Olympics might alter MLB season

I thought this news was a few days old when I stumbled on it earlier today, but now I've come across it again from a British source. MLB is considering releasing players from their teams mid-season in future years, hoping it makes the sport relevant again for future Olympic games. The game is going to be left out of the 2012 games due to MLB's previous reluctance to allow players to participate.

MLB vice-president Bob Watson, who also serves as the general manager of the American national team, revealed as part of the American squad announcement on Wednesday that talks are ongoing between MLB, the IOC and International Baseball Federation.

"I believe they are trying to work up something, you have a few years to get a plan. There are a lot of moving parts but don't rule it out," Watson said in a conference call.

The previous article I referred to, however, says baseball is considering an overall work stoppage for future Olympics.

Major League Baseball opened the door to allowing top players to take part in future Olympics on Wednesday and said the league would consider shutting down mid-season if Chicago or Tokyo were selected as host of the 2016 Summer Games.

Hopefully the IOC asks MLB to drop the All-Star game winner decides home-field advantage in the World Series debacle, too.

In all seriousness, though, a work-stoppage would be a better way of going about business than removing the top players in season, and asking their teams to play on without them. If baseball needs to start two weeks earlier in an Olympic year, so be it. Play the early-season games in warm-weather cities or domes, and return the two weeks of road games to the cold weather cities once things warm up.

The new Frontier

The Frontier League gets it. They've gotten it for years, and just like MLB it happened again Wednesday for the independent baseball league; they couldn't complete an All-Star game in nine innings. For the fourth time in seven years, the Frontier League All-Star game was decided by a home run derby. Imagine that. No extra innings, no stretching pitchers beyond their reasonable limits. No squirming from the commissioner's seat.

The Frontier League came up with the concept of a Home Run Derby to decide the All-Star Game after the 2002 MLB game was declared a tie. It also helped to avoid a long extra-inning affair, like Tuesday's version of the midsummer classic ended in 15 innings.

"In a lot of ways, the way it ended was better than winning 2-0 in nine innings," said Kalamazoo's Fran Riordan, manager of the East squad. "The crowd was into it. I've never seen two teams more into a Home Run Derby to decide an All-Star Game.

"It was real exciting and fun to be a part of." The extra swings -- with three hitters representing each side -- were necessary after the West team scored two in the top of the ninth inning off Kalamazoo closer Brandon Parillo.

If the World Cup of soccer can be decided on penalty kicks, then an All-Star exhibition can certainly be decided on a home run derby.

I do, however, want to say that I'm not in any way for the All-Star game determining home-field advantage for the World Series. That is a total farce. The league that wins interleague play should have home-field in the World Series.

Relief, no relief

White Sox closer Bobby Jenks is on the mend with a rehab stint in the minors.

Takashi Saito's out for up to six weeks with an elbow problem, and the Dodgers' only true replacement is Johnathan Broxton.

Fantasy Impact: The Sox bullpen has done a decent job since Jenks left, but Scott Linebrink is no closer, and Octavio Dotel is not overly impressive but still servicable.

Saito's situation sounds fairly serious, and there's a chance he won't come back this year. For having such a good pitching staff, the Dodgers also have a shaky staff. Brad Penny, Jason Schmidt and Saito are the walking wounded. The rest of them combine an outstanding start or two with spontaneous combustion. Pick up Broxton for immediate saves, but he's never held the role and might break your heart a few times until he can settle in.

Ranking the ballparks

Last night's All-Star game signaled the beginning of the end for Yankee Stadium, arguably baseball's most historic park. It's listed as number one in terms of historical importance ahead of Wrigley Field and Fenway Park by The Bleacher Report. As a sign of the times, Oriole Park at Camden Yards comes in fourth in historical importance.

That makes the top four in baseball:

1. Yankee Stadium
2. Wrigley Field
3. Fenway Park
4. Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Next year, I think the top four will be:

1. The New Yankee Stadium
2. Wrigley Field
3. Fenway Park
4. Oriole Park at Camden Yards

While Wrigley and Fenway are classics, and Camden sets the standard for "new" parks, Yankee Stadium will be the reincarnation of a classic, something that's never been done before. Its importance will be understood in what it becomes known for. The Yankees need the stadium to be received as a retro masterpiece that plays baseball cathedral and forwarding-thinking colossus at once. I rarely listen to anything Joe Buck says, but last night when he mentioned that Yankee Stadium is the United States' Coliseum, he might've been correct. It's as important a stadium as any in the history of this country. It is probably the most important, and it probably will remain the most important.

Stadiums that would earn votes outside of the top four: AT&T Park, San Francisco; Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles; Petco Park, San Diego

I include Petco because it is the one park with a big outfield that hasn't had it's fences brought in since the park's inception. Comerica Park brought deep fences in, as did U.S. Cellular Field. Petco is as much a pitcher's park as any ballpark in baseball right now. AT&T Park is similar in this respect, but has very normal dimensions in left field.

Getting frank about Francisco

Twins starting pitcher Francisco Liriano's return to MLB is imminent, but don't get too excited. The Twins are talking about changing his role.

Antony said Twins general manager Bill Smith will speak with manager Ron Gardenhire about Liriano's role. Gardenhire has been adamant that when Liriano returns to Minnesota it will be as a starter, but Antony said the ballclub would discuss the possibility of Liriano pitching from the bullpen.

Given that Joe Nathan is one of the top two or three closers in baseball, Liriano's fantasy value would plummet if he goes to the 'pen.

LaPorta leaving port

Cleveland Indians prospect Matt LaPorta, who was acquired in the CC Sabathia trade from Milwaukee's farm system, will not be playing in the MLB until probably September. The U.S. Olympic team added LaPorta to the Beijing squad, meaning his July/August is going to be a little bit tied up.

"Just the chance to represent my country and bring back a gold medal, it would mean so much," LaPorta said after that game. As for this stretch of developments in his baseball life, he added: "It's been crazy, a roller-coaster ride up and down. The last two weeks just haven't stopped. One day you think you can catch your breath, then something else happens."

Fantasy Impact: LaPorta has the talent to contribue immediately, but he won't be playing imminently. You should stash him in a keeper league, as he'll probably be a starting candidate for Cleveland in Spring '09.

All-Star supernova

The New York Times says position players were ready to pitch just in case the All-Star game went beyond the point that the last remaining pitchers were capable of throwing.

Not Amused

I've been reading David Pinto's Baseball Musings long enough to know he doesn't get ruffled very often. Today is a bit different. I appreciate his passion. He even used the 'p' word!

Willing Webb

Brandon Webb's unwanted All-Star appearance (he had pitched on Sunday) was not met with reluctance. When the game went late, Webb approached NL manager Clint Hurdle and asked if he was needed. When he was, Webb just treated the appearance like a between-starts side session.

"I felt fine," he said. "There was a lot of adrenaline going, pumping through me. I went out there and got loose and felt comfortable and stuff."

Webb said he threw maybe 15 pitches in the bullpen warming up.

He threw 13 pitches in the 14th inning, keeping the score tied at 3 in a game that eventually was won by the American League 4-3 in the 15th inning.

"It was a normal day for a side session," he said. "Obviously, a little more intensity than in a side, but I think it all went very well."

He threw a perfect inning.

All-Star insanity

That was officially the best All-Star game I've witnessed in my life. The AL prevails on a Michael Young sacrafice fly off Brad Lidge in the 15th, scoring Justin Morneau for a 4-3 victory. Home-field is theirs in the fall classic.

I must admit I was rooting for more innings. I wanted to see what Terry Francona would do with both his bench and his bullpen used up and last pitcher Scott Kazmir almost out of bullets. I thought they might have to rotate Kazmir to another position and throw a position player. If both teams ended up throwing position players for home-field advantage in the World Series, the invalidation of "this one counts" would be complete.

A couple of oddities: Ryan Ludwick must've forgotten his "road" batting helmet. He was wearing a red one instead of the Cardinals' away navy helmet.

Kevin Youkilis was sipping a Red Bull at 1:34 a.m. EST. He was out of the game, so was Youkilis swigging the energy drink so he could stay up until daybreak?

