Pelfrey Again Pitches Poorly

☛ Once again, the Mets are playing discouraging baseball. Last night, Mike Pelfrey's performance makes me suspect that there's something wrong with him. In his last 10 outings, his ERA has jumped from 2.23 to 4.10. With the Mets now one game above .500 and Bay on the DL, their recent play has cast a dark cloud over the season.

☛ Fortunately, Wally Backman and the Cyclones continue to do well, though I doubt that even Backman can win with the cast that Minaya's assembled in Queens. Last night, the Cyclones buried Aberdeen 11-3. Brooklyn batters got 14 hits led by Rylan Sandoval and Blake Forsythe. Each had three hits. Unfortunately, two Cyclone outfielders who appeared in yesterday's game continue to struggle at the plate. Kurt Steinhauer's hitting .186; Will Cherry's hitting .198. In addition, outfielder Cody Holliday is only batting .194. It's interesting that on a team with five outfielders, only two of them are hitting above .200. The only other non-pitcher hitting below .200 is catcher Taylor Freeman, who's batting .170.

Cherry's been having the most trouble making contact, striking out 27 times in 86 at bats or almost once in every three at bats. If Cherry, a right-handed hitter, could face more lefties, his average would likely be much higher. This season, against lefties he's hitting .280 whereas, against righties, he's hitting .164. Strangely, in away games he's hitting much higher than in home games, .237 versus .111. His 2010 OBP is .245.

In contrast, Steinhauer, also a right-handed hitter, is struggling against both righties and lefties, hitting .231 and .118 respectively. His OBP is .208. This is Steinhauer's second season of pro ball. Last season with the GCL Mets and Kingsport he averaged .328.

Cody Holliday also is in his second season of pro ball; however, in 2009 he didn't have Steinhauer's success with the bat. Playing for the GCL Mets, Holliday hit .175. This season with the Cyclones, Holliday, a left-handed batter is hitting .200 against righties and .143 against lefties. However, in home games he's hitting .310, almost three times more than in away games. His OBP with Brooklyn is .280.