Sunday Short Hops

• If I have to listen to Jon Miller much longer, I’m going to break my TV. This is one of those instances where I’d much rather listen to a delayed feed of WFAN online than a realtime TV broadcast.

So here’s the deal:

Due to my hectic schedule, Sunday entries will be Sunday Short Hops, which will be put up usually midday to evening, depending on what work I have to do. I feel like this will give me the best opportunity to provide you with the quality information and insight I strive for on Jonas on Baseball.

Here are this week’s Sunday Short Hops:

• First place Bucs? Don’t start laughing just yet. The Pittsburgh Pirates, after sweeping the Reds this weekend, are 7-5 and sit .5 games behind the first-place Cardinals. Depending on how the Cards do against the Mets tonight, the Pirates could end up in a tie for first in the standings by the time the night is done.
• Not gettin’ it done: During the last few seasons at Shea Stadium, Citibank tried to make “Let’s get it done” a household chant in promotion of their motto. Expectedly so, the chant didn’t stick with the fans, and the advice didn’t stick with the Mets. Until Angel Pagan singled with the bases loaded in the second inning today, the Mets were 0-for-11 with the bases juiced. Overall, they are hitting under .200 with runners in scoring position this year. Also continuing the theme of not getting it done last night was Jason Bay, the Mets’ marquee pickup this past winter, who went 0-for-everything last night… In other news, the Mets designated Mike Jacobs for assignment after their 20-inning win last night to make room for pitcher Tobi Stoner, who was recalled to give the bullpen some inexperienced support. I hope this means that Daniel Murphy is on the verge of returning, not that Ike Davis is on the way up. At least that’s how I feel right now. More on that later this week.
• Just pencil him in now: Atlanta Braves rookie Jason Heyward added to his undoubtedly starter-winning All Star votes today with a two-out, two-run walkoff single against Colorado today. The hit, which came right after Troy Glaus barely beat out a double play that would have ended the game, gave the Braves a 4-3 victory that I imagine was a bit nicer than being no-hit.
• There have been a lot of these so far: The Brewers scored ten times in the first inning today in Washington. This is already the third time this season in which a team has scored double-digit runs in an inning. Through it all, though, the Brewers still made it a little scary, eventually coming out with an 11-4 win.
• Manny being spoiler: Manny Ramirez, out with an alleged tight right calf, took the win right out of Barry Zito’s hand when he hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth off of the Giants’ Sergio Romo. The home run gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead, which held up through the end of the game. In true Manny fashion, he peaced out of the ballpark before the game ended. Maybe he was actually just hiding out inside the left field fence.

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