Just Joshin'

Here's hoping Josh Hamilton stays on the wagon. He's every bit as gifted as his 1st overall draft selection indicated in 1999. Hamilton hit 28 home runs in the first round of tonight's home run derby, a new record, before succumbing to Justin Morneau in the final round, 5-3. Hamilton put on one of the great All-Star showings in recent memory.

Spitting Seeds midseason awards

AL MVP - Josh Hamilton, TEX: .310 AVG/60 R/21 HR/95 RBI/7 SB
NL MVP - Lance Berkman, HOU: .347 AVG/79 R/22 HR/73 RBI/15 SB
*Hamilton's 95 RBI make him the AL MVP by a longshot. Berkman's the most well-rounded.

AL CY - Cliff Lee, CLE: 12-2/2.31 ERA/124.2 IP/20 BB/106 K
NL CY - Edinson Volquez, CIN: 12-3/2.29 ERA/117.2 ERA/56 BB/126 K
*Lee's hot start earned him the CY over Halladay. Volquez over Lincecum and Webb.

AL ROY - Evan Longoria, TB: .275 AVG/45 R/16 HR/53 RBI/6 SB
NL ROY - Geovany Soto, CHC: .288 AVG/37 R/16 HR/56 RBI/0 SB
(tie) Jair Jurrjens, ATL: 9-4/3.00 ERA/111 IP/41 BB/81 K
*Ellsbury is still chasing Longoria. Flip a coin on Soto vs. Jurrjens.

Deny the DH

I stumbled upon this week-old Wall Street Journal article on the state of the two leagues in Major League Baseball. The assumption is the American League is superior to the National League, and that's proved with all sorts of statistical models. The argument turns to the designated hitter, and while I thought I didn't have a position on the DH and what should be done with it, I do now. Thank you Wall Street Journal.



I have, for a long time, believed the DH helps American League teams in the World Series. The DH typically means American League teams have more pop in their lineup. If they play in a National League park, they have a bigger bat to bring off their bench. This is an inherent advantage that an NL team cannot counter, because a player that can hit but can't field is more likely to take a starting spot as a DH than he is a bench spot on an NL roster.

If this is not cyclical, if the National League doesn't come around and show competitiveness, if the American League continues to dominate interleague play, the post season and the All-Star game, then the DH rule and what to do with it is eventually going to come up. A lack of competitive balance between the leagues is not a good thing, so baseball will eventually have to tackle the issue.

My guess is baseball will analyze all the statistical data, interview a bunch of players, managers, owners and front office types, and decide to install the DH in both leagues. They'll argue that pitchers are not good hitters, and to make them hit would be to take a step backward in baseball evolution. Most pitchers do not hit as they climb through the minor leagues, and none make it to MLB because of their stick. The argument will be fairly tidy and smack of lowest-common-denominator appeasement.

That said, I'm going to cast my vote against the DH. I think it needs to go. If it hurts competitive balance for one league over the other, it must die. Pitchers can't hit, but that doesn't mean allowing them to try takes away from the game. It actually adds to baseball, forcing managers to use more strategy to work around the pitcher slot late in games. If the DH is a step into the future, and pitchers hitting is de-evolution, then why are designated hitters a bunch of 35 year-old Neanderthals posing as baseball players. We watch these hangers-on do nothing but swing for the fences, padding their careers with gaudy numbers that help them reach he Hall of Fame.

It's time for the DH issue to be put to rest.

Is baseball insane?

Bud Poliquin, a columnist with the Syracuse Post-Standard sums up my feelings exactly on the midsummer classic's attachment to the World Series. Bud laments the follies of baseball, wishing the sport could do better than give meaning to an exhibition.

But Major League Baseball is the sport with different rules for different teams (i.e., the continuing DH lunacy) . . . legislated, integrity-compromising scheduling imbalances (brought on by inter-league play) . . . "competition" that includes clubs with $207-million payrolls (Yankees) vying for the same title as those with $23-million payrolls (Marlins) . . . and various and sundry other sins.
Associated Press/Chad RachmanThis is Madonna, who may or may not be dating Alex Rodriguez, who will play in Tuesday's All-Star Game when not possibly partying with Madonna, who could help to determine the World Series winner in October. Savvy?

So anointing a rompish nine innings, squeezed around parties where scoring takes on a meaning beyond what Abner Doubleday had likely considered, is ridiculous. Which suggest that MLB is consistent, if nothing else.

Thanks, Bud.

Somethin' Brewin'

Ben Sheets is about to be named the NL starter for the All-Star game. Some special season Milwaukee is having. They haven't made the postseason in 26 years, now they're buying last year's Cy Young winner on the trade market and landing their first-ever starter in the All-Star game. Expect the Cubs to counter immediately, trying to get Carlos Zambrano or Ryan Dempster on the hill for the American League.

Like putting a shoe on

Che-Hsuan Lin won the Futures Game MVP for his two-run homer, pushing his World team past the USA team, 3-0. Lin is a Red Sox farmhand.

In case you're wondering, his name is pronounced Chee shoo-ahn Lin. Start practicing.

Bad column alert

I just can't understand this point of view. The All-Star game deciding home-field advantage in the World Series is asinine. What's more, MLB shouldn't receive "props" or any other outdated congratulatory slang for such a terrible idea. If giving the winning side of an All-Star game home-field advantage for the championship series is such a good idea, why hasn't any other major sport in this country or any other country picked up on it?

Take your time, hurry up - the choice is yours

My post on Reds radio delaying broadcasts to match up with TV caused a bit of a stir. A number of blog communities picked up on it and commented on which is better: letting fans at home match TV and radio for their enjoyment, or leaving the radio signal as is to allow fans at the game a chance to listen live. Delaying the signal means less enjoyment for fans who like to listen from their ballpark seats.

Well, the original article picked up on this problem yet failed to offer a solution. The Reds say delaying broadcasts is currently just an experiment, and they welcome feedback from their fans on what to do with it in the future.

The solution fans should ask for, I'm fairly certain, is quite simple: simulcast the game on two radio stations. The Reds, just like any team in baseball, could simulcast the game with an immediate feed of the play by play via one station while a second station delays the feed for fans watching TV at home. This shouldn't be too expensive, because I know there are at least a few college football teams that put their games on both AM and FM stations in order to reach a wider audience. It makes so much sense that I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see this in the coming seasons with a number of teams.

Tell the Reds Spitting Seeds suggestion here: breinberger@reds.com

Kurt Cobain once sang, "take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours" in "Come as you are." Who knew he was singing about radio broadcasts? The choice is easy in this case: choose both immediate and delayed feeds on two different stations!

Harden makes it look easy

Not much posting here this weekend due to a younger brother's bachelor party. The party happened to be held at Wrigley Field, however, which was a very interesting place to be on Saturday. Rich Harden made his Cubs debut, striking out 10 in 5.1 innings, but he was denied the win when Carlos Marmol blew the lead with a five-run Giants ninth. The Cubs did prevail in 11, 8-7.

Most striking in this impressive debut performance was Harden's pregame. Pregame, you ask? Yes. Harden's first jog as a Cub, a 40-yard trot across left field before warm up tosses, was met by a standing ovation from the bleachers. His second cantor was met by half of the stadium (half of what had arrived in time to see Harden prepare to pitch a half hour before the game) rising for another ovation. Without a tip of his cap or even a slight acknowledgment of this overwhelming welcome, Harden went about his business with straightforward workman-like determination, looking totally unaffected.

What followed was a pitcher dominating his opposition, striking out 10 of the 24 batters he faced. It was such a smooth performance, I turned to my father at one point in the fifth amazed at having learned Harden had fanned nine batters already. Harden looked almost too comfortable out there. He looked in complete control. Only later did I read that he felt like this was his first start in the majors.

"That was a pretty cool feeling," Harden said. "I've never really had anything like that pitching in Oakland."

Pitching in Wrigley is not pitching in Oakland, and it looks like Rich Harden will fit in around the Friendly Confines just fine. He does, however, need to go a little deeper into games unless he wants to continue leaving things up to the bullpen.

Marmol makes N.L. squad

Carlos Marmol is replacing Kerry Wood on the National League All-Star team. Marmol started the year strong, but he's also struggled badly in the last month of the season. Just yesterday he blew a 7-2 lead in the ninth with four earned runs, raising his ERA to 4.13.

