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)

Josh Beckett, Mike Cameron, Clay Buchholz, Jeremy Hermida and Jed Lowrie have returned from the disabled list since Pedroia went down with injury, and the recent sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the first series they’ve swept since their interleague series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid June. Since the Red Sox have stumbled into the summer months, both the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays have picked up the pace in the race for the AL East title.  With two games remaining on the July calendar, both teams have a chance to win 20 games in the month. The Red Sox, on the other hand, will need to win both of their remaining July games to have a record above .500 for the month.

Meanwhile, several teams in the playoff hunt have bolstered their rosters.  The NL West leading San Diego Padres picked up Miguel Tejada. The third place Los Angeles Dodgers, 3.5 games out of the NL Wild Card hunt, picked up Scott Podsednik for the cost of a pair of minor leaguers. Even the .500 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim got into the act, acquiring Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Perhaps the biggest trade of the month came when the Seattle Mariners shipped Cliff Lee to the AL West leading Texas Rangers.

What have the Red Sox done to improve their 2010 team? Other than reacquiring Kevin Cash when both Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek hit the disabled list, not a whole lot.  The old adage goes that their biggest deadline acquisitions might be the ones that simply return from the disabled list. With such a poor July showing, fans have to wonder if the Red Sox front office has already started looking at the 2011 season.  It’s hard to blame them. In order to get closer to the Rays in the standings than the Blue Jays(it’s true, at least in the loss column), they will need a sudden reversal of fortune not seen since the team followed up a 11-14 June in 2004 to go 35-19 in July and August of that year.

The returns of Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz, coupled with the resurgence of Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey suggest that the Red Sox could string together a solid winning streak behind Jon Lester and get back into the AL East race.

In order to right the ship, the question is will the Red Sox need  more than just the walking wounded to return? In a season that has seen Jonathan Papelbon struggle a bit and the relief corp of Ramon Ramirez, Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen struggle mightily, acquiring at least bullpen help would make a great deal of a difference if the team has any real hopes of challenging New York or Tampa Bay.

On the other hand, if the Red Sox are 7.5 games out of first and 5.5 games out of the chase for the Wild Card, maybe they would be better off selling off their 2010 season for parts that might improve their 2011 season and beyond. The team certainly has a few chips that might be worth dangling.

Coincidentally, it seems the Red Sox are in a situation where they might benefit from trying to trade both their current third baseman and the third baseman he replaced at the beginning of the season.

During the off-season, the team signed Adrian Beltre to a one year, $10 million deal that has subsequently turned into one of the best deals this season.  Beltre’s 2010 season may go down as his best year since his 2004 break out season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Meanwhile, Mike Lowell has recently been smacking the ball around for the Pawtucket Red Sox as he returns from a sore hip. It’s true that Lowell may never again be able to play third base every day.  It’s also true that the remaining money on his $12.5 million salary may be too much for a team to swallow. With 4 home runs and 4 doubles in 5 games with the PawSox already, there might be a market for the player who might best be suited for DH duties the rest of the way this season.

With the return of Jed Lowrie, the Red Sox could warrant the trading of Beltre if it means better things for the future.  However, trading Beltre and Lowell would undoubtedly raise the white flag on the 2010 season. Truth be told, with all of the other moves made by contenders, it seems as though they may have already waved the flag.

So the question remains, are the Red Sox buyers or sellers?

With all of the injuries and poorly performing players on the disabled list and sitting in the bullpen, selling makes the most sense.  However, selling on the rest of the season is something the Red Sox haven’t done since trading Mike Stanley to the New York Yankees in August of 1997.  Nobody wants to watch poor baseball, and no disrespect to Jed Lowrie, but trading Beltre would greatly impact the quality of the Boston offense.  It’s worth noting that that trade brought in a minor league ballplayer that was traded less than 6 months later to the Montreal Expos in the deal that brought Pedro Martinez to town.

The Red Sox face the possibility of a repeat of the 2006 season, when they finished 11 games behind the Yankees while slipping to third place.  They finished that season 22-35, thanks in part to number of injuries to key players.  Though it might be an unpopular opinion, they would be better off capitalizing on the few trading chips they do have, rather than holding all of their chips on the ship that appears to be sinking anyway.

Michael Maher can be reached at Happybirthdayredsox@gmail.com.

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It’s a hefty to price to pay for Rangers’ GM Jon Daniels. He’s giving up a player who they view as an annual 30-40 home run hitter for a three month rental. Evidently Daniels is worried about the pending bankruptcy of the team and may feel this is the Rangers lone shot at a title.

But it also makes me think of  a 2006 Rangers deal.  Adrian Gonzalez, Chris Young, and Termel Sledge for Aki Otsuka and Adam Eaton”.

Now Cliff Lee is a much better pitcher than Eaton or Otsuka, the latter of which was to fill the closer role at the time. But Gonzalez was a can’t miss prospect and he has proven all the scouts right. Smoak may make Daniels regret this deal as well.

The Yankees and Mariners had agreed to deal in principle that would have sent Jesus Montero, David Adams, and Zach McAllister to Seattle, but the Mariners decided to look for a better off.  They certainly got one.

* * *

With all of the hoopla (pun very much intended) over LeBron James last night, I was shocked to see he was not the subject of conversation on Twitter this morning.  No sooner had my computer booted up then my brain got a jolt as well.  The NY Post’s Joel Sherman reported that the Yankees are in deep conversations with the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.

Say what?

By 10 a.m. Sherman had tweeted and written that the teams were on the brink of getting the deal done.  Jesus Montero, the Yankees number one prospect, would be the centerpiece of the trade.  Montero has struggled at the plate for much of his first full season at Triple-A, but is still highly regarded around baseball.  This would also indicate that the Yankees front office is higher on catching prospect Austin Romine for the future.

The Mariners are also said to be intereted in 2nd base prospect, and UVA product, David Adams.  Sherman says a third prospect will also be included in the deal.

With Lee’s free agency on the horizon, you have to wonder if the Yankees will demand a window to negotiate a long term deal with the prized left-hander.  Though the Yankees would be giving up prospects, acquiring Lee would preclude losing draft picks if Lee went elsewhere and the Yankees then signed him as a free agent.

Some feel this deal would be overkill since the Yankees roll out CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Javier Vazquez on a regular basis.  Though three of the pitchers are All-Stars, Hughes has an innings limit and Burnett and Vazquez have struggled at times.  It’s possible once he nears the innings limit, Hughes could bolster the bullpen for the remainder of the season as he did last year.

While there are mixed feelings about giving up a top prospect, Cliff Lee is the type of player you give him up for.

Update: 11:20 am ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted that since Lee is set to face them tonight, the Yankees told the Mariners they have to have answer soon.

Joel Sherman has now reported that the Yankees will not ask for a negotiating window to get a long term deal done with Lee.

Update: 3:45 pm Sherman says the deal is off – he just tweeted:
“To repeat the Yankees aren’t getting Cliff Lee. Mariners concerned about David Adams ankle plus apparently another team has jumped in hard.”

Update: 4:20 pm According to several people involved with the Yankees, the deal is definitely dead (for now) with Seattle.

It look the Texas Rangers are the team that has re-entered the fray.  Rangers’ Hall of Fame beat writer T.R. Sullivan says “…the Rangers won’t do (Justin) Smoak”.  Possibilities are Jared Saltalamacchia, Engel Beltre, Derek Holland, Omar Beltre and Blake Beavan.

Stay tuned for updates.

Baseball Digest.com: What does your job consist of? What are your responsibilities?

