I’m not sure if this fits into a category, but Deadspin has a must-read about Ryan Howard from the perspective of an unsuspecting rookie journalist.
-Greg Berlin
Injury Roundup
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Ryan Zimmerman was held out of the lineup tonight as the Nationals take on San Diego. Here’s what Zim said about his apparent shoulder injury, courtesy of Chico Harlan’s Nationals Journal:
“It’s just soreness. It’s been checked out, and they said there’s nothing structurally wrong with it. Basically just wait for [the soreness] to go away. I mean if I had to play today I probably could, but we’ve got the hottest guy playing. (A reference to Aaron Boone.) But no, it’s good. I think it just makes sense. There’s no reason to rush it. If it was August or September and we had made a move and were competing for something, there’s no doubt I would have played. But it’s kind of a risk-reward kind of thing. Do I really want to play now and risk hurting it more, or take two or three days and get it better and then have four months to play? So it just makes sense.”
Mark Kotsay missed a start tonight for the Braves with back pain and, according to Braves.com, might be placed on the DL. Kotsay, of course, has suffered from back pain many times in the past.
The Mets placed RHP Matt Wise on the DL today with right rotator cuff tendonitis, according to Mets.com. Taking his roster spot will be Carlos Muniz, the young closer for Triple-A New Orleans.
And, as reported earlier on NL Beast, Pat Burrell missed tonight’s start with apparent neck stifness.
Categories: Braves · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Braves, Pat Burrell, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Wise, Mark Kotsay, NL East
Kris Benson to start for Clearwater Sunday
May 27, 2008 · 2 Comments
From David Murphy:
…[Ruben] Amaro said [Kris] Benson’s velocity was between 86 and 90 miles an hour, which is better than it has been. Previously, he’d been topping out at 88 miles an hour.“It was encouraging for him and it was encouraging for us,” Amaro said.
After a couple of set-backs that appeared to put him severely behind the curve in his quest to make it back to the big leagues, it sounds like Kris Benson is progressing steadily again. The Phillies just sent word to reporters that the veteran right-hander will likely make his first minor league start on Sunday for Class A Clearwater. I didn’t talk to assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. directly, but it sounds like this is a very, very encouraging step. Benson threw 75 pitches today in an extended spring training game, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 4 while walking 1.
Benson was originally expected to contend for a spot in the Phillies rotation in may. But after a bout with biceps tendinitis and a strained groin, he seemed stuck in a perpetual “day-to-day” state. There’s no word on when he might be ready to seriously contend for a major league start. A lot will depend on Sunday, I’m sure.
*Gulp*
He can’t be worse than Eaton. Can’t hurt to see what he can do.
UPDATE: Thanks to Jeff who points out that Benson will pitch for Clearwater in Sarasota.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: NL East · Phillies
Tagged: Clearwater Threshers, David Murphy, Kris Benson, Ruben Amaro Jr.
Burrell out tonight
May 27, 2008 · 2 Comments
He has neck stiffness. Who knows if that’s true. The Phils have scored 20 yesterday and Pat Burrell didn’t have a hit. Perhaps Charlie Manuel is just giving him a night off after some consistent struggles this month.
I doubt it. Burrell hit 3 homers last week. No one expects his average to be high, and he still walks. Most likely he’s legitimately hurt. Greg Dobbs started in his place.
Oh, and the Phillies are up 7-1 in the top of the 6th. That’s 42 runs over the last three days…
-Greg Berlin
Categories: NL East · Phillies
Tagged: Charlie Manuel, Greg Dobbs, Phillies
Tonight’s Mets lineup
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Umm…this doesn’t look remotely close to the expected opening day lineup, does it?
Reyes (SS), Castillo (2B), Wright (3B), Beltran (CF), Easley (1B), Tatis (RF), Castro (C), Evans (LF), Santana (P)
How ’bout those standings
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Another week has passed and the Florida Marlins are still in first place. We’ve talked again and again about how surprised we are here at NL Beast that the Marlins have continued to overachieve as much as they have so far this season. We’ve said that the Marlins have the pieces to achieve and that they should be a real contender as soon as next year. We’ve said it can’t last this season, and that it’s a nice story until the Phillies, Braves, or Mets step up and regain the top spot in the division.
But every week proves us wrong as the Marlins keep winning. They’ve been criticized for beating up on the bottom of the barrel. Then they sweep the Diamondbacks. Their pitching has been criticized as young and inexperienced. Then Andrew Miller outpitches Brandon Webb. Their offense has been described as resting on Hanley Ramirez. But it is Dan Uggla who is setting the pace not just for Marlins hitters but for Major League Baseball. Make no mistake about it, the Marlins are a dangerous team.
