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He was the team’s first round draft selection in 2002. From AP-
The Red Sox acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins Thursday in exchange for left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.
Hermida, 25, hit .259 with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs over 129 games with the Marlins in 2009 and set a career high with 56 walks. The left-handed hitter appeared in 81 games (73 starts) in right field and 51 (40 starts) in left. He made just one error in 205 total chances for a .995 fielding percentage, sixth among qualifying National League outfielders. He appeared in only three games after Aug. 31 because of an intercostal strain on his right side.
What the move means
ESPN’s Peter Gammons thinks the Red Sox’s acquisition of left fielder Jeremy Hermida gives them flexibility. Story
Hermida, Florida’s first-round pick (11th overall) of the 2002 draft, has a .265 career batting average with 57 homers and 210 RBIs in 516 games.
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Jones, 25, made his major league debut this season with Boston and appeared in 11 games in relief. The left-hander posted a 9.24 ERA with the Red Sox, compiling nine strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. In 36 relief outings with Triple-A Pawtucket, he was 4-3 with two saves and a 4.25 ERA. The Red Sox signed Jones as an undrafted free agent out of the Cape Cod League.
The 20-year-old Alvarez combined to go 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 16 walks in 26 games (12 starts) between Class A Salem and Short-A Lowell in 2009. He led the New York-Penn League with a 1.52 ERA while recording eight wins over 14 outings (12 starts) with Lowell. Signed by the Red Sox as a nondrafted free agent on July 2, 2005, Alvarez has compiled a 23-15 record and a 3.21 ERA in 76 career minor league appearances (48 starts) in the Red Sox system.
As usual with ninety percent of the trades made by the Marlins, the main motivation is monetary not the talent received for the player they are trading. Hermida was eligible for salary arbitration this off season.
Hermida after a good start to his pro career has been disappointing the last two years. Alvarez sounds like a good prospect, Evans on the other hand is 25 which is a late age(but not unheard of) to be trying to establish themselves as a MLB pitcher. The Marlins may come out all right from this trade but we won’t know for a few years.
He also finished the night with 16 strikeouts, a team record. From AP-
Florida Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out nine consecutive batters against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, one short of the major league record.
The streak ended with a leadoff double by Adam LaRoche in the sixth inning, and Nolasco finished with a club-record 16 strikeouts. After throwing more than 120 pitches, he was lifted by manager Fredi Gonzalez with two outs in the eighth. The Marlins were leading 5-2.
The big league record for consecutive strikeouts in a game is 10 by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver for the New York Mets on April 22, 1970, against San Diego.
Seaver struck out 19 in that game at Shea Stadium, including his final 10 batters in a 2-1 victory.
The Mets were my favorite team while I was growing up on Long Island. I watched that 1970 game on television. The 19th strikeout was a outfielder named Al Ferrara.
He hopes to be back playing in the major leagues before the 2009 season is completed. From AP-
Aaron Boone is back playing baseball, appearing in a minor league game in Texas less than five months after open-heart surgery.
Boone batted second Monday night for the Corpus Christi Hooks, a Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. He swung at the first pitch and popped up to the first baseman in foul territory. Boone played third base against Midland and was hitless in two at-bats before leaving the game.
“It felt good to get out there and play in a real game,” Boone told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “I felt good physically. I always have nerves whether it’s a spring training game or my first game in Corpus.
“I was excited tonight. I think it went really well. I had a couple of balls come my way and got to face pitching for the first time in a long, long time. A little overwhelming, but a necessary step on the way back.”
The 36-year-old Boone had an operation in late March because of a congenital defect in his aortic valve.
Boone is perhaps best remembered for his game 7 winning homerun in the 2003 ALCS. He was a favorite player of mine during the 2001 Star Tournament season. I platooned him with Eric Chavez at both the Fort Lauderdale and Fall Orlando tournaments where I each finished 2nd.
It sounds as if Boone was born with a bicuspid heart valve and had AVR(Aortic Valve replacement) surgery. Something I have more than a passing familiarity with. I had AVR performed on me one year ago this week. Boone is stronger than me, I don’t know if I would be swinging a baseball bat so soon. I wish him well in his recovery and comeback.
He is one of the last original Florida Marlins to still be playing in the Major Leagues. From AP-
The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired Cincinnati right-hander David Weathers for a player to be named later.
