-Dexter Sports
6:34 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

Its upon us. Jon Lester, the ace of the Red Sox this Season. Matt Garza, the now ace that was once thought to be a part of a lopsided trade that sent Delmon Young to Minnesota. The Red Sox have certainly been in this situation before.

The Rays have not.

Tonight, expect a tough battle. No doubt about it in my mind. Both are two of the AL's best at eating innings, and performing under pressure. And I really like the Rays offense in this game seven. Expect a homer a peice from young bats B.J. Upton and Evan "Long gone"ia. The games have shown that the offenses will be there. The question mark has to be bullpen pitching. and that is what seperates these clubs.

On one end, is a bunch of solid relievers, all with great experience and a fireball youngster David Price. I say, why not throw him in for three or four innings if needbe. This kid has been lights out all year. Why not give him the ball? I say it is a must for this team to win in a close ball game.

On the other end is a closer that could quite possibly surpass Mariano Rivera's post season numbers and dominance. Jonathon Papelbon continues to answer the call time and time again. And that is going to be the game changing factor. Or so it could be.

Welcome back to the World Series Boston.

Notes from Around the League:

• Speaking of those Red Sox, top prospect, starter Clay Buchholtz, tossed five scoreless innings in AFL action on Friday. Buchholtz struggled in 2008 after having a breakout 2007 campaign. I have to admit its wierd not seeing him out there on the mound this time of the year.

• The Tigers brought in pitching coach Rick Knapp on Friday. Knapp, 46, does not have any coaching experience at the major league level. The funny part of the story though is, according to the Detroit Free Press, nobody knows or remembers who reccomended Knapp. The Tigers will also be hiring a bullpen coach later this offseason, and manager Jim Leyland says he is "99 % sure" that it will be from within the organization. Does Kenny Rogers fit the bill? Toledo pitching coach A.J. Sager has been a mainstay in the organization and could also be a very good possibility.
  

• Josh Hamilton will be releasing a book detailing his life. The book will be titled, "Beyond Belief" and will cover nearly everything that has gone on in Hamilton's life. His wife even stated there was stuff in it that she didn't know about. All I can say is Kudos to this kid for his effort to get off cocaine and to straighten up his life. Its a miracle that he made it back to the majors. I will definitely be picking up a copy.
  

That will wrap up this Around the Horn. Oh yah, Make sure you don't caught drunk driving on your way home tonight. Wouldnt want to be like Joba would you?

-Dexter Sports
11:18 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

Let's go Around the Horn to check out the latest Injuries, Trade Scenarios and the Columns of the Day. Batter Up!

Injury News:

• Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield could return to the Tigers' roster as early as tonight in Detroit. Many fans are split on the return. The Tigers have been on a tear without Sheffield in the lineup. Sheffield will most likely take over the DH duties for rookie Jeff Larish. Sheffield only hit .143 in his rehab assignment with Lakeland.

• Seattle ace Felix Hernandez injured his ankle while blocking the plate in his start against the New York Mets. Earlier in the game Hernandez went opposite field against Johan Santana to become the first Mariner to go deep. Hernandez's ankle has a mild strain and according to Hernandez, he will not miss his next start.
• "I'm going to pitch next time. You know I'm not going to come out if it's not too bad. But it was bad. I wanted to pitch. I wanted to stay in the game. I threw one (practice) pitch. It hurt bad. Now I'm fine. I'm going to be ready to throw my next outing."

• Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson could be out for the rest of the season after undergoing wrist surgery. Johnson has been one big injury since coming over to Washington. He missed all of 2007 with a broken leg.
  

• Gerald Laird will be out 4-6 weeks after an MRI determined the severity of his right hamstring injury. This is a blow to the trade hopes of the Texas Rangers. Another blow is the aggravated injury faced to Hank Blalock. There is no diagnosis yet on his bruised right wrist.
  

Trade Winds:

• Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the Phillies have enough to make a deal for starting pitching. Greg Maddux, Randy Wolf, and A.J. Burnett all seem like good fits. Salisbury mentions that the outfield depth makes Shane Victorino or Jayson Werth good trade material in return. I really like the Padres as a trade partner in that situation, because they could surely use an outfielder.

• The Cleveland Plain Dealer has yet even more C.C. talk. Dennis Manoloff looks at the situation the Indians are in, and compares it to the Bartolo Colon deal of 2002. If the Indians could get a Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens type deal for their ace watch out. The Price might be even more than that (see Bedard and Santana deals). I still have the feeling a deal is not going to get done on this front.
  

• Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski is pretty confident he can deal designated reliever Denny Bautista. The Hard throwing righty has shown a lot of promise this season, but with Joel Zumaya back, the Tigers had to do something. Bautista has a 94+ fastball with a pretty good slider.

The Column of the Day:

• Our column of the day comes from the Miami Sun-Sentinel. Dave Hyde looks at a possible World Series preview in Dolphin Stadium.... Wait, What? Thats Right, The Rays of Sunshine versus the fish not named Dolphin. Is it possible? Either way it's a great look of what could happen in the near future. Even Bill James would pass out if this happened.....
  

-Dexter Sports
11:12 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

The Blue Jays have signed 1st round pick David Cooper today among 26 other draft picks. Cooper, the 17th pick of the draft, will report to Short Season Auburn of the New York Penn league.

Cooper, who has an excelled bat, could quickly move up the minor league chain. If the lefty continues progression throughout the month, Jays GM J.P. Riccardi stated that Cooper would skip low A and move up to Hi A Dunedin.

Cooper hit a Pac 10 high 19 homers in 2008 and was the 4th first baseman taken in the first round. Cooper projects to be an everyday DH, but could prove he can be an everyday first baseman. The Jays are most interested in developing his bat in their system.

Among the other 26 signees are second round pick Kenneth Wilson and power hitting outfielder Eric Thames of Pepperdine.

I like getting this done early because it gives him a lot of time to develop this season. Cooper has such an advanced bat, that we could see him competing for a roster spot in 2009. The Jays obviously have that in mind.

Other Draft Notes:

The Rangers have signed pitchers Tim Murphy, Joe Wieland, Richard Bleier, Eric Evans, Tanner Roark, Justin King, Ryan Schlecht and Cody Eppley, outfielders Joey Butler, Adam Cobb and Chris Dove, catchers Doug Hogan and Kevin Torres and shortstops Kyle Higgins and Erik Morrison.

The Nationals agreed to terms with pitcher Casey Whitmer and outfielder Brian Pruitt.

-Dexter Sports
11:16 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

With interleague match ups under way, we see the beautiful rivalries of cross town, two of the best surprise teams, St. Louis and Tampa gong at it and We also see the Tigers taking on the Diamondbacks in what should of been a battle of two first place teams. With that being said, lets look at what is going on around the league.

• With the Detroit Tigers slumps continuing, a lot of blame has come to the the offense for not performing. Though the offense has slacked, they are still 5th in runs scored and have put up a lot of offense. The pitching though, has not been effective. The Tigers are dead last in the league with a 5.02 ERA. It is so bad that the tigers are 0-22 in games where they don't put up four runs or more.

• Johnny Cueto looked great last night until the six inning. Through five Cueto had not given up a hit. In the sixth, cleveland tagged him for three homers. One home run came from pinch hitter Travis Hafner. Maybe it will be enough to get Hafner back on track. The Reds have won four in a row. Fransisco Cordero came in to close out game one against the Indians.

• Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star looks at the positives and negatives of signing Zack Grienke in a long term deal. He notes that it could be similar to the deal that was signed by Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir. I think it would be a smart move on the Royals part, simply because with a hometown discount, they won't get into a situation such as the Giants are in with Barry Zito.

• According to Tom Haudricourt, Ned Yost will continue to bat Rick Weeks in the lead off spot despite his struggles. Yost is happy with Weeks ability to get on base despite the lack of base hits. Anyways, who else would lead off for the Brewers? Its simply the only option that manager Ned Yost has.

• At this point, It is tough to say who got the better deal this winter when the Rangers acquired Joey Hamilton from the Reds for starting pitcher Edison Volquez. Volquez is fourth in strikeouts and has won six games for the Reds. Joey Hamilton though is the American League leader in homers and RBIs. Either way, it is finally good to see a deal that might work out for both teams.
  

- Dexter Sports
11:58 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

What a great day of baseball last night. We saw George Sherill challenging Big Papi and winning, the Rays moved into first place with a walk-off in the 11th and the Tigers continue to lose ball games. Lets take a look at some news from around the league last night:

• Jered Weaver made a very good start for the first time in a while last night against the White Sox. He went seven one hit innings with 6 strike outs. Too bad he couldn't get the win. This means that Weaver might be on track. After an atrocious outing last time out against Kansas City, where he gave up 8 runs in less than 4 innings, Weaver was able to mix his stuff very well. Weaver wasn't credited with the win, but Fransisco Rodriguez got his league leading 16th save. The Angels pulled it out 2-0. Manager Mike Scioscia stated that Weaver's stuff was the best he has seen in two years.

