Joe Nathan entered the 2009 ALDS with a career ERA+ of 175. For those that may not know, that means he is 75% better than league average. He has also produced a WHIP less than one in five of the last seven seasons. You could argue that he is second to only Mariano Rivera when […]

Former Mets closer Armando Benitez signed with the Houston Astros yesterday. The 36 year old Benitez had been pitching in the independent Atlantic League for the Newark Bears. He was assigned to AAA. In Newark Benitez was 1-0 with a 2.86 ERA. He struck out 43 in 34 innings, and opponents hit .173 against him. […]

- Didn’t seem if the fans were as into Old Timer’s Day as normal. Could it be because it was on a Sunday? I know some of the pomp and circumstance is nauseating, but the Yankees do a great job. Especially how they honored the deceased members of theirs, and the baseball, community. - Just […]

Add another name to the Newark Bears roster as former Yankees pitcher Ramiro Mendoza signed with the club earlier this week. Mendoza has already appeared in 3 games, starting one, and pitched to a 5.79 ERA. Although he has struck out nearly a batter per inning, opponents are hitting .289 against him. The Bears have […]

I made a joke about this after yesterday’s show, but it indeed happened. Armando Benitez blew a 5-3 lead in the Atlantic League All Star Game, giving up four runs in the ninth innings. Andrew Mees, who covered the game for NYBD, was there live and has the blow by blow in game blog that […]

7:45 Greetings New York Baseball Digest faithful. I’m here in Newark at the Atlantic League All-Star Game, and will be blogging the action over the course of the night. There’s several players with big league experience on both squads tonight, including former Expos infielder Luis Lopez and Liberty Division starting pitcher Matt Bump. But the […]

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that former Mets closer Armando Benitez was returning to pitch for the Newark Bears in the independent Atlantic League. Last night Benitez returned to New York by closing out a 7-3 victory for the Bears over the Long Island Ducks. Going into today’s action Benitez has pitched in […]

I am naming it the “Curse of Randy Myers”. What is this you ask? It’s the agita that every Mets closer has given the fan base since the Mets traded Randall K Myers to the Cincinnati Reds for John Franco on December 6th, 1989. Since that day John Franco, Armando Benitez, and even Billy Wagner […]

The Newark Bears continue to add former big leaguer’s to their roster. Former Yankees pitcher Shawn Chacon signed with the Bears. Word is that former Mets closer Armando Benitez isn’t far behind. The Bears roster is full of big league talent. Carl Everett, Michael Tucker, Keith Foulke, and Alberto Castillo are just a few of […]