-Dexter Sports
12:56 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

Lets take a look at the Top Stories in Baseball from around the Blogospher this Tuesday:

• Diatribe takes a deep look into the latest Indian, Matt LaPorta. I know that Cleveland fans are still mourning, but I'm telling you, You're going to love this kids power and potential.
  

• Top Marlin Chris Volstad has made his way to the parent club this afternoon. Volstad will take Mark Hendrickson's spot in the rotation. Volstad has a great sinking fastball with a decent curve that averages 80-82 on the gun. Volstad follows fellow prospect Ryan Tucker to the majors. Is it possible we could see Cameron Maybin next? It doesn't seem likely. Maybin has hit a wall since staring off hot in AA Carolina. Maybin is only hitting .265 with 12 homers on the year. The Marlins might give him a look in August, but I don't think anytime soon is in the picture

• John Perrotto of the Beaver Times thinks that the Pirates could be looking to acquire Matt Kemp from the Dodgers in exchange for Jack Wilson. Wait, What?!?! There are reports that Kemp could be available. The Dodgers have been on the hunt for a shortstop after finding out Rafael Furcal will not be around anytime soon. So, whatever happened to playing Garciaparra at shortstop? It would be better for the future of this team. Matt Kemp for Wilson? COME ON!

• Reds Beat Writer John Fay looks at if the Reds will "buy,sell or trade." Fay believes the Reds will keep pretty quiet and that David Weathers, Jeremy Affeldt and David Ross are the most likely to move on. I have to agree. If they were going to do something, it would have happened by now. This team could use some more position prospects though.

The Ratings:

• The Nationals have a new stadium and a new feel in Washington, but the ratings do not lie. Washington has the lowest regional baseball rating in major league baseball. The Nationals are only drawing 9,000 fans per game in the local area. The Baltimore Orioles, who are carried on the same network, are carrying around 33,000 a game. When you think about it though, they are the Youngest franchise and the worst team in baseball. It makes sense that more people in Washington would be more interested in watching the O's.
  

-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
10:37 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

Holy Cow, Did enough teams sweep this last series? Man Alive, we saw the Braves beat up on the Mets, the Marlins man handle the Diamondbacks, the Red Sox took four from the Royals, and oh yeah, throw in the mauling of the Mariners by the paws of the Tigers. Did I miss anybody? Anyways, here is some news swirling around the league.

• Baseball America is reporting that 20 year old Clayton Kershaw was pulled after one inning in AA Jacksonville by management. Jacksonville Manager John Shoemaker got the call and said that the Dodgers organization has been very cautious of how many innings Kershaw has pitched per month. Like Baseball America, I believe it was because Kershaw will be called up soon to fill Chan Ho Park's spot in the rotation. This kid has been sensational, throwing 47 strike outs in 43 plus innings. The only thing eluding him is his curve ball. He has been known to hang it.

• Chicago Sun Times reporter Gordan Wittenmeyer has a piece on how the rookies have been important to this team and how well the Cubs have developed from the system. Though I agree to an extent, a lot of what keeps this team winning everyday is from the outside. The most struggling players are from within the system. Lets take a look at the best producers for the Cubs. Derek Lee and Alfonso Soriano are in the top two in homers and of the top four in RBIs, only Geovany Soto is home grown. Granted ace Carlos Zambrano is home grown with six wins and a 2.45 but the rest of the best are from the outside. Guys like Ryan Dempster and the Ted Lillys of last year are what have brought the Cubs a lot of success. Though former farm hand Carlos Marmol has turned into possibly the best set up man in the league, most of the production comes from outside the organization.

• Juan Rodriguez of the Florida Sun Sentinal wonders who will fill the void at the three hole now that Hanley Ramirez has moved back to the top of the order where he belongs. The Marlins have the second lowest OPS in the National League. Roriguez goes on to note that the combination of hitters that have hit in the three hole have struck out an NL leading 50 times. The other Florida team, the Rays hold the Major League lead with 57 from the 3 spot. Why not throw Dan Uggla there? He has 13 Homers already, and could be good protection for the rest of the Order. We will see if it happens. I doubt it.

• The Diamondback offense, earlier in the season was unstoppable. Now it seems to be falling apart slowly. Connor Jackson is slipping below .300 and Mark Reynolds has just not looked right since the beginning of the year. Solution? Why not give Chad Tracy some more time and call up Trot Nixon from AAA Tucson. The Diamondbacks are carrying three catchers and it wouldn't hurt to let one go for a few games to catch a spark from a hot bat. Nixon is hitting .303 with 6 HRs and 24 RBIs.

• One last note, Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe posted some great information on the grand slam, after J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell went grand salami on the royals. He notes that it is the 72nd time two have happened in a game. Ten of those have been for the Boston Red Sox. The last time it happened for the Red Sox was in 1995 when big Mo Vaughn and John Valentin went yard in grand slam fashion in Yankee Stadium.