The Minor Leagues, Generally

Sunday, June 27, 2010

What's New

After nearly two weeks, Mr.Z is back in the game... and how things have changed.

It's an eerie sensation when the distant, forgotten past jumps to life. Yes, I reference Armando Benitez. Here's an attempt to recap what the Zeph has gone on:

*The Zephyrs went 6-7 in Mr.Z's absence, essentially treading water on their just-under-.500 record for the season. This included getting swept in four games by division nemesis Oklahoma City, so it could have been worse.

*ARMANDO BENITEZ. Almost impossibly, you're reading this correctly. This is how bad Florida's bullpen is. The Marlins inked the once-beleaguered big-league closer to a minor league deal and he's worked two spotless innings. We also hear Keith Foulke and Matt Mantei are available. The big heart attack last saw big league innings with Toronto in 2008 and had his last effective season in 2004, when he was arguably the best closer in baseball with Florida.

*Cameron Maybin is back in New Orleans. This is a good thing. You can read Mr.Z's argument below that Maybin wasn't getting anything out of being on Florida's bench due to the Mike Stanton effect. He needs to dramatically improve his pitch selectivity, and remember -- the kid is just 23, the second-youngest player on the Zephyrs. Maybin has raked at a .444 clip over five games and has three walks and no Ks.

*The Marlins fired Fredi Gonzalez, leading to the promotion of Zs manager Edwin Rodriguez as Florida's interim manager. E-Rod had his official interview for the job on a full-time basis yesterday.

*LoMo will play in the Futures Game on July 11.

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