The Orioles fulfill their quest for Jason Grimsley. The Reds are awash in infielders. The Astros get their man in Beltran. The A’s get theirs in Dotel. The Royals…not so much. These and other happenings in a special Saturday edition of Trasnaction Analysis.
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
FLORIDA MARLINS
Currently sporting a run differential of just +5, using Lenny Harris as DH in interleague games, and that isn’t helping. 9-13 in June, and if you survey pennant races, it’s just one bad month that sinks many a strong team. Ate Billy Koch’s contract, which was just charity, tied for the league lead in caught stealing, pinch hitters batting .177, one of the worst benches in baseball… These scattershot muttering add up to a strong club being undone by inattention to detail. Reminiscent of some Braves teams of the past which had the pitching and select offensive parts but couldn’t buy a hit off the bench in about 800 post-season series. GRADE: D+