Weathers is 3-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 43 games. He pitched one inning and got the win in Friday’s 10-5 comeback win over the San Francisco Giants.
The 39-year-old reliever starts his second stint with Milwaukee. He previously pitched for the Brewers from 1998-2001.
Weathers, who first came up with Toronto in 1991, is still putting up decent numbers. Anyone want to take a guess how much longer he can keep on pitching in the majors?
He broke the record held by Carlton Fisk. From AP-
Ivan Rodriguez was praised by fans and teammates Wednesday night for becoming the all-time leader in games caught.
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Rodriguez, who began his career at age 19 in 1991 and played 12 seasons in Texas, caught his 2,227th game to break Carlton Fisk’s record.
“I’m tickled for Pudge,” Cooper said. “It’s great he was able to break the record. But it’s unfortunate that it didn’t happen on a good night for us.”
Rodriguez received numerous ovations from the Rangers crowd, but also had his first two-error game since Aug. 26, 2004, and sixth in his career. Both of his miscues led to runs.
Pudge’s rifle arm has been prone to miscues. He totaled double digit amounts of errors in three seasons.
Catcher is the most demanding position position on the baseball field. It puts a lot of wear on a player’s feet, back, etc. That’s why 2,000 games at the position is a huge amount, and why many catchers(Anyone remember iron man Randy Hundley) begin breaking down at half or more the amount of games Pudge played.
This takes place the day after the Florida Marlins shell the veteran righty. From AP-
The Milwaukee Brewers made big changes to their thin bullpen on Tuesday.
One day after reliever Jorge Julio allowed five runs while facing six batters in the sixth inning of Milwaukee’s 7-4 loss to the Florida Marlins, the Brewers released the right-hander.
Julio entered Monday night’s game in Miami with Milwaukee leading 4-2. He gave up two hits, hit two batters, walked one and another reached on an error. Signed to a one-year, $950,000 deal in the offseason, Julio was let go Tuesday after going 1-1 with a 7.79 ERA in 15 appearances.
The Brewers called up right-hander Mike Burns from Triple-A Nashville. Burns was 6-2 with a 2.98 ERA for the Sounds.
Milwaukee’s manager says the bullpen is thin. Which it is, particularly after David Riske was lost for the season after elbow surgery.
Julio, who has played for eight ML teams since 2001, throws very hard. Something baseball managers like. I expect a ninth team to take a chance on him before the 2009 season is over. Perhaps even by the 4th of July.
The once promising rookie pitcher who threw a no-hitter in 2006, looks like he has permanent pitching arm woes. From AP-
Florida Marlins right-hander Anibal Sanchez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of a sprained right shoulder.
The Marlins made the move before the start of a six-game trip in Colorado. The injury forced Sanchez from Thursday’s game against Atlanta in the fifth inning.
Sanchez had shoulder surgery in June 2007 and returned last July. As a rookie in 2006 he went 10-3 and threw a no-hitter against Arizona, but he’s 1-4 this season with an ERA of 5.79.
Marlins Manager Fredi Gonzalez said team officials initially feared one of four tacks used to stabilize Sanchez’s shoulder had come loose and were relieved when doctors determined the surgical repair remained intact. Still, Gonzalez said Sanchez likely will be sidelined until after the All-Star break.
A simple shoulder sprain shouldn’t bench a pitcher for two months. Unless Florida is being careful. The Marlins starting pitching has been woeful this year, none of them chalked up a win for 20 straight games before last night’s affair.
He became the 25th player in baseball history to reach that milestone. From AP-
Gary Sheffield crossed home plate and thrust his arms in the air after unleashing his 500th homer with another vicious swing, and then the surly slugger was humbled by the site of his new Mets teammates pouring out of the dugout.
Sheffield was greeted with hugs and high fives after becoming the 25th player to reach the milestone with a tying homer in the seventh inning Friday. The party switched focus in the bottom of the ninth when Luis Castillo hit a two-out, run-scoring single to give the Mets a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
“I was so excited that, you know, when I looked over to the dugout, those were the guys,” said Sheffield, who signed with New York on April 4 after being released by Detroit four days earlier. “I appreciate every one of those guys. They’ve been very special to me.”
Last night’s homer came against the franchise Sheffield started his career with. He was drafted by Milwaukee in 1986.
