Braves re-acquire Matt Diaz for a PTBNL or cash.
Here are Diaz’s numbers against lefties in his career:
| I | Split | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | TB | tOPS+ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP as RHB | 966 | 880 | 232 | 38 | 7 | 14 | 103 | 51 | 211 | .264 | .320 | .370 | .690 | 326 | .330 | 77 | ||
| vs LHP as RHB | 911 | 840 | 277 | 52 | 7 | 29 | 108 | 44 | 135 | .330 | .369 | .512 | .881 | 430 | .362 | 124 | ||
| vs LH Starter | 1058 | 974 | 124 | 318 | 54 | 8 | 30 | 129 | 51 | 170 | .326 | .367 | .491 | .857 | 478 | .368 | 118 | |
| vs RH Starter | 819 | 746 | 75 | 191 | 36 | 6 | 13 | 82 | 44 | 176 | .256 | .315 | .373 | .687 | 278 | .317 | 76 |
Here are Diaz’s numbers against the Phillies current pitchers:
| PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Hamels | 39 | 38 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .263 | .282 | .447 | .729 |
| Cliff Lee | 12 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | .364 | .417 | .636 | 1.053 |
| Kyle Kendrick | 8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .375 | .375 | .375 | .750 |
| Ryan Madson | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .429 | .500 | .714 | 1.214 |
| Brad Lidge | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .500 | .500 | 2.000 | 2.500 |
| David Herndon | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .250 | .500 | .750 |
| Roy Halladay | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Antonio Bastardo | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Total | 79 | 75 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 15 | .333 | .359 | .587 | .946 |
He also hits Randy Wolf and Jeremy Affeldt very well.
Some Braves fans are voicing their concerns that manager Fredi Gonzalez is suggesting he’s going to platoon Diaz with Jason Heyward.
I understand the irritation at the treatment Heyward has received this season. But objectively, he looks like he’s playing hurt and is batting .188 against lefties; he doesn’t deserve to automatically be granted playing time, especially in a post-season situation. Diaz murders lefties and his defensive shortcomings will be mitigated by Michael Bourn‘s range and a Braves pitching staff that is leading the league in strikeouts and gets a lot of ground balls; late in games with a lead, Diaz will be yanked in favor of Heyward for defense.
In the short-term, Diaz playing against lefties instead of Heyward is a smart move.
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Giants cut some dead and expensive weight. (No, not Barry Zito.)
Say this about the Giants, they don’t let money stand in the way of doing what they think is right for the team whether they’re benching highly paid players or leaving them off the playoff roster entirely.
Today the Giants essentially severed ties with infielder Miguel Tejada and outfielder Aaron Rowand. GM Brian Sabean isn’t going to find a taker for Rowand with $12 million coming to him next year; someone (the Phillies?) will pick him up when he’s eventually released.
There might be a taker for Tejada with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
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Rangers acquire Mike Gonzalez.
It should give hope to Mets fans that the Rangers, not far removed from near bankruptcy and utter ownership disarray, are now able to buy, buy, buy to fill their needs.
Adding Mike Adams, Koji Uehara and Mike Gonzalez to their bullpen could be the difference between getting bounced in the first round and winning a World Series.
The Rangers built a super-deep farm system under Jon Daniels and they’re not afraid to use it to try and win now.
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