Whitney Strawn: I wear many hats here at the club, but my title is Community Relations and customer service rep. I try to ensure the staff and players are active within the community. These activities may consist of working a telethon, visiting a children’s hospital, or playing catch at the park. During the day I work with groups trying to set up outing and picnics. When game time rolls around I assist with pre-game activities and between-inning games.

BD.com: When and how did you get interested in working in baseball?

Strawn: In high school I discovered an interest in marketing. At sixteen, I went to my first minor league game and loved the atmosphere and energy. From that point the passion really cultivated and I wanted to combine two things I loved doing.

BD.com: When did you get interested in baseball?

Strawn: Baseball was not the most popular sport in my home, but the family enjoyed it. It was an interest primarily of mine.

BD.com: How did you wind up working for the Diamond Jaxx?

Strawn: In 2006 when I was nineteen, I started as game day staff. I commuted two hours a day and basically lost money that summer to make connections in the business. The team would make several transitions between affiliation and ownership in the next couple years. In 2009, I returned as an intern and received an offer to return in the 2010 season. I have sacrificed to makes this work and so far it’s paying off.

BD.com: Did you play sports in High School or College?

Strawn: From age five, I played baseball (not softball) until I was thirteen. As long as I can remember, I played basketball and stopped playing for a team at sixteen.

BD.com: Where were you raised?

Strawn: I was raised in the Community of Bath Springs, Tennessee and attended Riverside High School. Bath Springs is in West Tennessee on the Tennessee River, midway between Memphis and Nashville

BD.com: Did you attend college?

Strawn: I am currently attending Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. and Mid-Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden. I am majoring in Business Administration – Marketing & B.S. Political Science with a Minor – International Studies.

BD.com: Did you study in Sweden and do you speak Swedish?

Strawn: I was a student in Sweden in 2006 & 2008. My Swedish language level is beginner/intermediate. I certainly need a refresher, as there aren’t many people in the States I know that speak the language.

BD.com: What do you love the most about your job?

Strawn: The energy the fans bring to the game

BD.com: What is the most difficult part of your job?

Strawn: Unforeseen circumstances such as weather. You learn to roll with the punches, but sometimes it is difficult when you have to let fans down. Some days tarp pulls are bad!

BD.com: Who was your mentor in baseball?

Strawn: A gentleman named Robert Jones. He is the Diamond Jaxx director of stadium operations. He has been a great connection for me in baseball and has taught me not only about baseball, but life.

BD.com: What is the most outstanding memory you have working for your team?

Strawn: The day I found out I was getting my own office. I thought I was just an intern.

BD.com: What advice would you give a young woman considering a career in baseball?

Strawn: To make the best accommodations you can between a career and personal life. Some weeks you practically live at the park, you have to be really dedicated to this job.

BD.com: What makes you successful at your job?

Strawn: A big friendly smile. It makes me more approachable and easy to deal with on any basis. I am also very prompt, and I complete tasks as they are handed to me.

BD.com: What was the biggest obstacle you overcame to get into baseball?

Strawn: Some days I need more motivation than others especially after a long homestand with no sleep. I am a full-time college student three hours away from my University for a few months during the season. It is hard to juggle everything, but you make it work if you want to make it work.

BD.com: If you were not working in baseball, what would you be doing?

Strawn: I would be interested in being a retail buyer, but most likely using my political and international background to be an International Ambassador to Sweden. Traveling is my greatest passion so I could love any career that let me do that.

BD.com: What is your favorite baseball movie? Have a favorite baseball book?

Strawn: My favorite baseball film is Bull Durham. My favorite books are:
Marketing Your Dreams: Business and Life Lessons from Bill Veeck, Baseball’s Marketing Genius by Pat Williams.

BD.com: What is the most unusual promotion you have seen with your team?

Strawn: Nothing too unusual, but I would say our weekly promotion $1 night ($1 General admission tickets, hot dogs, soda, popcorn, and beer). I only say dollar night because it brings a very diverse crowd out. When the beer is flowing it makes for a very entertaining night.

BD.com: What are the funniest things you have seen with your team?

Strawn: Last season a manager got tossed out of the game. As he slowly walked to the outfield to return to the clubhouse, it took what seem like forever to get the door open. He simply tried pulling the door, not knowing there is a latch he must reach for. Meanwhile, doorbells and other sound clips are being played over the PA. It must have been embarrassing for him, having several thousand people watch him trying to get through the door.

BD.com: Do you follow other sports? Aside from your team, what teams do you follow?

Strawn: I follow the Indianapolis Colts in football, the Nashville Predators in Hockey and in baseball, the Atlanta Braves.

BD.com: Should Instant Replay be used to prevent blown calls like the one that
cost a Tiger pitcher a perfect game?

Strawn: It’s unfortunate Armando Galarraga lost that perfect game due to the bad call by Umpire Jim Joyce, but the accuracy in professional baseball is so high it should not rely on instant replay.

I think instant replay can be an extremely useful tool in sports such as professional football and basketball; however I don’t think it should be used in Major League Baseball. Call me old fashioned, but I like it the way it’s always been. If instant replay is adopted by the MLB, I think it will continuously be used to decide whether a ball is foul or fair. Not forballs or strikes.

BD.com: What is the most creative part of you?

Strawn: I am somewhat mediocre when it comes to creativity; however, I am pretty good at writing song lyrics

BD.com: Are you married? If so, do you have any children?

Strawn: I am single and have no children.

BD.com: What do you do for relaxation after work?

Strawn: I visit with friends or enjoying me time at home.

BD.com: Do you have a favorite quote?

Strawn: “No matter how deep my hurt, I always smiled. I refused to be discouraged, for neither God nor man can use a discouraged person.” – Mary McLeod Bethune

BD.com: If you were commissioner of baseball, what one change would you make?

Strawn: All pitchers would have to bat.

BD.com: What kind of music do you like? Have a favorite band?

Strawn: I like mostly country music; however my favorite artist is Amos Lee

BD.com: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Strawn: People on their cell phones expect me to help them when they will not give me their attention. Also, when someone gives me a business call and then asks me to hold.

BD.com: What woman do you admire the most

Strawn: Hillary Clinton

BD.com: What do you do during the off-season?

Strawn: I go back to college and try to travel as much as I can.

BD.com: What are your long-term goals?

Strawn: I want to be a General Manager some day.

BD.com: Will a woman ever become General Manager on a Major League team?

Strawn: I certainly think a female will eventually make her way up as a General Manager of Major League team. I am not sure why it hasn’t already happened. Women are just as capable of being a General Manager, however, I think it takes a women with definite strengths and drive to want to take on the responsibility of that role.

Norm Coleman is an actor, writer and professional photographer living in Half Moon Bay, California.

2010 Season record: 51-31

The Yankees opened the week with the last place Mariners, but unfortunately ran up against two of the best pitchers in the game.  The opener was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel between potential All-Stars Phil Hughes and Cliff Lee.  The Mariners left-hander did his part, pitching his third straight complete game.  But the M’s tagged Hughes for six earned runs in 5.2 innings and went on to a 7-4 win.

The Yankees bats were even more anemic the next night when Felix Hernandez tossed a brilliant complete game.  Seattle’s “King” allowed just two hits and struck out 11 Yankees in the 7-0 victory.  Javier Vazquez gave the Yankees a quality start, but the M’s put the game away against Damaso Marte and Chad Gaudin in the late innings.

The Yankees avoided a three game sweep thanks to a great performance by their ace, CC Sabathia.  CC pitched eight strong innings, allowing only one earned run and beat the Mariners 4-2.  Alex Rodriguez  helped him out with a 2-4 night, including a home run and 2 RBI.

