Who’s in first?
AL East: Red Sox (59-38)
AL Central: Tigers (66-32)
AL West: Athletics (51-47)
NL East: Mets (59-39)
NL Central: Cardinals (56-41)
NL West: Padres (51-47)
Who’s in last?
AL East: Devil Rays (41-58)
AL Central: Royals (34-64)
AL West: Mariners (47-51)
NL East: Nationals (43-56)
NL Central: Pirates (35-65)
NL West: Rockies (46-51)
Trade rumors abound: Bobby Abreu or Alfonso Soriano to the Yankees? Barry Zito to the Mets? Could Alex Rodriguez be heading to Chicago’s North Side?
For the next few days, trade rumors and any subsequent deals will headline baseball talk. Pity the fool who goes out and tosses a no-hitter this week or slams three homers in a game only to be pushed out of the lead on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight by the fascinating news that the Texas Rangers have dealt outfielder Kevin Mench to New York for a minor leaguer and a pile of George Steinbrenner’s cash which is really Tom Hicks’ money from the A-Rod deal a couple of seasons back.
About the only bet that seems sure right now is the Nationals will trade second baseman-turned-outfielder Alfonso Soriano. And even that’s not a done deal as Soriano’s agent, Diego Bentz, and Washington front office head Stan Kasten are holding he said-he said press conferences about Soriano possibly staying in DC after this year.
Everyone appears to be looking for pitching, as usual, leading one to assume that offense is the best buy right now. If just half of the rumors are true, Philadelphia has been trying to unload Abreu since the end of last season. But they’re not finding a lot of buyers willing to take on the outfielder’s contract and part with much talent.
Most of the rumors turn out to be just that, rumors. When the Astros pulled the trigger on the deal to land Randy Johnson from Seattle at the 1998 trading deadline, there hadn’t been so much as a whisper from the talking heads on ESPN. So while it might be fun to sit back and debate the rumors, it’s wise to keep a little space open for post-trade discussions when a blockbuster comes to fruition without it already dissected completely by the experts in a studio.
One of the craziest rumors right now has to be the notion of the Yankees and Cubs getting together on a swap that would send A-Rod to Chicago. As Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers notes, it really isn’t as crazy as it might sound since nearly half of the money Rodriguez’s contract calls for from now through 2010 is going to be picked up by Hicks and the Rangers.
This week's dogs: Hard to believe there’s a team worse than Houston since the All-Star break, but there is and they reside in Los Angeles where they play under the name Dodgers.
Doing their best to maintain their nickname ‘Dem Bums, LA is currently riding a 5-game losing streak with 10 losses in the 11 contests they’ve played since the Midseason Classic. The offense is the biggest culprit in their current slide that has dropped them from four above .500 to five below. Dodger bats have been silenced three times in the last 11 games and scored just once in three other games. Los Angeles has been outscored 27-4 in the 5-game losing streak.
Nomar Garciaparra, hitting .358 at the All-Star break, has seen his average dip 20 points since. Jose Cruz Jr. has just one RBI since July 8, and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal has scored just twice since the break.
Injury & Trade News: Coming off the DL in the past seven days were Nationals right-hander Tony Armas Jr., Padres left-hander Alan Embree, Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Peña, Astros right-hander Brandon Backe, Tigers DH-1B Dmitri Young, Orioles right-hander Hayden Penn and Angels right-hander Kelvim Escobar.
Hitting the trainer’s table for 15-day DL stints were Omar Quintilla (COL-shin), Scott Elarton (KCR-shoulder), Jose Guillen (WAS-elbow), Reggie Sanders (KCR-thigh), Kent Mercker (CIN-elbow) and Sean Marshall (CHC-oblique).
Boston designated IF-OF Willie Harris for assignment. Harris eventually cleared waivers and was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox also inked right-hander Josh Beckett to a 3-year extension with a club option for 2010 … San Diego placed third baseman Vinny Castilla on waivers after that experiment failed. The Padres also traded a pair of minor league pitchers, Fabian Jimenez and Joel Santo, to the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Scott Williamson … Houston placed left-handed minor league pitcher Mike Gallo on waivers, demoted left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to Triple-A Round Rock, and called up right-hander Matt Albers from their Double-A club in Corpus Christi. The Astros also demoted right-hander Fernando Nieve to Triple-A to make room for Backe’s return from the DL … Atlanta picked up a closer when they sent minor league catcher Max Ramirez to Cleveland for right-hander Bob Wickman.
