Departures

A slew of players were headed down the wrong path Monday night in terms of playing positive roles down the stretch.

Washington's Dmitri Young and Jesus Flores are likely out for the year after respective MRI exams on a bad hip and bad ankle.

Rangers injury-plagued pitcher Brandon McCarthy appears to be done thanks to a flexor tendon problem in his pitching hand.

Kenny Rogers is done with the Tigers. Don't ask why.

Jeremy Guthrie is on the DL, retroactive to September 6th. He could pitch again this season, but with nothing on the line, why wouldn't the O's just bench him for the remainder of the year?

That leaves us with Robinson Cano. Joe Girardi benched Cano for not hustling, but he did get in the game against the White Sox Monday night. That said, Cano never really got started this season, hitting .260 with modest run and RBI production for a starter with the Yankees. Don't expect a sudden resurgence from one of the bigger disappointments this season.

Arrivals

Lots of news to jam into one night of posting, so we'll pop a couple of positives in one.

First, a newcomer dazzled in his second straight start. Scott Lewis, Cleveland's 25-year-old left hander, making his first appearance since an eight-inning, three-hit gem, went six innings, giving up just three hits again, striking out five in another strong effort for his second win.

Then there's Paul Konerko. The White Sox veteran first baseman hit four home runs in four days, showing some late life in an injury-plagued season. Then he sprained his MCL in a rundown last week. Konerko is finally ready to get back into the lineup Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

No-hit, one-hit

Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the 7th inning this afternoon as the Chicago Cubs tried to make it back-to-back no-hitters, something that's only been done once in the history of the game. Instead, Lilly gave up a single to Mark Loretta, the second batter he faced in the 7th, and the no-hit bid came to an abrupt halt.

The Cubs' combined one-hitter marked the first time in MLB history that club tossed a one-hitter the day after a no-hitter. Back in 1917 two St. Louis Browns pitchers, Erine Koob and Bob Groom, fired no-hitters on May 5th and 6th. Oddly enough, the Browns were no-hit twice earlier that same season.

Daisuke reaches milestone

Can you name the record Daisuke Matsuzaka established Monday night? In what's fairly big news on the Asian side of the Pacific rim, Matsuzaka became the first Japanese-born pitcher to win 17 games in a MLB regular season.

I love Malay news.

Fantasy Impact: Matsuzaka pitched well enough to be an impact in fantasy last year. This season he's the Red Sox ace, and likely one of yours as well. He's got a ton of talent, and he's blossoming into something special for the next handful of years.

Yost fired

The AP reports Ned Yost has been fired. Dale Sveum takes over for the rest of the year in Milwaukee.