• The Tigers dropped another heart breaker to the Kansas City Royals, 3-2. Soon enough this offense has to break through right? Jon Paul Morosi, writer for the Detroit Free Press, comments on the situation in Detroit, and how even thought he economy is bad, the Tigers are still pulling great attendance numbers.

• The Mets are mixed up their roster quite a bit yesterday. First off the Mets designated pitchers Nelson Figueroa and Jorge Sosa. Replacing those two will be former brewers Matt Wise and Claudio Vargas. Vargas will join the rotation and start tonight against the Nationals. Look for Vargas to try and steal the last spot in the rotation and prove Milwaukee wrong tonight. The Mets also placed outfielder Angel Pagan on the 15 DL and called up Fernando Tatis.
  

• Yankees Vice President Hank Steinbrenner is at it again. In a recent report, Hank has called out the Yankee team saying that they have not been playing the way at the level are capable of. Steinbrenner notes that he thinks it will turn around and if it doesn't by this year than he will make it "by force" next year. The Yankees lost a close one to the Rays last night, when Gabe Gross singled up the middle to drive in the winning run. Heres a news flash Hank, your team isn't going to win with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada on the DL. It also doesn't hurt that Latroy Hawkins, Andy Pettite were the only free agent acquisitions of last year. Some of the blame has to float your way. Too bad you couldn't seal the deal on Johan. 19th in team ERA in the league isn't going to win you a lot of ball games, even if your offense isn't struggling.

• Eric Gagne was back to closing Tuesday night after a one game absence from it. Gagne got the save against the Dodgers, in an outing where he looked pretty comfortable. Here is an audio piece of a post game interview with Gagne. He sounds pretty pumped. Audio courtesy of Sportsbubbler.com. Speaking of the Brewers, for those worried about the middle of the order, the last few games are a sign of things to come. Ryan Braun has busted out the whooping stick, with 4 dingers in the last three games, also tagging a blazing double last night. Braun is in the zone and it looks like Prince Fielder is about to heat up as well.

Todays Transactions:

• The Pirates placed catcher Ryan Doumit on the DL today. This will give Ronny Paulino a great opportunity to make a case to be traded to a team in need of a catcher. The Pirates called up Raul Chavez from AAA Indianapolis.
  

• The Reds placed Shortstop Jeff Keppinger on the DL as well today. To fill the roster spot the Reds called up Paul Janish from AAA Louisville. This could be a great opportunity to call up youngster Homer Bailey to make a spot start, considering the Reds could fill the short stop vacancy in different ways. This is the second shortstop to go down with a broken left knee. Alex Gonzalez started the season on the DL with a bum knee.
  

• Marlon Byrd will join the Rangers tonight after being reinstated from the DL. Byrd could be the lead off spark the Rangers have been looking for all season. The only question is who he will be replacing in the lineup. With Joey Hamilton in center and Brandon Boggs killing the ball, the only spot seems to be right field, where he would replace David Murphy.
  

-Dexter Sports
2:18 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

Elvis Andrus, SS Born: Aug. 26, 1988
B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-0Wt: 185

Elvis Andrus has been a prize in scouts eyes since the young age of 17. IN 2005, the Atlanta Braves gave Elvis Andrus a chance to lead its organization in the future and signed the young shortstop in 2005. Since then, with the emergence of Yunel Escobar and the need of an offensive presence in 2007, The Braves gave him up to the Rangers along with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia for Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay. He has become the best prospect in the Rangers organization and for many reasons.

Andrus is known as a solid defensive shortstop with a plus arm and great range, but what makes him so interesting is the improvement of his bat. Andrus brings a short swing to the plate, that has improved so much over the years that he projects to hit 10-20 homers a year in the majors. Include the fact that his base running ability has vastly imporved and that he is a great leader on the field, there are many reasons why the Rangers should love this kid.

Andrus hit .353 in the Arizona Fall League as the youngest player and showed at the plate that he can improve his swing per at bat. This improvement projects him into a solid number 2 hitter someday for the Rangers and I think that day will come sooner rather than later.

With Micheal Young signed long term in Texas, I believe it will still be two seasons before we see Andrus full time. In 2010, I believe we will see Young move over to third or the Outfield to make room for this youngster. Andrus will be a big force in the Rangers future. Hopefully one that sees better results. Andrus is hitting .271 with 15 RBIs with AA Frisco.

