Derek Jeter (42 R, .270 AVG, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 8 SB)

Jeter’s perceived value in fantasy baseball has been declining over the past few seasons.  While it is true that Jeter has lost a step and is not the superb player he once was, he is still a good hitter and an elite fantasy shortstop.

Although Jeter had a slow start, his hitting steadily picked up as the season progressed.  Jeter recently delivered a five-hit game to become the 28th member (and first Yankee) of the 3,000-hit club; the five-hit game boosted his AVG from .257 to .270 on the season.  Jeter is currently on a 10-for-27 (.370 AVG) tear and is beginning to silence his critics.  Jeter appears poised for a turnaround in the second half of the season.  Playing in the New York Yankees lineup has its perks, as Jeter should continue to score many runs and see good pitches to hit.

Despite his age, it is plausible that Jeter may have a hot second half.  Jeter has a career AVG of .306 before the All-Star break and .320 after the All-Star break.

Ichiro Suzuki (46 R, .270 AVG, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 23 SB)

With the possible exception of Albert Pujols, no baseball player had spoiled us more over the past 10 years than Ichiro.  Ichiro’s career-lows are 146 games (2009), 206 hits (2005), .303 AVG (2005) and 26 steals (2009).  Ichiro is currently hitting .270 (below the norm for him) on the season; however, he has 100 or more hits at the All-Star break for the 11th consecutive season (a feat surpassed only by Pete Rose’s 12 consecutive seasons).

Do not be surprised to see Ichiro get hot and reach 200 hits for the 11th consecutive season.  Ichiro has a career AVG of .321 in July, .326 in August and .319 in September.

Lance Berkman (54 R, .290 AVG, 24 HR, 63 RBI)

To say that Berkman is having a fantastic season would be an understatement.  Surely, there are those who thought Berkman was still capable of big numbers; however, I doubt many thought Berkman would have these numbers at the All-Star break.

Each season, I pick players I deem to be players of interest and I write statistical projections for them.  I recently opened my 2011 season projection preview for Berkman to compare my projections to his actual numbers.  Here are the results:

my 2011 projections:  68 R, .279 AVG, 17 HR, 62 RBI
his actual numbers:  54 R, .290 AVG, 24 HR, 63 RBI

In my notes, I wrote, “I do not question the hitting ability of Berkman; however, his durability is questionable.  Look for Berkman to be a very productive on-base machine until nagging injuries hit him.  I believe Berkman can post all-star numbers if he stays healthy; however, he had not played as a full-time outfielder since the 2004 season.”

Frankly, I am impressed Berkman managed to stay healthy this season as an outfielder.  My 2011 projections for Berkman were based on what I thought would be an injury-shortened season; here we are at the All-Star break and he has already surpassed my projections for him in home runs and RBIs.

Berkman’s AVG had cooled off recently, as he only hit .225 in the past 28 days; however, he has eight home runs and 17 RBIs in that time.  Although it is unlikely that Berkman will hit .300 this season, he clearly demonstrated that he still has power.  Health permitting, look for Berkman to continue hitting with a respectable AVG and plenty of pop through the rest of the season.

David Freese (17 R, .336 AVG, 3 HR, 18 RBI)

The 2011 season has been a rough one for fantasy managers at the third base position.  David Wright (.226 AVG) of the New York Mets has been out since May with a stress fracture in his lower back.  Casey McGehee (.223 AVG) of the Milwaukee Brewers has disappointed after a stellar 2010 season.  Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay Rays) and Ryan Zimmerman (Washington Nationals) both started out slowly as they struggled with injuries this season.  Now Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves) and Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees) are both on the DL with the same injury:  torn meniscus in the right knee.  Placido Polanco (Philadelphia Phillies) has a bulging disc in his back and is only hitting .216 in his past 57 games.

Those who need help at third base from the waiver wire should look at Freese (St. Louis Cardinals).  Although Freese himself has been an injury-prone hitter in his career (17 games in 2009 and 70 games in 2010), he has been a productive hitter this season and is surrounded by a strong lineup which includes Berkman, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday.

Freese was sent to the DL with a hand injury in May (hit by pitch).  Since his return, Freese is hitting .295 in 13 games with one home run and four RBIs.  While Berkman, Pujols and Holliday remain healthy, you will likely see Freese batting fifth or sixth in the lineup.  A healthy Cardinals lineup should translate into more RBI opportunities for Freese through the rest of this season.

Freese is currently owned in only 40% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.

Brett Gardner (43 R, .265 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 23 SB)

Like fellow Yankee teammate Jeter, Gardner started slowly this season with a .188 AVG and four steals in his first 23 games.  Over his past 64 games, Gardner hit .292 with 19 steals.  Over the past 30 days, Gardner scored 16 runs while hitting .278 with 10 steals.

Do not be fooled by Gardner’s slow start or his current .265 AVG; he is a disciplined hitter who can hit for an excellent AVG and swipe many bases.  Look for Gardner to play a large role in the Yankees’ lineup the rest of the way.  Gardner is currently owned in 74% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.  If you see him on waivers in your league, add him before somebody else does.  Gardner will be an excellent source of steals and runs while improving your AVG through the rest of the season.

Ubaldo Jimenez (4-8, 4.14 ERA)

Jimenez had a brilliant 2010 season with the Colorado Rockies.  During the 2010 All-Star break, Jimenez was 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA.  At that time, he seemed like a lock for the NL Cy Young Award and for 20 wins; he failed to win the Cy Young Award and he failed to reach 20 wins.

While Jimenez started hot and cooled off later in 2010, his 2011 season thus far had been the opposite.  Jimenez started 0-5 with a 5.86 ERA in his first nine starts and saw a decrease in his velocity.  Fantasy managers should be excited about the second half of the 2011 season for Jimenez, as he is 4-3 in his past eight starts with a 2.52 ERA.  His velocity is back in the 95-97 mph range and he is keeping that velocity deep into games recently.

At his currently unimpressive 4-8 record and 4.14 ERA, you should try to trade for Jimenez if you can get him at a discount.  If you already own Jimenez, then do not sell him short in trade negotiations.  His past eight starts is a large enough sample size for you to claim that he has returned to form and has regained trade value.  Look for his strong play to continue as he helps the Rockies contend for the division title.

Vance Worley (4-1, 2.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP)

During the preseason, there was no talk whatsoever of Worley joining the Philadelphia Phillies’ fabulous pitching rotation.  Just as many predicted, the rotation has been elite as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels are a combined 31-13 with a 2.53 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 8.64 K/9 rate.  The surprises in the rotation have been injuries to Joe Blanton and Roy Oswalt, which led to Worley receiving a chance.

Worley has been impressive in his young career thus far.  In his four wins, Worley has a 0.69 ERA.  In one of his recent outings, Worley shut down the Boston Red Sox as he allowed one earned run through seven innings.

As Oswalt’s back woes threaten to possibly shut down his season, look for Worley to remain a fixture in the Phillies’ rotation and continue pitching well.  Worley is currently owned in only 14% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.

Ackley’s arrival has created a buzz not only among Mariners fans, but also in the fantasy baseball world.  Ackley’s ownership in Yahoo! fantasy baseball rose from a single digit percentage to 32% over the weekend!

While it remains to be seen whether or not Ackley will light the fantasy scoreboard on fire, he does possess such potential.  Ackley currently bats in the lower third of the Mariners lineup; however, he could be moved up if he continues to hit well.  Of his three hits thus far, two are for extra bases (triple and home run).

Even if you feel comfortable with your starting second baseman, you should add Ackley for several reasons:  first of all, Ackley currently has OF eligibility in Yahoo! fantasy baseball, and will soon have 2B eligibility.

Secondly, the number of people clamoring to add Ackley should be indicative of his possible trade value.  Although fantasy second basemen like Danny Espinosa and Kelly Johnson have solid RBI totals, their batting averages are unappealing to fantasy managers.  Chicago Cubs rookie Darwin Barney is currently on the DL.  Should Dan Uggla continue to stay below the Mendoza line, Uggla’s owners may look to Ackley for help when he attains 2B eligibility.

To reiterate, Ackley is currently owned in 32% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.  That number will continue to rise fairly quickly.  Add him while he is available now.  Ackley is not the only Mariner who may be worthy of acquiring via trade or waiver add, however.

Ichiro Suzuki

It is possible to acquire Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki at a discount in trade negotiations.  At this time, Ichiro is hitting only .277 and that may be frustrating many of his fantasy managers.

You should try to trade for Ichiro in an attempt to buy low.  Ichiro will soon score more runs, as the Mariners are on the verge of turning their season around.  Their offense will improve (especially with Ackley in the lineup) to support their strong pitching; the resulting newfound confidence will help propel them to a possible AL West division title to stun the baseball world.

Despite Ichiro’s un-Ichiro .277 AVG, he is swinging a hot bat at this time and will continue to do so.  In his last eight games, Ichiro has seven multi-hit games and is hitting 16-for-34 (.471 AVG) with nine runs and four steals.

In Ichiro’s career, he has never failed to hit .300 in a season and has never failed to record 200 hits in a season.  Ichiro also has never failed to steal at least 20 bases (he currently has 18).  Ichiro is currently under the 200-hit pace; however, his recent hot streak indicates that he is back on track.  Look for Ichiro to be one of baseball’s hottest hitters after the All-Star break and record 200+ hits again.

Miguel Olivo

Olivo currently sports an unimpressive .230 AVG; however, he has 31 runs (third among fantasy catchers), 11 home runs (tops among fantasy catchers) and 34 RBIs (fifth among fantasy catchers).

Despite a .203 AVG for the month of June, Olivo has seven home runs this month (a monthly high for him) and 15 RBIs this month (another monthly high for him).  Theoretically, his power numbers should improve with steadier hitting in the second half of the season.

Upon observing Olivo’s career splits, you will notice that he hits much better in the first half of the season; that was also true of his 2010 season as well (.325 before All-Star game and .193 after All-Star game).  Despite this negative trend, I believe Olivo will improve after the All-Star game this season.  Nobody ever thought Dan Uggla – a perennial 30-HR hitter – would be hitting below the Mendoza line at this stage in a season; Olivo can reverse his career trend and surprise as well.

While Olivo will not hit for a high AVG, he will hit for a respectable AVG and provide good power numbers for a catcher.  Olivo is currently owned in 52% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.  You should consider adding him if you need help at the catcher position.

Justin Smoak

Despite hitting 12 home runs and 40 RBIs, Smoak is currently owned in only 47% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.  Smoak’s 40 RBIs place at him 15th among fantasy first basemen; however, he is within striking distance of catching a handful of them in RBIs (Cincinnati’s Joey Votto has 43).

The number that sticks out like a sore thumb for Smoak is his lack of runs.  Despite having 40 RBIs, he only has 21 runs at this time.  If the Mariners’ offense improves as I expect them to, then Smoak should score more runs later this season.

Through 22 games in April, Smoak hit .284 with four home runs and 17 RBIs.  Through 26 games in May, he again hit four home runs and had 14 RBIs; however, he hit only .229 in May.  Through 17 games in June, Smoak currently is hitting .279 with four home runs and nine RBIs.

Although Smoak’s up-and-down numbers may make managers reluctant to add him, it is a positive sign that he steadily hits four home runs every month and is improving his AVG at this stage in the season.  Smoak is currently on four-game hitting streak and has hits in 14 of his last 17 games.

First base is a deeply talented position in fantasy baseball; therefore, many of you may already be content with your first baseman.  However, those of you who recently lost St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols to injury should consider adding Smoak to your lineup.

Erik Bedard

On May 23, the Seattle Mariners’ Erik Bedard was owned in only 22% of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues; since then, that number has climbed to 59% and should continue to climb.

Despite his 4-4 record, Bedard has been one of baseball’s hottest pitchers.  Bedard went 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA in his first four starts; since then, Bedard is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA in nine starts.  This dominant stretch of pitching has lowered his ERA to 3.16 on the season.  Bedard allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his last nine starts.

The now-healthy Bedard helps the Mariners improve their chances of competing for the AL West title.  The one-two punch of Felix Hernandez and Bedard may be one of the best pitching tandems in baseball this year.  With youngster Michael Pineda pitching like an all-star along with Hernandez and Bedard, the Mariners will soon be a team to be reckoned with in the AL West.

