Saturday, June 30, 2007

Hunter Pence vs. Ryan Braun

While the AL Rookie of the Year race is fairly indistinguishable and generally bland, the NL race is really heating up and evolved into a 2 horse race, at least at this primitive stage. Ryan Braun is the late comer, catching up quickly on the leader Hunter Pence.

Both have had great seasons thus far and both have much to prove, but Ryan Braun is looking superior now.

Braun went 4 for 5 with 4 RBI and a homer tonight, while Pence’s team, the Astros were shut out yet again for the umpteenth time this year, proving further their offensive ineptitude.

Braun also has the advantage as the season wears on as he bats between the dynamic Prince Fielder and the ridiculous J.J. Hardy. Seriously, I’m running out of superlatives for this team, and that’s definitely a problem that the Astros offensive attack doesn’t have to deal with.

I still have plenty of disparaging remarks left for them.

Debuting

The Red Sox second most promising young player made his Major League debut on Saturday. Jacoby Ellsbury, a draft pick from 2005, came up and played center field, batting ninth and pulling in a single. Sort of an inauspicious beginning for someone so highly regarded but it will come.

Sadly, for Ellsbury, the potential All-Star game starter for the AL, Mr. Josh Beckett, couldn't hold the 4 run lead he was given, promptly coughing it up, allowing the Rangers and the red-hot Kenny Lofton to continue their winning ways.

Pretty low key way to start but this kid could be the real deal. Its pretty standard to compare him to Johnny Damon but that’s not fair. This kid’s got a better arm than Damon.

Keep your eyes peeled for Clay Buchholz in the near future if one of the Sox throwers go down. The guy has been tearing things up in double-A and should be up by the end of the year for sure.

Trade that should happen

Toronto sends Troy Glaus to Los Angeles NL and Adam Lind to Kansas City for Clayton Kershaw from Los Angeles NL and Mark Teahen from Kansas City , while Kansas City sends Brian Bannister to Los Angeles NL for Andy LaRoche to complete the trade.

Now, I know 3 way deals are highly unlikely but this would be an interesting one. Toronto would get some young pitching and a quality replacement for Glaus, who would give the Dodgers some immediate pop at 3rd. Bannister would give the Dodgers some more pitching depth, or perhaps an attractive piece they could use to broker another deal. Kansas City also benefits by adding the very talented Andy LaRoche and up and coming Adam Lind. A win-win-win kind of deal.

1 Hitter

This just in; the return of the Rocket has not revitalized the New York Yankees, nor has any other individual’s presence on their roster. Heck, the likely AL MVP is on the team and they are still flailing.

The Oakland Athletics led by Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden shut them down on Saturday allowing only 1 hit for the entire game. The A’s, meanwhile, hammered Kei Igawa and the rest of the Yanks pitching staff for 7 runs, easily tying the series at one game a piece.

Chad Gaudin has been sensational all year, keeping up with the ERA leaders throughout the season and posting quality start after quality start. He has had some tougher outings as of late but against a tough lineup like the Yankees, this was encouraging for Gaudin, and at only $400,000 he’s quite the bargain. Speaking of encouraging, if Rich Harden can translate his current stuff into starting form for the second half, this A’s team could be deadly on the mound. Who knows, maybe he should stay at the back end of the bullpen?

And finally, in case you were unaware, Scott Proctor is terrible. Especially over the past week. In the past 4 games, Proctor has ponied up a 12.56 ERA since June 22 in 4 games going 0-2, allowing 10 hits and 3 walks, while giving up 6 runs and striking out no one. Now that, is a recipe for success.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Old-Timer

A little love for Kenny Lofton. The 40 year old journeyman currently with Texas, has been absolutely on fire lately. He was hitting .261 to start the month, and as the month nears a conclusion, he’s now up to .301 after a 4 for 4 showing on Friday against the Red Sox.

In the month of June Lofton has gone a ridiculous 31 for 81 for an average of .432, while in the past 7 games its gotten even more outlandish. He has destroyed opponents pitching hitting 14 for 27 for a .519 number. Not too bad for a guy that had very little expected of him coming into 2007. Add on top of all that, that he took four bases on Friday, putting his total on the year at 20, and you have yourself one heck of a leadoff batter.