The Yanks licked their wounds and welcomed Toronto to the Stadium for the second half of the homestand.  But the Jays picked up right where the Mariners left off.

Starter Brett Cecil worked out of a number of jams and the Blue Jays bullpen shut the Yankees down as Toronto took game 1, 6-1 in 11 innings.  The Yankees did get a great pitching performance from A.J. Burnett, however Joba Chamberlain couldn’t hold the lead in the 8th inning and David Robertson and Chan Ho Park were miserable in the extra frames.

The Bomber’s bats came out with a vengeance in game 2, scoring 11 runs in the third inning.  The Yankee sent 15 men to the plate, including Brett Gardner who started the rally with a single and then broke the game open with a grand slam off of Ricky Romero.  As a result of the offensive explosion and another quality start from Andy Pettitte the Bombers cruised to an easy 11-3 victory.

In the final game of the series the Yankees and Jays got into a heavyweight fight, going back and forth, exchanging blows and scoring runs.  Both starting pitchers allowed five earned runs but in the end it was Marcus Thames who landed the knockout punch.  On the day he was activated from the DL, Thames stepped up to the plate in the 10^th and hit a walk off RBI single that sent everyone home happy.

Even though the Yanks had an off week they did manage to stay on top of the AL East, with less than three games separating them from the Rays and Red Sox.

Pinstriped Positives:

Mark Teixiera’s bat finally seems to have awoken from it’s slumber.  Over his last 10 games the slugger is hitting .342 with 2 HR and 9 RBI.

A.J. Burnett had his first quality start since May 30^th.   The return of pitching coach Dave Eiland seemed to do the trick.

Negatives:

Jorge Posada’s struggles have continued.  The Yankees catcher is hitting an even .200 in his last 10 games with no homers and 2 RBI.   He also had to leave Sunday’s game early with a sprained ring finger on his catching hand and was listed as day-to-day.

The bullpen continues to be a matter of concern for Joe Girardi.  Outside of Mariano Rivera, and even Damaso Marte, none of the Yankees relievers have been consistent.  Dustin Moseley was added to the mix over the weekend to shake things up.

What’s Next:

The Yankees are now out on West Coast for the rest of the first half of the season.  They are going to take on the Athletics for three games and then will have a rematch against the Mariners.

The Yankees are sending Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, and Alex Rodriguez to the All-Star game next week in Anaheim.  Yankees fans can go online and vote to send Nick Swisher to the game as well in the final vote.

John Fetter recently joined Baseball Digest as a New York Yankees contributor.  He can be reached at jfetter@sportstalk88.com.

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.

The week started with Jon Garland pitching on three days rest against Toronto’s Shaun Marcum.  Garland has not been successful on short rest during his career (0-1, 7.20 ERA), and had trouble on this day.  Although he struck out seven in five innings of work, Garland needed 84 pitches to get through the first three innings, and allowed 4 runs in the second while doing so.  There was some consternation regarding umpire Larry Vanover’s strike zone throughout the game, including a borderline 2-2 pitch to Marcum of all people  that was called a ball.   Marcum drew a walk, extending the inning.  Two of the Blue Jays’ four runs after the Marcum walk.

The game was memorable for a couple of reasons.  Four home runs were hit – solo shots by Jerry Hairston Jr and Adrian Gonzalez, and two by Blue Jay catcher John Buck.  Yorvit Torrealba was ejected for arguing strike three in the ninth inning, which may or may not have also included frustration with the second inning call.  Oh yes, there was also a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck during the eighth inning.  The Padres were not able to recover from being four runs down after two.  They did cut the lead to 4-2 before giving up a single run in the sixth, and they were able to load the bases with no one out in the bottom of the seventh.  Unfortunately the Juniors were unable to capitalize.  Hairston flied out to shallow right, not deep enough to score the runner, and Gwynn grounded to third, which did score one run and move the runners up 90 feet but wasn’t the big hit the team needed.  Oscar Salazar flied out to right to end the inning, and the second Buck home run gave Toronto that run right back in the eighth.  6-3 Blue Jays.

Tuesday night saw budding Padre ace Mat Latos square off against talented Jay hurler Brett Cecil, on paper the best pitching match-up of the series.  This night it was the Padres scoring first, again in the second inning.  Following a Scott Hairston flyout, catcher Nick Hundley doubled, Chris Denorfia walked, and Hairston Jr reached on an infield single, bringing up Aaron Cunningham.  Cunningham, acquired last year in the Kevin Kouzmanoff trade, had been called up on 11 June when Matt Stairs was put on the 15-day DL.  He hadn’t had a hit yet in two at-bats, and this was his first start as a Padre.  So naturally he took an 0-1 pitch off the Jays’ best pitcher and deposited it beyond the center field wall.  It was his third career HR and first since 4 June 09.

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Latos didn’t look back.  He had retired the first 11 Blue Jays faced before Adam Lind doubled in the fourth.  Toronto built off that double to score two runs in the inning on three total hits, but Latos only gave up two more hits in his 6 and 2/3 innings.  Joe Thatcher, Mike Adams, and Ryan Webb threw 2 1/3 innings of 1-hit ball, and the Padres, who had added a fifth run in the third, put the game out of reach with 3 in the eighth.  8-2 Padres.

A rare Wednesday day game set the stage for the rubber match of this series, and it was Kevin Correia against Rickey Romero.  Correia has been struggling since the untimely death of his brother in early May, and would continue to struggle on this day.  Toronto scored a run in the first, with the Padres tying the score with an unearned run in the bottom of the second.  This season Correia has given up the majority of his runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday.  Toronto scored three in the fifth, highlighted by Buck’s third homer of the series, and one in the sixth (on a Vernon Wells HR), which chased Correia.  The Blue Jays pitchers shut down San Diego’s offense, and although Toronto scored two insurance runs in the ninth they didn’t need them.  7-1 Blue Jays.  Wednesday’s loss dropped the Padres a half game out of first, but a Dodger loss on San Diego’s Thursday off-day put them right back in the top spot.

The Blue Jays came in as the fourth place team in the AL East, but they are right in the midst of the playoff chase in the American League.  San Diego’s next opponent, Baltimore, is not.  The Orioles are the worst team in baseball, and came to San Diego already 30 games under .500, 23 games behind first-place Tampa Bay.  Despite their horrendous record, and having already fired their manager once this season, they are not a team devoid of talent, as the Padres would discover.

Friday night’s game pitted University of San Diego alum Brian Matusz (the fourth overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft) versus Wade LeBlanc.  In a season of surprises from the Padres, LeBlanc is one of the biggest.  He’s only 4-4 on the year, but based on ERA+ he’s the second best starter on the staff behind Clayton Richard.  LeBlanc allowed one single his first time through the order, but in the fourth ran into trouble as the Orioles strung three singles together to take a 1-0 lead.

Matusz had been sailing along himself, allowing only two singles through his first four innings, but some cracks started to show in the fifth.  With one out, Hairston Jr doubled and Cunningham reached on an infield single.  Matusz was able to work out of it, but in the sixth the Padres would equalize on a Denorfia single, stolen base, and Gonzalez double.  Matsuz escaped further damage, and had a nice start in his return to his old college stomping grounds.  It stayed tied until the ninth.

In what turned out to be a wild inning, Padre closer Heath Bell walked Ty Wigginton leading off, who was sacrificed to second and scored on Julio Lugo’s two out single.  The normally reliable Bell has only allowed 7 earned runs all season, although 4 of those runs have scored in his last 4 outings.

