link - The Evil Player program selected Fernando Tatis as Sunday’s evil player. Tatis is not particularly evil, but was cursed with an evil series of injuries that sapped his ability to hit. His age 24 season was his best, but by age 26, the injuries started coming, and drove him out of baseball by 2004. He later returned to do good: Tatís would not play professionally for two seasons, instead spending time with his family in the Dominican Republic. The impetus for Tatís to return to baseball lay in his desire to build a church in his hometown of San Pedro de Macorís. Soon after he told his family of his plans, the Baltimore Orioles signed Tatís to a minor-league contract on November 25, 2005. He played most of the season for their AAA affiliate, the Ottawa Lynx, eventually playing in 28 games for the Orioles after being recalled on July 21, 2006. In 2007, Tatís was invited to Los Angeles Dodgers spring training. Tatís was granted his request for a release on March 14 after being assigned to minor-league camp. Nine days later, he signed a minor-league contract with the New York Mets, and he spent the whole 2007 season with their AAA affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs. Before Tatís began his most recent stint in the majors with the Mets, the church he was saving for had been built. Unfortunately, his good deed could not banish the injury curse, and he’s currently on the disabled list for the remainder of the season with a bad shoulder.
link - Luis Castillo's walkoff single sends the Mets past the Marlins, giving the sputtering offense (2.8 runs per game this month) the rare highlight. It's just Castillo's second hit since August 4; he's just 2-for-18 since then while starting five of 18 games, hitting .237/.337/.275 overall. As bad as that line is, it dwarfs the .167/.264/.203 performance of rookie Ruben Tejada, who's usurped Castillo's playing time because, you know, "youth movement." Throw in the mercifully released Alex Cora and you've got an execrable .218/.299/.269 performance from the team's second basemen, good for an OPS 55 points lower than that of any other major-league team. Castillo has still got one year at $6 million remaining on his deal; he's compiled all of 3.3 WARP through the first three years of his deal ($19 million).
link - Braves closer Billy Wagner became the all-time leader in strikeouts by a left-handed reliever Friday night, but he wanted no part in any celebration of it in a 7-1 loss to the Marlins. Wagner reached 1,170 strikeouts for his career by striking out Mike Stanton for the first out of the ninth inning to pass Jesse Orosco. But when his accomplishment was listed on the video board and umpire Tim McClellan tried to stop the game, with catcher David Ross motioning for Wagner to throw in the ball, he refused. “I said ‘We’re getting our (butts) kicked, it’s raining, let’s go,” said Wagner, who was in the game only to get some work in because he hadn’t pitched in a week. “It’s stupid. Who in their right mind makes a big deal out of doing something they’re supposed to do in the first place? I’m out there pitching in a (bad) game; we’re getting our butt kicked. It’s not worth it to make a big deal out of that. That’s embarrassing.” Wagner kept pitching with that ball while walking Logan Morrison. Then at one point, the next batter – Hanley Ramirez – fouled the ball down the left field line. Wagner picked it up and tossed his milestone ball into the crowd.
link - Carlos Beltran does have a full no-trade clause, but he indicated it would not necessarily be an obstacle. Of course, it will be difficult to move him – and any portion of his $18.5-million salary for next season – if he does not show considerable improvement in the coming weeks. But if the Mets approach him this offseason with a trade proposal, Beltran will listen. “I have to,” he said. “I have to do what’s best for me and they have to do what’s best for them. I want to win. I want to win a championship before I’m gone from this game, so I have to listen to them and what they have to say. If it works for everybody, then it works for everybody. Right now, I’m not thinking about that. Let’s just hope next year we can be better.”
link - I voted for Jenrry Mejia in the Bonehead Decision Poll. I thought it very unwise to promote him to the majors with so little minor league experience, and I didn't see the point of using him as a middle reliever when there were 20 guys you could pop out of Triple-A for cheap who could do at least an average job. Putting your best minor league arm at development risk for a middle relief spot seemed quite short-sighted to me.
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