It’s been a rough week or so for Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo, getting held up in a parking lot last week, but FanGraphs has given the future of the Crew’s pitching staff some well deserved dap for his outstanding performances, which I’ve been trumpting all year long.

Check it out, it’s a good read.

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Behind yet another phenomenal performance from CC, the Yanks beat the A’s 5-0 to sweep the four-game set and notch their fifth straight victory. It was the Yanks’ first four-game sweep of Oakland at home since 1985.

The Good:

On the ninth anniversary of Mike Mussina’s near perfect game against Boston, CC (19-5) went eight innings and gave up just one hit with five strikeouts to three walks. The A’s failed to hit a ball out of the infield from the second inning until Coco Crisp’s fly ball to right in the eighth inning. CC did it all on just 95 pitches, with 58 going for strikes.

With the win, CC tied Whitey Ford’s record for consecutive home starts without a loss (21) and is 16-0 over that span. Over his previous 20 home starts coming in (since ‘09 All-Star Break), CC was 15-0 with a 2.17 ERA. Wow.

Grandy, who went 2-for-3 with two homers and three RBI on Thursday, has 31 hits vs. lefties this season (after missing a month), he had 33 against LHP all of last season. He is now 10-for-24 against LHP since working with Kevin Long. It was his six career multi-homer game and second this season.

A-Rod tested out his injured calf by fielding ground balls and taking batting practice, and Pettitte is on schedule to make his simulated start on Saturday.

As I predicted the other day, Javy will start over Moseley on Saturday.

Dallas Braden left the game in the sixth inning with cramps…I’ll leave it up to you to insert the proper joke.

The Bad:

Jeter, who went 1-for-4 on Thursday, is now 12 for his last 75 (.160). He came into Thursday hitting .238 since August 1 and .155 since August 14. Yikes. But Girardi still thinks he’s a good candidate for the leadoff spot.

Swish Dog left the game after his first at-bat with a stiff left knee and is listed as day-to-day.

Marcus Thames has cooled off considerably, he is 1 for his last 10 with five strikeouts.

At Wednesday’s game, in which I moved to 6-0 this season, I dropped a ball that Swish Dog threw to me after he caught the final out of the first inning. What I’m trying to say is that I suck at life. Although I did sit right in front of head Bleacher Creature Bald Vinny, so I got that going for me.

In other news, A-Rod has left agent Scott Boras and has been spending time with Hollywood agent Guy Oseary. That’s according to SI.com.

Girardi on CC:

The big thing about CC is CC doesn’t beat himself, he doesn’t walk people and he doesn’t give extra base runners.

Swish Dog on his injury:

It feels fine, I fouled it off the same spot (I hurt the other day). I got a lot of treatment, got a lot of ice, I’ll come back tomorrow and see how it feels.

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I am more than happy to se the Marlins pick up a series win against the Washington Nationals, whether or not the team’s season depends on such a thing. However, as exciting a win as the 1-0 victory in the second game was or how rewarding the 16-10 blowout was in the finale, nothing was going to override the antics and happenngs surrounding Nyjer Morgan and the Marlins this weekend. So despite an excellent series win, this Fish-Cap is going to revolve around what happened between Morgan and the Marlins.

Bowling over Brett Hayes

Look, I understand the high stakes of a 0-0 game between two division foes, even if both teams are pretty well out of contention. However,  just watching the play that occurred in the top of the 10th inning of that game makes you cringe a bit. Marlins reliever Clay Hensley walked both Morgan and Alberto Gonzalez on before inducing a weak ground ball from Adam Kennedy. The ball headed up the middle, where it was picked up by Donnie Murphy and flipped to Hanley Ramirez for the out at second base. Because of the weak nature of the grounder, it seems like the Fish had no shot at the double play on Kennedy, which would have ended the inning. However, the Fish had an opportunity for another out because the speedy Morgan took off for home from second base prompting a throw from Hanley.

Now, watch the linked lay as it unfolds. You can see that Hanley’s throw is a bit high and appears to be a little late for a tag as a result. A throw closer to the bag or lower overall could have resulted in a close play at the plate if Morgan slides. However, this becomes irrelevant as Morgan decides instead to run Hayes over to force the ball out of his hands. The resulting collision is, as most catcher-runner collisions, a good deal cringe-worthy to me. Hayes has a little bit of time to prepare (he does turn in his arms and shoulder) but is still in a bit of a vulnerable position nonetheless.

