You remember it, don't you?
It was the ninth inning, and although Jayson Werth's accurate throw landed in Barajas' mitt while Hanley Ramirez was 10 feet up the third-base line, Barajas failed to block the plate. The tying run scored, capping the Marlins' four-run ninth-inning rally, and two pitches later, Brett Myers unleashed a wild pitch, clutched his right arm and trudged off the mound. It was the last pitch he would throw for nine weeks, as he suffered a strained shoulder muscle.
After the game, with Myers sitting nearby, Barajas was casual about the play. "The fact that we won, we can look back and laugh at some of these plays," he said.
That, as much as Barajas' .230 batting average, sealed his fate. He fumbled the starting catcher job to Carlos Ruiz, lost the backup job to Chris Coste and didn't have his $5 million option picked up for 2008.
Shocker.
Somehow, though, even guys like Barajas come back to haunt the Phillies. Thanks to his homer, Toronto is leading 4-1 in the fifth inning.
3 comments:
Kinda like Kazmir for the Mets, huh?
No, actually. Nothing like Kazmir to the Rays for Victor Zambrano, seeing as the Phillies didn't trade Barajas away, he wasn't a prospect, and it wasn't a lopsided deal. So no, it's nothing like Kazmir.
On a side note, what's with Ryan Howard's defense? I was in the 16th row tonight behind the dugout when Rollins scooped a grounder and threw a laser to first that Ryan Howard muffed on. It's almost like his terrible hitting has translated to terrible defense lately, especially at turning double plays. Something's not right with him, and everybody in section 116 knew it. How does upper management not notice it? Drop him down in the order and if he doesn't start producing, look into other options.
Rob, did you watch the past week and a half of baseball games? Howard had a 8-game hitting streak going, and had hit 3 homeruns during it. He's finally starting to hit the ball hard. Don't mess with it and move him down.
His defense being terrible is nothing new. He's making more plays on groundballs this year but muffing a few more throws. But none of this is new.
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