There are many better choices than Marmol, but he was the highest voted pitcher left from the player balloting, so he makes the team. My guess is he never sees the field.

Benito been bad

Bob Brenly says on CSN Chicago that Benito Santiago used to lean into batters at home plate when base runners got a good jump from first. The interference call would get would-be base stealers even if they had the bag stolen. That's brilliant, but is there anything Santiago didn't cheat at? First steroids, then obscure rules; Santiago played the angles.

Bay on banks of Mississippi?

Here's one that hasn't been ballyhooed enough in recent weeks: The Cardinals going after Pittsburgh's Jason Bay. While it looks like this might take a while, it could prove the Cardinals' feel the same as most critics of their own OF corps, which includes Rick Ankiel, Joe Mather, Brian Barton, Skip Schumaker and and All-Star Ryan Ludwick.

One executive with a National League team said he thought "it would go down to the wire'' whether Bay would be dealt.

"We're looking for what we deem appropriate value. We're not going to limit ourselves to guys who are close (to the big leagues),'' Huntington said. "Our goal is to maximize our return and find a good match.''

Bay in St. Louis could add some extra pop to the Cardinals lineup. He's having a good year: .291/62/17/46/6

Fantasy Impact: Can't see how this would do anything but improve Bay's fantasy value. You never know how a player is going to react to being traded, but entering a more potent Cardinals lineup should would only increase his offensive output. The only way his numbers would flatten out is if the Cardinals continue to platoon their corner OFs, including Bay, but he's a superior talent to anyone they're trotting out there.

Best record to wild card

Tampa's ugly 13-2 loss to last-place Cleveland leaves them just 1.5 games ahead of Boston in the AL East. The Red Sox won their last game, 18-5 against Minnesota.

We're just a couple of weekend sweeps away from having the team with the best record in baseball when the week began (Tampa) falling into second place in their own division by week's end.

Clark could move

The San Diego Padres will listen to offers for Tony Clark, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. It makes sense to deal the 36-year-old switch-hitter, as the Padres need to upgrade several positions (I don't think they'll get anything more than a mid-level prospect), but if they're actually clearing space for 31-year-old career minor leaguer Brian Myrow, that's odd. Myrow has a .188 average in 33 at bats in MLB. There's a reason he hasn't gotten much of a chance at this point in his career.

Analyzing Hart & Longoria selections

Fans voted Evan Longoria and Corey Hart to their respective All-Star teams with this year's final vote. I'm a bit surprised. Longoria is in his first season with the Tampa Bay Rays while Hart is in just his second season with Milwaukee. Neither is putting up Albert Pujols-type numbers, and they're not playing in the biggest of the big in terms of media markets. I guess word on good young players gets out faster these days with fantasy baseball and the internet. Here's a look at their ranking in the five most common fantasy stat categories (AVG/R/HR/RBI/SB) vs. the players they were up against:

NL:
Corey Hart (.292/47/15/57/13) - (3/3/4/3/1) Total: 14
David Wright (.288/59/17/70/10) - (4/1/3/2/2) Total: 12
Pat Burrell (.279/48/22/54/0) - (5/2/1/4/5) Total: 17
Aaron Rowand (.296/40/8/47/1) - (1/5/5/5/4) Total: 20
Carlos Lee (.293/46/21/72/4) - (2/4/2/1/3) Total: 12

AL:
Evan Longoria (.281/44/16/53/6) - (3/4/3/T3/2) Total: 15
Jermaine Dye (.301/52/20/53/3) - (1/2/1/T3/3) Total: 10
Jason Giambi (.256/45/18/54/2) - (5/3/2/2/4) Total: 16
Brian Roberts (.291/59/7/32/25) - (2/1/5/5/1) Total: 14
Jose Guillen (.274/41/13/65/1) - (5/5/4/1/5) Total: 20

(Players are listed in order they finished in the voting)

Low score wins in the "Total" column, so Hart finishes 3rd among NL final vote candidates. Longoria finishes 3rd among AL final vote candidates.

A quick note on the NL "Total" rankings - batting average was very tight between the NL players, so Hart could actually be the top-ranked player with a single day of good hitting vs. a bad day for the other guys. He's a solid choice, but I like David Wright better. Wright is fourth in average, and still ties Carlos Lee with 12 points. Wright doesn't hit as many homers as Lee, but his numbers across the board are very good in every category. I think Wright should've been the All-Star here, while Lee and Hart finish a close second. Fans gave Lee absolutely no credit for an outstanding first half.

As far as Longoria's selection, I think the fans did the right thing in voting him on to the AL roster. He only finishes 3rd in these rankings, but he also missed a large chunk of the season in the minors. Given that, he's still competitive in the R/HR/RBI categories, which is very impressive. Unless he wears out, Longoria is poised to have monster numbers at season's end. Maybe he is Pujols-like, afterall. I like Dye and Roberts second and third, respectively, but Giambi and Guillen had no chance.

Huston, not Houston

Huston Street, in an interview with Yahoo! Sports tells us why his first name is spelled with out the 'O' like the city of Houston.

My parents, like all people from Texas, are very proud of their state and wanted me to have a name that resembled it; they wanted me to have a "Texas" name but didn't want people to think I was named after the city, so they took the "O" out.

They could have named him Cody or something and that would've sufficed. I actually like Huston better.

How much of their time did they waste talking about third grade? Ridiculous.

Sid the Mechanic

Sidney Ponson has an explanation for his one bad start sandwiched in between two solid outings for the Yankees. His mechanics were off. In between his second and third starts, Ponson worked on not allowing his left shoulder to fly open, and it led to success.

"My mechanics were way better than it was last start," he said. "My sinker was sinking downward instead of side to side and I got myself in a couple of jams. But I was lucky enough to get out of them."

Fantasy Impact: Ponson falls into the Jose Contreras category for fantasy play: good enough to consider, but make sure he's hot when you pick him up. If Ponson can keep his shoulder in for another outing, however, there's no harm in giving him a try over other options.

Moustache to stay

Jason Giambi says he has no choice. He's keeping the moustache. Apparently he thinks growing it during his long early-season slump helped him get back to hitting the ball.

I think Giambi needs a new gimmick. He's hit no home runs in his last six games, and his average dropped 12 points to .256. Full beard time, perhaps.

No Bonds offer

Even after the Diamondbacks expressed general interest in Barry Bonds, no contract is coming from Phoenix or any other Major League city. I don't expect Bonds to play baseball again.

Was it Peter Gammons who said, "Bonds has more baggage than O'Hare airport" recently? For anyone that's visited Chicago, Midway airport has a lot of baggage. O'Hare is insane.

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.

No Super Bowl

The All-Star game ad sales are out, and thanks to the midsummer classic being in New York, the money is pretty big. Some spots are going for more than $500,000.

This article says NBC, which is carrying the 2009 Super Bowl, expects to earn about $3 million per add for next year's big game. That means an All-Star game spot is worth about one-sixth of a Super Bowl ad. That's not half bad. Not even close.

Not Sori

In the biggest non-story of the day, Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano will not play in the all-star game. No kidding.

Pitching the pits in Pittsburgh

The Pirates miss on an opportunity to sweep the Astros Wednesday, meaning they haven't won three straight games since winning six straight from May 6-12. That's not exactly surprising considering how horrendously their pitching staff has performed.

Pittsburgh's got the worst team ERA in MLB at 5.13. They've given up 926 hits in 816.1 innings -- also worst in the majors. Even with all those hits against them, Pirates pitchers simultaneously give up the most walks in baseball. No pitching equals no consistency.

John Van Benschoten becomes the latest Pittsburgh pitching victim, giving up four runs to Houston in 4.2 innings. Houston knocked out seven hits and drew six walks. He was optioned to Triple-A after the game.

Berkman steals two

Lance Berkman's two stolen bases not only helped the Astros sprint past the Pirates, 6-4, but they also ran his career high in steals to 14 for the year. Not only is that a career best, it's five more than Berkman's stolen in any full season in the majors. Four more and he doubles his career best of nine set back in 2004. He never stole more than seven bases over parts of five seasons in the minors.

Fantasy Impact: Berkman's not likely getting faster with age. He's just running more. Take this while it lasts, because it's unlikely that you drafted the Astros' slugger for his wheels. Who knows if Berkman can sustain the production for a complete season? He's looking like an MVP candidate, and if he can get to 20 steals that might put him over the top.