This play would have been an afterthought if it weren’t for the fact that, as Rich Waltz was quick to point out on the TV broadcast, had Morgan simply slid instead of going for the tackle route to home, he likely would have been safe! The throw from Hanley was high enough and Morgan was close enough to the plate at that point that a slide would have been low enough to beat a tag attempt. Instead, Morgan went for the more confrontational and dangerous route, and sure enough the play led to a dislocated shoulder for Hayes. My opinion is that a slide would have a more professional and intelligent baserunning move than the one Morgan went with, but it should not surprise any of us that Morgan went with the bad baserunning play; he is well known around the league for being fast but unintelligent on the basepaths.

“Professionally” hitting Morgan

The following evening, once the Marlins took a large enough lead to prevent any game-related problems, they retaliated against Morgan. In the fourth inning, with the Marlins up 11 runs, starter Chris Volstad beaned Morgan in the hip. Morgan took his base and followed up with two more bases, stealing both second and third. Unhappy with that activity, Volstad threw behind Morgan in the 6th inning when he came up again, causing him to charge the mound, throw a punch at Volstad, and receive a blindsiding clothesline from Gaby Sanchez. Once the resulting brawl ends, Morgan comes out of the pile pumped and excited, met by the boos of the crowd.

How should we react to the situation? Well, I’ll say that I do not approve of the retaliatory methods employed by major league baseball players. Baseballs thrown at 90+ mph (or even slower, for that matter) are weapons, whether they are thrown at the hips or at the head. It seems like a dumb idea in general to throw these things at players for retaliation for most “transgressions” of baseball’s so-called unwritten rules. Having said that, if we were to follow the unwritten rules, it is pretty clear that Morgan did not follow them. The play at the plate from the previous night was at best of questionable nature, and the Marlins were probably in line for beaning Morgan. Waltz deemed the job “professionally” done, meaning that Volstad did not go for the head and did not put excessive heat on the ball.

Had Morgan left it at that, I think the Marlins would have been finished with the situation. The beaning served as retaliation for the rough play at the plate, but it seems Morgan thought that it was unnecessary to bean him and responded by stealing second and third with his team down 11 runs. Truthfully, I don’t think this was a heinous play. Yes, the Nationals were down a lot, but were they supposed to simply give up on the game? If Morgan felt the bases were open for taking, it seems natural that he should attempt it. However, the unwritten rules say that both teams should have let off the gas pedal a bit with the score as it was, and stealing was most certainly was “out of line.” However, no matter the thought process going into the situation, it was clear that Morgan’s charging the mound was inappropriate. Morgan got the first punch in as well, throwing a left straight at Volstad before being run over by Sanchez.

The Marlins have said that their beef with the Nationals is over. I’d be inclined to believe them, but I would not be surprised if the Fish sent another pitch Morgan’s way when the two teams meet later this month at Nationals Park. I suspect that, at the very least, Morgan will have some choice words for the team, as he is always prone to running his mouth a bit. Let’s hope any potential future affair won’t lead to suspensions on either side.

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Congratulations goes out to the Potomac Nationals first baseman and Nats 2008 16th round draft choice Tyler Moore on being named the 2010 Carolina league MVP of the Year. 

Moore also leads the league in doubles (43) and extra base hits (75) and trails only Royals prospect Eric Hosmer with a .541 slugging percentage. In a six-week span starting July 15, Moore won the Carolina League player of the week four times and posted a mind-boggling 1.400 OPS. Moore leads the Carolina League with 113 RBI and 29 home runs, 19 of which have been since July 15.

What an amazing season for Moore.  We have been tracking him all season, much like we do with all the Nationals affiliated in our weekday minor league report summary.  He auditioned his power last season hitting 9 home runs, but driving in a nice 87 runs at Hagerstown.  That was enough to earn him a promotion this season to Potomac. 

For the first two months of the season, Moore regularly displayed his hitting power, but struggled at the batting average, hovering below the Mendoza line of .200.   But, Moore exploded since July, hitting 129 home runs since mid-July.  He raised his normal .192 batting average to current .262. 

Not only does he rank among the Carolian league leaders, but Moore leads the washington Nationals minor league system in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and doubles.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Natosphere sounds off on Nyjer Morgan
• The Morgan Brawl video
• Nats Minor Rep: Solis throws 2 scoreless
• Strasburg need to look no further than Zimmermann
• Nats announce Arizona league invitees

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Welcome to the September 2, 2010 edition of This Week in Prospects! This will likely be the last edition in 2010 that features the current updates like this, as I’ll be using the next ten columns to unveil my Top 100 Prospect List.

