Pujols Remains Powerless
Albert Pujols is not worried about the power outage in his game that now has him homer-less for 10 straight games, a career high for him to start a season. Pujols did not blast one out the ballpark in the first eight games of the 2008 season.
With three games at the hitter friendly Yankee Stadium, the odds should have favored the Los Angeles Angels slugger. It never happened as he went 1-for-5 and driving one run Sunday night.
“Maybe tonight. Maybe a month from now,” Pujols told members of the Spanish-speaking media before the game.
“If the ball goes out, it goes out. If not, oh well. That is part of the game. I'm not going to go out there and try to hit the ball out. In practice you can try to hit the ball out and it's still hard. Imagine in games. You can't think about home runs. You have think about seeing the ball and trying to put a good swing on it… Home runs come in bunches. So I don't worry about that.”
Reyes: Marlins Can Win NL East
The season is only 10 games old for the Miami Marlins and they are 4-6 sitting in last place in the NL East.
But the Marlins key free-agent signing, Jose Reyes, thinks Miami has a shot to take that crown away from Philadelphia. Miami is a heavy favorite to reach the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2003 and although baseball added an extra playoff team as a Wild Card, winning the division is the team's goal.
“Right now we are not thinking about the Wild Card, we're thinking about winning the division,” Reyes told Fox New Latino in Philadelphia last week.
“We know it won't be easy because the Phillies have a tremendous team and they've won the division the last five times. … They will always be the favorite. I think they're the team to beat.”
Miami made a splash by prying Reyes away with more years and dollars on a contract than the Mets were willing to commit. But coming to the Marlins meant that the face of the team, Hanley Ramirez, had to slide over to third base.
So far the position change has gone well for Reyes' close friend.
“Hanley is a guy that works hard and tries to improve each day. I think he's doing well,” Reyes.
With Reyes leading off and Emilio Bonifacio slotted in between Reyes and Ramirez, Reyes sees the trio causing havoc on the base paths this season and playing a huge role as the team tries to fulfill it's expectations.
“What the three of us are trying to do is to put pressure on the other team when we get on base, try to steal bases and try score runs. I think if we do that, we will win a lot of games,” he said.
The Marlins play with their Manager Ozzie Guillen on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs for the first time since his five game suspension.
Closer Situation in San Francisco
The San Francisco Giants suffered a huge loss this weekend when they found out that closer Brian Wilson would be out for the remainder of the season. The bullpen ace will most likely undergo Tommy John surgery.
So who do the Giants turn to during Wilson's absence after he went 6-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 36 saves in 57 trips to the mound? The team kept him out of action toward the end of the season just to make sure he was ok.
Wilson will seek a second opinion.
One candidate that can fill in the void while Wilson, the Giants' key cog in their 2010 World Series title, is righty Sergio Romo. Romo has only three career saves in his four seasons with the team. This season he's appeared in two games, throwing two scoreless innings, permitting one hit.
Another reliever that could garner some consideration is Santiago Casilla. Casilla, also a right hander, has some minimal closing experience with 12 saves in his eight-plus seasons. He's given up a hit in 2 2/3 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
Big Papi Leads Red Sox Turn Around
Red Sox Nation sure was in panic mode with the team's slow start but things have changed over the last few days despite losing center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who dislocated his shoulder last Friday.
David Ortiz has done nothing but hit. Sunday was the first time since Sept. 26-28 that he had back-to-back games in which he had three-hit games.
“I'm just not trying to do too much. Just taking what they give me. Lefties are hittable too. It all depends what your mindset is. They throw the ball over the plate just like righties,” said Ortiz, who is hitting .410 ,16-for-39 in nine games with one home run and 10 RBIs, is 6-for-13 against southpaws.
Ortiz's big day on Saturday included a homer as he went 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs. He didn't let up Sunday as he had two doubles and a single. But he went 0 for 3 on Monday.
Adry Torres, who has covered MLB, NFL, NBA and NCAA basketball games and related events, is a regular contributor to Fox News Latino. He can be reached at elpiloto137@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @adrytorresnyc.
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