Eight is enough, somehow so is zero

Washington starter John Lannan finally ends his string of eight straight team losses (five of which he earned) with a 5-0 win over Arizona. Lannan worked six innings, and without recording a single strikeout he managed to not allow a single run. Zero strikeouts, one win. I'm assuming Lannan will take it. He beats Micah Owings, who pitched OK, giving up three runs in 5.2 innings.

Fantasy Impact: I don't like Lannan, but I do, if that makes sense. I wouldn't touch him as a fantasy option, only because I don't think he's capable of dominating any one stat category, but I think he's a pretty decent pitcher who has the bad luck of being on a bad team. I wouldn't touch Owings, either. He might be a better hitter than a pitcher, and he's not doing that very well lately, either.

Weather man

Along with the weather, Miguel Cabrera is warming up in Detroit. After hitting two homers Tuesday night, Cabrera hits a two-run walkoff bomb in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Tigers to an 8-6 win over Cleveland.

Fantasy Impact: Cabrera is just getting started. His .292 average is 18 points below his career mark. His 16 home runs have him on pace for a few short of the 34 he hit last year. There's a lot more to come.

Saving Octavio

After going 1-4 in save opportunities, Scott Linebrink appears to be out as the emergency closer for the White Sox. Linebrink blew his third save Tuesday night. Ozzie Guillen turned to Octavio Dotel Wednesday, and the veteran right hander does not disappoint. Dotel strikes out all three batters he faces, picking up his first save of the season and the 83rd of his career in a 7-6 win over Kansas City.

Update: CSN Chicago reports that Dotel will be closing games until Jenks returns after the All-Star break. Jenks is on the 15-day DL with bursitis near his non-throwing shoulder.

Lowe on a high

Derek Lowe is perfect through six innings against the Atlanta Braves. His counterpart, Tim Hudson, has only allowed a double to Dodgers' first baseman James Loney. The two pitchers have combined for 22 ground balls in 36 outs.

Update: Lowe gave up a single to Gregor Blanco to lead off the seventh inning but got out of the inning with a shutout in tact.

Early brilliance

"We've grown accustomed to early brilliance," Vin Scully just uttered to open the fourth of the Dodgers-Braves FSN Prime Ticket telecast from Los Angeles. For the past three nights, these two teams have been unable to put a run on the board against each other's starting pitcher for at least the first four innings.

Monday, Hiroki Kuroda lost a perfect game in the eighth, and Jorge Campillo kept the Dodgers off the board until the fifth. Tuesday, Chad Billingsley finally gave up three in the fifth while it took the Dodgers an inning longer to get to Jair Jurrjens. Tonight, Derek Lowe's established his sinker, getting eight groundball outs in through four innings. The Braves are scoreless through four again, with Tim Hudson sailing along with six groundouts now with one down in the bottom of the fourth.

Update: Hudson just got James Loney to ground out and Russell Martin to pop out to catcher Brian McCann. It's a double perfect game through four!

Update: After Lowe breezed through the top of the fifth with two more groundouts and a pop out, Hudson served up a leadoff double to Loney in the bottom half. We're down to one perfect game tonight.

MLB on the cheap

Perhaps in response to previous articles and posts addressing the downturn in attendance at MLB games, teams are taking a proactive approach to get fans back to the ballpark.

The Giants promotion of $25 gas cards for anyone who buys $75 tickets seems silly to me, but I like the Sox and A's giving tickets away for a buck or two -- especially when the Sox are giving them to kids. That could really help a family of four or five afford more than a few games a season.

The Cardinals sell a bunch of tickets to the first fans to show up at the ballpark on the day of a game at a very reasonable rate. They're called First-Pitch Tickets, and I think it's really a nice touch. Good business by the St. Louis National League ballclub.

Mulder leaves early

Mark Mulder faced three batters tonight in his first start since last September. Strike out, walk, walk, inning over -- for Mulder. The Associated Press says it was a left arm injury.

There will be those that say this is a classic case of a pitcher getting rushed back when he's not ready. I'd like to see some comments from Mulder before drawing any conclusions. It's hard to say he was rushed back when he was given two relief outings and pitched 34 innings in the minors before getting his first MLB start. He hadn't started a game for the Cardinals in almost 10 months.

Before Tuesday's game, Tony La Russa expressed a good deal of confidence in Mulder, at least more than he had in his other options.

"There's a spot open, and it's an opportunity for him to go out there and throw extended pitches," La Russa said. "I think it would be a really difficult assignment. But there isn't anybody he's bumping that gives us a better chance to win, even though it's really difficult for him."

If you take a hard look at the state of the Cardinals staff, however, you understand it is an overachieving unit held together at the back end with Scotch Tape and Band-Aids. The Cards needed Mulder before this start, but they held off. He could've climbed the hill weeks ago, but they were not going to push the limit.

Losing Harang

Reds pitcher Aaron Harang was sent back to Cincinnati after an abysmal start against the Cubs the night before. He'll have an MRI on his forearm.

Fantasy Impact: By now this doesn't mean so much. Harang's been a bust, with just three wins in 19 starts and a 4.76 ERA. If you drafted him high, you payed too big a price. Harang had a career-high seven walks on Tuesday in just 4.1 innings.

Fish school San Diego

Cody Ross extended his hitting streak to 13 games, Hanley Ramirez homered, and the Florida Marlins got past the Padres in San Diego, 5-2. The real story in this one is pitcher Scott Olsen, who gave up just one earned run over eight innings to pick up just his second win since June 7th.

Fantasy Impact: Olsen only has five wins against four losses. His ERA is a solid 3.77, but he's hardly more than a 5th starter in fantasy play.

Ross scuffled below .200 for almost two months, but has his average at .268 now. He's at the magic age of 27, a breakout year for many hitters. Ross actually hit .335 last year in limited at bats, so don't expect him to climb toward batting champion-type numbers, but he's got potential to be a solid to good contributor the rest of the way.

Ponson, Yanks handle Tampa again

Is this the beginning of Tampa's fall from first? The Rays fall to the Yankees in 10 innings, 2-1, as Bobby Abreu doubled home Derek Jeter for the walkoff win. The Rays drop back-to-back games to the Yankees, and now stand just two games ahead of the Red Sox in the A.L. East.

Sidney Ponson, in just his third start as a Yankee, has sandwiched two strong starts around a meltdown against Texas. Ponson went six innings, giving up five hits and one earned run. He earns a no-decision.

Fantasy Impact: If you can wait, it's probably too early to pick up Ponson. He's often sloppy, even when he wins, giving up too many base runners to feel comfortable about his effort. Then again, he is with the Yankees now, so if you're looking for wins, he's a decent option.

Beantown is boomtown

The Red Sox got eight in the seventh and four more in the eighth, running away from Minnesota, 18-5. Eight Red Sox had multi-hit games, led by leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury with four. Ellsbury went 4-6 with two runs scored and an RBI, raising his batting average nine points to .278. Kevin Youkilis went 3-5 with a home runs, three runs and four RBI.

Fantasy Impact: You can safely assume Ellbury is back on his game after a late June slump. Youkilis is showing steady improvement each and every year at the plate. He is blossoming into a an elite corner infielder with 14 home runs and is on pace for close to 100 runs and RBI.

Yo, Yovani

Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo is attempting to do the improbable - pitch again this season. Tom Haudricourt has that in the second half of this piece.

“I would like to pitch before the end of the year,” Gallardo said. “That’s what I’m shooting for. If I’m not ready, it’s not worth taking the risk. But everything’s going good.

“I’m going to do everything possible to stay on the right track. I’m not counting on it but hopefully I can come back (in September). That’s my goal.”

That would be a remarkable turnaround. Considering ACL tears used to take a one-year recovery, Gallardo would be back in one-third of the time. Typical recovery time these days is six months.

Fantasy Impact: If Gallardo is back in September it likely only helps you for the final week or two of your season and the postseason. Playing him will be a risky move, considering he wouldn't have pitched in four months. Gallardo has displayed dominant stuff, however, so he could provide more than CC Sabathia does in terms of fantasy numbers. Stash him on your bench and hope for a shot in the arm for your staff come playoff time.