If Bedard is available in your league, do not hesitate to add him now!  Bedard has a good strikeout rate with 70 strikeouts in 77 innings to go along with his 3.16 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.

Other teams will soon realize the need to take the Mariners seriously on their schedule; likewise, you should take the Mariners seriously in fantasy baseball.

Christopher Wenrich is a senior fantasy baseball contributor for BaseballDigest.com and can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com.  You can follow him on Twitter @DuggerSports.

Coming off a career in Japan they usually have dominated competition or have stats that are superior from their playing days overseas compared to a vast majority of players in the same position here in the States. As a result, their new respective teams and media blow the expectations out of proportion, thus creating a monster of a fan base. The fans end up expecting that this new player is the “chosen one”, the one missing link to get their team over the hump.

What Kosuke Fukudome has endured that others have not is that Fukudome is not only seen as a difference maker, but a potential difference maker for the Chicago Cubs, the team with a 104 year championship drought.

Cubs fans have been waiting for their team to capture the elusive World Series championship for over a century now. Before the 2008 season, the Cubs announced the signing of Kosuke Fukudome. He was showcased as a one-time MVP in Japan’s Central League, capable of putting up numbers with a .343 average, 34 HRs and 104 RBIs in a given season. He was to be the left-handed, leadoff bat the Cubs were lacking and he was going to make a difference at the top of the order. With this year being the last year of his contract, it remains to be seen if Fukudome can finally deliver on the championship he was brought in to capture. The pressure he faces as a Cub is like nothing talented Japanese players such as Ichiro Suzuki or Hideki Matsui have ever seen in Seattle or even a team with a rabid fan base in the Yankees.

I believe part of it has to be attributed to culture shock. A new batch of opponents. A new group of stadiums. New pitchers. A grueling schedule. A language you may not be fluid in as of yet. That is a lot to take in as a ‘rookie’ in the major leagues, ever after putting nine years of professional baseball service under your belt like Fukudome.

In his nine years playing with the Chunichi Dragons, he played in 1074 games, collected 1175 hits, 494 of them of the extra-base variety, a career .305 AVG and an OPS of .940. He originally was drafted in 1999 as a shortstop, but after committing many errors due to the inability to field ground balls, he was moved to third base and then to the outfield where he excelled. In his rookie season he batted .284 with 16 home runs and was a key part to the Dragons winning the title that year.

It didn’t take long for Fukudome to be considered as one of the best in the game. In his fourth season with the Dragons, he hit .343 and stopped Hideki Matsui from winning the triple crown. He followed up that season with a .313 average and 34 home runs. 2006 was Fukudome’s greatest year where he batted .351 with 31 home runs and 104 RBIs, winning him the Central League MVP. It garnered attention from MLB scouts and set the stage for great expectations from fans in the States.

In a July 2008 issue of Baseball Digest, Jim Molony wrote about the excitement Fukudome brought to the Chicago Cubs during his first season. Click here to check it out!

In his major league debut with the Cubs, fans in the right field bleachers were instantly smitten with Fukudome, wearing headbands in his honor and bowing down to him for his three-run home run he hit in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game off of Brewers’ closer Eric Gagne. Since that day, Fukudome has struggled to win over the Cubs faithful despite being named to the National League All-Star team during his rookie season. Part of this may be because he has only collected 34 home runs in his three seasons with the Cubs. With the fans seeing his numbers in Japan, they had visions of Fukudome hitting that mark in a single season, so overall, he has been a bit of a letdown. He is a key part of the 2011 Cubs outfield rotation and is off to a strong start yet again.

Recently, Fukudome got some news of the personal-life variety. His wife delivered the couple’s second child, a baby girl on April 19^th.

Cubs fans hope Fukudome himself can deliver something soon as well – a World Series championship for their Chicago Cubs.

Also Born Today:

Joe Crede turns 33 today. Crede played third base for the Chicago White Sox from 2000-2008 and for the Minnesota Twins in 2009. He won the World Series with the White Sox in 2005. During the Series, on October 22^nd, on the due date of his second daughter, he hit his first World Series home run.

Virgil Trucks turns 94 today. Trucks made his major league debut on September 27, 1941 for the Detroit Tigers. Through 17 seasons, he maintained a strong ERA of 3.39 and a win-loss record of 177-135. A World Series champion in 1945, Trucks has two no-hitters on his resume three months apart. The first on May 15, 1952 and the second on August 25, 1952.

Ryan Maloney is a Staff Writer for BaseballDigest.com, the author of popular Chicago Cubs blog Prose and Ivy and contributing writer to MLB.com/Entertainment.

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Sisler ran into some controversy along his way to the Majors that nearly got him blacklisted from playing in the big leagues. He had signed a minor league contract when he was underage, but had not yet honored it. The contract was eventually purchased four years later by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but Sisler, with the backing of his Dad, Rickey, and the university, refused to report. Eventually the contract was voided since Sisler was a minor and no parent or guardian had been part of the process.

Sisler was then free and clear to sign with the St. Louis Browns in 1915. Sisler would throw in 24 games in his Major League career, compiling a 5-6 mark with a 2.35 ERA, but his switch to 1st base is what led to a Hall of Fame career. Sisler was one of the pure hitters of his era; he hit .407 in 1920 with 257 hits. The record stood for 84 years until the Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki eclipsed the mark with 262 hits in 2004. Sisler would only have 246 hits in 1922, but hit a remarkable .420 (third highest avg in the modern era), drove in 105 runs, stole 51 bases, and captured the AL MVP award. He also hit in 41 consecutive games to set the AL record that Joe DiMaggio would eventually break.

At the top of his game, Sisler suffered from a case of sinusitis-induced double vision the following year, and missed the entire 1923 season. With the exception of the 1925 season, Sisler would never play close to his MVP level again. But Sisler also took on double duty as player manager from 1924-1926 (Compiling a 218-241 record). Sisler stayed with the Browns through the 1927 season and then was sold to the Washington Senators for $25K prior to the 1928 season. Sisler was only in D.C. until May when the Senators sold him to the Boston Braves for $7.5K.

While still a pitcher, Sisler twice defeated his idol, Walter “Big Train” Johnson of the Washington Senators. In 1965, Baseball Digest printed Sisler’s account of his feat as told to the Chicago Daily News’ Lyall Smith. Click here to read all about it.

Sisler finished his Major League career with Boston in the 1930 season, but playing wasn’t quite out of his system. He would spend the 1931 season with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League and then, at age 39, finished his playing career in 1932 as a member of the Shreveport/Tyler Sports of the Texas League.

In retirement, Sisler worked as a scout for several organizations, reuniting with his mentor Branch Rickey in the process. He also had two sons, Dave and Dick, who played Major League ball in the late 1940′s and 1950′s. His namesake, George Jr., was president of the International League from 1966-1976 and was GM of three of the league’s teams.

George Sisler Sr. was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 1939, becoming one of it’s earliest entrants. The player known as “Gorgeous George” and “Gentleman George” passed away in 1973. He was still an active scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates at the time.

Also Born Today

Garry Templeton (b. Lockney, TX, 1954): He enjoyed a 16-year Major League career (1976-1991) spent in St. Louis, San Diego, and New York (NL). He was a three-time All-Star and a two time Silver Slugger winner at shortstop. Templeton’s best years were his first six in the majors (1976-1981) with the Cards. He had career highs in batting average, steals, triples, and hits (twice surpassing 200). But perhaps Templeton is best known for when he didn’t play. Selected as a reserve All-Star for the 1979 game, he refused to play, and uttered the infamous line, “If I ain’t startin’, I ain’t departin’”.

Starlin Castro (b. Monte Cristy, D.R., 1990): One of the rising young stars in the game today, Castro was signed as a 16 yr-old free agent out of his native Dominican Republic in 2006. In three-plus seasons in the minors, Castro continued to impress with his smooth defense at shortstop and his solid bat. He was hitting .376 in Double-A when the Cubs recalled him for the rest of the 2010 season. In his rookie campaign, Castro hit .300 in over 500 plate appearances and finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. On the downside, he has committed 27 errors as he continues to adjust to the Major Leagues.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

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Starting Rotation:

Read more about Ichiro’s hitting style and prowess in this Baseball Digest piece from 2004.

Joseph Howard Coleman is the middle man of 3 generations of Major League Pitchers.  Born in Boston, Massachusetts, his father Joseph Patrick Coleman won 52 games over 10 seasons with the Philadelphia A’s, Tigers, and Baltimore Orioles from 1942-1955.  Coleman Sr was on the Orioles their first season after moving from St Louis (1954).

Joe Jr (hereafter Joe) went to Natick High School and was a highly regarded prospect.  The Washington Senators took him with the third overall pick in the 1965 amateur draft.  He struggled in his first pro season, going 2-10 in Class A Burlington of the Carolina League, but the Senators brought him to the majors anyway for a cup of coffee the last week of the season.  Joe made quite a splash that week, starting two games, throwing two complete games and winning both.

Promoted to York PA in the Eastern league for 1966, he fared better but still struggled to a 7-19 mark.  Again the Senators called him up the last week of the season, and again he threw a complete game victory.  So at this point his minors record was 9-29, but his major league mark was 3-0.

He started 1967 at York, but on April 12 he was called up for good to Washington.  He won two more starts, going 8 2/3 and 9 in both victories before suffering his first major league loss.  He pitched well that season, and continued to pitch well although he played for some bad teams.  The ’69 Senators were the only Washington team to finish above .500 during his tenure there.  After the 1970 season he was traded to the Detroit Tigers as part of an eight-player deal that also sent Denny McLain to Washington.

Coleman enjoyed his best years with the Tigers.  There were the 20-wins in his first season there, which included 16 complete games and 3 shutouts.  He was an All-Star in 1972, helped the Tigers win the Eastern Division for the first time, and set an ALCS record by fanning 14 Oakland A’s in a game.  That record stood until 1997 when Baltimore’s Mike Mussina broke it.  He won 23 games (13 complete games, 2 shutouts) in 1973, and finished 23rd in the AL MVP voting.

Joe attributed much of his success to his forkball.  Baseball Digest discussed the pitch with him in this article from November 1972.  Click here to read more!

He pitched well enough in 1974, but his strikeouts went down, his walks skyrocketed, and he led the league in hit batsmen for the second year in a row.  In 1975 he led the league in wild pitches and was 10-18.  After a 2-5 start to the 1976 season he was sold to the Chicago Cubs.  He bounced around the majors after that, playing at various times for Oakland, Toronto, San Francisco, and briefly for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979.  He finished the 1979 season at Portland, Pittsburgh’s AAA affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.  Coleman moved on to Spokane in 1980, and continued on in AAA for another 3 years before finally hanging it up after the 1982 campaign.

But his baseball career was not over.  He became a coach, and returned to the Major Leagues as the California Angels bullpen coach, serving in that capacity from 1987-1990.  When Joe Torre left the Angel broadcast booth to become the St Louis Cardinals manager before the 1991 season, he brought Coleman along as his pitching coach.  Coleman stayed in that role for 3 years (1991-1994).  His Cardinal teams finished over .500 every year, and pitched almost exactly at the league average (ERA+ of 101, 101, and 97 respectively).  After leaving St Louis, he returned to the Angels for one year as the pitching coach (1996), then 3 more as the bullpen coach (1997-1999).

He has since returned to the minor leagues.  He was the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls from 2000-2007, and is currently back in the Detroit organization as pitching coach for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Detroit’s Class A farm team.

Oh, and the third member of the family in the Majors?  Casey Coleman, who made his major league debut last season with the Chicago Cubs.

Happy Birthday Joe Coleman!

Also celebrating  a birthday today:

Fred Lynn, 58. The first and one of only two men to win their league’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year award in the same season.  Lynn turned the trick in 1975; Ichiro Suzuki did it in 2001.  A stalwart defensive center fielder for the Boston Red Sox, his finest offensive season may have been 1979 although he finished 4th in the MVP voting.  Lynn was a 4-time Gold Glove winner with Boston, and a 9-time All-Star, the last two times voted in as a California Angel.  He also has the distinction of hitting the only Grand Slam in All-Star Game history, off Giant Atlee Hammaker in the 1984 classic.