Baltimore called up third baseman Fernando Tatis and sent utility player Howie Clark to their Triple-A club in Ottawa … Outfielder Ryan Church is getting another look-see by Washington who recalled him from Triple-A New Orleans … Philadelphia designated backup catcher Sal Fasano for assignment … The White Sox swapped for a familiar face when they acquired catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. from the Dodgers for minor league pitcher BJ LaMura. Chicago designated catcher Chris Widger for assignment in order to make room for Alomar.
Fantasy Studs & Duds: Aramis Ramirez brought out his whomping stick last week and hammered five homers to lead all major leaguers. The Cubs third baseman batted .304 in the process, driving in six runs.
Vernon Wells consistently came through with runners aboard during the week with 10 RBI. The Blue Jays outfielder hit .448 with four homers and eight runs scored to add to his strong showing.
Jonathan Papelbon continued his strong rookie campaign with three more saves last week. The Red Sox closer now has 29 saves on the season with a sparkling 0.54 ERA and 50 strikeouts against just nine walks in 50 innings.
Francisco Liriano won both of his starts last week, allowing just one earned run in 13.2 IP. The Twins’ rookie left-hander ran his season record to 12-2 and leads the AL with a 1.93 ERA.
Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki had his running shoes on last week and stole four bases to go with his .370 batting average … San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez batted .607 (17-for-28) to lead all major hitters with at least 10 AB last week.
White Sox DH Jim Thome is coming off a poor showing with a .143 batting average (3-for-21) in his most recent half-dozen games … Rangers utility player Mark DeRosa, who had been hotter than a $2 pistol, cooled off considerably with just two hits in 27 AB (.074) last week … Cardinals right-hander Jason Marquis had his second horrible start in about a month last Tuesday at home against the Braves. Marquis allowed 12 runs and 14 hits, three of those home runs, in five innings of work, and then followed that start up with eight shutout innings on Sunday in LA against the Dodgers. Marquis surrendered 13 earned runs to the White Sox back on June 21.
Quote(s) of the Week: “Unfortunately, (Jon) Garland missed him a couple times. I'm not the guy who's going to sit there and take my hitters being hit -- and not do anything about it.” - - - White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen discussing his pitcher, Garland, not hitting Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler with a pitch in the emotionally-charged contest on Sunday won by Chicago, 5-0.
"They told me about 5 o'clock. They said, 'Are you ready to pitch?' and I told them I was ready to go. I didn't have much chance to think about the hitters.” - - - Mets rookie John Maine who responded to the unexpected starting assignment by tossing a 4-hit shutout against Houston for a 7-0 New York win. It was Maine’s first career shutout.
"As soon as he hit the home run I thought the game was over, 3-1. We have a tough time getting back into the game." - - - Astros ace Roy Oswalt after giving up a 3-run homer to Cubs’ first baseman Phil Nevin on Tuesday.
"We probably talk less about the home run than any team in baseball." - - - Cardinals manager Tony La Russa after his squad homered for the 18th-straight game on Saturday in a 6-1 win over the Dodgers. St. Louis kept that streak alive on Sunday when Juan Encarnacion went deep twice in another 6-1 win in Los Angeles.
On Deck: The week opens with three key series that begin on Monday, starting with the Yankees in Texas to take on the Rangers. Randy Johnson opens that series for New York against Kevin Millwood for Texas.
Out in Oakland, a possible AL playoff preview gets underway Monday with the Red Sox visiting the A’s. Josh Beckett takes the hill for Boston in the series opener against Barry Zito for Oakland.
And staying out west, the Padres are in LA to take on the Dodgers in a crucial NL West series. Curt Young is San Diego’s starter Monday night against Los Angeles’ Derek Lowe.
A key NL Central series cranks up on Tuesday in Houston as the Reds take on the Astros. Aaron Harang gets the start for Cincinnati on Tuesday against Roger Clemens for Houston who is facing a now-or-never scenario.
Detroit looks to keep their winning ways going next weekend in Minnesota. The Tigers will send Zach Miner, Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman to the mound while the Twins counter with Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Brad Radke.
The Mets and Braves renew their rivalry in Atlanta beginning on Friday in what should be a more crucial series for the Braves than New York.
And speaking of renewed rivalries, the Cardinals travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs for four games starting Thursday. Sunday’s series finale presently has Chris Carpenter for St. Louis against Carlos Zambrano for the Cubs.
