-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
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
1:01 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

We saw a streak end in the National League, The Tigers and Brewers got away from their losing ways and the Rays continued their winning ways, and will look for the sweep this afternoon in Oakland. First off, let's take a look at the news from around the league.

• Atlanta Braves Right Fielder Jeff Francoeur's 370 straight games started streak came to an end on in game 2 of last nights double header. Francoeur needed a day off due to his struggles at the plate. Hitting .211 and with only 7 RBIs, Francoeur has not been able to see the ball well so far this season. In the opener of the double header he went 0-3. Bobby Cox ultimately made the decision to sit Francoeur, stating it was important to have a bit of rest and have some fun on the bench. The Braves pulled off both games against the Mets yesterday.

• Jon Rauch gave up his first run of year as the closer for the Washington Nationals. Rauch already has ten saves after replacing Chad Cordero in the beginning of May. Cordero is on the disabled list. Rauch could be a great fantasy option for those of you that need a couple more saves in your league. The Nationals face the Phillies tonight. The Phillies lead the league in homers.

• Arizona Starter Billy Buckner (no pun intended) has finally figured out what has caused such a slow start after coming over to Arizona from the Kansas City Royals. The Right hander was told when coming over that he was tipping his pitches, but didn't do much about it. Buckner since then has made an adjustment and its proving to be the factor that slowed him down. Before the adjustment Buckner had a 9.97 in 22 innings. In the last 27, Buckner has a 1.67 ERA in AAA Tucson. If it continues Buckner could be returning to the pen for the parent club.

• David Price will make his professional debut tonight for Vero Beach of the Florida State League. Baseball fans got to see the talent this kid has in the Ray's spring training. Price has been said to be more polished at this point of his career than Scott Kazmir. Price led the NCAA in strike outs with 194 his junior year (see image above).

• Sports Illustrated covers the fact that the Rays have been the team to beat in the NL East. The cover, which is a comic of Carl Crawford holding up Derek Jeter in the air brings up some good points. Simply, Jeter is on the decline, and the Rays youngsters are the players to watch now in the AL East. I really feel this team has a shot at winning the AL Wild card or their division.

-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

12:26 PM

Nate Robertson will take the mound at 1:05 as the tigers look to get their first win in 08. The tigers, who were automatically dubbed a championship caliber team by most analysts, have started the season 0-3 after being swept by the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers will look to Robertson, who had a tremendous spring to shut down a White Sox offense that did struggle at times last year. Though many are worried about the tigers after being swept away, tigers fans should not have any fear. The lineup is working without catalyst lead-off hitter Curtis Granderson and Third Baseman Miguel Cabrera. Today, Gary Sheffield will sit out because of a jammed finger, and should be back sometime soon. Anyways, here is what's going on around the league.

• Mike Hampton was pulled twenty minutes before game time last night. Hampton strained his left pectoral warming up in the bullpen before the 7:05 start against the Pirates. Hampton will find himself on the DL yet again. The Braves are optimistic (as always) and it looks like Jeff Bennett will get that position in the rotation for now. Hampton has made 12 starts since 2005, making a total of 12 starts (Carl Pavano anyone?).

• Reds Rookie Johnny Cueto was brilliant in his debut yesterday. Any that watched it could say his 96 mile an hour fastball was impressive and his nasty slider was just plain wrong. Cueto finished with 10 strike outs. Who would have thought it was him instead of Homer Bailey in the rotation. Reds fans should be glad that Cueto is a red instead of Erik Bedard or Joe Blanton.

• The Nationals seem like a team to be reckoned with in their first week of action. First a walk-off home run in the new nationals park, a new stadium that puts the nationals as GM Jim Bowden puts it, "from the outhouse to the penthouse." We all knew this team would hit, but who would know that Odalis Perez would get the job done and that Tim Redding would throw a one-hitter. Who knows, maybe this rotation and bullpen can hold up and acutally give Washington D.C . a good representative.

• Phil Hughes sparkled in his season debut last night. He did leave a couple curves hanging, but showed why the Yankees were not worried about bringing in anybody else this off-season beyond Andy Pettitte. Ian Kennedy will make his first start tonight.