This week is dominated by a couple of teams: New York teams, the Cubs, and the Phillies combine to account for eight of this week’s ten players. I guess I’m East Coast biased this week! In particular, we’ll look at two promising Phillies pitchers, a rare Yankee disappointment, and a Cubs catcher with absurd numbers.

That and more after the jump!

Hot Shots

Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Mets—Mejia is back in Flushing as of today, being one of the first September callus for the Mets.

The Mejia saga is well-documented at this point: the top starter prospect was given an ill-advised rush to the majors as a 20-year-old reliever largely due to manager Jerry Manuel’s stubbornness, predictably struggled against the advanced competition, and was finally dispatched back to the minors as a starter almost halfway into the season.

Well, it could all work out in the end, as Mejia threw nine starts of 1.28 ERA ball, whiffing 45 and walking just 16 in 42 1/3 innings. His first Triple-A start featured eight innings, one run, one walk, and nine strikeouts.

Mejia is still very young and somewhat raw, so expecting him to be a front-of-the-rotation pitcher now is unrealistic. Still, he’s a hard thrower with good command (for his age, anyway) and a good changeup. Mejia also keeps the ball down exceptionally well. I’m still cautiously optimistic about his potential, but Manuel’s meddling does cast a shadow of doubt here. It’s good to see that Mejia went right back to dominating as a starter in the minors, though: it does show some real resilience.

Trevor May, RHP, Phillies (Low-A)—May is three weeks older than Mejia, and yet he’s still fairly young for the South Atlantic League. The 2008 fourth-rounder’s command problems ate him up in High-A (61 walks in 70 innings), causing him to post an ERA over 5.00, but he did show good strikeout ability, whiffing 90.

A demotion to Low-A followed (that walk rate will do it), and the whiffs only intensified, but the bases on balls largely disappeared. May has an 85/19 K/BB in 59 innings at the lower level, including a 39/7 ratio against lefties.

May’s plus changeup is what helps him with those lefties, and he also works in the low-90’s with his fastball while mixing in a good curveball. Pitchers have won many games with worse stuff than his, that’s for sure. If these gains in command are for real, we could be looking at a potential #2 starter down the line—pitchers with this sort of strikeout ability don’t come along very often, although the Phillies seem to be stockpiling a few (most notably Austin Hyatt).

Robinson Chirinos, C, Cubs (AAA)—Chirinos is making me give serious thought to the idea of putting a 26-year-old who spent most of the year in Double-A on my Top 100 Prospects list.

Let’s inventory his skills.

He catches. That’s one.

He catches well, throwing out about a third of basestealers and allowing just five passed balls this year. That’s two.

He’s also got experience at all four infield spots. That’s three.

He hit .318 this year in Double-A and struck out just 35 times in 77 games. That’s four.

He ripped 24 doubles and 15 homers in those 77 games, slugging .580. That’s five.

He walked more (42) than he struck out (35). That’s six.

Ahh, okay, so he went just 1-for-6 in steals. Oh well. Chirinos does literally everything else well.

A late-season promotion to Triple-A has seen the backstop hit .333/.407/.542 in 13 games, right there with the .318/.412/.580 line he had at the lower level.

Players who can make consistent contact, hit the ball out of the park, and play good defense behind the plate are extremely rare. Chirinos is something of an enigma given his advanced age, but there’s no question that he’s an extremely interesting prospect, June 1984 birthday or not.

Slumping Stars

Brandon Laird, 3B, Yankees (AAA)—The last few issues of TWiP seem to always feature strong performances by Yankee farmhands (Manny Banuelos, Andrew Brackman, David Phelps, Nik Turley, etc.), but not everything is sunny for Yankee prospects.

Laird, 22, had crushed the ball at a .291/.355/.523 clip in Double-A, but a 24-game stint in Triple-A has been a disaster, as he’s put up a 26/4 K/BB while batting .211/.240/.305.

With 21 errors on the season, Laird may not even be able to stick at third long-term, and his plate approach is troubling. He seems to me to be the sort of guy whose aggressiveness at the dish just won’t translate to the majors well, a la Jake Fox. Laird’s young enough to make some strides in that area of his game, but given the Yankees 1B/3B situation, he’d have to put up mind-blowing numbers to get much attention, and he looks like a one-dimensional player who isn’t likely to make that happen.

Angel Salome, C/OF, Brewers (High-A)—Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Salome hit .360/.415/.559 in Double-A two years ago, and .286/.334/.413 in Triple-A last year, but he’s been left down in High-A for almost all of 2010, and has hit just .279/.340/.403 there.