AL East: Red Sox (59-38)
AL Central: Tigers (66-32)
AL West: Athletics (51-47)
NL East: Mets (59-39)
NL Central: Cardinals (56-41)
NL West: Padres (51-47)
Who’s in last?
AL East: Devil Rays (41-58)
AL Central: Royals (34-64)
AL West: Mariners (47-51)
NL East: Nationals (43-56)
NL Central: Pirates (35-65)
NL West: Rockies (46-51)
Trade rumors abound: Bobby Abreu or Alfonso Soriano to the Yankees? Barry Zito to the Mets? Could Alex Rodriguez be heading to Chicago’s North Side?
For the next few days, trade rumors and any subsequent deals will headline baseball talk. Pity the fool who goes out and tosses a no-hitter this week or slams three homers in a game only to be pushed out of the lead on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight by the fascinating news that the Texas Rangers have dealt outfielder Kevin Mench to New York for a minor leaguer and a pile of George Steinbrenner’s cash which is really Tom Hicks’ money from the A-Rod deal a couple of seasons back.
About the only bet that seems sure right now is the Nationals will trade second baseman-turned-outfielder Alfonso Soriano. And even that’s not a done deal as Soriano’s agent, Diego Bentz, and Washington front office head Stan Kasten are holding he said-he said press conferences about Soriano possibly staying in DC after this year.
Everyone appears to be looking for pitching, as usual, leading one to assume that offense is the best buy right now. If just half of the rumors are true, Philadelphia has been trying to unload Abreu since the end of last season. But they’re not finding a lot of buyers willing to take on the outfielder’s contract and part with much talent.
Most of the rumors turn out to be just that, rumors. When the Astros pulled the trigger on the deal to land Randy Johnson from Seattle at the 1998 trading deadline, there hadn’t been so much as a whisper from the talking heads on ESPN. So while it might be fun to sit back and debate the rumors, it’s wise to keep a little space open for post-trade discussions when a blockbuster comes to fruition without it already dissected completely by the experts in a studio.
One of the craziest rumors right now has to be the notion of the Yankees and Cubs getting together on a swap that would send A-Rod to Chicago. As Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers notes, it really isn’t as crazy as it might sound since nearly half of the money Rodriguez’s contract calls for from now through 2010 is going to be picked up by Hicks and the Rangers.
This week's dogs: Hard to believe there’s a team worse than Houston since the All-Star break, but there is and they reside in Los Angeles where they play under the name Dodgers.
Doing their best to maintain their nickname ‘Dem Bums, LA is currently riding a 5-game losing streak with 10 losses in the 11 contests they’ve played since the Midseason Classic. The offense is the biggest culprit in their current slide that has dropped them from four above .500 to five below. Dodger bats have been silenced three times in the last 11 games and scored just once in three other games. Los Angeles has been outscored 27-4 in the 5-game losing streak.
Nomar Garciaparra, hitting .358 at the All-Star break, has seen his average dip 20 points since. Jose Cruz Jr. has just one RBI since July 8, and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal has scored just twice since the break.
Injury & Trade News: Coming off the DL in the past seven days were Nationals right-hander Tony Armas Jr., Padres left-hander Alan Embree, Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Peña, Astros right-hander Brandon Backe, Tigers DH-1B Dmitri Young, Orioles right-hander Hayden Penn and Angels right-hander Kelvim Escobar.
Hitting the trainer’s table for 15-day DL stints were Omar Quintilla (COL-shin), Scott Elarton (KCR-shoulder), Jose Guillen (WAS-elbow), Reggie Sanders (KCR-thigh), Kent Mercker (CIN-elbow) and Sean Marshall (CHC-oblique).
Boston designated IF-OF Willie Harris for assignment. Harris eventually cleared waivers and was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox also inked right-hander Josh Beckett to a 3-year extension with a club option for 2010 … San Diego placed third baseman Vinny Castilla on waivers after that experiment failed. The Padres also traded a pair of minor league pitchers, Fabian Jimenez and Joel Santo, to the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Scott Williamson … Houston placed left-handed minor league pitcher Mike Gallo on waivers, demoted left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to Triple-A Round Rock, and called up right-hander Matt Albers from their Double-A club in Corpus Christi. The Astros also demoted right-hander Fernando Nieve to Triple-A to make room for Backe’s return from the DL … Atlanta picked up a closer when they sent minor league catcher Max Ramirez to Cleveland for right-hander Bob Wickman.
