Cinderella is a Bulldog

Congratulations to Fresno State for clinching the College World Series with a 6-1 win over Georgia. Fresno is one of the all-time Cinderellas in sports. The Bulldogs were basically a 13 seed in the NCAA baseball tournament (the committee only seeds the top eight teams). They were paired in the tournament pod across from Arizona State, the number three overall seed, which makes ASU a number one seed in their regional. One plays 16 in round one, and the winner gets either the number eight or nine winner in the regional. The winner of that second game would play Fresno State's pod, which would be the number four, five, 12 and 13 seeds. Fresno was the worst of that pod, making them the equivalent of a number 13 seed.

Fileted Fish

Ryan Tucker's only made three Major League starts in his career, that's why his ERA jumped from 4.50 to 6.75 in one night. The actual reason for the jump is four-fold, as in four extra base hits by the Tampa Bay Rays. Tucker lasted just four innings, and when he couldn't get anyone out in the fifth he was done. He gave up seven earned runs on eight hits.

At least he's not Eulogio De La Cruz. Whatever ails Tucker is contageous, because Cruz couldn't get a single runner out himself. Tampa scored five runs before Cruz was lifted, his ERA climbing from 6.00 to 21.00. Tampa is up 14-0 in the sixth.

Fantasy Impact: Tucker's a stop-gap for the Marlins. Josh Johnson is expected back from a rehab stint right around the All-Star break. He can't get to Miami soon enough. Drop Tucker and grab Johnson, then wait for his arrival.

Cano goes yard

After getting shelled by Pittsburgh, the Yankees are returning the favor tonight. The Yankees have eight runs on 10 hits through their half of the sixth, and even Robinson Cano got into the act, connecting for his fifth home run.

Fantasy Impact: Cano needs to get going. He's hitting just .236, and many fantasy owners drafted him early expecting a .300 average and close to 20 home runs. Cano can get himself back to respectability with just a couple of modest streaks, but he looks a long way from a top-shelf second baseman.

Campillo can still pitch

After a lackluster game on Tuesday with a ton of fielding miscues, the Braves made it through Wednesday with just one error committed -- by their pitcher, Jorge Campillo. Campillo made few mistakes on the hill. He gave up just four hits and two earned runs through seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.54.

Fantasy Impact: Campillo suffers from blisters, but only had to throw 88 pitches to go this deep in the ballgame. His ERA had been climbing steadily over his last handful of starts. This gets it going in a better direction. He's turned into a fairly reliable option, but will probably not emerge into a fantasy ace given his track record.

David Wright righting the ship

David Wright's .272 average and 12 homers entering Wednesday had Mets fans and fantasy owners a little bit concerned for their starting third baseman. No worries tonight. Two at bats, two home runs.

Fantasy Impact: Wright's first home run was a solo shot, the second one came with a runner on, giving him three RBI in a game he's destined to get at least four at bats. Stay tuned. This could get him going again.

Hooray for a day game

It's Wednesday, and we finally have day baseball in the majors this week. Here's a look at the best pitching matchups Wednesday has to offer.

Milwaukee at Atlanta 1:05 pm ET
-Jorge Campillo (2-2, 2.54) has struggled in three of his last four starts. Jeff Suppan (4-5, 3.92) got shelled for the first time in a long time his last time out.

St. Louis at Detroit 7:05 pm ET
-Kyle Lohse (9-2, 3.63) vs. Armando Galarraga (7-2, 3.03) in the battle of least likely staff studs.

Cincinnati at Toronto 7:07 pm ET
-What's happened to Aaron Harang (3-10, 4.33)? Roy Halladay (8-6, 2.90) looks to avoid liners off his head.

L.A. Angels at Washington 7:10 pm ET
-Ervin Santana (9-3, 3.17) and the Angels are strong on the road this year (26-12), while Tim Redding (6-3, 4.12) is the only winner in Washington's rotation.

Chicago White Sox at L.A. Dodgers 10:10 pm ET
-Gavin Floyd's (8-3, 3.19) brilliance against one-start wonder Eric Stults (1-0, 1.50)

T.J. Simers skewers Ned Colletti

L.A. Times writer T.J. Simers says the Dodgers don't know how to make a deal, and begs Ned Colletti not to make a deal in his latest column. He goes as far as asking Colletti to leave the country for the next month so he can't acquire players like Esteban Loaiza again.

The phone rings, and it's Colletti. "Please, please, no more trades," I begin, while suggesting a vacation that might take him overseas for the next few weeks.

"I've never been to Europe," he says, and I think we could get a collection going and make that happen.

It's a pretty humorous article in the least, but goes to show at least part of the reason the Dodgers haven't won anything in 20 years.

Bad Wood: MLB testing maple

Major League Baseball's got a committee working on the maple bats issue.

Along with conducting field and laboratory tests, the panel will consult with manufacturers and experts and also survey what protective devices are in place for fans and players at the 30 big league ballparks.

Could "protective devices" include extending the screen behind home plate?