At 24, he’s far from young for that level, and he’s also almost exclusively DHed, spending four games in right field and none at catcher.

In other words, pretty much everything that made Salome such an intriguing prospect in the first place is gone.

Craig Clark, LHP, Giants (Low-A)—The jump from High-A to Double-A kills a ton of prospects every year, and Clark is the classic soft-tosser who got exposed against quality hitters.

With a low-to-mid-80’s fastball and no plus offspeed stuff, it was a marvel that Clark was consistently able to whiff nearly a batter an inning all the way up through High-A, which had some thinking he could be another Kirk Rueter for the Giants.

That hope was effectively put to rest with nine poor Double-A starts that saw Clark’s formerly impressive K/BB (135/36 and 111/23 in 2009 and 2008) dwindle to 23/21 in 42 2/3 innings.

The Giants were so disillusioned by the 26-year-old that they sent him to Low-A, where he posted a 5.45 ERA in seven starts (albeit with a 35/10 K/BB).

So, Clark’s now 26 and has been demoted to a long relief role in Low-A. His stuff gave him long odds of making the majors in the first place; now it’s just ridiculous.

Sleeper Alert!

Trey McNutt, RHP, Cubs (AA)—Okay, so McNutt’s allowed seven earned runs in 9 2/3 Double-A innings. That doesn’t diminish one of the minors’ best pitching seasons.

A 32^nd-round pick last year, McNutt opened the year by posting a 1.51 ERA in 13 Low-A starts, allowing no homers and whiffing 70 in 59 2/3 innings. He then went on to High-A and put up a 49/9 K/BB in 41 frames, earning a promotion to Double-A. All this from an unheralded guy who just turned 21.

The righty works off a low-90’s sinker that touches 95 mph, and his curveball and changeup both show promise. Like Chirinos, Chris Archer, and others, McNutt is among a ton of formerly C-grade Cubs prospects who have taken big steps forward in 2010.

Matt den Dekker, OF, Mets (Low-A)—Few 2010 draftees can claim better statistical starts than fifth-rounder Den Dekker, who’s hit .413/.478/.550 in Low-A in 21 games.

Now, he won’t keep hitting over .400 striking out once a game, but Den Dekker has quality contact skills and gap power that are already showing up in pro ball.

He also possesses nice speed and is considered a plus defender in center field.

At 23, Den Dekker is getting a late start in pro ball, but he looks like he could start 2011 in High-A, which will get him closer to most prospects his age. If he cuts his strikeouts down, he could be a quality starting MLB center fielder, and a fifth-round steal.

Julio Rodriguez, RHP, Phillies (Low-A)—Rodriguez may be even more intriguing than his teammate May, as he’s 11 months younger and has whiffed a ridiculous 79 batters in 50 1/3 innings.

The Puerto Rican righthander has bounced between starting and relieving, but has been dominant in both roles.

An eighth-round pick in 2008, Rodriguez is a physical specimen with good arm strength and projection. He already throws 87-92 mph and could gain another tick or two down the line. His second pitch is a big, slow curveball, and he’s working on his changeup.

Anyone with these sorts of numbers (and like I mentioned with May, the Phillies seem to have quite a few of these guys) deserves to be watched carefully, and Rodriguez just turned 20, so he has youth on his side.

The Quadruple-A Special

Tagg Bozied, 1B/3B, Phillies (AA)—For the second time this year, I’m going with a Double-A player as the Quad-A Special. The first was Paul McAnulty, who later would be promoted to Triple-A and the majors with the Angels.

The hulking Bozied has done plenty of damage in Triple-A in the past, so Double-A has just been too easy for him, as he’s hit .318/.405/.622 even in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League. He also hit a ridiculous 11 homers in August, bashing an unreal .374/.470/.778 in the month.

Bozied, 31, hit .288/.360/.447 in Triple-A last year and .306/.382/.569 the year before, and he’s had plenty of success there in his career. He’s been working on becoming an acceptable defender at third base this year, as he’s been mostly confined to first in the past. He also has some outfield experience.

You certainly can’t deny Bozied’s offensive output, and if he can play four positions passably, he’s got to have some use as an NL reserve. At his age, it’s probably too late, but one can hope.