Lofton has been a pleasant surprise for Texas this year, joining Sammy Sosa as pleasant surprise of the year type candidates. Not to mention, prime trade targets for teams looking to add a veteran outfielder at the deadline.

Crapshoot

Joe Mauer hit his 1st career grand slam and after that it was essentially academic. The Twins rolled, scoring 11 to Detroit’s one, and put a sound beating on Justin Verlander, giving me reason #356,098 why I’m not a gambler. Verlander had been the hottest pitcher in the Major’s coming into this game, having only allowed four runs this entire month for an obscenely low ERA of 1.24 in June.

He started terribly in the 1st, allowing 2 runs on sheer wildness before pitching coach Chuck Hernandez came out to calm his nerves. He then promptly retired 11 straight (as did opposing pitcher Johan Santana during the same timeframe) before giving up the aforementioned slam to Mauer.

The Tigers bullpen compounded the issues, allowing 5 runs on their own to give the Twins the easy win. Johan Santana pitched well, but not awe-inspiring.

The Biggest news for the Twins was the return of Justin Morneau after missing 5 games with a bruised lung. Morneau added 2 RBI on 3 hits to help salt away the game.

The Twins have to be taken seriously with a rotation that is led by Johan Santana, and a bullpen featuring Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan. The offense is so-so but the pitching is pure quality. Add to that the fact that they just called up Matt Garza (highly regarded prospect 1) and may soon call up Nick Blackburn (highly regarded prospect 2) from Rochester, this team looks poised to push hard in the second half.

The loss by the Tigers, combined with a 2-1 victory by the Indians over the Devil Rays, allowed the Indians to take a .5 game lead in the Central for at least one night. This one could go to the wire.

Best Series of the Weekend

The Cubs – Brewers series kicked off on Friday afternoon, and in climactic and very dramatic fashion, the hometown Cubbies pulled it out, storming back from a 1st inning 5 run deficit.

Three hours or so earlier, I would have had a hard time believing that such a comeback could happen. The Brewers had Yovani Gallardo on the mound and the kid was hurling a gem, while his opponent, Rich Hill, had been touched up for 5 runs, including a 3 run jack by Kevin Mench, was strangely wild, and had thrown 73 pitches through 2 innings. By the time Hill had left, at the end of the 3rd, the score was still 5-0, and the Brewers were still firmly in control.

Then in came the much maligned Cubs bullpen. Led by Billy Petrick, for 2 innings Michael Wuertz for 2 innings, Carlos Marmol (who is the best reliever they have right now, check the stats) for 1 and finally, Bob Howry for 1. All tolled, the bullpen went 6 gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, 0 earned runs and 7 k’s. That is the kind of production a guy like Rich Hill, who has been great all year, deserves from his bullpen.

The comeback started slowly though as it took an RBI groundout, and a wild pitch by Gallardo to make it 5-2 in the 4th, followed than by an RBI single by Mike Fontenot in the 7th off Carlos Villanueva to make it 5-3. Than in the bottom of the 9th, in came Francisco Cordero, the MLB saves leader with 27, but a guy who has definitely cooled off noticeably since his hot start.

Cordero got a pop out right away but then Soriano and Fontenot (I told you this guy was good stuff) had back to back singles to put runners at the corners for Derrek Lee. Lee was able to get a sac fly to make it 5-4, leaving it up to Aramis Ramirez. So with 2 down, and the tying run on, Ramirez went yard. Big time. Huge game-winning walk-off home run to left field, taking some serious momentum for the rest of the series against the division leader, and closing the gap to only 6.5 games.

Pre-game, I had figured the Brewers would take 2 of 3 at least and possibly sweep based solely on the pitching matchups, but the bullpen I had thought to be the stronger of the two bombed, while the previously fallible Cubs bullpen looked impenetrable. Great win for the Cubs to start a huge weekend series.

