Fan News

Admit it: you don't know if J.A. Happ's name is "Jay" or "J.A." Despite the fact that his name is clearly listed in every scorecard, box score, and recap as "J.A.', announcers uniformly refer to him as "Jay Happ."

Happ is hardly the first baseball player in major league history to have a name that befuddles fans and sportscasters alike.

This is getting to be the same story repeated over and over. On May 26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jimenez went eight scoreless innings in a 7-3 win. He probably could have pitched through the ninth inning, but he had thrown 101 pitches already so better safe than sorry. Still, with Rafael Betancourt messing up the shutout maybe Jimenez should have stayed in.

After 10 starts, Jimenez has a sub-0.90 ERA, a 9-1 record, a WHIP below 1.000, and while it's not a league leading stat, his 61 strikeouts are nothing to sneeze at.

Prepping for a trip to the Midwest, the Wishman family is getting ready to do something they have been doing for the past 16 years: Visit ballparks.

“Part of the fun of going to all the parks is comparing them to one another,” said Jeff Wishman during a four-way phone call.

NEW YORK— For the second consecutive game, the Mets shutout the two-time defending National League champion Phillies. For the second consecutive start, Hisanori Takahashi shined for the Mets.

Zach Miner.....does that name even ring a bell to anyone? Certainly not in 2010. Ok, you might remember him from such exciting shows as Imploding 'Pen 2009 and Fail 'Pen 2008. 

Miner is an everyman reliever and sometime starter most notable for not being notable. The story is always the same—average stuff, below average strikeout rate, above average walk rate, never an exceptional outing, and usually pitches as if he belongs on the trash heap.

Originally posted on Midwestropolitan .

Much has been said about the last three spots in the starting rotation for the New York Mets.

Throughout the off-season, spring training, and the beginning of the season, there have been many questions.

During the majority of this process, Hisanori Takahashi has quietly taken the mound when asked and has pitched effectively.

This year, the Detroit Tigers are capable of great things in all facets of the game: regular season, post-season, as well as the All-Star Weekend.

The Tigers have the potential to send four players to Angels Stadium in Anaheim to compete like they did in 2009, despite losing two All-Star players last year (Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson).

However, the two Tiger All-Stars retained from last year are up for re-election. See who else in the race.

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How far into the season is it fair to sit down, and really take a hard look at a players statistics? Depends who you ask. The New York media would like to put that somewhere around the fifth inning of opening day. Most fans really start to pay attention a month into the season. Statically speaking, a full season, perhaps two, is ideal. But we’re impatient. Baseball moves too fast. In my opinion, after about two months, it’s fair to at least start looking at where players stand.

Of course, we all know who’s leading the Majors in what.

The Mets surprised the critics by playing .500 baseball for most of April and early May. They highlighted their April run by taking three of four against the Cubs and sweeping the Braves and the Dodgers in their homestand.

Life was good for Jerry Manuel. He needed it to survive April. No one was talking about his managerial future after that.

Just because you’ve slipped behind in the Stolen Base category doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.  Here are some reasonably available SB threats.