Come on, admit it… At one time or another you made a joke about Daniel Murphy at second base since the day he took over the position once Jose Reyes was not re-signed and Ruben Tejada slid over to shortstop. Was the criticism harsh and often times deserved? Maybe… Maybe not… Ok, yes it was… But seeing is believing and when I mentioned how much better Murphy has been...
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A member of the SABR once said, “There are 499 ballplayers. And then there’s Willie Mays.” It was way back in the summer of 1973. Camera Day. I was a few months shy of turning 8 years old. My dad nudged me closer to the railing along the third base line so no grown-ups would block my view. Mets players walked around the warning track, stopping every few feet to smile for the cameras. My dad...
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Ever since Lucas Duda burst into our consciousness in 2010, nobody has been satisfied with his plate approach. Too many strikeouts and not enough walks, I frequently wrote. He gives away too many at-bats. He tries to pull too much and doesn’t use the entire field. All valid in the early Duda critique. Now, unbelievably, he’s become too selective, too patient at the plate. No matter how hard I...
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Updated on May 7 Zack Wheeler turned in his second straight strong outing with Triple-A Las Vegas, limiting Sacramento to three hits and a walk in six scoreless innings Sunday. Sandy Alderson has suggested Wheeler needs to turn in a string of positive starts before promotion consideration is made. That said, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York speculates that Wheeler could make his MLB debut when the...
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St. Lucie 6, Daytona 2 It was a good day for Hansel Robles, who retired the 12 Cubs that he faced en route to his third victory of the 2013 campaign. Robles went five solid innings and allowed just two hits over that span, striking out five and walking none. He struck out the side to open the game. The only run he allowed crossed the plate in the fifth, where allowed a triple to Jorge Soler and...
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