Categories: Braves · Marlins · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Andrew Miller, Brandon Webb, Braves, Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, NL East, Phillies
Around the Mets [Willie-gate Edition]
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Everyone on ESPN seemingly has to have a say about the Willie Randolph situation today, including Rob Neyer (”The owners seem to have decided to send exactly the wrong message, which is that nobody’s accountable for this mess”), Peter Gammons (”What [the Wilpons and Omar] don’t seem to know is what role Randolph’s managing plays in all this or, at this point, who would be the right person to change it”), and Buster Olney (”What occurred privately is that Randolph was put on notice, probably for the last time this summer.”).
Ken Rosenthal says what I’ve been saying for some time now, that Omar Minaya is the man who ultimately deserves the blame for the Mets’ shortcomings. Rosenthal also expands on a problem that could be plaguing the Mets clubhouse, a lack of cross-cultural camaraderie. It’s well worth the read.
Newsday’s Arthur Staple wonders why the Mets would have a press conference to essentially say nothing.
And on, and on, and on the media firestorm goes. I could link to more, but there’s really no point, you get the drift. Everyone reads something else into the Mets’ latest meltdown but the conclusion is essentially the same in each person’s analysis. The Mets are a team with no grit and no chemistry, a team that may have a lot of talent, but isn’t going to win anything unless some sort of major change takes place.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Mets, NL East, Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph
Beltran: Willie situation was a distraction
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Newsday, this morning, reported Carlos Beltran’s dissatisfaction with the media circus surrounding the controversy over Willie Randolph.
“I think they should say that and come out with something like that,” Beltran said. “Because it is a distraction. The reality is people say, ‘No, that doesn’t affect the ballclub,’ but it does. It does because you come to the ballpark wondering what’s going to happen. It’s natural as players, we all think like that.
“At one point, I was in that situation when they were talking every day about me being traded when I was in Kansas City. To me, it was thinking it might be today. Tomorrow might be the day. It’s not fun coming wondering like that every day to the ballpark.”
Later today, according to Newsday’s David Lennon, Beltran updated his remarks.
“It was. Not anymore,” Beltran said when asked if it was still a distraction. “Like I said, before all the rumors about Willie being fired and all that, it is a distraction. You try not to think about it, but it’s still in the clubhouse because people talk about it. Right now they said that he’s going to be with us. We don’t want to talk about it anymore and we don’t want to hear about it anymore. It’s all about us playing better baseball.”
This puts into words what many of us have expected, that the team feels more pressure because of the extra media attention and the fact that their manager might not be with them tomorrow. It seems that they are pushing too hard to compensate, and the results on the field are visible. It goes to show that you can put a talented team together, but if the dynamic isn’t right in the clubhouse, it’s going to show on the field. I think this team can—and will—win, but it’s going to take a sustained stretch of good, solid play to convince these guys that they are a winning bunch. Ron Darling said it perfectly in last night’s broadcast, it starts with winning the first game of a series, then winning the series, then suddenly you’re winning more games than you are losing. In a division that is this close, it only takes a couple weeks of winning play to turn the tide. And if there is a team that has the talent to make a run in the NL East, it’s the Mets.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Carlos Beltran, Mets, NL East, Ron Darling, Willie Randolph
Mets Injury Notes
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Pedro Martinez is slated to return June 3 against the San Francisco Giants, according to MLB.com. Martinez will make a start with Class-A St. Lucie this Wednesday and then rejoin the team if all goes well.
Ryan Church has not recovered from his second concussion of the year, and, according to Gary Cohen on last night’s broadcast, was seriously affected by the flight from Atlanta to Denver last week. He’ll see a neurologist today.
Lastly, Marlon Anderson will have an MRI performed after injuring his leg last week.
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Marlon Anderson, Mets, NL East, Pedro Martinez, Ryan Church
Mike Pelfrey should be demoted
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Terrible start for Big Pelf tonight, as he went just 4 innings, giving up 6 earned on 8 hits (including a home run), striking out 2 and walking 3 on 104 pitches (that’s quite a few for just 4 innings of work). It’s clear that Pelfrey just doesn’t have what it takes to start right now in the majors. I personally would be in favor of reinventing him as a reliever (he only has a couple pitches, including a fairly dominant fastball). But obviously that’s not going to happen on a Mets team that desperately needs starting pitching. So in that case, in my opinion, Pelfrey should be demoted to Triple-A.
Here are Pelfrey’s stats on the year: 2-5, 4.93 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 21 BB, 21 SO
I think if Claudio Vargas has another good start, Pelfrey is the one to go when Pedro Martinez returns to the rotation. If not, the Mets could and should be in the market for some additional arms, possibly including Freddie Garcia, who is expected to pitch after the All-Star Break.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Claudio Vargas, Freddie Garcia, Mets, Mike Pelfrey, NL East, Pedro Martinez
Beast (and least) of the East
May 27, 2008 · No Comments
Congrats to Chipper Jones, who becomes the second-ever two-time Beast of the East.
And shame on you Brett Myers, you’re the least of the week.
Categories: NL East
Tagged: Beast of the East, Brett Myers, Chipper Jones, Least of the week, NL East