Smoltz looks to the future

While Curt Schilling felt free to declare that his career might be over following shoulder surgery, John Smoltz is feeling less comfortable in doing so. He's eyeing a return for next season.

"I realize I won't be able to fade away on my own terms," he said of his comeback bid, "meaning I realize at some point I'm going to have to say, 'This is it.' "

That point where he would call it a career would probably not be until after spring training. He can begin light throwing in four months.

"I don't know when that time would be," he said. "Barring a major setback, I think it would be a long time. Optimism can last a lot longer in this realm than it would in a scenario that says, 'If I'm not at this point in spring training, [end] it.' "

Smoltz' surgery and recovery sounds very painful. He says he'd rather go through Tommy John ligament replacement again rather than what he's going through now.

I've always liked Smoltz, and I like how he's approaching this recovery with such honesty. Schilling, on the other hand, has gone the dramatic route. Something tells me he'll make a good sportswriter some day.

First and Worst

The American League went 10-4 in interleague play Tuesday night and is now 109-76 against the National League overall for a .589 winning percentage. If the two sides played 162 games against one another, the A.L. would go 95-67, a one game improvement over their record after Monday's interleague games. In other words, the A.L. looks like a first place team, and the N.L. looks like a last place team.

Stat man

Lance Berkman struggled early in 2007 on his way to a sub par season by his standards. Berkman batted .278 and slugged .510, the lowest totals he's put up in any full season.

Tuesday Berkman hit his 21st home run. His two extra base hits give him 48 this season. According to the Houston Chronicle, Berkman reached 48 extra base hits last year on September 2nd.

Fantasy Impact: Berkman is probably the best all-around player in fantasy baseball this year. He's hitting .358 and posting triple crown type numbers. His 12 steals are a surprise and a new career high.

Sheets to walk at season's end

Ben Sheets' latest outing was not enough for the Milwaukee Brewers to bring him back next season. The Brewers' ace, who's struggled to stay healthy for years, looks to be headed for free agency.

"That's the direction I'm headed right now," said Sheets. "You can't invite yourself back."

Sheets referred to the club's decision not to try to negotiate a new deal before or during the 2008 season. General manager Doug Melvin has said on more than one occasion that he preferred not to address Sheets' contract status until after the season.

Sheets goes on to say that he's not only not expecting a deal to be offered, but he probably won't be interested in negotiating one this late in the season. The blog doesn't say whether the Brewers might deal Sheets to another team before the trade deadline. They're rumored to be in the C.C. Sabathia hunt, which would mean they're trying to win now. They probably aren't sellers.

Fantasy Impact: Sheets is always an injury scare, but the fact that he's pitching in a contract year and using it as an audition for free agency bodes well. He's 9-1 with a 2.59 ERA.

Bushed trying to figure out Bush

Dave Bush continues to baffle fantasy owners with confounding inconsistency. Tonight the good Bush showed up in Atlanta for his second straight dominant outing. Bush worked seven innings giving up four hits and one run.

Milwaukee wins, 4-1. Jeff Francouer was a bright spot of sorts for the Braves, going 2-4 with his new contacts. He came in hitting just .243.

Fantasy Impact: It was Francouer's first multi-hit game since June 16. For a guy that hit .293 last year, that's saying something. Bush looks to have the makeup to be a special major leaguer, but he can't put it together. In his last two starts Bush gave up two earned runs in 15 innings. In his two previous starts he gave up eight in 10. He's a risky start because you never know which Bush you're going to get, and he seems to fail a time or two more than he succeeds.

Riggleman defeats Manuel

In the war between interim managers, Mariners skipper Jim Riggleman only needed two games to take out the Mets and Jerry Manuel. After a 5-2 win on Tuesday, a night that Riggleman had to get creative with his pitching staff after Felix Hernandez's fifth inning injury forced him from the game, Riggleman could coast on Wednesday. R.A. Dickey went seven scoreless innings for the victory, and Riggleman's lineup produced 11 runs on 15 hits including two home runs.

Manuel got tossed along with center fielder Carlos Beltran in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes. Seattle rolls, 11-0. Manuel can save a little face by winning the final battle of the series on Wednesday.

Hank hates you two

While I don't feel strongly either way on the DH rule, Tuesday provided us with an example of pitchers continuing to have success at bat (much to the dismay of Hank Steinbrenner). Andy Sonnanstine and Scott Olsen appeared determined to continue the cause for letting pitchers hit.

Sonnanstine coaxed a third-inning walk and then scored on Akinori Iwamura's two-run homer. Not to be outdone, Olsen singled home a run in the fourth. Both pitchers gave up two runs tonight, with each of them marking up the other's ERA.

Fantasy Impact: Only Olsen pitched well enough and long enough to get the win, giving up four hits in seven innings. He was saddled with a no decision in the end, the same fate as Sonnanstine. While Olsen has rebounded from a disastrous 2007 (15 losses) to post a 7-4 mark in '08, Sonnanstine is still full of hits and misses. He was actually a no-hit wonder at the plate tonight, deftly sacraficing a runner over in his other plate appearance. Sonnanstine is hitting .667 this year. He's 2-3.