NL East

I know, I know. You’ve never heard of Tom Milone.

Shortly after securing their future long-term home, Marlins Ballpark, in Little Havana near Downtown Miami, the Marlins began their long-term deals with their marquee players. 

In 2008, the Marlins signed their all-star shortstop Hanley Ramirez to a six year, $70 million extension that goes through the 2014 season. It was their first such long-term deal since they signed first baseman Carlos Delgado to a five year deal in 2005. 

The Marlins continued that trend by locking up their ace, Josh Johnson to a four year extension worth $39 million in 2010. 

"We are better than this."

That was the message Mets players had on Tuesday at Citi Field, as the team looked to close the gap on NL East rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia.

"I think this is a first-place team if you ask me," Chris Carter told me. "You know what, we've been losing a lot of one-run ballgames, so we just need to find a way to score one or two more runs I think we'll be good."

The New York Mets might be 8.5 games out of first place in the National League East, but the players know that they are capable of turning the deficit around if they're given time.

Therein lies the kicker, though. The Mets are more than two-thirds of the way through their schedule and time just isn't something that is on their side. Still, they say, you can't stop believing now.

Jeurys Familia has been considered by some to be among the Mets top ten prospects.

Familia spent his first year in Rookie Ball and was very impressive. In 2008, he went 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 6.6 K/9 rate.

This was enough to earn him a spot in Single-A for the '09 season. At age 19, Familia impressed again. He went 10-6 with a 2.69 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a 7.3 K/9 rate.

According to this article, a fan who was injured in the face by a shattered maple bat has sued the Mets, the bat manufacturer, and players Luis Castillo (the batter) and Ramon Castro (the owner of the bat).  I’ve been waiting for this kind of a lawsuit for some time.

With the final out of a very long game against the San Diego Padres where the Diamondbacks were drummed 10-1, the team gathered their things and headed to the airport to make the trip to Milwaukee for a three-game series with the Brewers after which they will travel to the nation’s capital for a three-game series with the Nationals.

Earlier this season, many writers and fans, including myself, were wondering if Mike Pelfrey was an ace after his strong start to the year.

The question was certainty warranted as Pelfrey had gone 10-2 with one save after his first 15 starts. Pelfrey had posted a 2.71 ERA, a 1.85 K/BB rate, and held hitters to a .246 average over that period.

Since then, Pelfrey has done nothing but struggle. In his last seven starts, Pelfrey is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA. Pelfrey has an ugly 0.88 K/BB rate and has had hitters bat .437 against him over that span.

Yesterday I wrote that it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Philadelphia Phillies go out and acquire a first baseman if they thought Ryan Howard would be out longer than 15 days. I thought they would go out and get a player like Mike Lowell, Adam LaRoche, or Casey Kotchman.