-Dexter Sports
3:59 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

We have some really good match ups in front of us tonight. Lets take a look at what is in front of us tonight in the six night games.

• Detroit vs. Boston 7:05 ET: Clearly the best pitching match up as Justin Verlander will take on Josh Beckett in a battle of what was thought to be Cy Young hopefuls at the beginning of the season, has not panned out that way. Verlander is 1-5 (hard to believe) with a 6.28 ERA so far, this year and his career numbers against Detroit don't get better. In 2 starts he is 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA. Detroit busted out of it's losing streak last night, and will continue to push for more victories. Josh Beckett takes the hill for the Red Sox. Beckett is 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA. Part of the Red Sox's success is due in major part to their pitching staff. They are tied for first in in wins, lead the league in shutouts, and have a solid team 4.10 ERA, despite giving up 150 walks so far this season. That is good enough for the second highest in the league.

• Tampa Bay vs. Toronto 7:07 ET: The Story of the game will be if the Jays offense can continue to improve after a slump to start the season. Edwin Jackson (2-3 4.98) will take on Jessie Litch (4-1 4.32). The Jays will be without shortstops David Eckstein and John Mcdonald. Marco Scutaro will make the start for the Jays. The Jays have won six of seven and the Rays have went 5-5 in the last ten games. Litch's only loss came against the Rays this season. The middle of the order will look to improve it's horrid 0-10 in Wednesday's game to give Edwin Jackson some support to get him back on track. I like Tampa's bats in this game.

• Milwaukee vs. Florida 7:10 ET: Though the pitching probable is nothing worth talking about (Villanevua vs Hendrickson) the mix up for the brewers lineup is. Joe Dillion will hit third in the lineup, as Prince Fielder will get a look from the bench. Milwaukee's bats have contiued to struggle. Gabe Kapler will also be inserted to give a spark of the bench. The Marlins have won 4 of their last 5 and has seen recent success from Dan Uggla, who started cold this season. Uggla is a career .324 hitter off Milwaukee with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs. Ned Yost is hoping his new lineup can show up the struggling starters.
  

• Washington vs. Houston 8:05 PM ET: The Nationals are one game away from getting swept by the hot Astros lineup that has seen Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee turn it up another notch and Youngster Micheal Bourn take better pitches and get more accustomed to major league pitching. The Astros will send Brandon Backe (2-3 4.42) to the mound to face John Lannan (2-3 3.74). I think this Houston Astros club is showing that at least their offense deserves to be talked about as contenders in the NL Central.
  

• Baltimore vs. Kansas City 8:05 PM ET: The Orioles look to get back to winning baseball after a tough season with Oakland. The Orioles send Daniel Cabrera (2-1 4.06) to the mound to oppose Luke Hochevar (2-1 4.86) in a game that could be high scoring. That is if the Orioles offense can get going. Five of the Orioles previous seven games they have only scored one or two runs. The Royals scored nine runs in their last game against the Angels. That is a season high. The Royals offensive effort has been team oriented, with David Dejesus Leading RBIs, Alex Gordon leading HRs and Billy Butler leading average. Look for the Orioles to return to the plate in this game against the young righty.

• Texas vs. Seattle 10:05 PM ET: The bottom of the NL west will take on each other tonight as the Mariners will send Felix Hernandez (2-2 3.04) to the mound to face Kevin Gabbard (1-0 2.18). Both team's pitching has been atrocious, especially the Rangers who rank near last in almost every pitching category. Texas though has won 5 of the last 7 in May and the pitching staff has been a big part of it. The Mariners will look to continue to warm up the bats. They have lost 7 of the last 8 and have posted .128 average in the last 23 innings. I think we will see a Mariner wake up call. I will predict a home run from Richie Sexson.
  

-Dexter Sports
12:11 PM

With a lot of great baseball action last night, I have no idea where to start. We saw Angels pitcher Joe Saunders get his 5th victory. He is now 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA. Both Baltimore and Florida picked up win number 15 on the year and with a Tiger win and Indian loss, we seen both team's records go to 12-15 respectively. After an interesting night, lets look at some news around the league.

• Derrek Lee has now tied the record for most homers in April by a Cub. Lee blasted number 8 last night off Brewers ace Ben Sheets. Lee holds the record with Sammy Sosa and Lee Walls. This wasn't the biggest story of the night though. Mike Cameron made his debut for the Brewers a good one, going 3-5 and showing he could be a major spark to this offense. Ben Sheets was also the story, as he gave up a 7 walks, a career high.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks catching squad has only thrown out 16 % of runners so far this year. That is good enough for 2nd to last in the NL. The Diamondbacks carry three catchers on the roster, including Robbie Hammock, Chris Synder and Miguel Montero. Montero will be used as Randy Johnson's personal catcher and a pinch hitter mainly.

