Mariners replace Sexson quickly

After jettisoning Richie Sexson earlier in the day, the Mariners move quickly, acquiring Crag Wilson from the Pirates. Wilson was at Triple-A this year, but you'd have to imagine he'll be up with the M's.

Wilson was hitting .230 with 10 HR for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Update: Wilson was acquired for a player to be named, but the Pirates continued to make moves. None of them are major, especially if you're from the fantasy baseball crowd. Wilson is the most intriguing as he could provide the Mariners some pop.

Update: More info on the deals thanks to Bucs Dugout.

I'll have to agree that I'm not sure that Wilson does much for Seattle. They moved Ichiro back to RF, so it's not like Wilson has anywhere to play but first or DH, and he's not that great of a hitter. I expect Wilson to be up, though, and to contribute a some home runs.

Lilly leaves early, but OK

Ted Lilly is not injured. He left today's Cubs-Reds game in the third after throwing just 39 pitches. Lou Piniella just said in his postgame press conference that Lilly didn't have good stuff today. Piniella says Lilly will now get a nice, long layoff over the All-Star break and come back "fresher and stronger."

The Reds tagged Lilly for four runs on six hits in 2.2 innings. He walked two and picks up his ninth loss.

Fantasy Impact: Lilly finishes the first half with pretty mediocre numbers, although he is 9-6. His 4.68 ERA is not impressive, but if he improves at all after this layoff, he has an outside shot at 20 wins. I'll peg him for something closer to 15 or 16, however, as 15 is his career high. He's gone over 200 innings just once in his career, and he's now thrown 115.1 this season.

Romero picks up first save

Phillies reliever J.C. Romero picked up his first save of the season and just the fourth of his career in Philadelphia's 4-1 win over St. Louis. With two on in the ninth, Romero came in and retired both batters he faced, including a Brendan Ryan popout to end it.

Fantasy Impact: Don't get excited. You didn't scoop everyone in your league and pick up the latest new closer. Romero only worked in place of Brad Lidge due to Lidge's unavailability after working two nights in a row. Romero's numbers are good, but Lidge's numbers are scary (2-0, 20 S, 0.95 ERA).

Howard's beginning to rip

Ryan Howard mashed two home runs off Cardinals pitching today, giving him 27 on the season. He's two ahead of teammate Chase Utley for the MLB lead. The Phillies will have to do some serious damage in the eighth if he's going to get another at bat today, so we'll say Howard should finish the day with 27 homers and a .234 average.

Fantasy Impact: After a slow start that saw him hit mostly below .200 until May 21, Howard is having another incredible power season. He's on pace for 162 RBI and 53 HR. With his 125th strikeout today, Howard is on pace now for 244, which is 45 more than his single-season record of 199.

Phillips figures out Lilly

The Reds Brandon Phillips, 0-14 lifetime against Ted Lilly including a deep flyout to right in his first at bat today, homers in his second at bat. Phillips' two-run shot gives Cincinnati the lead, 4-3 in the third. With a gentle breeze out to center, this game will see more scoring.

Update: Maybe it wasn't Phillips. Lilly is done after 2.2 innings. He threw just 39 pitches, giving up four runs.

Fantasy Impact: Phillips has scuffled at times this season, but now he's got 15 home runs, and he's on pace to approach 100 runs and RBI. This was Lilly's shortest outing all season per WGN.

Mulder to DL

Mark Mulder is back on the disabled list after just 16 pitches as a starter this season. He has a shoulder strain.

Update: It sounds like the Cardinals and GM John Mozeliak have given up on Mulder.

He's just not getting over the hump," Mozeliak said. "Typically, I have a very optimistic tone. But in this case, it's hard to envision this getting to a point where it's going to work for us or for him."

I wonder if anyone will give him a chance.

Cards deal: for the birds?

Some interesting points made by St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Bernie Miklasz on the state of the Cardinals after NL Central rivals Milwaukee and Chicago respectively acquired CC Sabathia and Rich Harden. It sounds like St. Louis is not likely to make a major deal, especially with John Mozeliak as the general manager. He has Cardinals chairman Bill Dewitt strongly backing him.

After last season, DeWitt, vice president of player development Jeff Luhnow and Mozeliak made it clear they were in accord on the new organizational initiative to improve on the team's drafts and player development. The refusal to go along cost former GM Walt Jocketty his job. And no matter what the spin is publicly, DeWitt and Luhnow aren't about to sign off on the plundering of prospects to remedy short-term concerns.

...

"I don't think there's one Band-Aid or one player (available in trade), who changes the dynamic of our club," Mozeliak said. "And I surely don't think it's to the extent of where you're willing to sacrifice a lot of your future to just do that. Given that you don't have any certainty of success that (acquired players) may bring you."

Interesting that the Cardinals may have attempted to make more of a splash if current Reds GM Walt Jocketty was still around.