Divisional Roundup 8/30/07

This column will sum up the week's action around the NL East. All the other teams' transactions, player news, and how they’ve been playing over the last week will be summarized in a brief paragraph for each team. This column will be published every Thursday.

Mets: The Mets' biggest splash this week was landing 1B/OF Jeff Conine from the Cincinnati Reds for Minor Leaguers Jose Castro and Sean Henry. Jeff has career numbers of .285/.347/.444, which aren’t bad for a guy drafted in the 57^th round. And it isn't like Castro or Henry are particularly interesting prospects. Conine will serve as a pinch hitter, and can play left field to give rickety 41-year-old Moises Alou the night off. To make room for Conine on the 40-man roster, Pedro Martinez was moved to the 60-day DL. Pedro is expected to make one more rehab start and then join the Mets after rosters expand. Paul Lo Duca was activated from the DL after missing 15 days with a hamstring injury. Reliever Ambiorix Burgos underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, he will miss most if not all of next season recovering. Think the Mets are regretting dealing Brian Bannister for Burgos this past winter? Damion Easley, Jose Valentin's miracle replacement at second base, will miss the rest of the season with a severe ankle sprain. Endy Chavez was activated from the DL, after missing 2½ months with a partially torn hamstring. The Mets missed him quite a bit. He was a Willie-Harris-esque spark plug in their lineup.

The Mets have had their stuggles on the field this week as well, going only 2-5 over the last 7 games. Much of the blame for their stuggles can be pinned on the 4.79 ERA they posted in those games, and the .315 BAA. Billy Wagner also struggled in the past week, pitching 2 innings and giving up 3 ER, but he didn't receive any losses. Their batting fared just as well; they were 22nd in the league with only 25 runs over the last 7 games. But there have been a few bright spots: David Wright went 10-for-22, with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns, 3 stolen bases, 7 RBIs, and only 6 strikeouts.

Phillies: Adam Eaton was activated from the DL with a sore shoulder. This could actually be good news for the Braves, as Eaton has only managed a 6.23 ERA over 138.2 IP this year. Chase Utley was activated from the DL after suffering a broken wrist, but expect it to be a while before his power returns. Recent signee Russell Branyan was designated for assignment to make room for him. Dropping Branyan doesn't really make much sense, given that Greg Dobbs is left with most of that playing time. Cole Hamels was sent to the DL with a mild MCL strain in his left elbow, but an MRI showed no ligament damge. He is expected to make a start this Sunday. Shane Victorino was activated from the DL after suffering a calf strain. He has still been bothered by it, and he sat out a few games to rest after coming back. Freddy Garcia is seeing a specialist about his sore right shoulder to see if surgery is necessary. In his rehab starts his fastball had been topping out at 84 mph, and currently has no timetable to return.

Philadelphia has had a pretty calm week, going 4-3, but that includes a three game winning streak against the Mets that they are taking into tonight's game. They posted a team ERA of 3.80 over the week which was half a run lower than the league average, but curiously had a rather high BAA of .293. The Phillies also had an excellent offensive week, scoring 38 runs and had a BA of .316. Jayson Werth had a sensational week, going 14-for-23 a .609 BA.

Marlins: Ricky Nolasco was activated from the DL, and then optioned to Triple-A. The Marlins aren’t quite ready to give him a spot in the rotation yet. The Marlins signed RHP Byung-Hyun Kim for the rest of the season. The Fish originally let the Diamondbacks take Kim on waivers, so the Snakes were responsible for his contract for the rest of the year. Then when the Diamondbacks dropped him last week, the Marlins came and signed him for league minimum. He will start Saturday or Sunday. Aaron Boone will undergo season ending knee surgery on Sept. 4, having been on the DL since June 25. RHP Henry Owens is going to see a specialist about his right shoulder to see if surgery is necessary. Owens has been on the DL since June 9.

Florida had a horrible week pitching, posting a 6.68 ERA (with alot of help from the Braves) but still went 2-5 thanks to their 34 runs scored. Miguel Cabrera has been stone-cold recently, posting a .083 BA (2 for 24) but Jeremy Hermida has been able to pick up the slack, going 12-for-30 with 3 doubles and 2 homeruns. Rick Vanden Hurk has been throwing the ball well of late, posting a 1.80 ERA in his last two starts.

Nationals: Nick Johnson had surgery to remove a rod and screw where he broke his leg last year. It is unsure whether he will be ready for spring training. SP John Patterson suffered a setback during rehab, he isn’t expected to rejoin the team this year. He’s been on the DL since May 5 with a nerve problem in his elbow. Wily Mo Pena suffered a contusion on his foot, and is day-to-day. Since joining the Nationals he has showed his outstanding power, with 4 home runs in 34 at-bats. Jason Bergmann was activated from the DL and made his first start on Tuesday. He went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs, walked one and struck out one. John Lannan was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Bergmann.

Washington went 1-6 over the last week, due to their pitching staff who put up a 6.31 ERA over the last week, and a 38/28 K:BB ratio. Their offense has been slumping too, putting up an average of 4.8 runs a game. Dmitri Young sparked that offense, hitting .409, and Ryan Zimmerman drove in 8 runs with the help of 3 homeruns.