Should Sheffield be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame one day? Besides his home runs, he has a career .292 batting average but more impressively a .394 career on base percentage. There is no question, Sheffield has been an offensive machine for two decades. The case against his induction is fairly strong. Sheffield has been a defensive liability his entire career, has had behavioral and discipline problems on and off the field, and as a result traveled extensively. Not too many HOFers have played for eight teams in their career.
Tim Kurkjian of ESPN writes-
Sheffield was not named in the Mitchell report, but in his testimony before a grand jury in the BALCO case in 2003, he acknowledged using “the cream” and “the clear,” but said he didn’t know they were steroids at the time. Still, that admission raises questions about steroid use even though he has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. From 1988-98, he had two 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons. From 1999-on, which appears to be the height of the steroid era, he had seven straight years of 25 homers, and six of his eight 100-RBI seasons.
Sheffield’s case is a tricky one. He has always played hard, he has often helped his team win, and he has been a middle-of-the-order hitter in the postseason with three different organizations, including a world championship team (the 1997 Marlins). He is not DiMaggio, obviously. He is not Schmidt, Griffey or Yastrzemski. Despite having similar numbers, he is not even close to being Frank Robinson, all things considered.
The marks against him are noticeable and troublesome, but his numbers — especially 500 home runs — are very impressive. His case is debatable, but I believe he’s a Hall of Famer.
His drug use is another factor to weigh for Sheffield. Should all players caught up in that scandal be excluded from the HOF? I don’t have a vote on who goes to Cooperstown, if I did, I don’t know if I would vote for Sheffield.
He took the fish to an 84-77 record and Sporting News National League Manager of year honors in 2008. From the Palm Beach Post-
Then came an unexpected but welcome zinger from team President David Samson: The Marlins had signed manager Fredi Gonzalez to a two-year contract extension through 2011.
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Gonzalez was entering the final year of a three-year, $1.5 million contract that he signed after the Marlins fired Joe Girardi following the 2006 season. The extension, agreed to Saturday, means Marlins players can look forward to three more years of stability.
“It’s a smart move by the front office,” All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla said. “I think it’s very important to have the same guy around. He starts to get a feel for the ballclub. It all starts with him. He’s our leader.”
Gonzalez, The Sporting News National League manager of the year in 2008 for guiding Florida to an 84-77 record and a 13-win improvement with the league’s lowest payroll, said he didn’t know about the extension until he was called into owner Jeffrey Loria’s office Saturday.
I wouldn’t place any money on Gonzalez still being with the team at the end of 2011. For one thing, Florida has has ten managers in its 16 year existence. One of those managers, John Boles, did two stints in the job. Rene Lacheman has lasted the longest in the job, 3.5 years.
Another thing- Jeffrey Loria hasn’t shown himself to be very stable between his constant threats to take the Marlins out of South Florida if a new stadium isn’t built, to his firing Joe Girardi for no other reason than a personality clash. Loria’s ego matters more than success on the field for the Marlins, and Gonzalez will sooner or later fall prey to this nut owner.
Would the thrifty MLB franchise really release a player because they don’t want to pay him $900,000? From the Palm Beach Post-
Treanor, Florida’s opening day catcher in 2008, was released late Wednesday night after the Marlins gave up on their fruitless efforts to trade him.
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“Being released, yes, it’s shocking,” he said. “It’s been a long time with the club. I wish I could have stayed with the same team until I finished my career but it’s the nature of the game and I can’t let this hold me down.”
Treanor, who often referred to himself last summer as “Mr. Misty May,” was one of the most affable players to wear a Marlins uniform, despite a career .237 batting average with eight home runs and 70 RBI.
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But Treanor was made expendable because he was projected to make $900,000 in arbitration, a price the Marlins didn’t want to spend on a journeyman backup coming off a sports hernia operation. By releasing Treanor, the Marlins freed up a spot on their 40-man roster for a few hours.
Lets look at the type of performance Florida could have gotten from Treanor
.237 Batting Average
.322 OBP
.317 Slugging percentage
5 Home Runs
41 RBI
Those are his full season averages. If Treanor had over 400 AB in a season. Something he hasn’t even come close to.
No power, low batting average, below average On base percentage. I don’t blame Florida for cutting him, and can understand why there were no takers for Treanor’s services.
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