Bake McBride, 61. Born in 1949 in Fulton, Missouri, about 100 miles west of St Louis, McBride was selected by the Cardinals in the 37th round of the 1970 amateur draft.  He won the NL ROY for 1974 and played 3-plus seasons at Busch.  Midway through the 1977 campaign he was traded to Philadelphia, and mostly played right field for the great Phillies teams of the late 1970s, as well as their World Champion team of 1980.

Also born on this date:

Slim Sallee (1885-1921).  A dead-ball era pitcher, he played for some really bad Cardinal teams, however managed to go 106-107 for them from 1908-1916.  In 1916 he was traded to the New York Giants, and with a better team behind him went 42-23 and was part of two pennant winners, the 1917 NL Champs and the 1921 World Champions.  However his finest season may have been 1919 in Cincinnati, when he went 21-7 with a 2.06 ERA, and also was 1-1 in that famous World Series, winning Game 2 and losing Game 7 (the Reds won the series 5 games to 3).

Lou Criger (1872-1934).  Criger caught  for Boston most of his career, but also played for Cleveland when they were still known as the Spiders, both St Louis franchises, and the Yankees over a 16-year career.  The note on his Baseball-Reference page relays he was Cy Young’s favorite catcher.  He was a member of the 1903 Red Sox team that won the first ever World Series over Pittsburgh.

Mike Metzger is a freelance baseball writer.  Follow him on Twitter @metzgermg.

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Joe Mauer:  although Mauer produced 19 fewer home runs and 21 fewer RBIs in 2010 than he did in 2009, he had another stellar fantasy season this year.  I do not view Mauer’s 2010 season as a decline; rather, I view Mauer’s 2009 season as an abnormality.

In 2009, Mauer hit .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs.  Mauer’s 2009 season is an abnormality because no hitter will hit .365 on a regular basis.  The Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki and St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols are both hitting .331 for their careers.

Mauer’s 2010 numbers (.327 AVG, nine home runs and 75 RBIs) are very similar to his 2008 numbers (.328 AVG, nine home runs and 85 RBIs).  Although I do not expect Mauer to hit .360 with 20 home runs every season, he is certainly capable of posting such numbers.  In the 2010 season, Mauer was hitting .293 with four home runs and 35 RBIs in 77 games at the All-Star break; after the break, Mauer hit .373 with five home runs and 40 RBIs in 60 games.

Mauer will be an elite fantasy catcher again in the 2011 season.  Do not be surprised to see a .330 AVG, 20 home runs and 80 RBIs.

Justin Morneau:  while many fantasy managers were frustrated with the typical slow starts of the New York Yankees’ Mark Teixeira, many others were thrilled with Morneau’s numbers.  Unfortunately for Morneau and his fantasy owners, concussion issues brought his season to an abrupt end after 81 games.  In those 81 games, Morneau looked like a favorite for the AL MVP.  Morneau hit .345 with 18 home runs, 56 RBIs, a .437 OBP and 1.055 OPS.

Projected over 162 games, Morneau was on pace to hit 36 home runs and 112 RBIs.  From 2005 to 2009, Morneau averaged 150 games played, 28 home runs and 110 RBIs per season.  Barring any lingering concussion issues in 2011, look for Morneau to again put up MVP-caliber numbers.

Jim Thome passed Mark McGwire in career home runs in 2010.

Jim Thome:  despite appearing in only 108 games, Thome proved he still packs plenty of power in his bat, as he hit .283 with 25 home runs and 59 RBIs.  His 25 home runs led the Twins this season.  He passed Mark McGwire on the career home run list and finished the 2010 season at 589 career home runs.

The last time Thome hit .280 or higher was during the 2006 season (his first with the Chicago White Sox).  That season, Thome hit .288 with 42 home runs and 109 RBIs in 143 games.  His .412 OBP this season was also his highest since 2006.  His .627 slugging percentage in 2010 is the second-highest in his 20-year career.  His 1.039 OPS in 2010 was the fourth-highest of his 20-year career.

If Thome does not retire this offseason, look to draft him in your 2011 leagues to fulfill your power needs at the bottom of your lineup.  Due to his age and history with injury, you should not trust him to stay healthy throughout the course of a season; however, he can be very productive while healthy.

Delmon Young:  for years, Young was best remembered for his rocket arm, his temper and his foolish act of throwing a bat at an umpire.  In 2010, Young gave fantasy managers new reasons to remember him.

Young hit .298 this season and set new career highs in home runs (21), RBIs (112), doubles (46), slugging percentage (.493) and OPS (.826).  In addition to setting new career marks, Young displayed strong consistency this season.  Before the All-Star break, Young hit .305 with 25 doubles, 10 home runs and 58 RBIs in 81 games.  After the break, Young hit .292 with 21 doubles, 11 home runs and 54 RBIs in 72 games.

Young appears to finally be maturing and playing with the potential many thought he had when Tampa Bay drafted him.  Look for similar numbers from Young in 2011.  A healthy Morneau in the lineup could lead to more RBIs for Young.

Francisco Liriano:  after years of arm injuries and a poorly-pitched 2009 season, I thought Liriano was dead to me in fantasy baseball leagues.  Nevertheless, I drafted Liriano in leagues again in 2010.

For the second season in a row, Liriano started at least 20 games.  In 31 starts this season, Liriano was 14-10 with a respectable 3.62 ERA and 201 strikeouts.  Liriano’s 14 wins, 191 2/3 innings and 201 strikeouts are new career highs.  Although this was the best season of Liriano’s young career, it was an up-and-down season for him.

After four starts in April, Liriano was 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA.  He struggled mightily in May but continued to pitch well from June through August before struggling again in September.  Before the All-Star break, Liriano was 6-7 in 17 starts with a 3.86 ERA.  After the break, Liriano was 8-3 in 14 starts with a 3.31 ERA.

Due to his history with injuries, I advise you not to expect similar numbers from Liriano in 2011.  Solidify your pitching first before you select Liriano in your 2011 drafts.

Carl Pavano:  Thome was the old Twin some managers still wanted to take a chance on.  Liriano was the young Twin some managers still wanted to take a chance on.  Pavano was the injury-plagued pitcher virtually nobody wanted to take a chance on in fantasy leagues.

Pavano went 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA, seven complete games and two shutouts in 2010.  This season marked the first time since 2004 that the 34 year-old Pavano had an ERA under 4.00 and pitched at least 200 innings.

Although Pavano had a respectable season with the Twins, I would not expect similar numbers from him in 2011.  Teams hit .243 off Pavano before the All-Star break in 2010; after the break, they hit .294 off Pavano.  An injury-plagued pitcher who stays healthy for two consecutive season will not make me forget about his struggles throughout his career and his injuries throughout his career.  Draft Pavano at your own risk in 2011.

Brian Duensing:  Duensing finished the 2010 season with a 10-3 record and 2.62 ERA.  The Texas Rangers had a pleasant surprise in C.J. Wilson this season as Wilson converted from relief pitching to starting and he pitched well.  Interestingly, the Twins may also have a similar surprise in store with Duensing.

Duensing appeared in 40 games as a relief pitcher and 13 games as a starter.  Although successful as a reliever, Duensing was also successful as a starter in the rotation.  Through 13 starts, Duensing was 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA.  Duensing averaged 6.59 innings per start.

Pay attention to news updates on Duensing in the offseason.  He could be a valuable late sleeper pick in your 2011 drafts.

Chicago White Sox

Paul Konerko:  Konerko may have been the fantasy baseball MVP (Most Valuable Pick) in 2010 drafts.  Much like the Twins’ Thome, Konerko proved that his career and fantasy impact are not yet dead.

Although selected nowhere nearly as high as Pujols in fantasy drafts, Konerko put up Pujols-like numbers this season.  He hit .312 with 39 home runs, 111 RBIs and a .393 OBP.  Konerko hit .299 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs in 80 games before the All-Star break; after the break, Konerko hit .327 with 19 home runs and 48 RBIs in 69 games.  This season was the first time since 2006 in which Konerko hit 35 or more home runs and 100 or more RBIs.  His .393 OBP this season was a new career high, as well as his .977 OPS.

Although he has been known to play with pain, the 34 year-old Konerko has been a very durable player throughout his career.  You can reasonably expect strong numbers from him again in 2011.

Juan Pierre:  .366

No, the above number is not Pierre’s AVG you are reading, nor is it Ichiro’s AVG.  It is Pierre’s career slugging percentage.  Pierre could play 162 games at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and his slugging percentage likely still would not increase by much.  All kidding aside, slugging has never been Pierre’s game.  Pierre’s primary fantasy value is in his steals.  He is a good contact hitter who will not hesitate to swipe a base.

Pierre hit .275 this season with one home run (probably in-the-park), 47 RBIs, 96 runs and 68 stolen bases.  From 2005 through 2007, Pierre averaged 59 steals per season.  During those three seasons, he also averaged 674 at-bats per season.  In 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pierre stole 40 bases (despite having only 375 at-bats).  He also had limited at-bats in 2009 with the Dodgers, swiping 30 bases in only 380 at-bats.  Pierre had 651 at-bats to go with his 68 steals in 2010.

Look for Pierre to steal plenty of bases again next season.  White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen loves small-ball players like Pierre.  Pierre is likely to score more runs next season if Carlos Quentin and Gordon Beckham can find any consistency in their hitting.

Gordon Beckham:  after a promising 2009 rookie season in which he hit .270 with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs in 103 games, Beckham was a big fantasy baseball flop in 2010.  Beckham hit .252 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 131 games this season.

While many fantasy managers were disappointed in 2010, they made the mistake of projecting suddenly dramatic improvements from a second-year player.  The now 24-year old Beckham likely was not used to the rigors of a 162-game season yet, as he had nagging shoulder injuries in 2010.

While I do find the expectations many had for Beckham in 2010 to be unrealistic, I do believe Beckham will show significant improvement in 2011.  During the 2010 season, Beckham hit .216, slugged .304 and had a .581 OPS before the All-Star break.  After the break, Beckham hit .310, slugged .497 and had an .877 OPS.  It would be prudent that you not expect Utley-like numbers or any other unrealistic numbers for such a young player; however, Beckham will likely show significant improvement next season.

Detroit Tigers

Miguel Cabrera:  Cabrera had another MVP-caliber season in 2010, hitting .328 with 38 home runs, 126 RBIs and 111 runs.

Despite his incredible numbers and as strange as it may sound, Cabrera is underrated in some fantasy circles.  I have participated in fantasy leagues over the past few years in which Prince Fielder was drafted before Cabrera.  I find this surprising because Cabrera puts up excellent power numbers on a yearly basis and is a much better contact hitter than Fielder (.313 career AVG).

There is one overlooked statistic that makes Cabrera all the more valuable in fantasy leagues:  games played.  A player can only produce as long as he is healthy.  Since 2004, Cabrera has averaged 157 games, 33 home runs and 116 RBIs per season.  If not second on your draft board, Cabrera should be among at least the top three or four first basemen on your board in 2011.

Austin Jackson:  Jackson had a superb rookie season in 2010, hitting .293 with 34 doubles, 10 triples, 103 runs and 27 stolen bases.

Jackson started his career as a hitting machine, batting .364 through 23 games in the month of April.  He cooled off afterward; however, he had been a solid hitter all season.  Prior to the All-Star break, Jackson hit .300 and scored 52 runs in 78 games.  After the break, he hit .285 and scored 51 runs in 73 games.

Look for Jackson to bat first or second in the Tigers’ lineup in 2011 and post similar – if not better – numbers.

Justin Verlander:  Verlander was once again one of the top pitchers in the AL in 2010.  Verlander went 18-9 with a career-best 3.37 ERA and 219 strikeouts.  In 18 starts before the All-Star break, Verlander was 11-5 with a 3.82 ERA.  After the break, Verlander pitched lights-out baseball, going 7-4 in 15 starts with a 2.89 ERA.

Look for Verlander to again be one of the best pitchers in the AL in 2011.  I believe Verlander can improve upon his numbers again and win a Cy Young Award.  The 27 year-old righty is entering the prime of his career.

Max Scherzer:  the 2010 season was the best of Scherzer’s young career.  Scherzer went 12-11 with a 3.50 ERA in 31 starts.