Tomorrow’s affair should be just as good as Ben Sheets takes on Sean Marshall. 12:55 on FOX. Check it out.

The Gambler is Back

Two starts into his return from injury, Kenny Rogers is on top of things for the Tigers already.

In two appearances, Rogers has now gone 12 innings, allowing only 1 run, while throwing 8 k's and only 1 BB. Rogers has also picked up wins in both games. Add him to the Tigers impressive starting staff and its hard not to make the Tigers World Series favorites at this early juncture.

Yesterday the Tigers mowed down Texas, staving off a sweep by the lowly Rangers. While Texas has been playing better ball as of late, thanks in large part to Kameron Loe who has been on fire, they shouldn't have been able to sweep or even take 2 from the Tigers in Comerica. Gary Sheffield had a 2 run homer and Carlos Guillen continued his hot streak with 2 more RBI to add to his impressive total up to 58 now.

Detroit will get back on track though, but their offense has a tough test coming up tonight as they face Johan Santana. Justin Verlander throws for the Tigers though so this one could be one heck of a pitcher's duel.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Job Well Done

Congratulations are in order for Frank Thomas of the Blue Jays and Craig Biggio of the Astros, both of whom reached career milestones today.

Thomas reached 500 home runs, becoming one of a very elite list to reach the historic number. He pulled in most of them while with the White Sox but has been playing well as of late for the Blue Jays. He is a classy individual and a consummate team guy and in Toronto, you won't find one player who has a bad thing to say about the guy.

Even more well liked is Houston 2nd baseman, Craig Biggio. The longtime veteran became the 27th player to reach 3000 hits in Major League Baseball and should do wonders for his Hall of Fame resume. Biggio is admired and revered throughout baseball so this is a wonderful achievement for a great guy.

Congratulations to both men.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Loney Love

The Los Angeles Dodgers were going to be in the market for a slugging 1st baseman come July. James Loney is quickly changing that plan.

Loney has been amazing in 38 AB's this year. He went 3 for 4 on Wednesday to raise his average to an even .500, with 3 HR's and 12 RBI's. The Dodgers lost 2-0 to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday but Loney did as much as he could to win the game. Loney's emergence has forced Grady Little to move Nomar Garciaparra over to 3rd just to make room for the promising slugger.

Brandon Webb was lights out though going 7 innings and shutting out the Dodgers without much trouble. He handed the reigns off to his bullpen who effectively continued the shutout for him, with Jose Valverde getting his 25th save of the year to end it. Valverde is 2nd behind Francisco Cordero in saves this season in all of MLB.

The win gives the Diamondbacks sole possession of the NL West, at least for one night. The Diamondbacks now head to San Francisco to take on Barry and the Giants, while the Dodgers host the Padres and their stacked pitching staff. It seems that the NL West will come right down to the final weekend as no one can put any distance between the opposing teams. Keep an eye on it.

Trade that should happen

Baltimore send Steve Trachsel and Jamie Walker to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Carlos Carrasco and SS Adrian Cardenas.

Now, that would be a lot for the Phils to give up for two half-decent pitchers but they need all the help they can get. The Orioles should be willing to give up any reliever except Chris Ray for these two high-end prospects. If The Phils balk at Carrasco, ask about Carlos Ruiz. Heck, ask about Pat Burrell. 6 out of 9 games on the bench might drop his value some.

The benefits for both teams are quite obvious though, especially if the O's can find a taker for the recently-injured Miguel Tejada, who should be returning to action around deadline time.

Anybody Have Mike Fontenot in Their Fantasy League?

Seriously, where is this guy coming from? He has been a godsend for Lou Piniella and the Cubs, shoring up their middle infield, and tearing the cover off the ball. For a 5 foot 8 guy, he plays like a much bigger man and he is almost single handedly saving the Cubs season, along with the Michael Barrett-less Carlos Zambrano.

After Wednesday's performance his average went up to .408 through 71 AB's. That is nuts for a 27 year old career minor leaguer. Good for him. Enjoy this side of Sweet Lou while you can.

