THE Fiji men's baseball
side has made a huge impact on the International Baseball Federation (IBAF)
world rankings following its powerful performance at the Pacific Games in New
Caledonia last year. The "Fijian Latuis" remarkable performance has
Fiji ranked 62nd out of 76 countries that participated at IBAF sanctioned
tournaments. Fiji Islands Baseball and Softball Association (FIBSA) development
officer Inoke Niubalavu said after just 10 years in Fiji, baseball was
developing slowly every year and its performance in the past three Pacific
Games had enhanced its profile in the international arena. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=191792
Ryne Sandberg
didn’t
start his managerial career at the bottom as an act of nobility. The Hall of
Famer went to Class A ball because he didn’t have a choice. When Sandberg told
his old team, the Chicago Cubs, that he wanted to manage, they said they had an
opening at Peoria of the Midwest League. Sandberg gratefully took it and didn’t
think twice. Five seasons later Sandberg is still riding buses, still making
the long, slow climb to what he hopes is a managerial job in the big leagues. http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/other_mlb/view.bg?articleid=1398694&srvc=sports&position=recent
Although he only
appeared in 26 major league games, right-handed pitcher Les Mueller made quite an impression. Big things were predicted
ever since he was a lanky high school sensation from Illinois. As a senior in
1937, he averaged 18 strikeouts per game, which were 7 innings each. Many teams
were interested in him, but he chose to sign with the Detroit Tigers because
they offered a $5,000 bonus. Mueller’s best work came in a historic tie against
the Philadelphia Athletics. On July 21st, he went the first 19.2 innings of a
24 inning tie. When he came out with two down in the 20th inning, he had only
relinquished 1 unearned run and 13 hits, while facing a staggering 74 batters.
He later estimated that he threw 370 pitches in the herculean effort. When Tigers manager Steve O’Neill came out to
pull him for a reliever, Mueller reportedly said, “Gee, Steve, the game isn’t
over, is it?” No major league pitcher has ever thrown as many innings in one
game since http://networkedblogs.com/taEsa
The Tampa Bay Rays have
signed infielder Jeff Keppinger to a 1-year
major league deal, according to Jerry Crasnick. The deal is pending a physical,
adds Crasnick. The deal was rumored since Monday, when Crasnick tweeted the
initial interest by the Rays: •Twitter /
@jcrasnick - "Jeff Keppinger has agreed on a one-year big league deal with
#Rays, pending a physical, says a source." •Tampa Bay Rays Close To Signing Jeff
Keppinger - MLB Daily Dish The Tampa Bay Rays are close to signing infielder
Jeff Keppinger, according to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. This follows
the rumors from Monday (via Jerry Crasnick) that that club was interested in
acquiring him for infield utility purposes. http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2012/1/25/2735362/tampa-bay-rays-sign-jeff-keppinger-to-1-year-deal
Tsuyoshi Shinjo:
Shinjo, who was the second Japanese position player to play in the MLB (Ichiro being the first), had an impressive rookie season. He had 10 HRs, 56 RBIs and had a respectable batting average of .268. Along with that he had the fifth most outfield assists with 12, as well as 12 game-winning hits. He came up huge for the Mets time after time that year. Then Shinjo and Desi Relaford were traded to the SF Giants for pitcher Shawn Estes after the 2001 season. Shinjo had a disappointing season with the Giants in 2002, but he became the first Japanese player to play in the World Series. After the year he came back to Flushing for an encore in 2003. - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/791417-five-mets-who-you-might-or-might-not-remember-since-the-year-2000#/articles/791417-five-mets-who-you-might-or-might-not-remember-since-the-year-2000/page/5
Richard Lucas:
8-8-11: - http://www.brooklyncyclones.com/news/topstories/index.html?article_id=1204 - RICHARD LUCAS - Selected in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB Draft, the 21-year-old infielder has been one of the most consistent players in the New York-Penn League. Lucas ranks fifth in the league in hitting (.322), tied for fourth in hits (55), tied for third in extra-base hits (20) and leads the league with 36 runs scored. Lucas has reached base safely in 43 of his 46 games this season.
Jeff Keppinger:
8-9-11: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=14747 - Jeff Keppinger, San Francisco Giants (Yahoo! 9%, ESPN 4%, CBS 13%) - Keppinger continues to hit as he always has; he is now hitting .308/.343/.354 in San Francisco after batting .307/.320/.436 in Houston to start the season. Despite a .370/.400/.370 week at the plate, however, the Giants plated Keppinger only three times. In fact, Keppinger has only come around to score in 21 percent of his times on base while with San Francisco, well below his 29 percent career mark and the 36 percent rate he mustered with an equally poor Houston offense. The Giants' inability to bring him home is hurting a big part of his fantasy value as a counting stat machine. Still, he is not leaving VP for performance but rather because I feel he has been discussed enough on the VP list.