Scherzer’s numbers are all the more impressive when you disregard his slow start in the first half of the season.  Prior to the All-Star break, Scherzer was 6-6 in 16 starts with a 4.61 ERA.  After the break, Scherzer went 6-5 in 15 starts with a 2.47 ERA.  Opponents hit .268 off Scherzer before the break and .222 after the break.

If Scherzer can develop consistency and avoid a slow start, he may be one of the biggest draft steals in 2011.

Cleveland Indians

Shin-Soo Choo:  although he may not quite be regarded as an elite fantasy outfielder, Choo is certainly one of the better outfielders in fantasy baseball.

While playing for the lowly Indians, Choo led the team with a .300 AVG and hit 31 doubles, 22 home runs, 90 RBIs and a .401 OBP.  He also stole 22 bases.  In the past three seasons, Choo’s AVG has been in the .300 to .309 range while his OBP has been in the .394 to .401 range.

Choo is a consistent hitter with some pop in his bat and the ability to swipe bases.  Think of him as a poor man’s Jayson Werth.  Look for Choo to hit at least .290 next season with 20-25 home runs and 15-25 steals.  His numbers could potentially be greater if Grady Sizemore could ever stay healthy.

Carlos Santana:  if not for season-ending surgery on his knee, Santana could have been a contender for the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year.  In only 46 games, Santana hit .260 with 13 doubles, six home runs, 22 RBIs and a .401 OBP.  Over 162 games, these numbers project to 45 doubles, 21 home runs and 77 RBIs.

Former Phillies prospect Lou Marson was a fantasy dud, hitting .195 in 87 games with the Indians.  It is logical to expect Santana to be the everyday starter in 2011.

Grady Sizemore:  when I watch the Colorado Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez, I think about Sizemore.  I think to myself, “Gonzalez is what Sizemore was supposed to be.”  After a great 2008 season in which Sizemore hit .268 with 33 home runs, 90 RBIs and 98 walks, fantasy managers everywhere had sky-high expectations for Sizemore.  It was believed his AVG would improve significantly and his power would slightly improve as well.

Unfortunately, Sizemore disappointed in 2009 as he struggled with injuries.  Those who were optimistic about a bounce-back season in 2010 were left greatly disappointed, as Sizemore played only 33 games this season.  Sizemore hit a career-worst .211 this season.  From 2005 through 2008, Sizemore played no less than 157 games; therefore, his back-to-back seasons with injuries are worrisome.

Draft Sizemore at your own risk in 2011.  If he falls late into the draft, you should take him as a potential sleeper.

Kansas City Royals

Butler's 78 RBIs were a team-high in the weak Royals lineup.

Billy Butler:  the 24 year-old Butler continues to improve as he set career highs in AVG (.318) and OBP (.388) in 2010.

Despite Butler’s .318 AVG, 45 doubles, 15 home runs and .388 OBP, some fantasy managers may have felt disappointed by Butler’s 78 RBIs in 2010.  Although his 78 RBIs are much less than the 93 RBIs he posted in 2009, Butler’s RBI totals are down through no fault of his own.  Believe it or not, his 78 RBIs were the most by any Royal in 2010.

Butler’s numbers should be similar in 2011, but with more RBIs.  His RBI totals will especially improve if the Royals’ top prospects shine in 2011.

Joakim Soria:  Soria ranks among the best closers in the game today.  He is on par with the likes of Neftali Feliz, Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera in fantasy baseball.

Soria finished the 2010 season 1-2 with 43 saves, a 1.78 ERA, 71 strikeouts and 16 walks in 65 2/3 innings.  In his four-year career, Soria has a 2.01 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, .197 AVG against and 281 strikeouts in 255 innings.

The Royals do not have a high-scoring offense; therefore, you can expect Soria to have plenty of save situations again in 2011.

Zack Greinke:  Greinke was perhaps the biggest fantasy baseball letdown in 2010.

After dominating and winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2009 with a 16-8 record and 2.16 ERA, Greinke went 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 2010.  Greinke’s 2009 dominance prompted managers in some leagues to draft him ahead of the likes of Roy Halladay and Adam Wainwright.  I believe no healthy player failed to live up to fantasy expectations more than Greinke in 2010.

Christopher Wenrich is a Fantasy Sports contributor for BaseballDigest.com and GothamGridiron.com.  He can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com

On The Field

The Mariners faced fellow strugglers Baltimore for their first series of the week, managing to win two games out of three and coming extremely close to a sweep. They lost the opening game in a nailbiter that both teams seemed to be trying to give away: the Mariners blew a chance to go ahead in the 8^th when Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins both struck out with runner on the corners, and then the bullpen blew a one-run tenth inning lead by walking everyone in sight. The eventual game-winning hit was a bunt single by Adam Jones that Jose Lopez couldn’t field; it came as something of a relief. Game two was the Luke French-Matt Tuisasosopo show, with French shutting down the Orioles for almost eight innings while Tuiasosopo drove in all four Mariners runs in the 4-0 win. The rubber match was a little more back-and-forth, but the Mariners eventually prevailed in a contest of ‘Whose Bullpen Is Less Bad’ – I was as shocked as you.

Felix Hernandez has been on a tear against the New York Yankees, and he came into the first game of the weekend series having thrown three consecutive complete-game wins against the most storied franchise in baseball. He didn’t quite manage to get to nine innings this time, merely shutting the Yankees out over eight innings and getting eleven strikeouts in the process, so that was a bit of a waste. The Mariners won that game handily, but would go on to get well and truly pasted in the next two, to the tune of a combined score of 19-5. Russell Branyan and Ichiro both put on power shows, though, Ichiro hitting a pair of homers in the second game and Branyan becoming the first player to hit the upper deck in New Yankee Stadium by annihilating a Javier Vazquez offering.

Injury Report

Milton Bradley is now out for the season with knee surgery, which would have been a big blow if he had been hitting at all – which he wasn’t.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: More power from the second baseman – Ackley hit five doubles and a home run last week, and Monday’s homer was of the walkoff variety. He’s also started walking again, and had three multihit games out of seven. Not too shabby. .295 BA, 3 HR, 15 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Justin Smoak: Not a great week, but not a bad one either. Smoak collected nine hits, two doubles, and five walks, but didn’t hit a home run and struck out a few too many times for comfort. .244 BA, 4 HR, 11 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: Franklin was caught in a slump for much of the week, but busted out of it by going 8-10 combined between Thursday and Saturday, with two doubles and a home run added on for good measure. It was a good way to make up for Monday’s 0-6, with five strikeouts. .283 BA, 20 HR, 57 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: We haven’t talked about Liddi in a while, but he had one of the most dismal weeks of all time, so it’s probably worth a mention. In his first five games, the third baseman managed to go 1-20 with 13 strikeouts. A double and a home run on Saturday didn’t really make up for it. .260 BA, 14 HR, 80 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Dan Cortes: Cortes, brought over from Kansas City has been switched over to a reliever in an attempt to combat his control problems. He’s done that, and his fastball velocity has also jumped to the high 90s, hitting 100mph with alarming regularity. Cortes, who looked to be a failed starter as recently as last month, is now widely viewed as a legitimate closer in the making. 1-1, 1.42 ERA, 7 K (AAA Tacoma)

The Yankees were able to overcome the right-hander’s shortest outing since May 1, when Vazquez also lasted just three innings, by beating up on Jason Vargas and the Mariners’ bullpen.

Vazquez was diagnosed with a dead arm several starts ago and has regressed rapidly. His last five starts have gone from bad to worse – 6.1, 5.1, 4.1, 4, and 3 innings pitched. He’s been tagged for 16 earned runs in 20 innings and has seen his ERA rise from 4.45 to 5.05 since July 10. He’s also been ripped for 35 hits during the stretch and has walked 12 batters to boot.

Dead arm, tired arm, call it what you want, it’s not something a pitcher can work through. What it does, however, is wear out the bullpen. The Yankees got exceptional work from the pen today, specifically the beleaguered Chad Gaudin who shut down the M’s after entering the game in a 4-4 tie.

When Vazquez has no velocity, which has been the case in his last five starts, he has to be perfect with his location. That’s just as hard to do as it sounds. And when Vazquez doesn’t hit locations, home runs are sure to follow. Today it was a pair from Ichiro Suzuki and a monster upper deck shot, the first in the new Yankee Stadium, to right field by Russell Branyan.

I had a Twitter discussion a short time ago with Jack Curry of YES, who felt there was no need for the Yankees to bring in another starting pitcher. I disagreed then and I do now. How long the call up will last remains to be seen, but Ivan Nova has been summoned from Scranton to take A-Rod’s place on the 25-man roster and is scheduled to start Monday night in Toronto.

With Andy Pettitte probably not back until early September and A.J. Burnett’s continued inconsistency, the Yankees should definitely take a long look at Nova or another minor leaguer. Brian Cashman’s daily to-do list should also include checking the waiver wire for a decent starter. While they’re not likely to land a top notch starter, perhaps a serviceable arm will be available.

With an off day this coming Thursday, manager Joe Girardi is also likely to revise the rotation so that Burnett and Vazquez are not throwing on back to back days.

Speaking of waiver wires, the Detroit News reported earlier today that both Johnny Damon and Brandon Inge have been placed on waivers. Stop before you start, the Yankees do NOT need Damon back. It shouldn’t even be up for discussion.

Inge, on the other hand, should be a player the Yankees put in a claim on. The third baseman is pretty slick with the glove, and though he doesn’t hit for average, he does have pop; he had career highs in HR (27) and RBI (84) last season. Inge’s numbers are down this season, but he missed a large chunk of games with a broken hand. The former catcher could also be used in that position in a pinch- he caught 60 games as recently as 2008, and has some outfield experience as well.

In the meantime, Eduardo Nunez and Ramiro Pena figure to split the bulk of the work at third base. Nunez had his first major league hit and RBI in this afternoon’s contest.

Drew Sarver is the Yankees content editor and contributor  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and followed on Twitter.

On the Field

The games were mostly the same this week, so I was able to condense things somewhat:

On [fill in day] the Mariners squared off against the [White Sox in Chicago/the Minnesota Twins at Target field]. Unfortunately [Mariners starting pitcher] found himself throwing a disappointing game, completely outclassed by [opposing starter]. The defense was shoddy, which didn’t help, and the bats were once again anemic despite playing in offence friendly stadia. [Ichiro Suzuki/Chone Figgins/Michael Saunders/Russell Branyan] had a good game, but the complete lack of support from their teammates doomed the team to yet another loss, the [many]-[few] result meaning that the team’s losing streak has run to [many] games.

Transactions

No trades to report here, but star-in-waiting Justin Smoak found himself demoted to AAA Tacoma, and Milton Bradley was placed on the disabled list, helping to clear out the 1B/DH logjam on the roster. Reliever Sean White and utilityman Matt Tuiasosopo came up from the minors in to replace Smoak and Bradley. Tuiasosopo has some promise as his .392 OBP in Tacoma shows (although the power is curiously absent this year), and Sean White should reduce fan stress by turning close games into blowout losses. It was an excited deadline for most other teams, but after dealing Cliff Lee, the Mariners decided to stand pat.

On the Farm

Dustin Ackley: Ackley continued his strong start in AAA, drawing more walks than strikeouts while grabbing a double and a triple for good measure. The second overall pick in the 2009 draft is now running a .397 OBP with Tacoma. .288 BA, 1 HR, 9 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: The switch hitting shortstop found himself homerless this week while racking up strikeouts, an unusual state of affairs. A three-hit day on Friday helped to salvage things, and he’ll surely get his twentieth long ball of the season sooner rather than later. .288 BA, 18 HR, 46 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: After belting five home runs last week, Liddi’s supply seems to have dried up again. He did, however, hit three doubles and a triple, while drawing a few walks. .271 BA, 12 HR, 74 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Michael Pineda: Six innings of one-run ball from the young phenom on Wednesday, walking one while striking out four (the one run he conceded was on a homer). 3-1, 3.38 ERA, 46 K (AAA Tacoma)

Mauricio Robles: Although Robles gave up five runs in seven innings on Friday, he actually had a fairly strong game. The left-hander fanned nine while walking just one – the batters just put the ball where the defenders weren’t. 6-6, 4.24 ERA, 109 K (AA West Tennessee)

On The Field

Monday and Tuesday saw the baseball world held enraptured by the Home Run Derby and the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim. Unfortunately for Mariners fans, only Ichiro Suzuki gave the game any hint of Northwest flavor, and he popped out against Ubaldo Jiminez leading off the first – no shame there – then struck out against Marlins ace Josh Johnson before being replaced by hometown favorite Torii Hunter in the 4^th. Sure, he made history by being the first play ever to hit leadoff nine times in the midsummer classic, as well as making a trademark running catch in the gap to deny Albert Pujols a double, but it was a pretty mild showing for Mariners fans to find any joy in. On the other hand, at least those who have followed Seattle for any length of time are comfortable with Matt Thornton blown saves. It was time the rest of the American League shared our pain on that one.

