7-26 from: - link - The funniest part about this whole proposed-trade is that, if it happened straight-up three-for-three, the Mets would probably be the winners. Winners, though, only in the sense that they'd have cleared some bad contracts in preparation of building next year's roster. If you bother to consider next year's payroll obligations--Bay for $18M, Beltran for $20M, Rodriguez for $12M, Cora for $2M--it's apparent that having a few extra million or ten was never this team's problem. This trade would just be two organizations flaunting their ignorance to the rest of the baseball world, taking their three biggest failures each and putting them on a pedestal. I'm just worried they might try to swap urinal cakes too, but hit a snag when Kauffman's are discovered to come from a cheaper distributer.
7-26 from: - link - Billy Wagner, Atlanta - After a couple of scorching weeks, Wagner was due to cool down. The veteran closer gave up two runs, including a homer, over the past seven days. In 2.2 innings (over three games), Wagner gave up three hits but did not walk a batter and he struck out two. All his trouble came in one game against San Diego on July 21 so there is really no reason for concern; prior to the blow-up, Wagner had gone eight games without allowing a run.
7-26 from: - link - Jonathon Niese – In his last three starts, Niese has a 3.20 ERA with 18 Ks in 19.2 IP but is 0-2. He has had some gopher ball troubles in that span, allowing 5 HR during that stretch. But he has two home outings, where he has allowed just 4 HR in 55.2 IP. Niese has been pitching very well, and if he can avoid serving up homers, he should be able to come away with a Win this week to support his strong showing in the other categories.
7-26 from: - link - Pitchers often protest being taken out. I'd guess it happens to some degree in at least half of the games. But it was the nature of Dickey's protest that was unusual. He did everything short of chain himself to the pitching rubber to stay out there. On Manuel's second visit (the first trip included the trainer, so Dickey wasn't bound by rule to leave), the discussion lasted more than 90 seconds. That's forever in mound talk time. First, Dickey tried talking Manuel into letting him stay. Then, he tried talking the trainer into letting him stay. When Manuel made the call to the pen, Dickey appeared to try talking umpire Dana DeMuth into letting him stay. Dickey appeared to be swearing at the world as he and the trainer walked back to the dugout. The best part of the whole scene might have been watching the ump observe the conversation up close. Usually, umpires go out there to break up the talk, to keep a team from stalling for time, etc. But that's not what was happening. Good thing Joe West wasn't behind the plate.
7-13 from: - link - Niesen has an intriguing arm and made some strides with his strikeout rate last year, giving me some hope that he could make it as a reliever eventually. But don't be fooled by that ERA; he's actually taken a step back this season. He's had little command, with both his strikeout rate and his walk rate—never his strength—going in the wrong directions. Whenever a pitcher walks more than he strikes out, it's a bad sign. Second, his BABIP has been a very lucky .260. And third, he's not a ground ball pitcher, so he's also been lucky in terms of the home run in all likelihood. There is a possible reason for his troubles: he did get beaned earlier in the year when Mike Nickeas hit him in the head on a throw to second. But it's not enough of an excuse to keep his stock from dropping.
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