Baseball

The 2007 first year player draft was very pitcher-heavy, but with the exception of the No. 1 overall selection, some of the biggest names to come out of it were actually position players.

A total of 18 pitchers were called in the first round alone, led by Vanderbilt graduate David Price, but there was good overall depth in the draft, especially through the first three rounds.

How many GMs do you think are out there right now still kicking themselves that Jason Heyward fell to No. 14?

According to Andy Martino of the NY Daily News, the Mets are not interested in new free agent pitchers Dontrelle Willis, formerly of the Tigers, and Nelson Figueroa, formerly of the Phillies.

If chicks did the long ball, there's not going to be a whole lot of love if your team is squaring off against the Mets.

For all of the questions about Jerry Manuel's rotation coming into the season, it has been an unlikely group of pitchers who have helped New York remain in contention in a highly competitive NL East.

Every team has their faults in the division, and with no one team running away with things one-third of the way through the year, it is as wide open as it has ever been.

Fernando Nieve is starting against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight and because he hasn’t started since last July and has primarily been a reliever throughout his career I thought now would be a good time to go over his numbers as a starter.

Here are Nieve’s numbers against the Brewers:

4 G, 2 GS, 1-1 record, 5.11 ERA, 12.1 IP, 19 H, 7 ER, 4 HR, 3 BB, 10 K, 1.78 WHIP.

Here are his numbers as a starter:

Johan Santana and the Mets got in a pitcher’s duel agianst the Brewers yesterday, but lost 2-0 as Yovani Gallardo went the distance.

Here are some notes:

Making a list of the biggest surprises of the 2010 baseball season is risky considering how easy it is to leave a player or event off the list. Still there will be enough surprises to make up for any omissions.

Players

The biggest surprise to me is that Carlos Silva, who was 5-18 over his two seasons in Seattle, is the only pitcher among 18 pitchers with six or more wins to not have lost a game in 2010 with two more days left in the month of May.

The last time Edgardo Alfonzo was with the Mets organization was in 2006. That year he struggled in the minor leagues.

When it was clear he wasn’t going to have a chance to make it to Flushing, he departed for a brief stint with the Angels and then with the Blue Jays.

He lasted no more than 18 games with either team, and his combined OPS+ was minus-seven.

Ubaldo Jimenez has been pitching like he is from another planet this season. He won his ninth game yesterday, pitching eight scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks who fell to the Rockies by a 7-3 score.

His record now stands at 9-1 with a 0.88 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP all of which lead the NL. He has pitched a quality start in all 10 of his starts. He has allowed two earned runs only twice this season. He has allowed one earned run three times and he has held his opponents scoreless in the other five starts.

Not all of these pitchers are officially being shopped by their respective teams. In fact, it isn’t likely that all or even most of these pitchers will be traded.