Normal play resumed on Thursday, with the Mariners in Los Angeles for a four game set against the Angels. Mariner fans were probably expecting a series of tough losses, and they were not to be disappointed. The first game saw Doug Fister take the hill against old friend Joel Pineiro, a matchup that would have looked more favorable before Fister’s magical pixie dust expired and he went back to being a mediocre contact pitcher. Fister gave up a run before he’d recorded two outs, and things went downhill for there, and Ichiro bases loaded double to bring the game to within a run aside. Jamie Wright made his first Mariner appearance in the 8-3 loss, and nothing sums up the season better than the fact that the manager coveted a pitcher who at his best walked more batters than he struck out.

Felix Hernandez ran into some trouble early in the Friday night contest with some weak grounders going in for hits past a weirdly drawn-in Jose Lopez at third (I would write more on the subject of Lopez’s positioning on the infield grass but I suspect the tirade would wear me out), putting the Mariners in a three run hole by the end of the third. Against Jered Weaver, it seemed unlikely that they would manage to claw their way back into the game, but in the 7^th an infield single by center fielder Franklin Gutierrez followed up by a moonshot from new first baseman Justin Smoak saw the gap closed to within one. It would stay there until the ninth, where with two outs and Smoak on deck, designated hitter(!) Casey Kotchman faced off against Angels closer Brian Fuentes. For those not in the know, Fuentes this year has a .237/.326/.526 line against right-handed hitters, and a .107/.167/.107 line against left-handed bats. Casey Kotchman was not put in a position to succeed, and the decision not to replace him with a right/switch hitter – Milton Bradley and Josh Wilson were available – cost the Mariners any small hope of taking something from the game.

I managed to fly down to southern California in time to watch Saturday’s game, and Justin Smoak looks kindly on such ventures, rewarding my dedication with an excellent performance batting from his supposedly weaker right side. He went 3-4, and was a triple shy of the cycle after his first three at-bats. Each of his hits was a rocket into left field, and the single would probably have decapitated Angels third baseman Brandon Wood if he was playing any further to his left. The Mariners put together six runs against the combination of Joe Saunders and Kevin Jepsen, but that wasn’t enough as Ryan Rowland-Smith and the relief corps contrived to give up seven, the seventh immediately following a game-tying home run by catcher Josh Bard. The Mariners ultimately lost the game 7-6, but on a happier note gave me an inspiration for next year’s team slogan: ‘Mariners Baseball: Sometimes We Keep it Close!’ The marketing guys will be all over it.

Jason Vargas was on hand on Sunday to clean up everyone else’s mess, and he did a fine job with a bundle of strikeouts, eventually leaving in the 8^th inning with the game tied at one, the only blemish on his record being a Mike Napoli home run in the second. Angels starter Ervin Santana was nowhere near as sharp, walking four in seven innings, but the Mariners just couldn’t hit him, doing just enough to stay in the game. Fast-forward to the 10^th inning, where Ichiro led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second, and then was out at third on an ill-conceived running play that saw Gutierrez safe at first. It would have been in keeping with the rest of the season if the Mariners had fizzled out at that point, but Gutierrez stole second and was sent home by a Jose Lopez single to win the game and avoid the sweep.

Injury Report

Adam Moore seems completely recovered from the leg injury he sustained against Tampa, as he’s been hitting the ball decently in Tacoma for the past few weeks.

Erik Bedard had yet another setback, feeling shoulder soreness during a bullpen session. He’s off to see pitching specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum and at this point he may as well be renting out the good doctor’s spare bedroom. It’s probably time to come to terms with the fact that he’s probably not coming back, which is a shame.

On the Farm

Dustin Ackley: As part of the fallout of the Cliff Lee trade, Ackley was promoted to AAA Tacoma, whereupon he’s hit for more power than he’d shown in half a season at West Tennessee. This is probably a function of where he’s been playing – Reno is a notoriously hitter-friendly environment, but it’s still encouraging. .278 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: A nice little week for Franklin saw him collect a few hits and walks to go along with two home runs. .289 BA, 17 HR, 43 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: Five extra-base hits will look good for anyone, but they were particularly helpful for Liddi, whose power had been fading lately. .268, 7 HR, 57 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Michael Pineda: On the face of it, Michael Pineda had a strong start on Sunday, going almost seven innings and allowing two runs. However, the strikeouts were not there, which was a bit of a worry. 3-0, 4.04 ERA, 31 K (AAA Tacoma)

Mauricio Robles: Left with an injury in the second inning of his start against Huntsville on Sunday. Bad news. 6-5, 4.32 ERA, 95 K (AA West Tennesee)

The halfway point of the season reached, baseball took its annual pause for a three-day celebration of the sport known as the All-Star Game.  While a large number of players go out there, obviously many more have a short vacation in the midst of their grinding season.  Five Cardinals went to Anaheim, the rest, well, rested.  For all concerned, it seems to have extremely beneficial, as the Cardinal team that has come out of that break has born little resemblance to the frustrating, sputtering team that we saw from May to the first part of July.

The five Cardinal representatives did have something to say in the National League’s first All-Star win in 13 years.  Albert Pujols was the leading vote getter in the NL, but he was the first player replaced after going hitless in his two at-bats.  He did drive a ball in the first inning out to right field, but Ichiro Suzuki was able to run it down and turn it into a harmless fly ball.

Yadier Molina was the other St. Louis starter and he was able to stroke a base hit in his first time up.  However, when his next time in the box came up, there were two on and two out with the NL trying to break through.  With 13 years of fruitless searching for a win, it was not surprising that Molina was pulled back in favor of Brian McCann, who was not able to come through then, though he would play a part later.

Matt Holliday was a late substitution into the game and wound up batting after Scott Rolen.  After Rolen singled with one out, Holliday came up and drove a single up the middle, moving an alert Rolen to third.  Marlon Byrd worked a walk, then McCann had a three-run double to put the National League up.

With the NL clinging to their two run lead late and wanting desperately to preserve it, Charlie Manuel called on Adam Wainwright.  He quickly struck out Nick Swisher, but then John Buck drove a ball out to left field, where Holliday was stationed.  Holliday, though, apparently has problems with fielding in California with a national audience watching.  The ball glanced off of his glove and Buck wound up at second.  Wainwright then walked Ian Kinsler before coaxing what should have been a double play ball off the bat of Vernon Wells, but the defense was only able to get one.

Which meant that the story was lined up.  Wainwright was facing Torii Hunter, the face of the All-Star Game much like Pujols was the face of the one in St. Louis last year.  A long ball would put the AL back on top and make the NL wonder just how snakebit it was.  However, even though it was held close to it, this was not Hollywood.  Wainwright reached back and struck out Hunter, ending the inning and his night.

The last Cardinal representative was Chris Carpenter, who did not get into the game, being held in reserve for extra innings.  Which meant that he was tapped by Tony La Russa to open the second half of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a steamy, sweltering Busch Stadium.

When you looked at this game through the prism of the first half, there was a lot of reasons for concern.  Sure, Carpenter was going, but he had not exactly been the regularly dominating ace that Cardinal fans had gotten to use to, especially after taking the line drive off of his forearm in the game against Arizona a couple of weeks ago.  Also, he was being opposed by Clayton Kershaw, the talented young pitcher from the Dodgers who, as it happens, throws with his left hand.  All the signs were there for another frustrating loss.

It did not take long for that gloomy forecast to get turned on its head.  Carpenter went through the Dodger lineup in order in the top of the first, indicating that he was on his game.  Then, in the bottom of that inning, two walks and a single meant the Cards had the bases loaded with no outs.  While they did not break the game open then, they were able to get two runs off of ground outs.  In the first half, that would have wound up a single run when Holliday hit into a double play.  Small steps, but steps nonetheless.

Carpenter continued to deal, not giving up a hit until the top of the third and allowing his only run on a home run by Andre Ethier in the fourth.  He would wind up throwing eight innings of four-hit ball and looking more like the pitcher we have come to know and love.

If this was the first half, the two runs the Cardinals scored in the first would have been all Kershaw would have allowed.  And, indeed, it looked like that might be the case for a while.  However, after Ethier’s home run had cut the lead in half, the bats woke up yet again.  Yadier Molina, who had publicly stated that he was starting fresh with the second half, singled out to Manny Ramirez, who botched the play and allowed Molina to get to second.  Next up was Aaron Miles, who blooped a single in and, when Rafael Furcal threw wildly trying to get Molina at home, wound up at second.

There were flashes of the first half, like the whole flash sideways from this last season of LOST, as the two universes tried to coexist.  Chris Carpenter wound up popping up his sacrifice bunt and Brendan Ryan, after running the count to 3-0, swung at ball four and popped out to first.  This “new” universe then reasserted itself and Felipe Lopez doubled in Miles to make it 4-1.

Kershaw came out for the fifth, but quickly wished that he had not.  Pujols doubled and Holliday singled, putting runners on the corners for Allen Craig, who had his first major league RBI in the first.  This time Craig got a lot of the pitch and drove it deep into the outfield, scoring Pujols.  However, the Redbirds could not get anymore in the inning.

The Cardinals finished their scoring in the seventh, as they continued to pile on in a fashion very unlike the first half.  After a Pujols groundout, Holliday walked, then recent sensation Jon Jay continued his hitting streak by lacing a double to left, bringing in Holliday.  Molina followed with an RBI single and the score was 7-1, which is what it finished at.

It was easy to think that perhaps things were going to be different now, but part of what made the first half so frustrating was that the team would look to be going in the right direction, then immediately fade or not be able to continue with that momentum.  While the win against Kershaw was a significant step, the jury was still out on a sea change in St. Louis.

The second game of the series pitted Jaime Garcia against Chad Billingsley.  Garcia had a spectacular first half, but had struggled in some of his recent starts, not including his seven scoreless innings against Milwaukee.  Billingsley had been tough against the ‘Birds in the past, so Card fans probably were cautiously optimistic about this one.  It turned out to be justified, but not exactly the way that was expected.

Once again, the Cardinals jumped out early, and this time were able to do it with two outs.  Felipe Lopez led off the game with a fly out, then Colby Rasmus singled.  After Pujols grounded out moving Ramsus over, Holliday walked, bringing up Randy Winn.

There was some consternation before the game when Winn was on the lineup card instead of the hot-hitting Jay, but Winn had some good history against Billingsley and it panned out this time.  Winn roped a ball right down the line and when the dust settled, Rasmus and Holliday had scored and Winn was standing on third.  Yadier Molina followed with a single and the Redbirds were up 3-0.

Again, unlike the earlier part of the season, St. Louis was able to continue to add to their tallies.  In the second, Skip Schumaker opened with a single and Garcia sacrificed him to second.  After Tyler Greene flew out, Lopez came through again, driving in Schumaker with a single.

All the while, Jaime Garcia was dancing in and out of trouble.  The Dodgers got two on in the first inning but were unable to capitalize.  Jamie Carroll hit a two-out triple in the top of the second, but Billingsley was not able to get him in.  They were able to finally draw some blood in the third, when with two on and two out, Casey Blake and James Loney had back-to-back RBI singles, cutting the lead in half.

The Cardinals did not take that lying down, however.  Pujols, Holliday and Winn all singled to start the third, then Molina grounded out, driving in Pujols.  Schumaker and Garcia, though, were not able to plate the other two.  Still, it was another run, making it 5-2.