San Diego, as is their modus operandi this season, did not quit.  Chase Headley walked and Hairston Jr singled to right.  Cunningham, looking to bunt the runners to second and third, instead reached on an infield single.  After Hundley struck out, Eckstein singled in the tying run.  Gwynn Jr was sent up as a pinch hitter, but he hit into a force play at the plate, setting the stage for Adrian Gonzalez.  The big first baseman lined the first pitch he saw into right, giving the Padres a 3-2 win.

Crafty but winless righty Kevin Millwood hooked up with Clayton Richard on Kyle Blanks bobblehead night.  This may be the first ever Major League bobblehead night for a player in AAA, but whatever.  Millwood has had success against the Padres (6-1, 2.95 ERA) in general and at Petco (2-0, 3.45 in 5 career starts) in particular, but after the first inning it looked like his 2010 year would trump that success.

Baltimore plated an unearned run in the first, and Millwood retired the first two Padres in the bottom half.  Then Gonzalez walked on four pitches.  Hairston singled.  Torrealba singled to right, with Gonzalez rounding third hard but being held up.  This led to Hairston being trapped off second, however, the Orioles bungled the rundown and everybody was safe.  Will Venable worked a walk to tie the game, and the older Hairston dropped a single into center to score two more.  After one it was 3-1 Padres, and it seemed they would cruise.

Not so fast.  Baltimore tied it with two in the third, and reclaimed the lead on Adam Jones’ two-run HR in the sixth.  The Padre offense was held in check until the ninth.  Hairston Jr walked and Gwynn Jr doubled him to third.  An Oscar Salazar ground out with the infield back led to a run.  Eckstein, the best clutch hitter on the club so far this season, for once failed to get the job done, grounding to a draw-in Lugo at short for the second out.  Chase Headley appeared to tie the game with a hard smash off the glove of a diving Wigginton at first, but the ball was ruled foul.  Headley eventually struck out, and Baltimore escaped with a 5-4 win.

Once again the Padres had a rubber game to play.  Once again they fell behind the Orioles early.  Starter Jon Garland loaded the bases with two out in the first, then enticed Adam Jones to hit a ground ball to third baseman Lance Zawadzki.  Zawadzki proceeded to throw the ball away, allowing one run to score.  Oriole catcher Matt Wieters promptly cleared the bases with a booming double, putting the Padres in a 4-0 hole.  All the runs were unearned, but they still count on the scoreboard.

Jake Arrieta, another young Oriole power arm, was unable to hold the lead.  Gonzalez continued his hot hitting in June by doubling in a run in the first.  San Diego got a second run in the second thanks to a Luke Scott fielding error in left, and in the third they took the lead after Hundley singled in Eckstein, Scott Hairston walked, and Will Venable homered into the porch in right.

From there the Padres cruised.  Garland shook off the adventurous first inning and worked six solid frames.  Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams, and Joe Thatcher combined to hold Baltimore scoreless the rest of the way.  San Diego tacked on a run in the fifth and two more in the seventh (Hundley HR), winning the game 9-4 and taking the series.

Thanks to Los Angeles being swept in Boston, San Diego has widened their NL West lead to a game and a half, and find the San Francisco Giants the closest team in their rear view mirror.  San Diego leads the division by their widest margin since Memorial Day.  The team could use another bat, but they will be at the top of the division all year.

Back in November I was in Phoenix, Arizona covering the Arizona Fall League (AFL), and all the buzz was that Strasburg was going to start the AFL All-Star game. But a freak sleeping accident, he slept wrong because of the “pillow” he was using, kept him out of the game.

That same night I had the opportunity to speak to the Seattle Mariners No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, the kid picked after Strasburg, and Dustin Ackley told me at the time that Strasburg was “… the best pitcher I’ve seen.”

Fast forward to Tuesday night, June 8th, 2010, or as the Washington Nationals fans are calling it, “Strasmas,” a new era began.

I decided to arrive early to the ballpark so that I could get down on the field, get a spot and wait for the moment Strasburg walked onto the field. Before I walked through the media doors I saw a fan with a Strasburg shirt on and asked him to describe the feeling of Nats fans. Jeremy Buck, a 43-year old construction worker who’s been a Nationals fan since their move from Montreal in 2005.

“With Strasburg now up with the Nats, we know every fifth day we have a great shot at winning,” he smiled. “We haven’t felt like that in years.”

Diana Carson, a mother of three said, “This is my first baseball game ever and I can’t wait to see Steven Strasburg pitcher, he’s awesome.”

When I finally walked through the media doors, waiting behind the counter was an team intern who was in charge of distributing out the media passes. To his left were two security guards who were watching my every move. As he thumbed through the passes, I asked him how many media passes they had to create for the game, and as he looked up at me, he had this look of exhaustion in his eyes. “185, sir,” he said.

After receiving my press pass, I proceeded down to the field. As I walked past the attendants I asked each one of them how they were doing and all of them, with a huge grin on their faces, explained to me how excited they were for “Strasmas.”

As I walked onto field, I felt like I was arriving late to the game. Setup on each side of the field, in foul territory, was several news outlets with cameras and TV lights blazing in the afternoon sunlight. Behind home plate, there were over 50 journalists gathered, including ESPN’s Jayson Stark and Tim Kurkjian as well as Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports. It was like being at the baseball Winter Meetings.

After 30 minutes of watching Nats batting practice, I positioned myself strategically by the MASN (the Nationals’ TV affiliate) billboard as I overheard the public relations folks discuss that manager Jim Riggleman was going to speak to the media prior to game. Five minutes later, Riggleman headed right towards me.

The manager discussed his conversation with Strasburg prior to the game.

“I asked him how far the mound is from home plate (in the minors)? He said, ’60 feet, six inches.’ I said, ‘Well, you’ve got a good chance, because that’s what it is here, too.’”

Riggleman continued to fire off answers for close to 20 minutes before finally heading to his spot behind the batting cage.

As I looked around, trying to soak everything in, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a person that looked very familiar. It was Strasburg’s agent, Scott Boras. I had met Boras for the first time at the last Winter Meetings in Indianapolis, chatting with the superagent for about 20 minutes. We discussed free agency, where major league baseball was going, and how he built his corporation. It was probably the upteenth time he had had that kind of conversation at the Meetings, but I approached Boras on Tuesday night, and asked if I could have a quick moment of his time, Boras said, “Hey Paul, how’s it  going? Things good with Baseball Digest?”

Needless to say I was a little shocked at the fact he remembered my name (but that’s probably why he’s a superagent), and as I began to ask questions, a herd of media came stamping my way. Boras hung around for close to 30 minutes taking every question asked, and when we finally were finished with him, more media came out of the woodwork.

By this time the Nationals had finished their batting practice and the Pittsburgh Pirates were jumping onto the field. One of the great Pirates of the 1990’s, Bobby Bonilla (who now works for the players union), stood behind the batting cages talking to players as they stood in the box to take their swings. I overheard him tell Andy LaRoche to keep his hands inside and that he was going to have to be quick because of Strasburg’s fastball. Bonilla’s a little heavier than his playing days, but he still flashed that great smile many of us remember when he was playing.

Up next on the dog and pony show was Stan Kasten, President of the Nationals. I’ve never met Mr. Kasten prior to “Stasmas”, but I’ll tell you that he’s a guy I want to hang with. With a smile from ear-to-ear, Mr. Kasten enthusiastically answered every question thrown his way. He spoke about the 160 innings limitation that Strasburg would have this season as well as how the new “Stras-conomy” will affect the ball club. When we finally ran out of questions to ask, he said, “Is that it. You guys have nothing else? Are you sure?” Almost begging us to fire more questions at him.