If you had said that Fontenot would have had a bigger impact on the Cubs season than the highly touted Felix Pie (.227 avg), you would have been laughed out of Wrigley. The Cubs now have a shot at Milwaukee over the weekend, and a chance to bring the gap to a doable 4.5 games. After 6 in a row for the Cubs, this is a little more attainable than 3 weeks ago.

Maybe fighting amongst the team is a healthy thing? And if the Cubs do overtake the Brewers at some point and this is a turning point, does Barrett get a gift basket?

Erik Bedard is Good

Including Wednesday night's demolition of the vaunted Yankees lineup, Erik Bedard has put up a 2.09 ERA since May 1. The Canadian is good.

He shut out the Yankees 4-0 on Wednesday with 7 innings of shutout ball as well as 8 k's. His opponent had a little less going for him.

Roger Clemens pitched well for 5 innings but fell apart in the 6th, allowing four runs, including a 3 run homer by Aubrey Huff. The Rocket's ERA jumped to 5.32 with the loss, further justifying his outlandish contract. For all of the talk about Joe Torre being on the hot seat, its unconscionable to think that Brian Cashman may outlast him.

Bedard meanwhile is the foundation for what is turning out to be one of the best rotations in baseball halfway through the year.

The struggles continue for Bobby Abreu as well as he continues his slump that has now seen him go 6 for 47 with a .146 average during that time. Not quite the impact player the Yanks had in mind one year ago.

The Yankees are now 1-7 in their past 8 and have one more against Baltimore on Thursday than head home to host the A's, the Twins and the Angels. Its not getting any easier folks.

Now We're Talking

Apparently the White Sox brass is smartening up. According to si.com, the White Sox GM, Ken Williams is nearing a contract extension with Mark Buehrle, the hottest name on the market this trade season.

The deal would be about 50 million spread over 4 years and would help to solidify the Sox rotation alongside Jon Garland.

Hopefully for Sox fans this works out, as this is far smarter than trading Buehrle for a bunch of maybe's.

Back on Track

After a lackluster late May - early June stretch that featured a 8-18 record for the Brewers, they are back on track and have now gone 12-2 in their last 14. They took down Houston again today with an 11th inning 3 run homer from Damian Miller, pushing their hot streak along impressively.

With their youthful infield gelling, the outfield tearing it up ( Corey Hart is on fire) and playing extraordinarily well, and the pitching holding their own, the Brewers are looking dominant in the NL Central again. Milwaukee is now 7.5 ahead of the Cubs, who have been holding their own lately with a nice 6 game win streak, and its hard to see that gap closing anytime soon.

Ask any GM around the league which infield they would choose to have for the next five years, EVERY GM would choose the Brewers. Doug Melvin deserves some serious credit for building this team of quality players who are also quality men.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Don't Sleep on the West

Despite the fact that Felix Hernandez's ERA has been just under 5.00 since he returned from his DL stint, the Mariners remain competitive and deserve a little press for this.

The AL West is brutally tough (save for the Rangers) as the pitching of Oakland and Los Angels has been phenomenal. The Mariners though, have been able to stay in the race for the West as they are only 6 games back, as well as the Wildcard race, in which they're only 4 behind.

With George Sherrill, Eric O'Flaherty and J.J. Putz carrying the bullpen, Jarrod Washburn carrying the rotation and Jose Lopez, Kenji Johjima and Ichiro leading the way offensively the Mariners look poised to make a run in the second half.

Not to say the M's are a lock for the playoffs or anything, just thought you should know, they're a good team that deserves some publicity.

The fact that they've won 6 of 7, two of which have come against the Red Sox, doesn't hurt either.

Another Name

The Texas Rangers bullpen has been one of the few bright spots for the struggling team this year, and Eric Gagne has been the centerpiece of it all. He got his 8th save on Tuesday as he closed out the Detroit Tigers and lowered his ERA to 1.23 on the year and continues to make himself more and more appealing to teams looking for some bullpen help.

There's no point to even listing all of the teams that would be interested as most every organization in the MLB could use bullpen help. The team Gagne closed out tonight would definitely be an intriguing fit though, as they are without their flame thrower, Joel Zumaya for much of the year., and have a disjointed, dysfunctional bullpen as currently situated.