20-thousand moustaches

Don't be surprised if you see 20-thousand Don Mattinglys at Yankee Stadium tonight. The Yanks are attempting to earn moustachioed first baseman Jason Giambi some extra publicity in the MLB.com final vote, which allows fans to pick the last member of both the American League and National League All-Star rosters. Check out http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/yanks_try_hairbrained_scheme_t.html.

If you think the Yankees are unfairly pushing their player, they're not the only ones. The White Sox are sending out press releases on Jermaine Dye, who is also a final vote candidate. I've received at least two of them myself.

Seeing Giambi in a moustache makes me think of Don Mattingly every single time.

Off the Snyder

By now, I'm sure you've heard about the injury to Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder. Well, apparently it's not as bad as first diagnosed. The Arizona Republic is all over the story (bottom of page).

Catcher Chris Snyder also visited a specialist Monday and was told that his injury is healing properly. Snyder initially was diagnosed with a left testicular fracture, but he said tests showed it was not a fracture but rather "badly bruised." He hopes to return from the disabled list immediately after the All-Star break.

I'd feel funny being the reporter asking these questions, but he did his job. That said, I don't want either of those injuries.

For more on the "meat" of that link -- the Barry Bonds part -- here you go.

Bonds in the desert?

The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are at least considering Barry Bonds as a potential addition to their outfield. Here's a couple of quotes from GM Josh Byrnes:

"He and maybe a couple of others are sort of sitting out there," Byrnes said. "I think it's a bit of assessing any player's readiness, then knocking somebody out of the lineup, dollars, etc.

"I don't want to talk about him specifically but, believe me, we've considered a lot of options. There is sort of no one obvious option right now, but there are a lot of considerations."

Adding Bonds is obviously a publicity risk, but with the way the D-backs have come back to earth, it makes sense for them to explore him as an option. Outfielder Eric Byrnes' season may be over due to his chronic hamstring problems, which has the D-Backs in need of doing something creative with their outfield.

Ellsbury sparks Boston past Twinkies

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury appears to be bouncing back from his recent mini-slump. Tonight against Minnesota Ellsbury led off the eighth inning with a double and eventually scored as part of a four-run Red Sox rally in a 6-5 comeback win.

With the Yankees toppling Tampa, Boston picks up a game on the first-place Rays. They're now just three away from first place.

Fantasy Impact: Ellsbury went 2-4 with two runs scored, upping his average to .271. After a string of zero multiple-hit games over the second half of June dropped his average from .289 to .266, Ellsbury's produced three mult-hit games in just eight days in July. More concerning is his lack of steals. Since June 17th Ellsbury's run just four times, and he's been caught in three of those attempts.

Pettitte, Pinstripes dominate Rays

The Yankees took a bite out of the best record in baseball thanks to a stellar performance from Andy Pettitte. The 36-year-old left hander worked eight innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Tampa Bay Rays just four hits. Melky Cabrera's eighth home run highlighted the Pinstripes' scoring, as they push across five runs to win 5-0.

Tampa falls to 55-34, a game-and-a-half better than both the Angles, who lost, and the Cubs, who won, for best record in baseball. The Yanks stand 7.5 games back in the A.L. East.

I have a feeling Tampa will not have the best record in baseball at the All-Star break.

Breaking down the Harden deal - Oakland's haul

After taking a few minutes to digest the Oakland-Chicago deal that sends Rich Harden to Wrigley, it appears the A's could've gotten more. Harden was an American League Cy Young candidate, and the addition of 25-year-old middle reliever Chad Gaudin (who could end up a starter in the future) makes this a nice haul for the Cubs.

Chicago gives up three players who were good enough to get opportunities in the big leagues but unable to hold down spots on the 25-man Cubs roster. They also receive a catching prospect who was hitting .217 in Single-A.

Here are the key components Oakland took away:

Eric Patterson (OF) - Corey's little brother hasn't received nearly as much fanfare as big bro, but he also hasn't been rushed to the majors (he's already 25). That might help him down the road as he has the chance to ease into playing time at the highest level. His Triple-A stats this year: .320 avg., 6 HR, 28 RBI, 11 SB in 203 AB.

Sean Gallagher (P) - Likely the key to the deal on the Oakland side. Gallagher showed flahes of promise with the Cubs, but Chicago is erring on the experience side for the postseason in trading him away for Harden. They're also erring on the talent side, as Gallagher is no Harden, not yet anyway. In 10 starts with the Cubs he won three games, striking out 49 batters in 58.2 innings with an ERA of 4.45. Gallagher is not yet 23.

Matt Murton (OF) - Murton initially came to Chicago via Boston's farm system, and he's been nothing less than a productive hitter through the Chicago system. He couldn't, however, make the Cubs 25-man roster this year. It 870 MLB at bats, Murton's hit 28 home runs and posted a .294 average. He turns 27 in October.

There's some definite talent there, but you have to wonder if Oakland could've gotten top Cubs prospects Tyler Colvin or Donny Veal instead of Donaldson.

Harden to Chicago

The Cubs pulled off a six-player deal with Oakland that sends Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to Chicago's north side in exchange for three major-league ready prospects and a minor league catcher.

Eric Patterson (OF), Matt Murton (OF), and Sean Gallagher (P) are all headed to Oakland along with catching prospect Josh Donaldson.

Update: MLB Trade Rumors is all over the story as well.

Update: Cubs gerneral manager Jim Hendry is discussing the deal now on CSN Chicago in a press conference. Hendry says this is not a direct response to Milwaukee's deal for CC Sabathia but merely coincidental timing-wise. He says the pitchers will be at Wrigley tomorrow.

And you thought MLB was top heavy

One of the best articles written on The Bleacher Report summarizes how Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, is attempting to help English soccer teams play their own version of "Moneyball" -- using statistical anaylysis to get the most value on the field.

Tottenham Hotspur are one of the first clubs to look into the possibility of adapting the approach of the Oakland A's to the boundaries of professional football, working with Beane himself, who admits to "falling in love" with the game during a couple of months he spent in England in 2006.

Beane is exploring the possibility of adapting the model to football with professor Bill Gerrard of the University of Leeds. It is hoped that such a model will expose similar imperfections in the labour market for professional footballers to those identified in baseball.

All of which will be of benefit to professional football clubs, allowing them to sign suitable players for a lower cost, and could have the impact of breaking the dominance of the Premier League by the "Big Four."

There are many difficulties associated with the development of such a statistical model for football though, namely, the choice of the key performance indicators that will be used.

Because soccer is not as statistically driven as baseball (it's not even close), The Bleacher Report points out that the accurate analysis of soccer is much more difficult. Good read, nonetheless.

Here's presumably where they got the story in the first place.

Fantasy Analysis: If Tottenham win the Premiership any time soon it will be a shock. Chelsea and Man U have enjoyed a stranglehold on the top in recent seasons. Martin Jol is gone, though, so who knows.

Cubs sale progresses

Reuters says the Cubs sale is picking up steam.

Ten potential owner groups were approved to bid on the Cubs by Major League Baseball (MLB), said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the sale process was ongoing.

"It's cooking," one source said. "It's happening. There's 10 approved bidders right now."

That's the first time I've ever quoted Reuters. Just wanted to mention that.

Radio delay in Cincy a good thing

Here's an interesting article on the Cincinnati Reds intentionally delaying their radio broadcasts to synchronize with their TV telecasts (sorry about the subscription necessary to read the article).

I wish more MLB teams did this, as I really enjoy listening to radio while watching the telecasts. It seems to add another element to the experience.

One-hit wonder

Padres LF/3B rookie Chase Headley had his 10-game, one-hit streak stopped Sunday. Then he picked back up with the one-hit approach Monday in a 3-1 San Diego loss to Florida.

Headley homered for his only hit in three at bats, providing the Padres their only run.

Fantasy Impact: Headley's hit five home runs, but carries a batting average of just .243 in 74 at bats. He strikes out too much (22 Ks) to expect a robust batting average, but he will provide San Diego some much-needed pop.

Dual duel

Nice pitchers duel in Boston Monday night. The Red Sox' Daisuke Matsuzaka and Twins' Scott Baker got into a staring contest, and neither blinked. Matsuzaka went 7.1 innings without giving up a run. Baker went seven without a Boston runner ever crossing home.