The time was now 6:15 pm, so I decided to head up to the press box. The Nationals press box located on the sixth and seventh floor is slightly slanted over the field giving you a great view of the entire ball park. For dinner, boxed sandwiches, not the best meal I’ve had at a ball park, but it would do.

After looking over each teams lineup and finding a piece of wall I could lean on to watch the game (with all the media requests, there was limited room for all of us), the countdown to the first pitch was just five minutes away.

You could feel the anticipation as it got closer to game time. Strasburg took the field to a huge roar of the crowd, and the media members were abuzz with predications on what Strasburg would do that night.

The home plate umpire, Tom Hallion, pointed towards Strasburg and yelled, “Play ball.”

As I looked to my left and then my right, many of the media members had out their personal cameras, including myself, prepared to catch a piece of history. As Strasburg delivered his first major league pitch, flashes lite up National’s Park. A fastball inside for a ball. Media members were joking, “A ball, send him back to the minors, this kid is washed up.”

As boos echoed the stadium, Strasburg delivered his second pitch, another ball. “I hope this isn’t a long night,” said a member of the WTOP crew.

Finally, on his third pitch, Andrew McCutchen lined out to short. Stephen Strasburg’s MLB career finally had started.

Throughout the night, while standing around some of the most recognizable names in the media, I stood there soaking it all up. I often heard, “WOW” or “unbelievable,” the exact same things I was saying in my head.

As the night went on, Strasburg seemed to get stronger. With pitches hitting 100 mph and with a knee jerking curveball that seemed to dance to lefties and make righties turn their back, I knew that this was the best pitching performance I had ever seen live.

After the second inning ended, Strasburg had already racked up four strikeouts. The debate began in the press box on whether or not Strasburg would pitch past the sixth inning.

When the third inning ended and two more “K’s” were put up on the board, my first thought was, will Strasburg get to double-digit strikeouts?

Then it happened. In the top of the fourth we found out that Stephen Strasburg is human. With Neil Walker on third base, after singling to start the inning, Delwyn Young stepped in on the left side of the batter’s box. On a 1-0 pitch, Strasburg threw a 91mph changeup that Young golfed 389 feet to right center for his third homer of the year. It was the first time the stadium was silent.

That was the last hit Strasburg would give up.

Over his final three innings Strasburg would strike out eight, seven straight before being pulled, and end his first start in the majors by setting a Nationals record of 14 strikeouts in a game.

Here is something to think about. It took Nolan Ryan 698 games before he struck out 14 batters in one game without walking a single batter.

Now, some will say, “but Paul, the Pirates as a team are batting .236, worst in baseball, there is no way this kid is that good.” Well, I’d say to you, I spoke to Adam Dunn and he told me that this was, “the best pitched game I’ve ever seen.”

Now, if you want to argue with “Man Mountain” Dunn, be my guest. I’m telling you now that this kid is not a fluke. He’ll struggle of course, but Stephen Strasburg is the real deal.

After the game and the media chit-chat with the players, I had time to reflect on the night we call “Strasmas”, mainly because I got lost in Washington D.C., and thought about how many times the Pirates’ hitters turned their backs on the curveball or when a batter looked completely over matched on his blazing fastball.

I said to myself, this kid reminds me of Dwight Gooden when he came up for the New York Mets. Gooden’s curveball was as devastating as Strasburg’s and when needed, Gooden would dial it up and blow the ball by any hitter in the league.

I’m not going to proclaim that Strasburg is going to have a Hall of Fame career, but I will tell you that this kid has a great future and from what I saw at Nationals Park on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010, he won’t have any trouble fitting into the league.

Happy “Strasmas” to all, and to all, a good night.

Now, according to a report by ESPN.com, Ken Griffey Jr. is heading off into the baseball sunset after more than twenty five hundred games and more than eleven thousand at bats, carrying with him an incredible body of work that will undoubtedly land “The Kid” in the National Baseball Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible. For the first time since 1973, there will be no Ken Griffey playing major league baseball. Next year, for the first time in 38 years, there will be no Ken Griffey baseball card to be discovered in a fresh pack of baseball cards.

The son of a 19 year veteran, Junior Griffey blasted through the minor leagues and joined the Seattle Mariners in 1989. A year later, Ken Griffey Sr. joined his sons team. The Griffey’s made history as the first father and son pair to play on the same team at the same time, and are also the only father-son duo to hit back to back home runs. It was the first of many historic moments for Griffey Jr. He finished third for the 1989 A.L. Rookie of the Year award, but earned many accolades over the next two plus decades. Starting in 1990, he was selected to participate in eleven straight All-Star games, en route to 13 All-Star nods in total. In addition to being voted the American League Most Valuable Player in 1997, he was awarded the Gold Glove every year during the 1990′s. To go along with his incredible defense, Griffey earned 7 Silver Slugger Awards.

Between 1989-1999, Ken Griffey Jr. amassed 398 home runs, leading the league four times in that category. A perennial candidate for Most Valuable Player, the future Hall of Famer showcased his ability to rise to the occasion when he cranked 5 home runs in the 1995 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, and continued his torrid hitting against the Cleveland Indians in the Championship Series.

Before the age of 30, it was widely believed that the center fielder would challenge the single season home run record, and certainly Hank Aaron for the all-time record for most career home runs. While Griffey continued to initially perform at a high level, it is impossible to ignore the transition of his career following the 1999 season when he requested a trade to his hometown Cincinnati Reds.

In his first season with the Reds, Junior Griffey slugged 40 homers and knocked in 100 runs for the fifth straight season. As it turns out, the 2000 season marked the final time he reached either milestone. After playing in at least 127 games in 10 of the 12 previous seasons, he suffered through a number of season ending injuries that limited him to 317 games between 2001 and 2004. He managed to crank 63 home runs during his injury plagued seasons.

Griffey battled back in 2005 to slug 35 homers to go along with a .301 batting average in 128 games, the most since his debut season with the Reds. His resurgence garnered him the National League Comeback Player of the Year award and marked another turning point in his career. From 2005-2007, he averaged 30 home runs, 86 runs batted in and 75 runs scored to go along with a .278 average.

Entering the 2008 season, the veteran sat at 593 home runs and cranked another 15 for the Cincinnati Reds before being traded at the deadline to the Chicago White Sox. The move put Griffey back in playoff contention and into the postseason for the first time since 1997. He managed just 2 hits in the three game sweep at the hands of the upstart Tampa Bay Rays.

Entering the 2008 off-season, Griffey found himself entering free agency for the first time in his career. Following a positive return to Seattle during Interleague Play, the courtship renewed and Number 24 returned to Seattle for the 2009 season. Though his bat had slowed, the slugger still managed to hit 19 home runs in his return season. His overall numbers plummeted and that trait continued into the 2010 season.

Regardless of how his final few seasons turned out, Ken Griffey Jr. retires with 2781 hits, 630 home runs, 1836 runs batted in, and many more numbers that rank him among the greatest players to ever wear the uniform. Though his next home run would have put him in an exclusive club of players that have hit home runs in four different decades, there’s another exclusive group of players that he will hopefully join in Cooperstown, New York in just five years time.

Michael Maher can be reached at MinorLeagueSpotlight@Gmail.com.

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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.

In the News

With Milton Bradley’s return to the lineup, Don Wakamatsu announced that he’d play left field against left-handed pitchers and spell Griffey Junior at designated hitter against right-handers, allowing Michael Saunders some much-needed playing time. Saunders had been excellent in his time with the Mariners so far this season, providing an important spark to a scuffling offense with timely hitting and some pop.

