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.

Baseball's Back!

In the two openers I watched, two pitchers caught my attention. One pitches for the Mets: Francisco Rodriguez. One doesn't because of Minaya's penny-pinching: Derek Lowe. Rodriguez could make a big difference this year, closing out games the way a closer's expected to. Lowe will make a big difference too this year. Unfortunately, it will be for the Braves.

Last night, Lowe dominated the Phillies, holding them to two hits over eight innings. Further, he didn't walk a batter.

After Santana, none of the Mets other starters can compare with Lowe. He exhibited the control, stuff, and smarts that would have made this season's Mets hard to beat. And though he's 35 years old, I'd take him in my rotation over Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, and Hernandez in an instant.

Here's why: The current Phillies who have faced Lowe are only hitting .168 against him. Ryan Howard's average against Lowe is .105; Shane Victorino's is .125; and Jason Werth's is .143. And Howard has never homered off Lowe.

Let's hope that Minaya's mistake doesn't come back to haunt the Mets.