Baltimore called up third baseman Fernando Tatis and sent utility player Howie Clark to their Triple-A club in Ottawa … Outfielder Ryan Church is getting another look-see by Washington who recalled him from Triple-A New Orleans … Philadelphia designated backup catcher Sal Fasano for assignment … The White Sox swapped for a familiar face when they acquired catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. from the Dodgers for minor league pitcher BJ LaMura. Chicago designated catcher Chris Widger for assignment in order to make room for Alomar.
Fantasy Studs & Duds: Aramis Ramirez brought out his whomping stick last week and hammered five homers to lead all major leaguers. The Cubs third baseman batted .304 in the process, driving in six runs.
Vernon Wells consistently came through with runners aboard during the week with 10 RBI. The Blue Jays outfielder hit .448 with four homers and eight runs scored to add to his strong showing.
Jonathan Papelbon continued his strong rookie campaign with three more saves last week. The Red Sox closer now has 29 saves on the season with a sparkling 0.54 ERA and 50 strikeouts against just nine walks in 50 innings.
Francisco Liriano won both of his starts last week, allowing just one earned run in 13.2 IP. The Twins’ rookie left-hander ran his season record to 12-2 and leads the AL with a 1.93 ERA.
Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki had his running shoes on last week and stole four bases to go with his .370 batting average … San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez batted .607 (17-for-28) to lead all major hitters with at least 10 AB last week.
White Sox DH Jim Thome is coming off a poor showing with a .143 batting average (3-for-21) in his most recent half-dozen games … Rangers utility player Mark DeRosa, who had been hotter than a $2 pistol, cooled off considerably with just two hits in 27 AB (.074) last week … Cardinals right-hander Jason Marquis had his second horrible start in about a month last Tuesday at home against the Braves. Marquis allowed 12 runs and 14 hits, three of those home runs, in five innings of work, and then followed that start up with eight shutout innings on Sunday in LA against the Dodgers. Marquis surrendered 13 earned runs to the White Sox back on June 21.
Quote(s) of the Week: “Unfortunately, (Jon) Garland missed him a couple times. I'm not the guy who's going to sit there and take my hitters being hit -- and not do anything about it.” - - - White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen discussing his pitcher, Garland, not hitting Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler with a pitch in the emotionally-charged contest on Sunday won by Chicago, 5-0.
"They told me about 5 o'clock. They said, 'Are you ready to pitch?' and I told them I was ready to go. I didn't have much chance to think about the hitters.” - - - Mets rookie John Maine who responded to the unexpected starting assignment by tossing a 4-hit shutout against Houston for a 7-0 New York win. It was Maine’s first career shutout.
"As soon as he hit the home run I thought the game was over, 3-1. We have a tough time getting back into the game." - - - Astros ace Roy Oswalt after giving up a 3-run homer to Cubs’ first baseman Phil Nevin on Tuesday.
"We probably talk less about the home run than any team in baseball." - - - Cardinals manager Tony La Russa after his squad homered for the 18th-straight game on Saturday in a 6-1 win over the Dodgers. St. Louis kept that streak alive on Sunday when Juan Encarnacion went deep twice in another 6-1 win in Los Angeles.
On Deck: The week opens with three key series that begin on Monday, starting with the Yankees in Texas to take on the Rangers. Randy Johnson opens that series for New York against Kevin Millwood for Texas.
Out in Oakland, a possible AL playoff preview gets underway Monday with the Red Sox visiting the A’s. Josh Beckett takes the hill for Boston in the series opener against Barry Zito for Oakland.
And staying out west, the Padres are in LA to take on the Dodgers in a crucial NL West series. Curt Young is San Diego’s starter Monday night against Los Angeles’ Derek Lowe.
A key NL Central series cranks up on Tuesday in Houston as the Reds take on the Astros. Aaron Harang gets the start for Cincinnati on Tuesday against Roger Clemens for Houston who is facing a now-or-never scenario.
Detroit looks to keep their winning ways going next weekend in Minnesota. The Tigers will send Zach Miner, Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman to the mound while the Twins counter with Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Brad Radke.
The Mets and Braves renew their rivalry in Atlanta beginning on Friday in what should be a more crucial series for the Braves than New York.
And speaking of renewed rivalries, the Cardinals travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs for four games starting Thursday. Sunday’s series finale presently has Chris Carpenter for St. Louis against Carlos Zambrano for the Cubs.