Washington Nationals
Great job by the Nats on doing what it takes to get Stephen Strasburg to sign his name on the dotted line. It’s good news all the way around. To honor the occasion, the Nats are offering 2,000 tickets for just one buck a piece to catch a glimpse of baseball’s newest phenom on Friday. Before their game against the Brewers, the Nats will have an on-filed press conference to introduce number one overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg. Mike Rizzo was given the job of being the Washington Nationals general manager earlier this season after the team got rid of Jim Bowden earlier this season, but he did so with the interim tag. Well, after Rizzo negotiated to just about the last minute to sign Stephen Strasburg he got one heck of a thank you. Word broke last night from Yahoo!’s Gordon Edes that the Nationals were about to replace Rizzo with Arizona Diamondbacks vice president Jerry DiPoto.
Atlanta Braves
Ryan Church made it very clear that he didn’t appreciate recent comments from New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel that inferred Church was soft. Manuel said Wright was a “different animal” than Church, who missed much of last season with New York following a pair of concussions. Church took exception to it. I just wish these guys would stop denying there’s no bad blood between them, but that said let’s just move on and play ball. Martin Prado left Tuesday’ game against the Mets after experiencing what was termed “sudden onset headache” in his first-inning at-bat against the Mets. The Braves don’t know what is wrong with Prado, who has had dizziness and headaches since Saturday.
Florida Marlins
The NY Post believes that Gary Sheffield could be on the move and that the marlins could be a good fit. Sheffield, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs in the Mets’ eight-run, 10-hit fourth inning, has been taking care of himself and his teammates all season. He’s batting .290 with 10 homers and 43 RBIs in 245 at-bats. He certainly would be a formidable weapon for a contender in need of a right-handed bat. According to industry sources, Florida and Texas are in search of such a commodity. As an NL team, the Marlins, for whom Sheffield played from 1993 to 1998, would get their shot at a claim before the Rangers. Hanley Ramirez singled in the first inning last night to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. During the streak Ramirez is 30 for 64 with 13 RBI. Ricky Nolasco gave up a two-run home run to Carlos Lee with two outs in the first inning, then retired the next 23 straight batters before allowing an infield single with one out in the ninth. He struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter in his second complete game of the season and fifth by a Marlins pitcher this season.
Philadelphia Phillies
Cliff Lee has adjusted quite nicely to the NL. He is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in three starts since the Phillies acquired him July 29 in a trade with the Indians. He has allowed 16 hits, three runs and six walks in 24 innings. He has struck out 24. Opponents have hit just .193 against him. We’ll get a look at him this weekend when he shows the Mets what they missed out on. The Phillies have a 1.92 ERA on their road trip, including a 1.08 bullpen ERA. They had a 2.87 ERA in their previous 30 games. Brett Myers rehab appearance on Saturday was pushed back because he had a swollen eye. He first claimed that he injured his eye while playing catch with his 4 year old son. A day later, he said that he fell out of his truck and landed face flat. Then a story broke that was at a bar with his wife and friends, and an altercation broke out.