It began to look like St. Louis would need every one of those when Garcia opened the fourth inning allowing a single to Carroll and, after striking out Billingsley, a single to Furcal.  La Russa did not hesitate, as Garcia was already in the mid-80s on his pitch count, and brought in Kyle McClellan, who got out of the inning with no further damage.

Not willing to risk anything, the Cardinals put another on the board in the fourth when, after Greene and Lopez singled to put runners on first and third, Rasmus grounded into a double play, bringing in Greene.

The resurgence of Molina continued in the fifth.  After Matt Holliday walked, Billingsley was pulled from the game and George Sherrill inserted.  That was enough to counteract Winn’s  strong night, as he grounded out to force Holliday.  Molina, though, came up and put the ball into the bullpen, pushing the Cardinal lead out to 8-2.

Even in the first half, that was a fairly safe lead, unless the team was playing in Colorado.  However, Jason Motte did his best to make things very, very interesting in the eighth.  After a leadoff single by Loney, he was able to strike out Russell Martin, then walked Carroll.  Next up was Garret Anderson, who singled to load the bases.  With no margin for error, Motte erred, walking Furcal to force in one run and keep the bases loaded.  Matt Kemp hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4 with two runners still on.

That was all for Motte, who gave way to Dennys Reyes, who was able to get the final out of the inning.  He also pitched the ninth without incident save a leadoff double and the Cardinals were assured of a split of the series with two games left to play.

Not only did they have a split in hand, but they had a great chance for a series win the next day, because Adam Wainwright was pitching at home.  This season, Wainwright had not lost at home yet and his ERA was microscopic in Busch Stadium.

The Dodgers countered with Hiroki Kuroda, who had stymied the Cardinals earlier in the season.  While the Cards were proving that this was not the first half anymore, there was still some lingering traces.

It was a blistering hot afternoon for this one, as the 3:10 start time due to the Fox national telecast did not do wonders for the players.  Temperatures on the field approached 115 and it seemed the heat sapped the hitters’ bats as well.

The Cardinals looked like they were going to continue their offensive prowess when Felipe Lopez took the first pitch to left for a double.  However, Colby Rasmus, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday all expanded their zones against Kuroda’s offerings and all of them struck out.  It was especially egregious with Rasmus and Pujols, who were up in the count 3-1 but went fishing low and out of the zone.

Wainwright, though, was dealing.  The Dodgers got the first two batters on in the second, but he retired Casey Blake on a fly out and got Xavier Paul to hit into a double play.  A two-out single by Rafael Furcal in the third came to naught as well.  A two-out double by Blake DeWitt in the fourth netted the same for the Los Angeles squad.

The Cardinals were finally able to scrape together something in the fourth.  Holliday singled to lead off the inning, though was erased on Jon Jay’s groundout.  Jay, however, went to third when Yadier Molina singled behind him.  Skip Schumaker doubled, plating Jay and putting runners at second and third with one out.  However, both Wainwright and Tyler Greene struck out and the Cards couldn’t get any more.

One run with Waino on the mound at home is usually sufficient, however.  Due to the heat, he only went six innings in this outing, but still allowed no runs and lowered his home ERA to 1.31.

St. Louis was able to add some insurance in the eighth.  Albert Pujols led off with a walk and Holliday singled after him.  Aaron Miles pinch-hit for the pitcher and sacrificed the runners over.  With his resurgence, the Dodgers decided not to pitch to Yadier Molina, instead walking him to face Brendan Ryan with the bases loaded.  Ryan got the ball to the outfield and Pujols was able to score on his sacrifice fly.  Tag team work by Trever Miller and Ryan Franklin in the ninth and the Cardinals had their fourth straight victory, their second longest winning streak of the year.

With the series in hand and the heat continuing to buffet the St. Louis area, Tony La Russa continued one of his more traditional and sometimes infuriating practices, resting many starters instead of going hard for the sweep.  Sunday saw Pujols, Molina and Rasmus all start on the bench with Allen Craig, Jason LaRue and Randy Winn taking their places.

Jeff Suppan took to the hill and apparently had been drinking the same water the rest of the team had been.  He was as close to dominating as Jeff Suppan gets, allowing only five hits and one run in his six innings of work.  The one run came in the fifth when, with runners on the corner, opposing pitcher Vicente Padilla slapped a ball that bounced over the head of Felipe Lopez at third, scoring Xavier Paul.

However, the offense, with those big bats missing, went back into hibernation.  The closest they came to supporting Suppan was in the bottom of the sixth, when Rasmus struck out pinch hitting for Soup, Ryan walked, and Lopez grounded out moving Ryan over.  Jay and Craig then also walked, loading the bases with two outs for Holliday.  In a flashback to the earlier part of the season, Holliday couldn’t come through, hitting a fly ball for the third out.  It wasn’t the last time Holliday would have a chance to help the club, however.

Mitchell Boggs came in for the top of the seventh and immediately seemed to put the game out of reach.  To be fair, though, the defense let him down.  After a leadoff single and a fly ball for the first out, AJ Ellis hit a ground ball that should have at least produced one out, but instead both runners were safe on an error by Lopez.  Garret Anderson then doubled in a run and put runners at second and third.

After intentionally walking Rafael Furcal, Boggs then uncorked a wild pitch that moved everyone up.  He was then able to strike out Carroll and, with a base open, La Russa decided to walk Andre Ethier intentionally to set up a force at any base.  That backfired when Boggs could not find the plate and walked Matt Kemp afterwards, forcing in the fourth run of the day.  Reyes again came on to get someone out of a jam, getting the last out to finish off the inning.

If this had been the same team from the first half of the season, you could have turned off your television set then.  (You would have also spared yourself part of a KSDK broadcast, which is an endangered species now that the team has announced that all games will be on Fox Sports Midwest starting next season.)  However, the last two innings put the exclamation point on the idea that this is a brand new ball club.

Brendan Ryan, who had a perfect day at the plate, started the eighth inning off with a walk.  After a Lopez fly ball, Jon Jay walked as well.  That was enough to bring Jason Miller into the ball game to face Allen Craig, who was having his birthday on Sunday.  Craig gave himself a present by doubling in two runs, cutting the lead to two.

Wanting to take no chances, Joe Torre (also celebrating a birthday) went to his closer, Jonathan Broxton.  Instead of coming in and slamming the door, however, he more like gently closed it.  He got Holliday to fly out, but then Winn picked up his teammate with an RBI single.  When Schumaker walked, it was time for Pujols to pinch hit.  He worked the count to 3-2 before sharply grounding to shortstop.  A bullet dodged, LA still lead 4-3.

You do have to play nine, though, and the ninth proved to be the undoing of the team from the coast.  Yadier Molina, who came in when Pujols pinch-hit for LaRue, opened the ninth with a single.  Brendan Ryan bunted him over, but then Lopez flew out, putting the Cards just an out away from a tough loss.

Jay kept it alive by coaxing a walk, bringing up Allen Craig.  Broxton ran the count to 2-2, needing just one more strike, before Craig lined a ball back up the middle, scoring a Yadi Molina who ran as if his life depended on it, tying the game.

It stayed tied for four more pitches.  Holliday, up with two on and his failures not only in the first half but in this game with runners in scoring position on the minds of many watching, got behind 1-2.  Broxton, who had thrown over 40 pitches, couldn’t finish him off, though.  Holliday got a pitch up and drove it to the wall, a long single that easily scored Jay for the winning run in an improbable victory.

Four games, four wins.  Coupled with the win in Houston before the break, the Redbirds have won five in a row, tying their longest streak of the year.  They have done it with offense, they have done it with pitching, they have done it with heroics.  From the outside looking in, it certainly seems that something has changed for the better.

With the win, the Cardinals moved a half-game ahead of the Reds for the NL Central division lead.  Again, they are the first place St. Louis Cardinals.  They will test this new found resolve and momentum this week as the Phillies come into Busch for a four game set.

The Phillies are scuffling now, 5.5 behind Atlanta in the NL East and coming off losing three of four to Chicago in Wrigley Field.  St. Louis also misses Roy Halladay, who pitched on Sunday night.  It will still be a test for the squad, but there’s renewed hope that they can make a statement with these games.

The weekend is spent in Chicago renewing acquaintances with the third place Cubs, who have pulled to 9.5 games out of first place.  A strong week by St. Louis will have a lot of people fired up about this new team and this new half of the season.

In The News

In a different season, Erik Bedard’s return against Kansas City on the 6^th would be cause for celebration amongst the Mariner faithful. In 2010, it will instead be a symbol of futile hope, the fragile but sublime left-hander probably replacing the more effective (not to mention durable) Cliff Lee, who is expected to be traded within the week. The perfect world would have featured Lee, Felix Hernandez, and Bedard at the head of the pitching rotation during a run to – and through – the playoffs, but with the Mariners 15 games back in the American League West, Lee’s days with the team are numbered.

In happier news, both Lee and star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki made the American League All-Star team, although neither is a big surprise. Erstwhile ace Felix Hernandez is a major snub, but after an inconsistent and incoherent first half, it would be hard to argue that he deserves the spot on this season alone. Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez was unable to maintain his hot start with the bat, but if he continues to progress with the stick while putting up Gold-Glove caliber defense in the outfield, a Midsummer Classic is surely not too far away.

On The Field

As Monday dawned, only one opposing pitcher had ever thrown a complete game in the (admittedly short) history of New Yankee Stadium. The pitcher? Cliff Lee, then with the Phillies, who dazzled the Yankees in game one of the 2009 World Series. Lee returned to the scene of his most triumphant crime on Tuesday, and promptly gave up a home run to Nick Swisher. Another was to follow in the seventh, but between the two Swisher bombs, the Mariners offense decided to wake up, spotting Lee seven runs on the strength of nine singles, including a doubles onslaught by Rob Johnson. As soon as Ichiro singled in left fielder Michael Saunders to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead in the third, Lee cruised through the game, eventually allowing three earned runs in nine innings – another complete game victory for Lee in New Yankee Stadium.

Felix Hernandez took to the hill on Wednesday, and after successfully navigating a dodgy first inning, which saw two umpire-assisted walks, some Rob Johnson-assisted ‘wild pitches’, and a terrifying Robinson Cano lineout to left, proceeded to utterly annihilate the star-studded Yankees lineup. The box score says that Felix allowed two hits, three walks, and struck out eleven in nine innings en-route to the 7-0 victory (and another complete game!), but what it will not tell you is that one of the hits was an infield fly that Figgins lost, and two of the walks were dubious calls at best. Felix was on, and when he’s on, he’s unhittable. For the second game in a row, the bats came out to play. Milton Bradley smacked a home run to center in the second inning, Russell Branyan added one of his own, and Michael Saunders had two in the game, the second one reaching the upper deck. It was the team’s first four-homer day since September 2009.

It would be asking a lot for Ryan Rowland-Smith to match the feats of Lee and Felix, especially considering the disappointing season the Australian has endured so far. Still, he was not a disaster on Thursday, limiting the Yankees to two runs and giving the Mariners enough of a chance to get a win. Alas, the sweep was not to be. Russell Branyan would spark the Mariners into life with a game-tying two run single in the top of the eighth, but his good work was undone by one pitch from closer David Aarsdma meeting the bat of Alex Rodriguez and departing at speed into the New York sky. Nobody will be complaining too much about failing to sweep the best team in baseball on their home turf, but it’s a little sad to see how poor Aardsma’s been all season – his home run problem in 2010 proof that you simply cannot make a living on allowing warning track flyballs, especially in high-pressure situations.

Doug Fister was probably pitching over his head at the start of the season, and his outing against the Tigers went pear-shaped in the second inning, after Franklin Gutierrez had spotted him a one-run lead with a home run. Three singles, a double, and a walk led to four runs scoring, and despite Gutierrez’s early fireworks, the Mariners were never favorites to make a dent in young right-hander Max Scherzer. The ninth inning summed up the night:  Ichiro and Figgins singled to lead off, followed by a lineout double play and a Jose Lopez strikeout.

Jason Vargas was kind enough to give the fans some hope before he had a meltdown of his own on Saturday, but he managed to give up six runs in less than five innings all the same. Again, the offense conjured up very little, managing just one run on an infield single by Michael Saunders during the (extremely boring) 6-1 loss. Sunday’s game was in progress at the time of writing, with the Mariners ahead 7-1 in the 5^th against now-ejected Jeremy Bonderman. With any luck, the Mariners will break even on the New York-Detroit road trip – no mean feat even if you’re throwing Cliff Lee out twice and Felix Hernandez once.