On Tuesday the Tigers bullpen allowed 6 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. The Tigers can outscore anyone with the bats they have, but that only gets you so far.

Fellow reliever C.J. Wilson and Akinori Otsuka have also had solid seasons despite individual struggles recently. Both would draw some interest and perhaps bring in some gifted prospects if Rangers GM Jon Daniels were to put them on the block.

Late Inning Failure

The New York Yankees season struggles were encapsulated in one inning of relief work by Scott Proctor.

Proctor walked in the winning run against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, after giving up two singles and walking Nick Markakis to load the bases. Than, he proceeded to walk in Ramon Hernandez to hand the Orioles a gift wrapped 3-2 victory. The loss gives New York 6 in the past 7. Who knows, maybe the Bronx Bombers will be sellers come the end of July?

To be fair, the Yankees bullpen hasn't been entirely bad this year. Brian Bruney currently carries a 1.97 ERA over 32 innings. Albeit, he has walked 24 to go with his 26 k's.

Both teams got solid outings from their starting pitchers, as Andy Pettitte went 7 allowing 2 runs, while Jeremy Guthrie went 6.1, allowing 2 as well. Pettitte just didn't look overly sharp though as he struggled with his control all night, walking five. Meanwhile, Guthrie struck out 6 while only walking 1.

It was Johnny Damon's 2 run homer that made the game a 2-2 tie in the 6th, before the Orioles won it in the bottom of the 9th.

In tomorrow's game, Roger Clemens will face Erik Bedard in another game worth watching and a definite candidate for tomorrow's game of the day.

Torii Hunter

His name hasn't been thrown around much, but if I'm a GM looking for a little extra pop in the lineup and a little extra speed, I'm calling Minnesota about Hunter. The Twins are still in the AL Wildcard race but Hunter is an awfully appealing piece of the puzzle, especially if you can ink him longterm.

Game of the Day

NEW YORK VS. BALTIMORE

The Yankees head to Baltimore to take on the Orioles in what is our game of the day. Andy Pettitte goes up against one of the most surprising and impressive stories of the 2007 season, Jeremy Guthrie.

Guthrie has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and will most likely be the Orioles lone All-Star representative. He has posted a 2.42 ERA over 81.2 innings while going 4-1. Without Guthrie and fellow pitcher Brian Burres, the Orioles would be in a far worse situation. Guthrie will also have the advantage due to the fact that no Yankee has ever faced him. This will be a real test for the young pitcher though as he faces a lineup of true hitters.

Andy Pettitte has been phenomenal this year as well though as he's coming in with a 3.28 ERA and a 4-5 record, due more to a lack of run support, than his pitching. Pettitte has had a couple rough outings recently but will be up for a showdown with the young Oriole star.

The Yankees will be looking to get back on track with a win after losing 5 of 6 on a road trip out west, while the Orioles will just be happy to get on some type of winning streak for new manager Dave Tremblay.

Should be a great game, but with Guthrie throwing and Brian Roberts hot bat, not to mention up and comer Nick Markakis, I'll take the Orioles.

In other action, MLB ERA leader Dan Haren goes against Cleveland, Homer Bailey gets his 4th start and will look to continue his solid start to his promising career.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Bergmann's return

Not that there's anything terribly exciting to expect with the return of Jason Bergmann, but for Nationals fans and Manny Acta, its a bright light in a dark year.

Bergmann has been great this year and in his return on Monday night he was solid again as he pitched four innings and allowed only one run but still took the loss. Brian McCann accounted for all four Atlanta runs, including a 3 run homer, as the Braves took the first game of the series 4-1.

The three run homer came off Billy Traber after Bergmann had left, which put the Braves ahead for good. Traber has been decent this year for Washington but McCann had a quality game, busting out of an 0 for 14 slump he'd been in.