The BoSox end up winning, 1-0 on a Manny Ramirez RBI single off of Minnesota relief -- or lack of relief.

Fantasy Impact: Remember Daisuke's return from the DL? Forget about it. He's at worst a solid number two in fantasy play. Baker is emerging into something quite nice himself with five straight quality starts to get his ERA down to 3.32. Start him in most leagues.

CC you in Milwaukee

I watched CC Sabathia's introductory press conference and wasn't overly impressed with the proceedings. Sabathia shrugged off most questions with the typical refrain, "I just want to fit in." The most animated moment came when he was asked about Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder being the second biggest player on the team now that Sabathia is in town. CC smiled and said Fielder offered him a pair of pants when he first entered the Brewers clubhouse.

I don't think the pants would fit. Sabathia is 6'7, 290 lbs. while Fielder weighs 270 lbs. but stands eight inches shorter. Sabathia certainly seems to "fit" in Milwaukee. Brewers fans gave him a standing ovation when his name appeared on the scoreboard, and Tuesday's game (his first start) was nearly sold out as of the seventh inning of Monday's game.

That brings us to the Milwaukee mess that was Monday, in which the Brewers had two players picked off first, and an error by Russell Branyan at third on Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez's ground ball scored a run in a 4-3 loss. Mental mistakes like those will cost any pitcher, even last year's Cy Young award winner.

One more note: Maybe the repeat "I just want to fit in" line was exactly how CC felt. Apparently the Brewers gave him all the time he wanted to get to Milwaukee, according to the Brewers telecast, but he decided to get to Miller Park in time for his first start on Tuesday. It's basically his normal turn in the rotation whether he's pitching in Cleveland or not, and CC wanted to maximize his opportunities with his new team, per the FSN announcers.

Not easy, but Eveland notches win

A hard-fought win by Dana Eveland and the Oakland A's against Seattle tonight. Eveland gave up three in the first on a three-run homer by the Mariners' Richie Sexson. Then he scattered hits the rest of the way, giving up no runs over the next 4.1 innings. The A's climbed back into the game thanks to Wes Bankston's two-run homer and took a 4-3 lead before Eveland's departure in the sixth. The bullpen held Seattle scoreless the rest of the way, handing Eveland his seventh win.

Fantasy Impact: Eveland threw just 53 of his 100 pitches for strikes, but found a way to keep his team in the game after a rough start. That's the reason he's 7-5 on the year. He's a solid, if not spectacular, fantasy starter.

Hiroki the hero

Mark Teixeira broke up Hiroki Kuroda's perfect game bid, leading off the eighth with a double to right on a 2-2 pitch. Kuroda still threw a complete game shutout, getting the last six batters in a row.

Kuroda struck out six over the first four innings but did not record a strikeout over the last five. Kuroda's ERA drops to 3.39, a full 34 points, and he only 91 pitches (61 for strikes).

Fantasy Impact: Kuroda's time on the DL must've served him well. This was a dominant performance. This was a pitcher completely taking control of a game and finishing it in style. Although Teixeira broke up the perfect game and no-hitter, Kuroda got him down 0-2 before the fatal pitch.

Soria blows 2nd save

For just the second time in 25 chances, Royals closer Joakim Soria blew a save opportunity. The latest comes with a 3-2 K.C. lead on Tampa at Tropicana Field in a Monday matinee. With one out in the ninth, Carlos Pena hit his second home run of the series to right.

Update: The Royals belt two home runs in the top of the 10th. John Buck sends a three-run homer out to left which is followed by a solo shot from Mike Aviles, and Soria ends up with a win. He gave up another homer to Eric Hinske in the 10th, but the Royals prevail 7-4.

Fantasy Impact: Soria is an elite closer who's worked 23 of his 25 chances to near perfection this year. He struck out two of the five batters he faced in the inning and is averaging more than a strike out per inning this season. Pena's got two home runs since returning from the D.L. in late June.

Cubs after Harden

After losing out in the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes, the Cubs appear to be focusing their efforts on Rich Harden, according the the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Cubs have spent a lot of time on the phone recently with Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane trying to pry away right-hander Rich Harden. Expect the phone lines to start burning a little hotter beginning today.

Interesting that Sabathia won the A.L. Cy Young last year, and Harden's expected to be a leading candidate for the award this year. If the Cubs end up landing Harden they may be getting the better pitcher -- at least for this year.

NBA: the problem-solving pace-setter for MLB, others?

This column from the Chicago Tribune explains the ideas behind NBA commisioner David Stern's hiring of a former military general to take misguided referees to task. The writer asks for the same sort of authority figure to sort out problems in the NCAA, which he hopes eventually helps to clean up Major League Baseball:

That in turn would apply pressure to Commissioner Bud Selig, whose baseball industry sanctions minor-league umpires to arbitrate major-league games so the elite can enjoy an in-season vacation, not to be confused with a five-month off-season vacation. When the regulars return from fishing, perhaps the more confrontational types could be urged to avert disorder instead of baiting players and managers.

If players don't get a vacation during the season why should umps?

Sabathia deal: prospects leaked

While we await official announcement of the Sabathia deal early this week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has leaked at least a few of the players expected to be named in the trade to Cleveland. The Indians will receive:

Matt LaPorta - The jewel of the trade. He's hit 20 home runs in Double-A and was a suspected second-half call-up for the Brewers.

Robert Bryson - Drafted in the 31st round of the 2006 draft out of H.S. He's dominated in A-ball over roughly the last month.

Zach Jackson - A supplemental first-round pick back in 2004, he's been roughed up at Triple-A to the tune of a 7.85 ERA. The 6'5 lefty owns a 10.06 ERA when he's behind in the count this year.

Cleveland may get a fourth player to be named. The JS thinks it could be Taylor Green, another A-ball prospect who's hit 10 home runs as a third baseman.

Fantasy Impact: That's a pretty good haul for Cleveland, which would be getting one of the top two Brewers prospects plus some players with good promise for a guy they can't afford to keep. The Brewers are betting heavyily on winning it all this year, as Ben Sheets suggests he won't return to the team in 2009, and there's speculation that Milwaukee can't retain Sabathia past this year, either. LaPorta may come up and play for Cleveland right away, and if he does he has the talent to contribute to a fantasy team. The Indians would appear losers in this deal only if Milwaukee wins a title in 2008 or is able to sign Sabathia after the season. Otherwise, the Brewers spent a good deal for a guy they can't keep. Expect Sabathia to thrive in the National League. He'll be facing hitters who've seen very little of him, and he'll face the opposing pitcher a couple of times each game.

Source himself: Sabathia to Milwaukee

With all of these reports citing sources saying that C.C. Sabathia is headed to Milwaukee, ESPN trumped them all early Sunday or late Saturday (depending where you live) getting this text message from the ultimate source, C.C. himself:

"I'm good, excited," Sabathia wrote. "It's weird leaving these guys."

ESPN attributed the text to one of its online reporters, Amy K. Nelson. Way to go, Amy, but how is it you are the one getting C.C.'s texts and not someone like Steve Phillips?

Giant potential

Looking up C.C. Sabathia trade talk this weekend, I found an interesting tidbit from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Check out the section under 'STAT-O-MATIC' which reads:

Strikeouts galore: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez are the first Giants to have 100 or more strikeouts before the All-Star break since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958.

I'm a big fan of these three young pitchers, and that's quite a remarkable statistic. The cupboard is never too bare when you have aces to get you by. San Francisco may be out of the race this year, but they're only a couple of special hitters away from competing in a big way.

Penny pushed back

It sounds like Brad Penny's setback on Saturday has given the Dodgers an interesting decision with regard to their pitching staff. Clayton Kershaw, who was recently sent down to the minors with the return of Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda from the DL, could get a recall to Los Angeles, but Jason Schmidt is also getting close to ready.

"I think then, we would certainly look at (Kershaw), and of course, (Jason) Schmidt, who is going to start again on Tuesday (for Triple-A Las Vegas) rehab-wise," Torre said. "We'll be having to make a decision in the next two and a half to three weeks on him."