Injury Report

Erik Bedard through a rehab start in Tacoma and looked to still be shaking off some rust, as three walks in less than five innings will attest. However, his velocity was in the low 90s, and his curve looked as good as ever. This was enough for M’s brass to declare him ready to go, and he’ll be making his 2010 debut against Yuniesky Betancourt and the Royals on Tuesday.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: Ackley had three multihit games over the week, but he also had three stinkers, going a combined 1-13 on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. .253 BA, 2 HR, 26 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Nick Franklin: Franklin played in just two games this week (for reasons currently unclear to the author) and played poorly in Monday’s and Saturday’s contests. Hopefully his post All-Star game struggles are just a blip. . 290 BA, 14 HR, 38 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: Another week, another bushel of strikeouts for the young third baseman. Liddi struck out six times between Monday and Saturday, which is actually a significant improvement on the week prior. He didn’t even pick up any RBIs. .277BA, 6 HR, 52 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Michael Pineda: Although Pineda gave up his first AAA runs on Monday, his start against Sacramento was something to behold. Eleven strikeouts vs. one walk in six innings is impressive no matter how you slice it. Two home runs were the only blemishes on his performance. 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 16 K (AAA Tacoma)

Mauricio Robles: Robles had two starts on the week. His second saw six shutout innings, eight strikeouts, and one walk against Tennessee; his first can simply be described as ‘depressing’. 6-4, 4.56 ERA, 90 K (AA West Tennessee)

July 2^nd: The international signing deadline saw the Mariners reportedly pick up outfielder Philips Castillo, who’s supposed to have thunder in the bat. If all goes well, he’ll be ready in about seven years. If it doesn’t, nobody will ever hear of him again. Knowing the success rate of international prospects, I would bet on the latter.

After coming home from a disastrous West Coast road trip, TLR figured he would do something different.  He took cleanup hitter Matt Holliday and put him ahead of Albert Pujols while dropping Ryan Ludwick into the cleanup slot.  While that cannot be pointed to as the only reason for a successful week, you have to like what the Cardinals–and especially Holliday–have done with the change.

Of course, it helps when you can come home and face a Seattle Mariners team that, after being the darlings of the offseason debates, have not been able to translate that into victories.  Seattle was last in the AL West when coming into Busch and even though they threw three left-handed starters at the Birds, the results were not much different for the M’s.

It also helps when Adam Wainwright is on the hill, because when he is on the hill, he is almost always dealing.  He got off to a slow start in Monday night’s game, being touched for a home run by Ichiro Suzuki and allowing another run before the first was over, but then settled in.  The Mariners didn’t score again until the eighth, when Waino left second and third for Jason Motte, who allowed only an RBI groundout in his inning of work.

Still, with this offense, there is a good chance three runs can be a loss, especially when they are facing some no-name lefty with a high ERA that they’ve never seen before.  Luke French was not on anyone’s list of Big Time Dominant Starters, but it would not have shocked Cardinal fans if he’d locked down the bats.  Thankfully, though, that was not to be, as the Cardinals immediately jumped on him with three runs in the bottom of the first frame, taking the lead.  A walk to Holliday and a single by Pujols allowed Ludwick to make his first cleanup AB count by smashing a long ball and driving everyone in.

He almost had the same opportunity in the third.  Holliday singled and so did Pujols, but Albert, thinking the ball was going to be deeper or the throw was going to go into third, made a wide turn around second and was tagged out after a quick pickle.  Ludwick then drove in Holliday with a sacrifice fly, stretching the lead out to two.

Ian Snell relieved French in the fifth and you know that had to light up the face of Pujols especially.  Albert has owned Snell in the past, so it was not much of a surprise when he walked to lead off the inning.  After Ludwick doubled, Freese hit the ball to third, but Mariners third baseman Jose Lopez threw it away, letting two runs score.  Next up was Colby Rasmus, who took the first pitch over the wall.  Before Snell got an out, the Cards had tacked on four runs and the game was effectively over.  Pujols singled in a run in the eighth to respond to the Mariners’ third run and the game finished 9-3.

The Mariners tried the no-name, high ERA lefty bit again on Tuesday night, sending out Ryan Rowland-Smith.  While the results for St. Louis were not quite as impressive (partly because the Mariners did not pitch Snell again, designating him for assignment before the game), it still was a successful night at the ballpark.  Which is more than was expected by some, given that it was also the St. Louis 2010 debut of recently signed Jeff Suppan.

Suppan pitched a better game than a lot of people expected.  He only went four innings, but that was in line with the general thought given that he had not been a starter in a while.  He only allowed one run, a long ball to Milton Bradley.  He even struck out four in a row at one spot, which is fairly un-Suppan-like even in the best of times.  He went to his fastball more, got the ground balls, and at least for one evening justified his signing.

The Cards struggled early with Rowland-Smith.  They finally responded after Bradley’s home run, when Freese doubled and Rasmus again went yard.  After Yadier Molina struck out, Suppan hit for himself (though he didn’t return to the mound) and slapped a double, coming around to score on a single by Brendan Ryan.

Both bullpens started work in the fifth.  The Cardinal bullpen was flawless until the ninth, when Ryan Franklin allowed a home run to Ryan Langerhaus.  Other than that, only two hits and two walks (both by Blake Hawksworth) were allowed by the pen.
Seattle’s bullpen was similarly effective.  Pujols greeted the first reliever with a home run, but that was the end of the scoring.  The Cardinals only one more baserunner in that span than Seattle did, but the damage was done in the form of a 4-2 victory.

The Cardinals were smelling sweep and sent out Rookie of the Year candidate Jaime Garcia to finish off the team from Seattle.  The Mariners countered with the best of their no-name lefty set, Jason Vargas.

It was only a matter of time before the lefties got to the Cardinals and in this game, that time was now.  Vargas allowed a double by Pujols and, after a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly by Ludwick, but that was all.  Vargas ran into a bit of trouble in the eighth, but more on that in a bit.

On the other side, Garcia was dealing as well.  He loaded the bases with one out in the fourth on two singles and a hit batsman, but was able to wriggle out of that with only an RBI groundout.  After the Cards tied it up in the bottom of the inning, he came back in the fifth and gave up a leadoff single.  The next two batters were retired, giving hope that he’d be able to get out of the situation, but Chone Figgins singled in the runner and that proved to be the difference in the ball game.

It did not necessarily look like that in the eighth, though.  Vargas was still in there and the inning opened with a double by pinch-hitter Nick Stavinoha.  After Brendan Ryan sacrificed pinch-runner Randy Winn over, the Cards had two chances to get the runner in from third.  Tying up the game late with the big bats still coming could have provided a lift that would have taken them to the sweep.  However, Felipe Lopez popped out and Holliday, who did so much right this week, struck out to end the threat.  Even though Pujols batted in the ninth, that was their best chance and they had squandered it.

Still, after a 1-5 road trip, taking two of three in the first series of the week was a nice step up.  It also helped that Cincinnati had been losing, so at the end of the series the two teams were tied atop the NL Central.  Cincinnati won on St. Louis’s Thursday off-day, so they had a half-game lead going into a weekend of interleague play.  The Reds went to Seattle, while the Cardinals hosted Oakland.

The connections between St. Louis and Oakland are notably strong.  Of course, Tony La Russa spent a large part of his managerial career there.  Mark McGwire was sent from Oakland to St. Louis and sent Cardinal Nation into a home run frenzy.  The trade that need not be named occurred between these two teams.  (As a side note, Mark Mulder retired this week.)  One of the owners of the A’s actually is from St. Louis.  The most recent connection, though, was last season’s deal that sent Matt Holliday to St. Louis.  Whether it was fortuitous timing or he had a little score to settle, he took out some frustrations on the A’s in this three-game set.

The Cards were lined up well in this series, as the off day allowed for a Carpenter/Wainwright/Suppan rotation.  While no one was sure what Suppan would bring his second time out, most felt that the series would be won by then due to the strength of the first starters and the relative weakness of the A’s, who started the series two games under .500.

Carpenter, though, wasn’t quite at the top of his game, as has happened more often this season than in years past.  After a scoreless first, he allowed four runs on five hits, including two doubles.  He settled in after that and didn’t allow any more runs in his seven innings, though he did give up an uncharacteristically high 10 hits in the contest.

Still, after the second the Cards were down 4-2.  Those two had come in the first, when Skip Schumaker led off the game with a single and Holliday kicked off his weekend with a two-run shot.  Holliday also figured into the scoring when the Redbirds tied it up in the fifth.  With two on, he singled scoring Brendan Ryan.  Albert Pujols came up next and singled in Schumaker.  The game had been shortened to four innings.

It stayed tied until the bottom of the seventh.  Ryan, whose bat has really started to come around in the last few weeks, led off with a double and Schumaker followed with one of his own, breaking the tie.  After a groundout by Holliday and an intentional pass to Pujols, Ludwick again came through, singling in Schumaker.  The Cards had a 6-4 lead and that is how it would finish up.

One ace got a win, now it was time for the other one.  Wainwright again struggled a bit in the first, this time allowing a double and a hit batter.  When those two tried a double steal, Molina’s throw sailed and the runner came around to score.

That’s all they were getting off the Wagonmaker, though.  He only gave up four more hits and walked one, completely in control.  He reached 100 pitches as he finished the eighth, so La Russa sat him down and let Ryan Franklin handle the ninth.  More on THAT later.

Before La Russa would feel comfortable taking out Wainwright and even think of getting Franklin in there, of course, the Cards needed a lead.  It took them a while to get it.  They trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth when the bats started working.  After Molina walked and Waino sacrificed him over, Brendan Ryan lined out.  That left Molina at second with two down and it looked like Ben Sheets was going to have another shutout frame.  Instead, Schumaker singled in Molina and Holliday doubled in Schumaker.  The Cards were on top.

They scored in only one more inning, but it proved to be decisive.  Ryan doubled and, a batter later, Holliday launched his second home run in as many days.  Cards led 4-1 going into the ninth.

Ryan Franklin has scared people in the past, but for the most part, 2010 has been a pretty calm season.  That got shaken up a bit on Saturday night, when he came a walk and back-to-back singles, cutting the lead to 4-2 with still nobody out.  La Russa didn’t wait for him to figure it out, pulling him for Jason Motte, who almost got out of it unscathed, but allowed a run-scoring single to Gabe Gross.  With the go-ahead run on first base, Motte struck out the pinch-hitter Alex Rosales for the final out, walking the tightrope successfully.

Sunday was Father’s Day and since I’m the best dad ever (it’s true, you know, I have the novelty mug to prove it), I didn’t see much of the game.  The Cards looked to fulfill the sweep possibility that eluded them earlier in the week, though they sent Suppan out to do it.  While for the third straight Sunday they failed to capitalize on putting a team away, it wasn’t the pitcher’s fault.

If the first two starts for him are any indication, Suppan is going to have trouble with the long ball, so he is going to have to limit his baserunners.  Again on Sunday, he allowed a solo shot in the fourth inning (this time to Kevin Kouzmanoff).  The Cards tried to stretch him through the fifth, but a leadoff double followed by a single and an RBI groundout meant he did not complete the inning, with Fernando Salas coming in to get the last out of the fifth.

The Cardinals had tied it up in the fourth with a solo home run from, not surprisingly, Matt Holliday and tied it again in the sixth when Holliday went yard again, his first multiple home run day this season.  It looked like the Cardinals had the momentum to take the game.

Momentum is fickle, however, and Oakland proved that in the eighth.  Blake Hawksworth got the first batter to fly out, but then things slipped away.  Two singles put runners on the corners and brought Trever Miller into the game.  Pinch-hitter Mark Ellis drove a ball deep enough to score the run and the A’s were back on top.

The bottom of the eighth was one of those missed opportunities that have haunted the Cardinal team all year long.  After two were out, David Freese pinch hit and walked.  Holliday then came up and continued his hot hitting, getting a single that put runners on the corners for Albert Pujols.  This is exactly what the fans of the red team would have wanted, but as is too frustratingly common this season, Pujols flew out harmlessly for the third out.  The team went quietly in the ninth and Oakland escaped with a split.