On the Field

The Mariners rolled into Oakland on Monday after a cross-country flight, desperate to wipe out the memory of miserable opening series that has set the tone for the year to date. In the season opener, the Mariners played in three close games, ultimately losing two on walk-off hits. They reversed this trend in game one of this two game set, foregoing late-inning dramatics and getting well and truly destroyed instead. Ryan Rowland Smith struggled again, giving up ten hits in less than three innings against an impotent Athletics attack, and the offense just could not catch up, managing six hits in the 8-4 loss. Utility player Matt Tuiasosopo hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning against Gio Gonzalez; his elder brother could only dream of such success in the Coliseum.

After the blowout, the Mariners reverted to form for game two, keeping it tight and competitive for ten innings. Felix Hernandez wasn’t particularly sharp, but he did well enough to keep his team in the game, striking out six while allowing three runs over his six-inning outing, leaving with the game tied. Rob Johnson provided some power, hitting his second home run off the season off Oakland ace Ben Sheets (Sheets has now  given up 40% of Johnson’s career home runs), and the rest of the lineup chipped in too with ten hits and five runs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the team fell 6-5 in extra innings after wild-pitching the lead runner to third with less than two outs. Casey Kotchman and Chone Figgins showed signs of life, each grabbing two hits as they looked to break out of their slump.

The road trip produced a 2-6 record, and the weary Mariners flew back to Seattle for a game the next day. The Toronto Blue Jays came to town for another two game series, pitting their American League-best home run total against Seattle’s meager 23. Remarkably, Doug Fister kept the Jays inside the park in the first game, pitching just well enough to lose yet another tight game 3-2. Chone Figgins made it interesting when he moved the tying run to third with one out in the seventh inning, but that’s where it would stay as the Jays bullpen kept the Mariners off the board, despite a shaky ninth inning which saw Jose Lopez barely miss a walk-off home run to deep left. This game saw Milton Bradley’s return to the city and the lineup, and he seemed visibly touched by the roaring ovation given to him by the Safeco faithful during his first at-bat.

It was walk-off mania for the Mariners on Thursday, as a strong Jason Vargas couldn’t quite match up against left-hander Ricky Romero. Vargas gave up three runs in almost seven innings of work, but the Mariner managed very little in the way of hitting until the ninth inning, where erstwhile closer Kevin Gregg lost first his ability to miss bats and then his command. Down by two, designated hitter Mike Sweeney led off with a single, immediately followed up by Jose Lopez’s base hit to left. Milton Bradley walked on the full count, and then Kotchman did the game, forcing the tying run to third. Josh Bard, catching in Adam Moore’s absence, laced a ball to left field deep enough to tie the game, and with one out and two on, Ken Griffey Junior came to the plate to pinch hit. Normally left handed hitters don’t try to pull pitches low and outside, but it worked this time, the ball sizzling into the right field corner and sending Safeco Field into raptures. After being on the receiving end of so many walk-off hits in the course of the young season, the 4-3 win felt like a little slice of heaven on earth.

I actually had tickets to the Friday game against the Padres, in what turned out to be prime Will Venable heckling position. The game did not start out auspiciously. Cliff Lee likes to throw strikes, and the Padres like to swing as hard as they can at any and all strikes they see. Three hits on three pitches saw Seattle’s hated rivals from San Diego staked to a 2-0 lead, and from then it felt a little bit like it was game over, despite Wade LeBlanc’s decidedly un-intimidating mound presence. The sense of despair only lasted a few minutes before Venable checked the cheat-sheet in his back pocket, which apparently told him to drop the next ball he came across. One easy pop-fly later, and Franklin Gutierrez was stood on first base, with Mike Sweeney quickly sending him to third with a single to the right-center field gap. No runs were scored in that inning, but the flood waters were rising, and the Mariners hit three home runs over the next four innings, scoring fifteen runs before the fifth was over. Despite an improbable night for David Eckstien being supported by an entirely probable night from star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (who hit three opposite-field doubles), the Padres just didn’t have the firepower to come back from such an enormous deficit, and the Mariners cruised to a 15-8 victory. There was a moment of comedy during Gonzalez’s fourth at-bat – his previous three had seen him deposit the ball into the left field corner each time. Milton Bradley jogged over into the corner to start the at-bat and stared at Gonzalez for a little while before they both burst out laughing and Bradley got back to his normal positioning. Then Gonzalez hit the ball the other way again.

After a fifteen-run outburst, it was back to normal for the Mariners, with the exception of Ian Snell, promoted back to the rotation in light of Ryan Rowland-Smith’s struggles. Snell started on Saturday, and looked very sharp, giving up just one run on a monstrous Matt Stairs home run to right field. Kanekoa Texeira relieved him in the sixth, and allowed a run after a pitch got past Josh Bard with a runner on third, otherwise looking good on the mound. Down 2-0 in the seventh, the Mariners needed runs fast, and pulled one back through a Mike Sweeney single to drive in Ichiro after Franklin Gutierrez had grounded into a double play. The ninth looked promising, with Gutierrez lining out hard to center field before Sweeney smacked a double to left. Lopez barely missed tying the game with an infield hit that shortstop Everth Cabrera looked like kicking away, before Padres close Heath Bell went 3-0 to Milton Bradley, who took ball four only to see the umpire call it a strike. Two pitches later, and Bradley was down. Kotchman too departed without a fight, and a winnable game remained 2-1 in favor of the Padres.

The week started with an ugly blowout, and it ended with an ugly blowout. Hernandez was once again not at his best, but he kept the Mariners in the game before the bullpen coughed up five more runs late en-route to an 8-1 loss. After a 15-run first game, the Mariners only managed two more over the next two days, and were outscored in the series 18-17. The team dropped to 16-28 on the season, and the Mariners are closing in – and fast – on the point of no return.

Injury Report

Erik Bedard had yet another setback after throwing a bullpen session. The optimistic scenario for the Canadian left-hander was a return by the end of May – now it’s looking like July at the earliest for him to be 100%.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: Another handful of hits for the #2 overall pick in last year’s draft, adding a triple and a double to his extra-base hit tally in double-A.  .206 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI (AA West Tenn)

Nick Franklin: Franklin’s home run binge didn’t last into the week, but he did keep the walks and the hits coming, drawing three free passes and stinging two doubles. .318 BA, 8 HR, 23 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: Liddi spent some time hitting third in West Tennessee’s potent lineup, but he failed to produce much thunder. After a solo home run on Monday he went without extra bases for the remainder of the week. .279 BA, 4 HR, 26 RBI (AA West Tenn)

Michael Pineda: Pineda dominated again in his start against Montgomery on the 20th. The Biscuits crumbled against his devastating array of pitches, striking out eight times in six innings while only scoring a pair of runs. Alas, the Diamond Jaxx were even more thoroughly stifled, and lose the game 3-0 for Pineda’s first reverse of the season.  3-1, 2.23 ERA, 54 K (AA West Tenn)

Mauricio Robles: It was an ugly start at Mississippi for Robles, lasting just under six innings while walking four, giving up a home run and striking out just three. Although he left with the lead, the bullpen blew the game in the seventh and West Tennessee could not recover. 3-1, 3.05 ERA, 46 K (AA West Tenn)

Check back in with Graham as he helps Baseball Digest keep an eye on all things Mariners throughout the 2010 season.
You can follow Graham on Twitter here.

In the News

While a legitimate case can be made for pushing Ken Griffey Junior towards retirement, this argument stems entirely from his on-field play and clearly diminishing skills. Off the field, Griffey has earned the respect of the team, the city, and the media. Unfortunately, the slow start to the season has led to people looking for scapegoats, and Junior found himself square in the center. On Monday, Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune wrote a blog post claiming that Griffey was unavailable to pinch hit in a critical situation due to being fast asleep in the clubhouse. He cited two unnamed Mariners, who were quoted fairly extensively. The fallout was immediate. Fans were apoplectic, the team boycotted the News Tribune, and even Griffey’s agent got involved. During a closed-door, player only meeting, designated hitter and team morale enforcer Mike Sweeney went so far as to challenge LaRue’s anonymous sources to a fistfight, which I can’t imagine did much to cheer anybody up.