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Looking towards 2011, the Red Sox have many decisions to make about their catching core. Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek are both free agents with Kevin Cash and Jarrod Saltalamacchia eligible for arbitration. The Sox have Dusty Brown waiting in the minors to get his chance to be a regular member of the Sox, but does he get his chance in 2011? I have some thoughts on the matter (shocking, I know), but would love to hear what you guys think. Which 2 catchers will be on the Red Sox roster to begin the 2011 campaign? You can pick up to 2 of the following choices.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Top Prospect Freddie Freeman made his long awaited debut for the Braves in last night's game. Photo Courtesy of Tim Evearitt.

September 2, 2010 – 7:10 PM Peachtree TV
New York Mets (65-68) Vs. Atlanta Braves (78-55)

Site Announcement: First an apology for the lack of updates recently. We have been working through some things here that have taken all of our spare time and have not been to adequately give the coverage that we are used to. Hopefully things will be getting back to normal around here soon.

What to Watch For: The Braves come into tonight seeking their sixth straight win and a series sweep of the New York Mets. It is no secret that Tim Hudson has been the teams best pitcher this season and will be going for his 16th win of the season. A case could be made that Hudson is the Braves team MVP this season as no one really expected this kind of season coming off of Tommy John surgery. Jason Heyward has been red hot hitting .520 over the last seven days and has raised his season average up to .284. Matt Diaz carries a lifetime .533 batting average into tonight’s game against Mets starter Johan Santana.

Tim Hudson

Vs.

Johan Santana

The Mets against Tim Hudson

The Braves against Johan Santana

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Chapmania has tightened its grip on Cincinnati. Tuesday night, it was pretty much the launch of the Cuban Missile and Joey Votto. Last night, the phenom that is Aroldis Chapman had more of a supporting cast. And the game was settled within one inning of play.

With the Reds trailing 1-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers, Reds manager Dusty Baker inserted Chapman in the top of the 7th inning. Starter Johnny Cueto had pitched 6 nice innings (1 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K) and deserved a better fate, but he was at 108 pitches (64 for strikes). Chapman pulled a repeat performance of Tuesday: three up, three down…and topping out at an official 103.9 mph. 103.9 mph was the fastest pitch clocked in MLB in three years! In the two innings during Chapman’s brief career: 2 IP, 0H, 0R, 3K, 6 batters faced. No words can factually describe how this kid has electrified and entire franchise and fanbase.

The cast:
Miguel Cairo. Once again, the super sub came through in the clutch. Cairo started at second base. With Brandon Phillips still on the mend and Chris Valaika receiving a day off, Cairo once again displayed why he’s on the roster. In the bottom of the now fateful (to the Brewers) 7th inning, Cairo laced a double into the left field gap off loser and former Red Todd Coffey, plating Phillips, who was pinch-running for Ramon Hernandez. That hit knotted the score at 1-1. For the game, Cairo was 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI.

Ryan Hanigan. Reds fans should be over the point where anything this kid does with a bat actually surprises them. Except when Hanny pulls off a three-run, pinch-hit homer. The first pinch-hit homer of his career. Baker sent Hanigan to pinch-hit for Chapman. Seemed odd maybe at first. Baker had lefties on the bench (Juan Francisco and Yonder Alonso), but Baker felt more comfortable with the more expreienced right-handed bat of Hanigan. The hunch paid off big. After the upper deck shot, it was Reds 4, Brewers 1.

Scott Rolen. We know of his leadership. We know of his steady play. We know of his bat and glove. Both were on display last night. The bat provided the final two runs in the 6-1 win. The glove (and arm) dazzled the crowd of 16,412 at Great American with no less than three defensive gems. We hear all the chants for Votto as the NL MVP, how about Rolen receiving a Gold Glove? More than deserving.

One last point about last night’s contest. Was it me or did seem odd that Brewers manager Ken Macha yanked starter Chris Narveson rather hastily in the 7th? Narveson has struck out Jonny Gomes to begin the inning and walked Ramon Hernandez. Macha, who was extremely hesitant to go to his bullpen in the first two games of the series, quickly popped out of the dugout to replace Narveson with Coffey. Narveson was the Brewers up to that point. He was cruising throught the Reds lineup to that point (97 pitches, 57 for strikes, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K) Plus, Narveson had driven in the only run of the game with a single in the 5th. To make the decision look even more questionable, Coffey failed to retire a single batter.

Lost in all the hoopla of another Reds win coupled with another Cardinals loss (5-2 to Houston. Thanks, Astros!) extending the NL Central lead to an astounding 8 games, was the major league debut of Yonder Alonso. The Reds top pick from 2009 entered the game as a pinch-hitter during the bottom of the 7th. Not as successful a debut as Chapman had (a weak groundout to the pitcher), but Alonso will get his hacks.

