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Welcome to week of Hot or Not!

US PRESSWIRE Sports

We are officially 1 month into the season, and have a good sample size for predictions.

Without further delay, let’s start!

Who’s Hot?

Steve Cishek- The “baseball” term is closer by committee being split by him and Mujica, by helping his case with the save over the Giants and his spectacular 3 inning performance Vs. the Padres on Friday. He should be the guy to count on for the time being. He has a .91 ERA in 14 1/3 innings. Heck, if he keeps pitching like this, Ozzie might want to put him in the starting rotation! (haha)

I believe Cishek will be the closer until the All-Star break. Not because he will succumb to the pressure, but because I believe Heath Bell will get his act together, and start to pitch like the 9 million dollar arm we paid for.

Giancarlo Stanton- Stan(The Man)ton is back! He is putting on the highlights like he did last year with his mammoth homeruns including a 430 foot shot on Friday, and a high towering blast on Saturday. He’s also hitting them in clutch situations like in the 10th inning Vs. the Giants. He has got his average up to .269 AVG.

Stanton seems to be back. I think his struggles are past him because you can tell he is getting his timing and stride back. Although he is producing at the plate, he HAS to work on his glove work out in RF. He is off with his timing of fly balls, and his throws are powerful, but off the mark Is off. Now that his batting troubles are through, he needs to improve his fielding

Usually we only do 2 players a week for each category, but we need to include one more player who is on fire…

Anibal Sanchez- WOW….there isn’t anything else you can say. He had that amazing 7 inning performance in San Fransisco, and now has a total of 38 K’s and an ERA of 2.43 on the season. He’s making his case that he shouldn’t be a number 5 starter.

Anibal has always been this good, he is just very under rated. He has great strikeout capabilities, and has great movment on his pitches. If he keeps pitching like this, I think he could be the # 2 or 3 starter in next year’s rotation, and an all-star this year.

Who’s Not

Gaby Sanchez- It seems that Gabby still hasn’t answered the question of why he hasn’t been able to hit since the 2011 All-Star Game. He is on a terrible slump going 1 for his last 19. His Average has dropped to a dismal .205.

With the way Gaby is playing, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Marlins put him on the trade block and move LoMo to first. With the Marlins trying to go after Pujols, maybe they knew something was wrong with Gaby. Or, that may be the reason Gaby has not been playing to his full potential, due to un supportiveness in the organization.

Heath Bell- Hmm…What is wrong with him? He blew 2 saves in the last week, still has a mammoth ERA, and now has been taken out of the closers role in a Carlos Marmol type of fashion. We gave him a contract that he doesn’t seem to be living up to. On ESPN The Ticket 790 AM Radio, people will not stop calling in about trading Bell.

Bell has been terrible, but I just think it is because he is in a new atmosphere with more pressure than ever. He should be able to fight back and close the way he was in San Diego, but in how long? I would predict he will have his act together at the All-Star break, but you never know.

So long until next week!

 

Written By: Andrew Miller

  • Lamarlina2011

    Good article. I keep looking for Infante’s name on the Hot List. Did you forget?

  • http://twitter.com/thajackal Tha JackaL

    I Feel bad for Bell as a human being he seems like a very nice person, and looks like someone who we all should be cheering for. But man has he sucked out there this season! He needs to get his act together because I’d love to root for the guy. But we cannot allow him to keep blowing games.