While Bergmann did well for the Nats, it was Tim Hudson who got the win for the Braves, going 7 strong and striking out 9, in a dominant performance. Hudson has been decent all year but has been lacking consistency over the past month with some very erratic performances mixed in with his solid outing like Monday's night effort.

Now, if the Nats can get Shawn Hill back in the fold and Micah Bowie continues his strong pitching as of late, they might actually be able to finish with 80 wins, which would be a step in the right direction for this moribund franchise.

Loving the Leadoff

The Toronto Blue Jays won their fourth straight game on Monday night as they beat the Twins 8-5 giving Roy Halladay the win. The real story though has been Vernon Wells and the aged veterans, Matt Stairs and Frank Thomas.

After four games in the leadoff slot in Toronto's lineup, Vernon Wells is one fire. Leading off through four games, Wells has 3 home runs and 8 RBI, boosting his totals to 9 and 42 on the year.

Blue Jay fans are hoping this is the end of Wells season long struggle at the plate, and with he, Matt Stairs and Frank Thomas tearing opposing pitching up in the past week, maybe the Jays aren't quite done yet?

Heating Up

With the deadline now just over a month away, we'll be focusing a lot of attention on the trade market and the names rumored to be on the move. The Braves Jared Saltalamacchia is one of the more intriguing ones.

The young catcher is stuck behind Brian McCann on the Braves depth chart and won't be passing him anytime soon as McCann continues to produce and inked a long-term deal this past offseason. So, needless to say, his name has been tossed around. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Saltalamacchia is drawing a large amount of interest from the Pirates.

Personally, I'm of the belief that the Braves need to keep this kid, who is only 22 and hitting .319 in limited action this year. They could move him to first as the Braves don't have any permanent fixtures there.

If they do decide to deal him though, they'd better ask for the king's ransom as "Salty", is one of the most promising prospects around. If Pirates GM Dave Littlefield is truly desperate for a player of this caliber, than John Schuerholz needs to ask for either Tom Gorzelanny or Ian Snell, as well as Ryan Doumit and either Matt Capps or Damaso Marte.

Anything short of that would be a mistake for Schuerholz and a huge loss for the Braves as Saltalamacchia is going to be special.

On the Block

Mark Buehrle is on the block as are most of the White Sox as their free fall has been precipitous to put it mildly.

He's an appealing piece for any contending team to acquire, and many big time high payroll squads have been enquiring about the veteran pitcher.

However, there is a catch that will cause issue for the White Sox. He has no desire to sign a long-term deal with the team he is dealt too and wishes to test the market. No GM in his right mind is going to give up a top shelf prospect for a three month rental.

Well, I shouldn't say no GM would, but no GM should.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

R.I.P. Rod Beck

Beck was one of the most fearsome closers of his day in the mid to late 90's. The guy was only 38 so something had to be unnaturally wrong. Hopefully the cause of death is not drug related in any way as it would be a shame to see his reputation posthumously tarnished. Either way, baseball lost a great community guy and a great mullet. You will be missed Rod.

Trade that should happen

Cincinnati sends Scott Hatteberg and Ken Griffey to the Bronx Zoo for Joba Chamberlain and Melky Cabrera. That's a trade that should happen.

Game of the Day

Well tomorrow should be a dandy. There are five different pitching match-ups that truly intrigue me enough to sit down and watch. Balancing family obligations and two jobs, I'm hoping I can check out two. It may be a late night tomorrow but here's hoping, and thank you mlb.tv.

GAME OF THE DAY
San Diego (Justin Germano) vs. San Francisco (Tim Lincecum)

Two of the brightest young stars out west go head to head in this showdown of NL West rivals. San Diego's got the edge as Lincecum has been struggling and simply put, San Francisco isn't very good.

The Padres have just come off a series loss to the Red Sox though , but they still hold the edge as Germano has been solid thus far in 07. Germano's rocking a 2.63 ERA through 48 innings and has a nice 24K/7BB ratio. Lincecum will be just fine in time but he's on the rocks right now. I'll take the Padres.