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JOIN AND DISCUSS IN OUR NATIONALS FORUM

Given the incidences of Nyjer Morgan and his play the last few weeks, we decided to take a peak around the Natosphere and bring you an array of what the Washington Nationals bloggers th8ink of Nyjer Morgan and his future in Washington. 

In case you missed it, one night after Morgan plowed into Marlins C Breet Hayes, Marlins P Chris Volstad throws behind Morgan, causing Morgan to charge the mound and incite a brawl on the diamond.  This is after Volstad already hit Morgan once, and Morgan retaliated by stealing 2nd and 3rd bases.  Wow, there you go, what a rudimentary summary.  Regardless, so what the heck does Nats blogosphere think.  We will show you . . .

From Nationals Inquisition . . .

I can see no reason why the Marlins shouldn’t take majority if not all blame for the “fracas” last night. They potentially retaliated for the Hayes incident at least three times before the sixth-inning by hitting Morgan and two other Nationals with pitches. Why was that needed? The Marlins had a near 15-run lead. When is enough enough for the Fish? Morgan took one blow and that is expected. Two blows and something needed to be done. Chris Volstad exposed himself as a punk.   Nyjer needs to cut the reaction to the fans. The throwing up the hands in victory after a fight, the cussing, the ball tossing– really it is the only thing I can ding him on. If he wants to cuss and yell at the fans, do it into your glove, not on camera and Youtube. That is embarrassing to Natstown.

From our friend at Nats News Network . . . READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP

Morgan wasn’t trying to get his team back in the game.  He was trying to show the Marlins that getting hit didn’t hurt him.  He was, simply, showing up the pitcher in a game that was already contentious.  And Manager Jim Riggleman was wrong not putting the stop sign on … Last night, in addition to injuring the Marlins catcher, he again engaged fans (caught on video) with expletives, while on the field.  Morgan has been playing recklessly and with anger since Riggleman moved him down into the eighth spot in the lineup early in the Cardinals series.  Morgan now has established a pattern of disregard for the safety of the players on the field… He needs to be sat down, whether by suspension or by his team, before anyone else gets hurt.

From William Yurakso . . .

The Nats have a real problem with Morgan. the centerfielder’s instability is hurting himself and his team. Morgan really needs to sit, perhaps for the rest of the season, and is certainly going to be suspended for his actions last night …I don’t have a problem with that necessarily because Morgan is too volatile right now. Also, Riggleman’s handling of the situation has been poor. Apparently, neither Morgan or Riggleman has lost he clubhouse, but maybe they should have — the team doesn’t need to deal with any of this nonsense. I don’t think I have a problem with Morgan never playing for the Nats again.

From Federal Baseball . . .

Can you honestly argue that Morgan’s decision to steal the bases was solely about trying to get the Nats within 10 runs and cut down on the lead? Do you believe that? I think Morgan’s decision to respond negatively to his manager’s comments in the press recently was a poor one. I think his decision to run the Cardinals’ catcher was a poor one. Should he have stolen the bases? Harold Reynolds doesn’t think so, Rayn Zimmerman along with some of Morgan’s teammates questioned the decision, but Morgan decided what he thought was the correct response. If he’s given the opportunity to make his own choices and makes poor choices each time, isn’t it about time you took the power to make those decisions out of his hands? Something tells me MLB is going to make the decision Jim Riggleman says he wasn’t willing to, and “put the hold on him.”

From Nats 320 . . .

The Florida Marlins had every reason to be pissed off at Nyjer Morgan this evening and that’s why they threw behind his head, AGAIN, two innings later in the top of the 6th. The final volley that erupted into the biggest scrum involving Our Washington Nationals in recent memory.

But it didn’t have to be this way. Nyjer should have just taken it like a man.But what everyone will remember at the end of the day was Nyjer Morgan being taken off the field, jersey pulled completely out of his pants, marched to the dugout by Bullpen Catcher, Nilson Robledo. And seeing Nyjer Morgan raise both hands in triumph to the fans of The Florida Marlins.   Rocky this was not. Embarrassment was more like it.  Nyjer Morgan seems to be playing with anger in his heart. And that’s not the type of play The African Queen and I can not support.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tyler Moore is Carolina League MVP
• The Morgan Brawl video
• Nats Minor Rep: Solis throws 2 scoreless
• Strasburg need to look no further than Zimmermann
• Nats announce Arizona league invitees

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