Fantasy Impact: This all hinges on Brad Penny's delayed return, but those who were disappointed in Kershaw probably don't want to drop the young flamethrower just yet. He's got some seasoning under his belt now, and could develop into something special for the stretch run. Schmidt is a risky option because of his health, but could be a sleeper as well

Beantown's back end

Boston's Justin Masterson did everything he could on Saturday to help his team against the hometown Yankees, and still came up short. The Red Sox rookie tossed six innings, giving up six hits and two runs. He falls victim to a dominant Mike Mussina, who gave up no runs in six innings to earn his 11th win. Masterson falls to 4-3 this season.

There's no clear indication from the Red Sox whether Masterson is earning his spot in the back end of the rotation.

“I didn’t really know what to expect from him, because I hadn’t seen him pitch much,” Francona said before the game. “You hear the reports, but I guess he got here a little quicker than I probably thought.

“We had a lot of meetings in the spring about guys who could help us, and his name certainly came up,” Francona added. “But to put a guy in there every five days and have him hold his own, that’s a lot.”

Bartolo Colon is on the mend, and Clay Buchholz continues to dominate in the minors. Masterson threw just 58 of his 100 pitches for strikes. He's certainly a work in progress and Saturday helps the cause more than it hurts, but whether Masterson's the best Boston option as the team's fifth starter has not yet been answered.

Fantasy Impact: Masterson is the only one of three pitchers name who is pitching in the majors right now. That's the good news. The bad news is he might be the third best option once Colon is healthy. Buchholz is the more heralded prospect, which means Boston may feel obligated to try him again if Masterson can't dominate at the big league level and Colon can't get his health in order.

Neato, Zito

Once again it looked like bad news for Giants starter Barry Zito on Saturday. Zito gave up two first-inning runs to the sometimes offensively challenged Los Angeles Dodgers, including an RBI to feckless five-hole hitter Andruw Jones. Then something inexplicable occurred; Zito shut the Dodgers down the rest of the way. Not the entire way, but for six solid innings, Zito dominated. He struck out ten batters, walked one and gave up six hits on his way to hits first home win.

The Giants cruise, 5-2 as Zito improves to 4-12 on the year.

Fantasy Impact: It's a step in the right direction, but it's not the first. Zito has shown glimpses of effectiveness before, but not for more than a couple or three starts before suffering another meltdown. His ERA is just 5.73 even after a brilliant outing. Jones ended up going 0-4, but at least he didn't strike out four times like the night before.

Tulo's woes continue

The Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki is back on the D.L. after a freak injury suffered from a broken maple bat. It was certainly one of the more bizarre injuries from a bat. Tulowitzki sliced his hand open after he pounded the bat into the ground in frustration. Like so many maple bats before it, this one splintered and cut him badly enough to require surgery.

"Yeah, it's tougher to take," Tulowitzki said Saturday of his return to the DL. "The other injury was baseball-related. You're out there on the field, going all out. And this one's kind of a stupid injury that I could have prevented."

Stupid or not, the incidents with maple bats are piling up, and a player finally going down might kick MLB into gear in terms of solving the problem.

Fantasy Impact: Tulowitzki is having one of those snake-bitten seasons. Nothing is going right. He already missed a month and a half with a quad injury, and now he's sidelined again. Hope you have other options, although his late-season return could still help you down the stretch.

Roger 3,000

Exactly 10 years ago today, Roger Clemens recorded his 3,000th career strike out pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Below-average Jones

This Andruw Jones story is borderline unbelievable. The Dodgers centerfielder always struck out a alot, but never like this. In his return from the disabled list (he hadn't played since May 23rd) Jones struck out four times in five at bats, lowering his average to .159. Jones has 49 strike outs in 139 at bats, meaning he's striking out almost 36 percent of the time.

Fantasy Impact: Jones looks like he has a long way to go in his return to form. Last year he struggled the entire season, and this year is looking far worse. The L.A. Times called his return "rocky," but Jones has been on the rocks for a while now.

Trib: Brewers in front for C.C.

The Brewers might be behind both the Cubs and Cardinals in the standings, but apparently they have the best opportunity to make the biggest splash in the trade market. The Chicago Tribune reports that Milwaukee's minor league talent allows them to make the best offer for C.C. Sabathia, even if the Brewers won't admit to it right now.

Saturday games

Cubs @ Cardinals - Lilly vs. Lohse doesn't overwhelm, but Lohse owns 10 victories, and Lilly is attempting to equal him as the top two teams in the N.L. Central attempt to close out the first half with a series win.

Red Sox @ Yankees - Masterson vs. Mussina looked like a better matchup two weeks ago when both guys were flying high. Now Masterson is fighting for his roster spot with Clay Buchholz making a case to return to the majors.

Athletics @ White Sox - Smith vs. Floyd may be the pitching matchup of the day. Smith dominated the Sox earlier this year.

Blue Jays @ Angels - Halladay vs. Lackey is the pitching matchup of the day. Halladay (9-6, 2.90) deserves to be on the A.L. All-Star team, while Lackey (6-1, 1.44 would be there if he had pitched enough.

Quality Arroyo

Give credit to Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. After giving up 10 earned runs in one inning at Toronto on June 24th he's posted back-to-back quality starts. The latest is a borderline gem: six innings, five hits, no runs. He's the winner in Cincinnati's 3-0 shutout of the Nationals.

Fantasy Impact: Washington's offense is not the toughest Arroyo will face, but he's clearly not washed up. Arroyo did walk three batters and only threw 54 strikes out of 95 pitches, but this is very acceptable after what could have rattled him for a while. He's a ho-hum starter for your fantasy team that will turn into trouble from time to time.

Bombs away

The Marlins and Rockies put up some fireworks of their own Friday, combing for 35 runs on 43 hits. The Marlins outhit the Rockies by one, but the Rockies outscored the Marlins by one. Six different players hit home runs. There were eight home runs total with Ryan Spilborghs and Matt Holliday both lauching a pair. We should have expected a big night when Hanley Ramirez led things off with a home run to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Fantasy Impact: Don't look now, but demoted Rockies closer Manny Corpas was the only pitcher to go at least two innings and not allow a run, dropping his ERA to 5.23. He's now spotless in his last seven outings. Last year he stole the closer job from Brian Fuentes. After losing the job back to Fuentes this year he might put pressure on him again down the stretch.

Long and short on Marmol

The Cubs' Carlos Marmol threw three pitches in San Francisco, and his ERA jumped another 19 points to 3.75. After tossing back-to-back balls to Rich Aurilia in the seventh, the Giants veteran deposited Marmol's only strike over the left field fence. Marmol was pulled without recording an out.

Fantasy Impact: Marmol's ERA reached a season-low 1.04 in mid May. It was at 2.09 on June 15th. Then came a four-run, no-out performance at Tampa. Marmol's never seemed to be the same. For a guy who looked like a challenger to Kerry Wood for the closer's role back in spring training, this is a long fall. The Cubs need Marmol to return to form, otherwise their bullpen could make this a short autumn.

More Lester

It took Red Sox starter John Lester 105 pitches to shutout the Yankees in a five-hitter. Lester struck out eight Yanks, lowering his ERA to 3.21 in a 7-0 victory. He's now 7-3 on the year.

Fantasy Impact: Lester looks like he's growing into an ace, but he's got a ways to go to earn that title in fantasy ball. Lester gave up six runs the last time he pitched. He's a work in progress, but still a really good one.

The unlikeliest star

Tigers outfielder Marcus Thames didn't own a starting spot in the Detroit Tigers lineup when the year got started. Now the Detroit Free Press is considering him a potential candidate for the All-Star game. Don't laugh, their theory is plausible. The Tigers don't have anyone with a clear-cut better first half of the season except for Magglio Ordonez, and he's injured.

Somehow, I don't see this happening, but it's an interesting consideration.

The case for Paul Konerko

For all of the offensive problems Dewayne Wise and Brian Anderson have experienced over their Major League careers, they're forcing the White Sox into a difficult decision once Paul Konerko returns next week.

Konerko, who's been out with an oblique problem, is hitting just .215. Anderson's modest .232 is about his low point for the season, but much better than his .118 mark in 2007. Wise is a career .210 hitter in just over a half season of Major League work, but he's entered Thursday over .300. Konerko's numbers are the worst of the bunch right now, and Anderson is the best defensive player in the group. While he and Wise play center, not first (Konerko's spot), starting centerfielder Nick Swisher moved over to first while Konerko rested. The Sox could leave Swisher there and platoon the centerfielders, meaning Konerko would be out of a starting spot.

