Quick Hits

☛ Lucas Duda: Remember the name. Yesterday he accomplished something only five other Buffalo Bisons have ever done.

☛ The Cyclones lost to the Yankees 2-1 in 10. Leftfielder Will Cherry might not be with the team much longer if he continues striking out so much. Yesterday, in five at bats, he struck out four times. In 40 at bats he's struck out a team-leading 15 times. He's hitting .200. In contrast, in 2009, Cherry's final season playing for the Florida Southern Moccasins, he hit .370. In 154 at bats he struck out only 33 times. There, his slugging percentage of .727 plus his on-base percentage of .465 gave him an OPS of 1.192, more than double his current OPS with the Cyclones of .588. Is playing in the NY-Penn League that much harder than playing in the Sunshine State Conference?

☛ The Mets pulled out a victory yesterday thanks to Ruben Tejada's smarts. Closer Francisco Rodriguez was struggling to end the game. Luckily, with two outs and a runner on second, shortstop Tejada signaled for a pickoff play. The play worked. Game over. Mets won.

2010 Topps Baseball Card # 416 Ruben Tejada RC - TBD ( RC - Rookie Card ) MLB Trading Card in Protective Screwdown Case!

☛ The Kingsport Mets accumulated 22 hits, shellacking Pulaski 13-1. Outfielder ZeErika McQueen led the hit parade, going 5 for 5. He's now hitting .400 with an OPS of .914. The Mets drafted McQueen in the 29th round in 2009's June draft.

Minor League Baseball Cap - Kingsport Mets Home Cap by New Era (6 7/8)

☛ Bobby Parnell's comeback continues. In yesterday's Nats game, he had another successful outing, pitching another hitless inning. Since his promotion from the minors, he has pitched in seven games, allowing only one earned run while striking out nine.

Perez can't stop Reds from crossing plate

Oliver Perez's performance today demonstrates once again Minaya's foolishness in giving Perez a three-year contract worth $36 million when there was no bidding war for his services. Hopefully, not all that money's guaranteed, for when it is, Minaya's been inclined to keep such players on the roster even when the team would be better off without them.

Yesterday, in 4.1 innings, Perez gave up five hits, five walks, and eight runs, throwing 100 pitches. That's far from a professional performance, quite unlike Derek Lowe's performance in his opening-day start.

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In Buffalo, the Bisons opened their season with this starting lineup:

Malo 2B (25)
Coronado SS (22)
Martinez, F DH (20)
Evans 1B (23)
Kielty RF (32)
Feliciano, J LF (29)
Santos, O C (27)
Sullivan CF (29)
Mackowiak 3B (32)
Niese P (22)

The number in parentheses is the player's age. It also reveals weak spots in the Mets organization: The average age of the starting Bison outfielders is 30, and the starting catcher is 27.

Unfortunately, the Bisons flubbed their opener, losing 6-4 to Pawtucket. Bison starter Jonathon Niese did even worse than did the Mets Oliver Perez. In two innings Niese yielded five hits, three walks, and five runs. The good news is that his 22.50 ERA will get lower as the season progresses.