• The Phillies claimed former padres infielder Oscar Robles off waivers yesterday. Robles will be optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley, who could use any help possible. They are 3-23 on the season. Robles could fill in later in the year as a backup infielder.

• The Rockies option Pitching Prospect Franklin Morales today. The move makes room to bring up second baseman Omar Quintanilla, to try and shorten up the hitting woes at second base. Again, why not Ian Stewart? Maybe if Quintanilla struggles they will finally get the picture.

• Former Nationals reliever Ray King was granted his release after refusing an assignment to AAA Columbus. Though King isn't the cream of the crop, who blames him for asking for a release. Some team in contention could give him a shot as a middle reliever/lefty specialist. Teams that shoot to my mind right now are the Phillies, Tigers, Marlins, and maybe the Cubs. King has a 5.68 ERA with 4 holds.

• Chris Shelton will get a chance in Texas to play first base. The Rangers are looking for a spark, with 3B Hank Blalock on the DL and 1B Ben Broussard struggling. The Rangers also designated Jason Botts for an assignment, meaning his days in Arlington could be numbered considering he seems to want out of the organization. The 27 year old has shown a lot of power in the minors, but has never been able to harness it in the bigs. The Rangers also called up outfielder Brandon Boggs. Shelton was hitting .354 with 3 HRs and 18 RBIs.
  

-Dexter Sports

Wednesday night's action is going to be interesting for a bunch of teams. It should tell a lot for a lot of fantasy options as well. Lets dig in.

• Roy Oswalt should get his season started right this evening as his Astros take on Kyle Kendrick and the Philadelphia Phillies. Oswalt has said numerous times this season he hasn't had great stuff and has had to rely on the fastball. Though the Phillies aren't the easiest team to face in a streak, their lineup though is predominately right handed. If Oswalt can contain Howard and Utley, he should be all right.

• Matt Chico vs. John Maine: This is my favorite pitching match up of the night. I love what Chico brings to the mound, and though John Maine is a future ace, his ability to shut down and offense is still in question. Tonight will be the real test against a nationals offense that ranks 25th in runs scored.
  

• Two extremely touted offenses start a series tonight in Baltimore. The Orioles and White Sox have both shown that they can score this season. The Match Up I am interested in though in though is Jose Contreras vs. Adam Loewen. Both have faced control issues to start the year. I like Contreras to start a hot streak tonight and get in a groove, as he is known to do from time to time. THATS A FANTASY ALERT FOLKS!
  

• The Two AL Central Heavy Weights battle it out in Cleveland tonight. C.C. Sabathia will take the mound for the Indians. He is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA. Cleveland Indians fans don't worry, the Tigers send out Armando Galaragga for his first start of the year. He was acquired from the Rangers in the off-season. I like Sabathia to tease the Tigers Lineup and look great, even though he is 13-8 against the tigers all time with a 4.30 ERA.
  

• Jesse Litch will take the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. Manager John Gibbons has been high on this kid since spring training, and he might be the best number 5 starter available in fantasy leagues. Litch is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA. He will face a struggling Rangers offense tonight.
  

• Livan Hernandez looks to be the first pitcher to four wins this season, as his twins come off being swept in a mini series against the tigers this week. The Twins offense will face Jamie Shields and a Rays team that is offensively powered so far this season by B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena. I think it is safe to say that Livan has been a pretty good filler for Johan Santana.
  

-Dexter Sports
4:21 PM

Lets take a look at the most intriguing match ups of Monday's Evening Action.

• Randy Johnson(ARI) Vs. Jonathan Sanchez(SFG) 10:05 PM AT&T Park: What I like about this match up is the fact that The Big Unit will be able to ease back into pitching, by facing one of if not the weakest offensive lineups in the National League. Johnson is coming off his second back surgery in as many years, and If healthy, could give the Diamondbacks a formidable 1-2-3 Punch in the rotation. This start could also judge if the Giants want to keep Sanchez in the rotation, or move him down to AAA Fresno for a bit of experience and seasoning.
  