Check out the game of the day if you can but don't sleep on some other great games. Jason Bergmann makes his return to the rotation for the Washington Nationals as they take on Tim Hudson and the Braves. Bergmann had been lighting it up early on but has missed a month with shoulder inflammation. Hudson's been having a bit of a hard time lately so this should be a decent tilt. I haven't seen the Nationals much this year so this one is a definite option.

Also, Jeff Francis of the Rockies will take on Jason Marquis of the Cubs. Both pitchers have quietly been having solid if not spectacular seasons for their respective clubs and a pitcher's duel wouldn't be a shock in this one.

One of my favorites takes the mound Monday night when Ben Sheets and the Brewers host the Astros and Jason Jennings. The Brewers are just a lot of fun to watch these days and Sheets has been hot lately.

And finally, the Toronto Blue Jays head into Minneapolis to face Kevin Slowey and the Twins. While Slowey hasn't been on par with some of the other top rookie pitchers, he also has held his own for the Twins and will look for his 3rd win against the recently mortal Roy Halladay. The Jays just swept the Rockies while the Twins have gone 9-4 in their past 13.

Lots of choices for you tomorrow, and with the end of inter-league, we're now on the final countdown towards the All-Star Break and the trading deadline. Things are just starting to get interesting. Enjoy the show.

A near no-no

Dustin McGowan of the Blue Jays was three outs away from joining Mark Buehrle and Justin Verlander in the 2007 no hitters club, but he lost it on Rockies outfielder Jeff Baker with a single in the ninth. McGowan still went on to throw the complete game shutout.

While McGowan has been maddeningly inconsistent all season long, perhaps the most interesting part of this near no-no is the fact that he got roughed up big-time in his last outing as he faced the Dodgers but could only go 1.2 and gave up six runs on eight hits. Bizarre.

And truthfully, if I had to have guessed any Blue Jay who would have pitched a performance like this, it would have been McGowan’s fellow upstart Shaun Marcum who has been more consistent and has a solid 3.38 ERA. Shows what I know.

The Rockies can’t be too happy with the sweep at the hands of the Jays as they were riding a big high after taking the Yankees for a three game sweep at home earlier in the week. Matt Holliday’s 2 of 14 performance in the series didn’t help matters.

All-Star Preview?

Watched the Padres play the Red Sox this afternoon. This game had been hyped all week long and while it wasn't quite the pitching duel I had expected, it was worth the watch. Jake Peavy took on Josh Beckett, and Beckett came out on top. Beckett was on it all game long going eight strong, leaving it for Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth. Maybe a point of interest here, but David Ortiz just couldn't hit this series and struck out 3 times today and went 1 of 11 overall.

Peavy just couldn’t find it, and due to some rough patches early, he had to leave after five with over 100 pitches thrown. His NL leading ERA jumps a little bit, but he’ll be alright. Royce Ring threw really well in relief, as did Trevor Hoffman.

There is definite talk of these two pitchers starting the All-Star game in a couple of weeks, but it's hard to believe that Beckett would get the nod over Dan Haren of the Athletics who has been filthy all year and leads the MLB in ERA. Peavy should have his locked up for mid-July but Brad Penny may pitch his way into a repeat appearance as the starter at the mid-summer classic.

And on one final note, what’s Julio Lugo doing still starting for the Red Sox as July approaches? Seriously now, with an average under .200 and dropping, can’t Theo Epstein add someone to fill the glaring hole?

Yovani Gallardo

Yovani Gallardo is here and you’d better pay attention. The Milwaukee prospect had his MLB debut this past week taking down the San Francisco Giants in efficient fashion going 6.1, and striking out 4 while allowing 3 runs. I was lucky enough to see this game as he worked his magic and it was enough to know that this kid just made the Brew Crew a whole lot more dangerous.

On Sunday he lit it up again as he took on the Royals, going 7 while putting up an 8K/2BB ratio. He allowed one run and didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning.

The kid is scheduled to go on Saturday against Sean Marshall, who’s been lighting it up for the Cubs so far this season. Should be a dandy match-up and I’d advise you to check it out.

And on another note, how many superstars in the making under the age of 25 do the Brewers need? It's getting a little superfluous.