Edgy MD

How do we not have a Sand Gnat thread? Anyhow, here's what Michael Fulmer was up to yesterday. Michael Fulmer is 2-1 with a 0.68 ERA in his last four starts. (Tracy Proffitt/Hickory Crawdads) The ice on Michael Fulmer's shoulder was just starting to work its magic when he threw his hands up. Aderlin Rodriguez's walk-off homer had sent the Sand Gnats to victory, ending what was arguably the best start of Fulmer's career. "I just got iced down and I came up to the dugout, and with that guy at the plate, it's in your mind -- he can hit the ball a long, long way," Fulmer said. "We've seen him do it many times before. He's one of those guys, if he gets that ball in the zone, he'll put it out of the ballpark, no problem. As soon as it left the bat, we popped up and ran out of the dugout. It was a great feeling." While Fulmer did not get the win, he did not care. The 19-year-old pitched seven dominant innings to help Savannah stay alive in a game that remained scoreless until Rodriguez homered in the 10th inning to stun Charleston, 1-0, on Friday at Grayson Stadium. Fulmer, the second of the Mets' two first-round picks in last year's Draft, took a no-hitter into the fifth and left after allowing two hits over seven innings. The RiverDogs' only success off Fulmer were singles by Dante Bichette Jr. leading off the fifth and Francisco Arcia with two outs in the seventh. "It was one of my better outings, I felt good up there," said Fulmer, the Mets' No. 8 prospect. "I had fastball command and pitched to contact tonight and my defense was great behind me. They made two or three really great plays behind me." Rodriguez's 15th homer came off reliever Mariel Checo (7-2), who pitched a scoreless ninth. T.J. Chism (2-2) struck out two in a perfect 10th to pick up the win for Savannah. Charleston starter Matt Bashore, the Twins' 2009 first-round pick out of Indiana University, allowed only two hits and three walks with six strikeouts in six frames to keep up with Fulmer. The left-hander, who missed substantial time following Tommy John surgery, owns a 2.20 ERA in nine outings this season, his first with the Yankees' organization. "He looked good out there, he was throwing the ball well," Fulmer said of his fellow first-rounder. "We had opportunities. He walked a few guys, our leadoff guys did what they needed to, we had guys on base every inning, so the hits will come around. Rodriguez hit that bomb and we knew they'd come around. If I can put zeros on the board, that's the best way for us to win." Fulmer has allowed one earned run or fewer in six of his last seven starts for the Mets' Class A affiliate. He's struck out 62 batters over 70 innings, with 25 walks and a 2.70 ERA, and Friday's game was his fourth this year in which he's allowed two hits. Fulmer said a no-hitter was a thought early on. "You know, it's always in the back of your mind," he said. "And the hit, it was a chopper up the middle, it glanced off the shortstop's wrist, it was a tough play. He hit a changeup up the middle, so hat's off to him. Fulmer, noted for his maturity coming out of high school, knows he can't overpower every batter he faces. "I can't go up there looking to strike out each guy, you need to pitch your game," he said. "I felt good on the mound, let my defense work, and our two relief guys, Chasen Bradford and T.J. Chism, they slammed the door." Fulmer, who appeared in only four Gulf Coast League games last summer after signing, said he's satisfied with the way his first full professional season has unfolded. "It's going good, I've learned a ton and I'm only 19," he said. "I'm working with [pitching coach] Frank Viola and the staff, so it's been an unbelievable experience. At the start of the season, I was pitching like I was in high school, but the last few starts have been nice, quality starts. I feel like I'm actually pitching now, I'm throwing to a spot. I gotta give credit to Frank and everyone here -- a lot of these older guys give me tips, so I love it." Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

Harvey will be in the bigs within four weeks.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Team Leaders in Home Runs (from Baseball Reference) As I thought, we're doing a bit better in homers than we are in hits. (Way to go Darryl! Outhomering Robin Yount!) Braves Hank Aaron 733 Yankees Babe Ruth 659 Giants Willie Mays 646 Senators/Twins Harmon Killebrew 559 Phillies Mike Schmidt 548 Cubs Sammy Sosa 545 Red Sox Ted Williams 521 Pirates Willie Stargell 475 Cardinals Stan Musial 475 Astros Jeff Bagwell 449 White Sox Frank Thomas 448 Browns/Orioles Cal Ripken 431 Mariners Ken Griffey 417 Tigers Al Kaline 399 Reds Johnny Bench 389 Dodgers Duke Snider 389 Senators/Rangers Juan Gonzalez 372 Athletics Mark McGwire 363 Rockies Todd Helton 354 Indians Jim Thome 337 Blue Jays Carlos Delgado 336 Royals George Brett 317 Angels Tim Salmon 299 Mets Darryl Strawberry 252 Pilots/Brewers Robin Yount 251 Expos/Nationals Vladimir Guerrero 234 Diamondbacks Luis Gonzalez 224 Padres Nate Colbert 163 Marlins Dan Uggla 154 Rays Carlos Pena 154 I'd like to see the post-1962 leaders.