Jeff Francoeur:
Jeff Francoeur: .273/.324/.466, 15 HR, .344 wOBA 2.1 fWAR - Last Month: .261/.308/.442, 11 HR, .333 wOBA, 1.6 fWAR - Frenchy's surprisingly improve since early July, and his wOBA is his highest in a single season since his 274 plate appearances in 2005 with the Braves. From 2008 through 2010, Francoeur accumulated a grand total of 0.1 fWAR, but he could wind up with his second-best season by the metric if he keeps it up. If you're tempted to miss him, though, note that his 115 wRC+, which is park- and league-adjusted, ranks 15th out of 23 qualified right fielders. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/8/9/2353274/where-are-they-now-2010-mets-august-update
Lucas Duda:
8-10-11: - http://www.patrickfloodblog.com/2011/08/10/lucas-duda-sabermagician - When Duda came to the plate – eighth inning, with the Mets down one at home with runners on first and second – they had a 51.8% chance of winning the game according to Fangraphs. (That is, the Mets had a 51.8% chance of winning the game in a vacuum, if we ignore the quality of the teams, pitchers and batters.) After the Duda’s sacrifice bunt, the Mets’ chance of winning the game went up to 53.1%, a 1.3% increase. So on a basic level, Duda executed the percentage play.
Jeff Keppinger:
Let's discuss Keppinger first. He won't be a savior, but he will be an upgrade and he is arb eligibile for next year as well where he could fit well as depth. Offensively he is a high contact hitter with more walks than strikeouts in his career. He also will likely hit for a high batting average, though it will likely be pretty empty. He walks a little bit (career IsoD of .053) and very little power as he has a career SLG of .395 and an IsoP of .111, while playing most of his games in the bandbox parks of Cincinnati and Houston. Now this is not to say that he is bad-He is almost certainly better than Manny Burriss/Miguel Tejada/Bill Hall and is probably similar to a right handed version of Mike Fontenot. I think going forward the best middle infield the Giants can run out on the field is some combination of Keppinger, Fontenot, and Brandon Crawford, depending on the opposing pitcher's handedness and the GB rates of the Giants SP. - http://gmpotential.blogspot.com/
Hubie Brooks:
Brooks made his debut in 1980 and batted .309 with one home run and 10 RBI during his September call-up. He then became the Mets' starting third baseman for the next four seasons. In 1981, he batted .307 with four home runs and 38 RBI. In 1982, Brooks' average dropped to just .249 and he finished with only two home runs and 40 RBI. Despite batting .251 in 1983, Brooks became a more productive hitter, as shown by his five home runs and 58 RBI that year. Brooks finally started to turn the corner in 1984. He raised his average up to .283, hit 16 home runs and drove in 73 RBI as the Mets all of a sudden turned into a serious contender. - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/770405-new-york-mets-top-10-third-basemen-in-team-history#/articles/770405-new-york-mets-top-10-third-basemen-in-team-history/page/4
Jason Kipnis:
Indians purchased the contract of INF Jason Kipnis from Triple-A Columbus. Kipnis, 24, earned the promotion after batting .281/.363/.485 with 12 home runs, 12 stolen bases and 54 RBI in 90 games for the Columbus Clippers. He's likely to take over starting second base duties in Cleveland down the stretch and has immediate relevancy in mixed fantasy leagues. - http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/333890/baseball-headlines?r=1
Beltran Giants Update:
According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Giants and Mets are having difficulty matching up on a trade involving Carlos Beltran. The Giants are willing to assume most or all of the $6 million left on Beltran's contract, but won't give a high-end prospect in exchange for a rental. Of course, this won't help their chances of landing him. The Mets are hoping to land a top prospect, not salary relief, in a deal for Beltran. - http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/333890/baseball-headlines?r=1
Jordany Valdespin:
7-22-11: - Following minor leaguers is all about trying to find someone that will become a start in the majors. No one ever questioned Valdespin’s talent since the day he signed on as a Met. It was always his work ethics and attitude; however, it looks like the kid is becoming a man and may be a futre peg in the Mets infield some day. He’s batting .304 for Binghamton, with 13-HRs, and 29-SB. Make that .324 in the past 10 games.