Was the accusation made in the article true? I have no inside information about what goes on in the clubhouse, but it strikes me as plausible for any number of reasons – the incoherent response by Griffey’s agent, his manager, and his teammates, Junior’s notorious napping habits being made public by Shannon Drayer, and LaRue’s professional integrity all point to him missing time due to a nap being an entirely possible occurrence. However, given the obvious damage done to team morale and the general uproar around Seattle and the nation, I question whether or not the article needed to be written at all. Griffey’s sleeping habits were apparently well-known by reporters covering the team, and have been avoided in print as a courtesy. His teammates don’t seem to have lost any respect for him over it, implying that perhaps taking naps in the clubhouse isn’t the insult that many pundits have made it out to be. Reporting this incident when so many others have been ignored seems disingenuous and frankly damaging to the team. Griffey’s career is almost certainly very close to its end, but he should be given the opportunity to leave with his head held high rather than being dragged down and vilified by the media.

Oh, and the Mariners played some games too. They lost most of them.

On the Field

The road trip started innocently enough with Tuesday’s easy 5-1 win behind Cliff Lee in Baltimore. Newly promoted Ryan Langerhans added the team’s third home run in two games, a fact remarkable only because those three home runs represented a 30% increase in the 2010 total some 32 games into the year. Lee set a Mariners record for fewest total walks given up in his first three starts with the team: Zero.

The next game featured Ryan Rowland-Smith attempting to break out of his spring funk and failing against a weak Baltimore offense. Seattle’s favorite Australian lasted just three innings, giving up three runs before being pulled in favor of Ian Snell, who employed his own particular brand of damage limitation. Five innings later, it was 5-0 Orioles and the subsequent Mariner rally proved too little, too late as the Orioles prevailed 5-2 to even up the series.

Felix Hernandez took the mound for the rubber game, and the Mariners launched an assault on the bleachers unseen since last summer, hitting three dingers in support of their ace. Ichiro, Michael Saunders, and Sweeney each went yard on their way to a 5-1 Seattle lead. However, it all came apart in the 8th, when the previously reliable Brandon League collapsed, yielding a leadoff home run and then loading the bases for left-handed power bat Luke Scott. Scott swung at the first pitch out of the zone, sending a fly ball to deep left field, where Michael Saunders appeared to have it covered – until the ball was grabbed by a fan. The play was ruled a grand slam without too much protest, the score went to 6-5 Baltimore, and the Mariners were on their way to yet another demoralizing win against a team they should have beaten.

It’s not easy coming off a series like that only to face the best team in baseball on their own turf, the task facing Doug Fister and the Mariners as they rolled into St. Petersburg to take on the Rays in the concrete monstrosity known as Tropicana Field. Fister had a reasonable start, considering the offensive firepower he had to deal with, going five innings and allowing just one run (on a balk). Rule 5 pick Kanekoa Texeira continued with his impressive run by keeping the door slammed shut on the potent Rays offense for two more innings, by which time the Mariners had built up a considerable lead. Franklin Gutierrez slugged his fourth home run of the year in the first inning, Adam Moore smashed a line drive over the right field fence, and Mike Sweeney extended the lead with another bomb to left – a power surge equivalent to the Mariners first sixteen games worth of home runs. Evan Longoria pulled the Rays to within a run, but David Aardsma shut them down in the ninth to keep the score at 4-3 and to even up the road trip at 2-2.

If the Rays have a weakness, it’s that they’ve been unable to handle left-handed pitching so far in 2010. If they were hoping to improve their dismal numbers against Jason Vargas, their hopes were in vain. Vargas spun a gem, starting with four perfect innings and pitching into the eighth. The Mariner bats didn’t exactly have a field day with James Shields (who hadn’t seen a friendly baserunner for 13 innings until Longoria’s fifth inning single), but they did enough, staking Vargas to a 2-0 lead with some heads-up baserunning by Chone Figgins and another home run by Mike Sweeney. The game came undone in the eighth after Vargas left, the Mariners failed to scored a runner from second with no outs and the game tied in the top of the ninth, and Willie Aybar capped off the night with a walkoff home run one inning later. This game was an early contender for the ‘game which is a microcosm of the season’ award. Final score? 3-2 Rays.

Cliff Lee threw a complete game in the getaway match, allowing two runs, striking out ten, and walking just one. Unfortunately, the Mariners managed just one run (and no extra base hits) against Matt Garza and his merry band of relievers, allowing the Rays to tie the game in the seventh and win it 2-1 in the eighth – the perfect conclusion to a frustrating week in which the team played well but was undone by awful luck in some very tight games.

Injury Report

It had been smooth sailing for Erik Bedard in his return from surgery, but progress was slowed by some discomfort after playing long-toss before Saturday’s game against the Rays in Tropicana Field. Look for him in June rather than towards the end of May, as had been hoped.

Adam Moore was finally rounding into form when he was injured rounding the bases on Saturday, jamming his knee after clipping first base awkwardly. The rookie catcher, who had two extra-base hits on Friday’s game, was placed on the 15 day disabled list and replaced by Josh Bard, who had been playing for the AAA Tacoma Rainiers. X-rays showed no major structural damage.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: Four hits, two doubles, and four walks kept the May momentum going for the #2 pick in the 2009 draft. The average is going to go up, and fast. Season line: .195 BA, 1 HR, 10 RBI (AA West Tenn)

Nick Franklin: After a quiet week, the switch hitting teenage shortstop flipped the switch and had a monster weekend, smashing three home runs, a double, and a triple. .318 BA, 8 HR, 22 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: A quiet week for the Italian third baseman; Liddi struck out in every game with only a triple to show for it all week. He did plate the only run in West Tennesee’s 1-0 win over the Mississippi Braves, though, so the week wasn’t entirely wasted. .280 BA, 3 HR, 25 RBI (AA West Tenn)

Michael Pineda: Two starts this week for the Dominican flamethrower, and although the first was disappointing (ten baserunners in four innings undoing some good work), he went to business on Saturday, blanking the Braves for six innings, striking out six and walking just one. 3-0, 2.11 ERA, 46 K (AA West Tenn)

Mauricio Robles: It would have been asking a lot for young lefthander Robles (part of the Jarrod Washburn trade) to repeat his ten strikeout performance of the 8th, and he struggled with control in his lone start against Mobile, walking six and allowing five hits in 5.2 innings. The bright side? Eight strikeouts, and just one run allowed. 3-1, 3.03 ERA, 43 K (AA West Tenn)

Check back in with Graham as he helps Baseball Digest keep an eye on all things Mariners throughout the 2010 season.
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In 1955, of course, this drew big laughs to “The Honeymooners” viewers.  3D television? Color TV was still more than a decade away from being in many homes.

Well, if Ralph and Norton were baseball fans, their wait is over.  YES Network, FSN Northwest and DirecTV are ready to present the first-ever 3D telecasts on Saturday, July 10 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), and Sunday, July 11 (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. ET), when the New York Yankees visit the Seattle Mariners.

According to Wednesday’s announcement, the historic broadcasts from Safeco Field will be available to DirecTV customers with 3D sets who live in the YES “home team footprint” (all of N.Y., Conn., North and Central N.J. and Northeast Pa.), as well as the FSN Northwest footprint (all of Wash., Ore., Alaska and parts of Mont. and Idaho).

