Kuzul

One year ago it looked like Joel Piñeiro’s career was over, until he took advice from pitching coach Dave Duncan in St. Louis. Pineiro reinvented his approach, utilizing a sinking fastball. It did wonders for him. He became a 15 game-winner, numbers he had not accumulated since his 16-win season back in 2003 with the Seattle Mariners.

The Puerto Rican native pitched for the National League Central Division Champions, set a career-high with 214 innings pitched over 32 games, and his 3.49 ERA was the second best in his career since 2002. He also led Major League Baseball with 2.5 groundballs for every flyball.

Those numbers raised curiosity during this past winter’s free agent market and it paid with a two-year/$16 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

Not bad for the 32-year-old right-hander who was not even chosen to be on the 2009 Team Puerto Rico roster in the 2nd World Baseball Classic.

However, Piñeiro is back on the hot seat again. Not that his Angels team is playing the best baseball right now, but there is growing concern among the team’s brass about his up and down 2-4 record, 4.50 ERA in seven starts. Furthermore, Piñeiro has lost his last three starts and has allowed 53 hits; tops among all starters in the American League.

However, many of his followers think he deserves a break. Piñeiro’s first seven starts had been against the best of the best in the Junior Circuit. The 11-season veteran has faced the New York Yankees twice-the American League’s top scoring offensive team.

He also faced the AL East powers, Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox, and the Central Division-leading Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers twice; three starts in a row

Pineiro’s next scheduled start is Sunday against the first place Oakland A’s.

It is arguable that when you are paid $16 million you do not deserve a break and are expected to win, but let’s give Piñeiro a chance.

Time will tell if he should return to the National League as many of his critics have been requesting so early this season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy again said Tuesday in South Florida that Bengie Molina was posturing.

Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum hopes he will reconsider during the season.

No word from Bengie himself.

Last Saturday, Giants catcher Bengie Molina again mentioned that he will likely call it a career in the majors after the 2010 campaign, tweeted Sean Farnham of FOX Sports Radio. 

Molina said he would retire if he’s not the starter next season and added that he is unhappy with the way the Buster Posey situation has been handled.

The news is surprising considering Molina’s play so far this season. 

The 35-year-old is hitting .343 in 19 games, which is currently ninth best in the National League.

Bochy has been so satisfied with his batting that he has gotten him back in the lineup again as his cleanup batter.

Bochy has also praised Molina for his defense too and how he is playing like a Gold Glover.

However, two weeks ago, Molina expressed his frustrations in a published report by a San Francisco Bay area newspaper with how his free agency played out this offseason. 

After turning down a $5.5 million offer from the Mets, Molina ultimately chose to stay in San Francisco for $1 million less. While his 80 RBI impressed some, his overall stats did not lead to a multi-year offer.

“If I had trouble finding a job after five of my best years, what am I supposed to expect?” Molina said. “You are supposed to get paid for your numbers. But even if I have another good year, I know I cannot expect anything.”

Molina said in the interview said he is approaching this season as if it could be his last.

He is certain it will be his last as a Giant. Rookie Buster Posey could be in the major leagues any day, and he is preordained to be the club’s full-time catcher next season.

The 35-year-old veteran said he would retire before he would sign to become a second stringer next year behind Posey or anyone else. Even if the St. Louis Cardinals offered him a job backing up his All-Star brother Yadier, he said he would not be interested.

“It would eat away at me,” said Molina, a two-time Willie Mac Award winner as the most inspirational Giant. “I always appreciate this game. I never take it for granted that I am still here. I am seriously happy in San Francisco.”

Probably if not as a Giant, maybe he ends up with brother Jose with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Time will tell how his future will end after the end of 2010—of course, if he is not traded before.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

No more cliches like in spring training. No more “how the grass smells,” “how the sun shines brightly over the diamond.” No more now that every team has an equal share of first place.

One month into the season there are teams living up to their preseason expectations. The Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees they truly appear as the teams we knew from last year and are each looking to repeat their way into the Fall Classic.

There are others that are good, surprising teams—such as the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and the Washington Nationals—as in every season there is a Cinderella team that’s not easy to beat.

Through the first month of the season, though, it was not the best time to write about our Puerto Rican players.

Keeping this column positive, the Puerto Rican beat was to be found in the senior circuit.

Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez looks so far like the leading candidate for National League Comeback Player of the Year.

The seven-time Silver Slugger, nowadays fueled to reach the legendary 3,000-hit club, is batting .400 with seven doubles and 10 RBI in 19 games. By last Tuesday, he had hit safely in 11 of 14 starts dating to April 12.

The 14-time All-Star last month surpassed Roberto Alomar into second place among Puerto Ricans in career hits in the majors, and only Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente lies ahead.

With 2,737 hits heading into Tuesday’s action, Rodriguez is only 263 hits away from both marks, as Clemente retired with 3,000 hits on the nose. At the pace he’s currently going, though, Pudge might have to start and play regularly for three more years to reach his goal.

From the defensive side, Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman has been on the record praising Rodriguez as the architect behind the plate of his team’s starting pitching success so far into the young season.

Riggleman, in a visit to South Florida, also commend on good start of rookie right-hander Luis Atilano, who is a native of Santurce, Puerto Rico.

Heading into Tuesday’s action, the 25-year-old hurler is 2-0 with only three runs and 11 hits allowed in 12 innings pitched over two games started.

Right behind Rodriguez, the second best batting as a catcher in the National League is Bengie Molina.

Before arriving into Miami against the Marlins, Molina is red-hot with a batting average over .380 through the last week, and at present he is among the top five best hitters in the National League.

Giants skipper Bruce Bochy is such a believer in the 35-year-old veteran that he has returned him as his cleanup batter behind National League hitting leader Pablo Sandoval.

Bochy most recently also acclaimed fellow Puerto Rican left-handed Jonathan Sanchez.

Before his Tuesday start against the Marlins, Sanchez has gone 2-1 with 1.85 ERA, and opposing batters are only hitting against him for a National League-leading .167 average.

The 27-year-old is also ranked among the top of several categories among National League pitchers in strikeouts, ERA, and baserunners allowed.

The American League’s best offensive Puerto Rican has been Yankees catcher Jorge Posada.

Through most of April he was getting hot with his bat before succumbing to some bad luck. On Monday he suffered a mild calf strain, and last week he missed two starts due to a right knee contusion after being hit by a pitch in a game against the Orioles.

The 38-year-old veteran at the moment is considered day-to-day.

Manager Joe Girardi has said Posada may be available to catch again by this Friday against the Boston Red Sox.

Let’s hope the month of May gets better for the Puerto Rican brass in the Major Leagues.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com