Fantasy Impact: Swisher is the only player guaranteed to contribute regular at bats, but it would be surprising to see Konerko dropped out of the lineup right away. His track record is nothing short of very good, and the Sox are more likely to throw him in the fray to see if he can sink or swim before they make a move. Konerko will be expeted to pull out of the funk, and if he can't, Anderson and Wise will become no better than part-timers, not exactly attractive to fantasy owners.

MLB gloss coming off?

This article from Forbes would seem to stand opposite to everything ever uttered by Bud Selig regarding the popularity of baseball today.

Selig always talks about this being the golden era of baseball. Just one month ago he was at it again:

"Today is the golden era of baseball," Selig said. "The game today is more popular than it has ever been in its long and distinguished history."

That may, in fact, be true depending on what set of statistics you look at. But if fewer fans are going games, even for economic reasons, that means baseball is slightly out of touch with what fans are looking for. That's makes any boom period slightly less shiny, even if it is still fairly golden.

DNA matches Clemens

The piling on continues for Roger Clemens. Apparently the DNA matches the paraphernalia Brian McNamee submitted to federal agents. Here's the latest from MLB.com.

Here's wondering whether or not Clemens will deflect the latest information by saying McNamee planted the evidence. This story just won't go away.

A rant on All-Star voting

All-Star voting is over, and for two reasons I did not participate this year.

First, I don't think fans should have the opportunity to pick the All-Star teams, and this first reason comes via two reasons that support that reason: A) The All-Star game decides home-field advantage in the postseason, so the best teams should be on the field - not the teams fans want to see. B) The All-Star game is not "The Most Popular" game, meaning players who have proven themselves with their play over the first-half of the season should get the chance to play. They shouldn't play because they are liked. They should play because they've starred on the field.

Second, the opportunity to vote for months prior to the close date and up to 25 times on the MLB site is just insanity. Anyone can rig that system, and if you're the fan of lets say the Cubs or the Red Sox, what's stopping you from piling up the other league's ballot box with scrubs? A weaker N.L. lineup might get the Red Sox home-field in the World Series this year. Cubs fans should be doing whatever it takes to get that opportunity. What's stopping them?

Fans need to realize that this isn't an election - there's no free speech in the selection of an All-Star team. They should ask baseball to do the right thing and change the way All-Star teams are selected. The best players need to be on the field. That's especially true when the game means something. Then again, the game was never intended to decide home-field in the first place, so maybe the argument should start with eradicating the problem, not the symptoms of that problem.

Buck on sports broadcasting

Awful Announcing is upset with Joe Buck (what's new), but to listen to Buck's lament about the time it takes to follow sports is somewhat disappointing. He says sports are no longer as "special or unique" as they once were because of the overwhelming access these days. He'd rather watch the primetime reality stuff on network TV.

The access these days is what makes is easier to follow sports, Joe, not more difficult. As someone who has broadcast games and sports shows, I can understand how overwhelming all of the preparation can be - but that preparation gives you the opportunity to do what no one else does. You're there, you have the access, you have the opportunity to reach people.

I don't think Buck is a bad guy necessarily, nor is he out of his mind to complain about his job (who doesn't). I don't, however, think he's a very good sportscaster on many, many levels. Maybe this explains it.

Cleveland needs to sell

It's time for the Cleveland Indians to sell. Another extra-inning heartbreaking loss to the White Sox leaves them 12.5 games out of first with four teams to catch in the A.L Central. With ten teams ahead of them for a Wild Card berth and just 28 days from now until the trade deadline, expect offers to fly in for high-priced stars like C.C. Sabathia. The big lefty actually started Wednesday's loss, a 6-5 no-decision that A.J. Pierzynski put to bed with his 10th-inning solo home run. It was Pierzynski's second home run of the night.

Rays of hope

The Tampa Bay Rays swept the Red Sox with three hard-fought wins, giving themselves a very possible shot at not only first place in the A.L. East at the All-Star break, but also a chance for the best record in baseball in the first half of the season. The Rays own one fourth-place finish and nine fifth-place finish in their 10-year history. Since the Rays inception only one team, the 2006 Blue Jays, has cracked the Yankees/Red Sox 1st-2nd lock at the top of the division. Toronto missed the post season that year, but if Tampa plays .500 ball the rest of the way, they're almost guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Nothing magical about Madrigal

Warner Madrigal's Major League debut for Texas is about as scary as they come. The first time out he blows a save in spectacular fashion, giving up six runs on five hits while only retiring one Yankee. He came in with the lead, left with a certain loss and his ERA is 162.00 -- as New York put it on Texas 18-7.

Kuroda returns

The Dodgers Hiroki Kuroda made a solid impression in his first game back from the disabled list. Kuroda pitched seven innings, giving up just five hits and no runs in a 4-1 win over Houston.

Fantasy Impact: Kuroda was on the DL for just under a month with shoulder tendinitis. He was mixing in good and bad starts leading up to the injury, and now with clearance to pitch again, expect a few more good outings. If the shoulder is healthy, he's a good fifth starter or better on a fantasy roster.

60 saves

The Angels' Francisco Rodriguez is well on his way to breaking the single-season saves record. Wednesday he closed out number 34 on the year, going one inning and striking out a batter to preserve a 7-4 win over Oakland. K-Rod is just 23 shy of Bobby Thigpen's 57, and we've not yet reached the All-Star break.

Fantasy Impact: K-Rod is pitching as well as he ever has, despite the fact that he is striking out less than a batter per inning for the first time in his career. At this point 60 saves seems a possiblity.

Bruce bruises Pirates pitching

Jay Bruce homered twice tonight for the Reds. Bruce hit the first in the bottom of the first in a response to the four runs Pittsburgh scored in the top half of the inning. Bruce then hit a three-run homer in the third, giving Cincinnati a brief 5-4 lead in a game they eventually lost, 9-5.

Fantasy Impact: Bruce is busting out of his power slump. His last home run before tonight's dual blasts came on June 13th. He's now up to six homers this season to go along with a .292 average. Bruce has been hailed the next Larry Walker. You should drool over that, but it might not be fair to compare just yet. He's a rookie, so expect more slumps like the one he just jumped out of.

Thompson hit hard

Reds rookie Daryl Thompson struggled in his second Major League start, and he really struggled tonight. Thompson worked just 4.1 innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits in a 9-5 loss to the Pirates. Thompson yielded four runs in the first, then settled down the rest of the way. He did cough up two solo shots to Xavier Nady in the third and the fifth.

Fantasy Impact: Thompson is just another one of those Reds rookie starters who has to take a few lumps on his way to serviceable MLB pitcher. It might take a while, but he's got a ton of upside.

Thanks to Danks

The White Sox can thank starter John Danks for their dramatic 3-2 win over Cleveland Tuesday. Danks matched Cleveland ace Cliff Lee pitch-for-pitch, going eight innings, striking out eight, while giving up just one run. With their teams deadlocked after eight, things were turned over to the bullpens, which, in turn, gave up three runs in the ninth inning. The Sox win the game, 3-2 on an RBI base hit by Orlando Cabrera in the 10th after Alexei Ramirez's game-tying home run.

Fantasy Impact: Danks is making the South Siders forget the guy they traded for him. Brandon McCarthy was dealt to Texas for Danks and two other prospects just before Christmas, 2006. McCarthy is hurt this year. He hasn't pitched. Danks has pitched brilliantly. His ERA is down to 2.50, and he deserves better than his so-so total of five wins.

Cain can pitch

Giants starter Matt Cain turned in his best performance of 2008 against the Cubs Tuesday, striking out 10 while yielding just one run over eight innings. He wins his 5th game, 2-1.

Fantasy Impact: This is Cain's second double-digit strikeout game of the year, of which he only had one all of last season. Cain held opponents to one run or less eleven times in 2007, but many of them came early in the year. With this victory, Cain's picked up his fifth start of holding an opponent to one run or less -- which has to make you wonder if he's saved something special for the second half. His ERA is down to 4.13 as it was 6.64 back on April 18th.