Cutnpaste: - Wily Mo Pena, Jose Reyes, Rhiner Cruz, Plate Patience, Sports Writing

Wily Mo Pena:


When the Seattle Mariners picked up Wily Mo Pena late last month one thing was for sure -- he'd continue to hit moon shots, and strike out, and walk. He's done that with the Tacoma Rainiers, hitting a long ball in his first plate appearance with the organization -- that went an estimated 438 feet and he didn't even get all of it -- and he blasted two in Albuquerque Thursday Pena is likely to see the big leagues sometime this season -- if for nothing more than to marvel at his batting practice sessions, which are pretty epic and worth the price of admission - http://networkedblogs.com/lhKBn  


Jose Reyes:


Writes Andy Martino: One person familiar with the Mets' plans told the Daily News in June that "both" the money and length of a Crawford-type contract were unappealing to the team. With the trade deadline now passed and Reyes still a Met, that same person was asked this week if the thinking had evolved. "Nothing has changed," that person said, adding that the Mets were "still nervous about it." - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/31323/mets-morning-briefing-8-5-11  


Rhiner Cruz:


7-26-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/26/2287253/mets-mid-term-farm-system-review-2011-binghamton#storyjump  - RHP Rhiner Cruz - STOCK UP - Not exactly a household name and he didn't appear in the preseason Top 50, but the 25-year old Cruz is opening a lot of eyes by handling Double-A hitters to the tune of a .200 average against in his first go-around with Bingo. Specifically, it's the heater, which has gained a couple ticks and now tops out at 99mph, that will keep scouts interested in his exploits, good or bad. So far it's mostly been good but like many fireballers Cruz has a problem keeping it in the strike zone. Throughout his career he's posted BB/9 at or around 5 and this season has been no different. But if he can somehow figure that out he'll move real fast.


Plate Patience:


But it was the bottom of the eighth that infuriated me, and things like this will infuriate me until the end of time. One out, nobody on, Daniel Murphy walks on five pitches. Then David Wright works the count to 3-1 before singling to center. So that's 10 pitches, seven balls, two runners on courtesy of JonnyVenters. Now, if you're the next hitter, what do you do? Well, if you're sane, you take a pitch. But if you're Angel Pagan, you swing at the first pitch and fly to right. Then, if you're Jason Bay, you also swing at the first pitch and ground to second base to end the inning, and there was your ballgame. - http://www.metstradamusblog.com/2011-articles/august/blue-for-you.html  


Sports Writing:


Per Twitter: - HPbasketball Hardwood Paroxysm - by BFoley82 - sports writing is kind of nice in that you go to games to talk to players who hate you so you can write articles read by people who hate you