And sadly, I was much righter than I would have hoped. I voted Millwood in the poll. And that's what this was -- wood from the Disney mill. A wonderfully executed product of a moribund imagination. The Disney takeover of Pixar is complete.

PiggiesTomatoes wrote: Who's left on the bench to run. Let's go Loafin' Duda. Quintanilla or possibly Torres were your options.

From a recent Sacramento Bee interview. Q: What was your favorite baseball team as a kid? A: The Atlanta Braves. They were on the TV all the time; I grew up in Jacksonville, so they were always on TBS. So it was kind of an easy choice to follow the Braves. Q: Is it awkward now that they're your rival? A: Oh, I don't like them anymore.

Wow. Worth the ride anyhow.

Oh, brother. You pinch run for Ike here?

Walk number three. And Marmol stays in. Wow! Oh, and I was wrong about Turner tonight. Thanks J.

Yup! Chris Boz at the mound.

When you need a baserunner, Tejada is getting to be like Fonzie reliable. Now we need Murphy to become like Olerud.

Those read more like "measured disagreements" rather than jabs. Somebody maybe should talk to Ray Knight if they want a jab.

OH DEAR MOTHER OF...![/bigpurple]

Cassandra crisis. Certainly not. He certainly meets the good-enough-to-play-until-the-better-choice-appears standard, and if a guy can do that without a veteran contract attached to him, I can't see cause to complain. John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Yeah, Valdespin has a whole different set of flaws than Muffy does, but he seems to have some talent too, he hits the ball pretty hard and I'm not convinced he's done getting better. Are we really sure in one way or another about his glove? I can't imagine he'd be any worse than Muffy at 2B, seeing as Muffy is about as bad as you can tolerate an everyday middle infielder of being. Speaking as someone following him with the love of a parent, the kid's made a lot of minor league errors. Edgy DC wrote: I hope they take the opportunity to win a lot of games. Like last night. Yowza.

Yes, it's established that you disagree. You think it would be less meaningful. Got it.

You are what you call yourself. If teams want to reframe their names in the cause of Latino outreach, I think it would be more poetic and meaningful and substantial and exciting for teams to market themselves under actual translations rather than misbegotten mixed constructions like "Los Red Sox." I see that you disagree.

Ceetar wrote: Edgy DC wrote: A lot of folks do go by a translated name in another country. A lot of products do as well. 'a lot'? Sure, many. I've had Spanish-speaking folks calling me Eduardo and Irish folks call me Eamon. Folks in the country of the internet call me Edgy. It's all good. Also, you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Ceetar wrote: Edgy DC wrote: A lot of folks do go by a translated name in another country. A lot of products do as well. 'a lot'? Sure, many. I've had Spanish-speaking folks calling me Eduardo and Irish folks call me Eamon. Folks in the country of the internet call me Edgy. It's all good. Also, you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Big scary Jonathan Broxton being shopped by the Royals (Los Reales). Paired with Rauch, our bullpen could really corner the market on terror.

A lot of folks do go by a translated name in another country. A lot of products do as well.

Good point. I guess we're just an uncreative and patronizing country that thinks we can solve all Spanish marketing problems with a definite article. (The seemingly pointless but somehow necessary article thing is more common with abstract Spanish nouns like "La Paz" and "El Derecho" and "La Verdad.")

So, I take that as a "Dead" vote for Ceetar. Guess I'm rooting for them against Atlanta this weekend. Not that I think they're safely dead, but they're deader than the Braves. Howard probably gets activated during the series, but maybe not by tonight.

Spanish just kind of works that way. Nouns sort of almost have to have articles. English speakers say, "Family is important," but Spanish speakers say, "La familia es importante." (Mets fans say, "Don't trade Familia.") Salute to the Brewers for doing it right.

Zach last night against the Richmond Flying Squirrels: 7 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO. Sitting at 8-4, 2.62 on the year.

For money, of course.