jones, Marlins
It’s been a crazy weekend in Beast-land, but please be assured, the Beasts (and leasts) of the Week will be announced soon.
Categories: NL East
Tagged: Beast of the East, Least of the East