Just a couple of numbers from this week.  Matt Holliday hit .435/.480/1.000 with four home runs and eight RBI, giving some hope that, as the weather warms (and it does not get much warmer than it has been around here lately) his bat will as well.

And, as a purely scientific point, Daric Barton went one for ten playing in front of the crowd that could have been his home team.  Remember when he was the guy that everyone was up in arms about trading?

Cardinals have Monday off this week before finishing their interleague schedule with a good matchup against Toronto, with Garcia, Carpenter and Wainwright lined up for that series, then a weekend set over in Kansas City, where the fifth starter will have to be implemented.  Who that may be could be the discussion point for the week that will be.

In the American League, in figures released Monday, the outfield race is led by Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle (1,231,950 votes), followed by Carl Crawford of Tampa Bay (1,123,132) and Nelson Cruz of Texas (1,093,099), narrowly ahead of teammate Josh Hamilton (1,006,364).  New York Yankees teammates Nick Swisher (808,871) and Curtis Granderson (766,088) and Torii Hunter (765,023) of the host Angels are among those remaining in contention.

The only other American League race in doubt is at first base, where Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins, with 1,402,496 votes, is holding off New York’s Mark Teixeira (1,221,457) and Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera (1,009,822) in a three-way race.

In the N.L., as announced by MLB today, outfield, catcher and shortstop are still up for grabs.  Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, the vote leader among N.L. outfielders last year, is again pacing the position (1,422,598).  Atlanta Braves rookie sensation Jason Heyward (1,419,753) is close behind, with Andre Ethier of Los Angeles holding the third spot (1,348,662).  Philadelphia Phillies teammates Jayson Werth (1,124,831) and Shane Victorino (1,029,700) as well as Matt Holliday (955,411) of the St. Louis Cardinals are still in contention.  Hanley Ramirez (1,190,685) of the Florida Marlins holds a small lead over Jimmy Rollins (992,887) of the Phillies at shortstop.

Placido Polanco

Placido Polanco of Philadelphia continues to pace the N.L. hot corner, with a lead of about 180,000 votes over David Wright of the Mets and 230,000 over Chipper Jones of Atlanta.

At N.L. catcher, Yadier Molina of the Cardinals has totaled 1,047,411 votes as he continues to hold off Braves catcher Brian McCann, who has collected a total of 959,033 votes.

Other starters whose leads seem secure include:

American League
C – Joe Mauer, Minnesota
2b – Robinson Cano, New York
ss – Derek Jeter, New York
3b – Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay
dh – Vladimir Guerrero, Texas

National League
1b – Albert Pujols, St. Louis
2b – Chase Utley, Philadelphia

Immediately following the announcement of the A.L. and N.L. All-Star rosters on Sunday, July 4, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League’s 34-man roster via the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote.  Fans will cast their votes exclusively online at MLB.com from a list of five players from each League over a four-day period and the winners will be announced after the voting concludes on Thursday, July 8.

Bidding for his fourth Midsummer Classic appearance and his third consecutive start, Mauer leads all American League players with 644,533 votes. He narrowly holds the overall lead over New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who has collected 639,227 as he vies for his 11th trip to the All-Star Game. Joining the Yankee captain among the A.L. leaders are teammates Mark Teixeira (396,034), who is ahead of Justin Morneau (258,225) of the Twins and Miguel Cabrera (242,039) of the Detroit Tigers at first base, and Robinson Cano (491,188), who is outpacing Dustin Pedroia (279,452) of the Boston Red Sox at second base. The only leading A.L. infielder who does not call Yankee Stadium home is Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, who is looking to earn his third All-Star berth in his third Major League season, including his second straight election by fans. Longoria’s 541,253 votes rank first at the hot corner, trailed by New York’s Alex Rodriguez (411,655).

The A.L. outfield is led by Seattle Mariners nine-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki, who has drawn 366,903 votes to top all A.L. outfielders. Last year’s All-Star Game MVP, Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford (319,953), is currently in line for his first fan-elected start and his fourth Midsummer Classic nod overall. Rounding out the A.L. outfield is Texas Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz, whose 307,928 votes put him ahead of teammate Josh Hamilton (265,896). Cruz made his All-Star Game debut last year, while Hamilton has been a fan-elected starter in each of the last two years. Among the many outfielders in contention are Curtis Granderson (264,572) of the Yankees and Torii Hunter (230,036) of the host Angels. The designated hitter slot is currently held by Rangers eight-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero, who has garnered 374,333 votes. Guerrero’s closest competition is Angels slugger Hideki Matsui, who has received 298,487 votes.

Voting in stadiums concludes on Wednesday, June 23, and online voting at MLB.com and the 30 Club Web sites continues until Thursday, July 1, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau des Sports, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET 5 p.m. PT.  ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage.  MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage.

Team captain, and shortstop, Derek Jeter and first baseman Mark Teixeira have been named Gold Glove winners for the 2009 season.

Jeter, who had a tremendous all around season, was honored for the first time since 2006 and won his fourth Gold Glove overall. Teixeira, in his first season in the Bronx, not only won the AL home run (along with Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena) and RBI crowns, but picked up his third career Gold Glove award as well.

Teixeira made just four errors this season while posting a .997 fielding percentage. Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano may have had more errors themselves, if not for Tex’s stellar play at first base.

Jeter’s eight errors were the lowest total of his career, and his improved range led to a .986 fielding percentage, the best mark at his position.

Joining the two Yankees as AL winners were second baseman Placido Polanco (Det), third baseman Evan Longoria, catcher Joe Mauer (Min), and outfielders Torii Hunter (LAA), Ichiro Suzuki (Sea), and Adam Jones (Bal). Chicago’s Mark Buehrle was the winner among the AL’s pitchers.

The Yankees second best acquisition of this past off-season made their best acquisition, CC Sabathia, the American League’s first 18 game winner.  The big left-hander, and Cy Young candidate, allowed one unearned run in seven innings of work while allowing just four hits.  The Yankees were already up 6-0 when the Mariners got on the board thanks to an Rodriguez throwing error, andTeixeira and company put the pedal to the medal to put the game out of reach.

Teixeira would have had a three home run game if not for the 1st inning effort of Mariners’ centerfielder Franklin Gutierrez.  With Johnny Damon aboard, Teixeira hit a smash to deep center off starter Doug Fister that a leaping Gutierrez got a glove on as the ball began to go over the fence for a sure home run.  Gutierrez couldn’t hang on though as he hit the wall and it landed in play for an RBI triple.

Hideki Matsui’s 26th home run in the 2nd helped increased New York’s advantage to 3-0 as Teixeira came to bat with two aboard in the 5th.  This time he pulled the ball  down the right field line, just over the 326-ft sign, for his 36th home run of the year and a 6-0 Yankees’ lead.

Home run #37 would come after a mere single in the 7th. Teixeira, batting from the right side in the 9th against left-hander Luke French, hit a no doubt about it shot over the 388-ft sign in left-center for his 118th run batted in of the season.

Game Notes

Since the All-Star break, CC Sabathia is 10-1, 2.54 in 13 starts.  He’s struck out 91 in 92 innings with just 22 walks and 78 hits allowed.

Ian Kennedy is all the way back from aneurysm surgery and in this case that means back on the major league roster.  IPK even surprised himself with is return.  He’ll get more innings over the next two months in the Arizona Fall League.

Freddy Guzman drove in his first run as a Yankee last night with a 9th inning sacrifice fly.

Ichiro Suzuki would never forget the game after being picked off first base not once, but twice. Then an unfunny thing happened on the way to the post-game high fives for the Yankees.  Pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney narrowly missed hitting one out, driving a ball on to the warning track in right for a 2-out double.  That set up a showdown between two future Hall ofFamers, Ichiro and Rivera.  Moments later it was the Mariners celebrating when Ichiro hit a rare home run for a 3-2 Mariners victory.

The loss somewhat wasted a bounce back effort from A.J. Burnett, who allowed one run and scattered seven hits over seven innings.  I say somewhat, because Burnett really needed a good outing for his own confidence as well as his manager’s confidence in him.  He still could have picked up a victory had his team taken advantages of opportunities they had against “King” Felix Hernandez (16-5).

Derek Jeter led off the ball game with a single and Johnny Damon followed with a double.  But the Yankees came away with only one run on Alex Rodriguez‘ sacrifice fly.  Nick Swisher was stranded after a lead off double in the 7th and the Yankees had at least one man on in seven of the nine innings.

The Yankees went ahead in the 7th when Damon doubled for the second time, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on Mark Teixeira’s sac fly.

But despite the one run lead, the Yankees had the ball in the right hands.  Rivera hadn’t blown a save since April 24 when Boston’s Jason Bay slugged a 2-run home run off of him up in Fenway Park.  He had only been scored upon once in the last two months.

And things seemed normal when Rivera (3-3) struck out John Hannahan looking to give the M’s infielder the “Golden Sombrero” and then blew an inside fastball past a swinging pinch-hitter Mike Carp for the 2nd out.

Mo breathed a sigh relief when Sweeney’s opposite field fly seemed destined to leave the park, but short hopped the wall instead.  Then Rivera’s first pitch cutter to Ichiro didn’t move and the M’s right fielder deposited the ball deep into the right field seats for his 10th home run.  It was Ichiro’s fourth hit of the game, second walk-off hit of the week and third game winning home run of the season.

Game Notes

The Yankees announced that Sergio Mitre’s turn will be skipped when the Yankees open a series with the Angels on Monday.  Chad Gaudin, who pitched effectively against the Blue Jays, will take his turn.

CC Sabathia goes after his 18th win this afternoon (4:10 p.m. ET) when he faces rookie Doug Fister.

WP – Batista (5-2)  LP – Sabathia (7-5)

The Seattle Mariners couldn’t come up with clutch hits in the first two games of their first series at the new Yankee Stadium, but last night they smacked CC Sabathia around en route to an 8-4 win over the Yankees.  The loss snapped the Bombers’ 7 game winning streak and dropped them 3 games behind idle Boston in the AL East.

Although he allowed a lead off, frozen rope double to Ichiro Suzuki to start the ball game, Sabathia looked dominant in the 1st inning.  But a mid-90s fastball, up in the zone with no movement can get you in trouble fast and that’s what happened to the Yankee ace.  Franklin Gutierrez belted a solo home run off Sabathia in the 2nd inning for a 2-0 M’s lead.  Back-to-back singles by Kenji Johjima and Ryan Langerhans followed and Chris Woodward came through with a run-scoring sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead after two.

The Yankees kept rallying against Mariners starter Jason Vargas, but couldn’t completely erase the deficit, thanks to Sabathia’s ineffectiveness.  With his team back in the game at 3-2, Sabathia gave up four hits in the 4th inning, including RBI-producing base knocks by Woodward and Ichiro.  Melky Cabrera nearly made a long running catch of Ichiro’s fly ball, but it ticked off the top of his glove for a 2-run double that pushed the Mariners’ advantage to 6-2.

Ichiro’s countryman, Hideki Matsui, answered with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 4th, but the Yankees couldn’t solve the Mariners’ bullpen.  Miguel Batista, Mark Lowe, and David Aardsma scattered three hits over the final five innings, and a potential Yankees’ rally fell short in the 9th.

Russell Branyan, who had struck out 7 times, combined in Wednesday and Thursday’s games, extended the M’s lead with a titanic 2-run blast off the facing of the restaurant in dead center field in the top of the 9th.  In a non-save situation, Aardsma gave up back-to-back singles to Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher to start the Yankees’ last licks, but retired Matsui and Cabrera on fly balls, and struck out pinch-hitter Jorge Posada to preserve the lead.

Game Notes

Not counting his start in Florida when he left the game early due to bicep tightness, last night marked the first game since April 16 that Sabathia didn’t pitch into the 7th inning.

Jose Molina’s rehab stint will conclude with four games with the Scranton Yankees.  He’s expected to be activated for Tuesday night’s game in Minnesota.

Mark Teixeira’s throwing error in the 9th inning was his first miscue in 107 games.

The Yankees begin a 4-game holiday series with the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon (1:05 p.m. ET).  A.J. Burnett makes his 2nd start against his old teammates and will face lefty Brian Tallet.