Mound Talk

Who’s up and who’s down? We’ve got it all covered this week for you.

Last week was full of some great performances…and some not so great. Our three biggest good and bad performances are below. Let us know what you think!
Three-Up
Felix Hernandez. WOW! He shut down the Red Sox and beat the hundred million dollar man, Diasuke Matsuzaka.
Russell Martin is doing everything right. He’s hitting well, running well and playing smart baseball. With the return of Raphael Furcal, Martin slides down from the two hole to fifth in the order and we think that’s a good move for him. He’s going to have more chances to drive the ball and drive in runs with Pierre, Furcal and Luis Gonzalez ahead of him.
We couldn’t do this week without Ian Kinsler. He’s been on fire hitting well and looking good.

Three-Down
Carlos Beltran has struggled. And I hate to say it, but it’s going to continue. He looks uncomfortable at the plate and isn’t getting much help from his teammates.
Is Mark Teixiera becoming a second half player? Can we expect him to struggle with the Mendoza Line every April and May? We certainly can this week. Teixiera is not going to have a good week, much to the disapointment of everyone who drafted him in the third round thinking they got first round value.
Hanley Ramirez is ready for a down week. After starting the season off on fire, the reigning Rookie of the Year has cooled. But it’s not so much that he’s cooled off as much as the rest of the Marlins aren’t doing well and without much power, it’s hard for Ramirez to drive in runs or score many.