• Detroit Tigers Offense Vs. Nick Blackburn(MIN) 7:05 ET Comerica Park: Ok, so now comes the real test and I think the real tigers offense. Though the Tigers offense has not faced Nick Blackburn much, if at all, I think this is the best opportunity to see this offense finally flourish. We know that Jim Leyland threw down the hammer on these guys, and facing a pitcher that does have good stuff, but nothing over powering is just what this offense needs. Plus, they cant be shutout again can they?

• Hiroki Kuroda(LAD) vs. Zach Duke(PIT) 10:05 ET Dodger Stadium: What is so special about this matchup is how similar these pitchers numbers are. Both come in with a 2.13 ERA. Zach Duke has 7 strikeouts on the year and Kuroda has 8. What is also interesting is that both teams have played about the same type of ball this season and their records show it. Plus, it is always fun to see hitters face Kuroda for the first time. He has some sick and nasty stuff.

• The 7-5 Blue Jays vs. The 7-5 Orioles 7:05 ET Oriole Park: I understand that it is early and that there isn't a playoff implication here yet, but something has to give. Both teams carry the same record going into this game. Add on the fact that while Baltimore is 5-1 at Oriole Park, the Blue Jays are 5-2 on the road. Weird enough for you yet? Good. Last year's match up between the two, 10-8 in favor of Toronto. So say there were playoff implication some where down the line, this could be really interesting. Dustin McGowan will take the mound for the Jays. Matt Albers will go for the Orioles.

• Vladimir Guerrero(LAA) vs. Rangers Pitching 8:05 ET Ballpark In Arlington: Guerrero hasn't started slow, but with a .288 average and 2 homers, look for him to walk in Texas and make himself the lone ranger of the town. Guerrero is a lifetime .406 hitter against the Rangers with 21 Homers and 58 Rbis. Look for Vladimir to bust open tonight.
  

-Dexter Sports
7:50 PM

In a day that was supposed to be all about the match up of Johan Santana and Ben Sheets, MLB saw two near no-hitters. Gavin Floyd threw 7 1/3 innings of no hit baseball. He shut down a tigers offense that still hasn't showed up in '08. The best part of the performance was the nasty, rainy conditions that saw only one-third of the crowd show up. Throw in the fact that it was windy and about 39 degrees, I don't blame them one bit.

On the other side of the country, In warm, sunny California, Matt Cain took a no hitter into the seventh inning today. Man does it suck to be a Giants pitcher these days. Either the offense doesn't give you any run protection, or the pathetic offense doesn't show up to the ball park. Anyways, here are some more things brewing up in baseball:

• Milwaukee's big boys are asking manager Ned Yost to switch the two in the batting order and revert to the way they hit last year. I say, why not go for it. It couldn't hurt. Fielder hit 50 homers last year and Braun put up possibly the best rookie campaign to date. It is unsaid whether Yost will bite into it. One of the big reasons that Fielder is batting third is because of Jason Kendall in the ninth position of the lineup.

• Rays Reliever Al Reyes will not be punished by his current team after his latest run in the law. Hmm, I wonder why? Maybe it is because they cant give up Reyes or any of their arms in the pen for any length of time.

• In the latest deal between MLB and the Player's Union, both came to the agreement that players in the Mitchell Report will be given amnesty. ARE YOU SERIOUS BUD SELIG? Ok, we go after these players to prove a point that this needs to be stopped, and then we back out of our allegations... What was the point of this Bud? Selig and President Bush should get together and talk about how big of a backfire you get from the American public when you deceive them. Well, Paul LoDuca, Eric Gagne, Miguel Tejada, Greg Zaun, Roger Clemens, and all of you other roid pumping ballplayers in the Mitchell report, consider this your lucky day.

• Scott Speizo was released by the Braves earlier today. GM Frank Wren explained the situation being that Spezio needed more time to rehabilitate from Alcohol abuse. Spezio was released by the Cardinals after a drunk driving incident this off-season.

• Finally, I'm not usually one to spread rumors but I wonder if the Tigers continue to struggle badly down the stretch, if they would be willing to dump some payroll. I say why not. If it really comes down to it, they could trade Jeremy Bonderman or a Nate Robertson type pitcher bundled with a prospect or two to Texas or Seattle. Why Texas or Seattle? They both have the catching prospect that the Tigers so desperately desire. If Texas or Seattle are in the hunt and is looking for pitching at the trade deadline, look for the tigers to be aggressive and go after a Jeff Clement or Jarrod Saltalamacchia. That way, they wouldn't have to resign Ivan Rodriguez, and they could go after one of the big name starters in the 09 free agent market, such as Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. Other options could be Ryan Doumit or Ronny Paulino in Pittsburgh.