Fans like Kramden without 3D television can receive the traditional HD and standard telecasts of the games as well.

For more details, click here.

From the Tommy Bahamas release:

The first team shirts to be released will be the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox — just in time for their season opener on April 4th at Fenway Park in Boston.  They will be followed by the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in mid May; the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs at the end of May and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels in early June. All eight team shirts are currently available for viewing at www.tommybahama.com and select Tommy Bahama’s retail locations. The shirts will be sold exclusively through Tommy Bahama retail channels.

“We are very excited about these new Major League Baseball team shirts,” said Terry Pillow, CEO Tommy Bahama. “These unique and beautifully made “Collector’s Edition” shirts are just the type of thing we had envisioned when we began our relationship with MLB.  Our talented design team worked very hard to create these special shirts and we’re hopeful that Tommy Bahama and MLB fans will be equally excited when they see them.  These are just the first of our series of MLB team shirts, and we look forward to creating “Collector’s Edition” shirts for all of the teams in the MLB in the upcoming baseball seasons.”

One of my favorite pastimes is connecting players through the history of the game. To celebrate the birthday of Baseball-Reference, I’m going to share one of these winding roads through baseball history. This may turn into a series, but it’s important to know that every road through history can take a different path.  The path I chose here is just one of thousands that you can use to reach the same final player.

To start off the Trail To Teddy Ballgame, we begin with the youngest member on the 2009 Boston Red Sox.

Michael Bowden is a 22 year old right handed pitcher who has dominated the minor leagues in his brief professional career.  In 5 seasons, he has an 3.15 ERA with a WHIP of 1.156.  In his major league debut on August 30th 2008, Bowden held the Chicago White Sox to 2 runs over 5 innings.  Aside from two dreadful games against the Yankees and Blue Jays in 2009, Bowden had a relatively successful late summer appearance with the club.

Michael Bowden played with Tim Wakefield

Bowden’s 5th career appearance came in relief during a game that was started by veteran Tim Wakefield.  It also turned out to be Wakefield’s 387th start for the Red Sox, a category that he leads the franchise in with 388.   You may or may not know that Tim Wakefield enters the 2010 season needing only 18 victories to become the franchise leader in wins. Though never the ace of the pitching staff, Wakefield has been a solid contributor for much of his 15 year tenure in Boston.

Tim Wakefield played with Mike Greenwell

Tim Wakefield’s first start with the Boston Red Sox was the beginning of a single season stretch of dominance that he hasn’t duplicated in any season since, except perhaps during the first half of the 2009 season.  In his first 17 starts as a Red Sox, the team won 15 games and 10 straight. Wakefield threw 6 complete games, including a 10 inning 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners and a shutout of Minnesota Twins. In the first start of Wakefield’s Red Sox career, the lineup included veteran outfielder Mike Greenwell.  Though they played together for just two seasons, Mike Greenwell rounded out his decade with the same team at the end of the 1996 season, and retired soon after signing a deal to play in Japan for the 1997 season.

Greenwell’s first major league hit was a home run that came in a 13 inning walk-off blast that gave the Red Sox a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.  It was just his 7th at bat, and earned him just his second start ever the following day. In his third at bat of the day, Greenwell cranked his second career hit over the wall, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in an eventual 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays. It’s possible Red Sox skipper John McNamara was trying to catch lightning in a bottle for the third time when Greenwell started the first game of a series against the Detroit Tigers. Alas, Greenwell went 0 for 3 and started just 3 games the rest of the way. However, it’s worth mentioning that his career finished with a high note similar to the way it began. On September 2nd, 1996 Greenwell scored all of Boston’s runs in a 9-8 victory over the Seattle Mariners.  He had 2 home runs, but came a triple short of hitting for the cycle.

Mike Greenwell played with Dwight Evans

The day Greenwell launched his first career home run would not have been possible had long time right fielder Dwight Evans not hit his 262nd career home run in the 8th inning to tie up the score. Greenwell’s emergence on the scene in 1985 did not pose a threat to Evans, and at the time probably not even then-right fielder Jim Rice. However, within 3 seasons, Greenwell was the everyday left fielder. Within four seasons, Jim Rice was out of baseball. An amazing aspect of the Greenwell-Rice transition is Dwight Evans. Arguably one of the best players not in the Hall of Fame, Evans was the everyday right fielder before, during, and after Jim Rice’s tenure as the everyday left fielder for the Sox. It wasn’t until the 1990 season that Dewey saw most of his playing time as the designated hitter. His Hall of Fame status is likely a discussion for another day!

Dwight Evans played with Carl Yastrzemski

Dewey’s long career started in 1972 with a late September callup. Over the next decade playing together, Dwight Evans and Carl Yastrzemski combined to slug almost 400 home runs. The first time the two players homered in the same game came on April 14th, 1974 against the Detroit Tigers.  Juan Marichal, in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, started for Boston and struggled through 3.1 innings of work. Luckily for the Red Sox, the Tigers’ starter also faltered.  Evans’ home run in the first and Yaz’s homer in the 3rd proved to be the difference in an eventual 7-5 Red Sox win.

Yastrzemski spent his entire 23 year career with the Red Sox, and faced immense pressure even in his rookie season. It’s easy to understand why, as the future Hall of Famer was replacing the legendary Ted Williams in left field.  There was another player who faced pressure and played alongside both Yaz and Teddy Ballgame. Of course, the pressure on this player was of a different, culturally important variety.

Carl Yastrzemski played with Pumpsie Green

Pumpsie Green’s best season in his brief 5 year career was during Yaz’s rookie season, when he hit .260 with 6 home runs. Though they never homered in the same game, Green and Yaz combined to be an offensive force several times throughout the 1961 season.

Pumpsie Green played with Ted Williams

Pumpsie Green’s major league debut on July 21st, 1959 marked an end to Boston’s title as the lone team that had yet to integrate their roster, an incredible 12 seasons after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. While Green played primarily in a backup role, one of his 12 career home runs as a member of the Red Sox was in a game against the New York Yankees that Ted Williams also homered. Green’s 1st inning homer on September 6th, 1960 and Ted Williams 2 run bomb in the 5th accounted for three runs in an eventual 7-1 victory over the Yanks.

It’s fitting that Pumpsie Green connects the current Red Sox to the greatest hitter is Red Sox history, because Williams famously called for recognition of Negro League players during his Hall of Fame induction speech.  His support for players such a Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson played a major role in the eventual induction of these players and more in the ensuing years.

Bonus, Michael Bowden to the 1927 New York Yankees:  Ted Williams played with Cedric Durst

The Red Sox signed Ted Williams in 1936 and sent him to play for the Double-A affiliate San Diego Padres. Williams played alongside many future MLB players including Vince DiMaggio and longtime friend Bobby Doerr. By 1936, Cedric Durst was 6 years removed from his most reason season at the MLB level. He helped Ted Williams at the Padres to their 1937 Pacific League Championship. At the Major League level, Durst was a member of the ‘Murderer’s Row’ New York Yankees championship team of 1927.

Bonus Bonus, Michael Bowden to the 1918 Boston Red Sox: Cedric Durst played with Jack Stansbury

In 1921, Cedric Durst hit .274 as an outfielder with the unaffiliated Beaumont Exporters. The Exporters had several future and past MLB players, including Jack Stansbury.  Stansbury was 3 years removed from his last MLB at bat when he played with the Exporters.  The interesting point here is that Jack Stansbury’s only major league time took place while with the 1918 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. Between June and the end of July, Stansbury hit .128 over 20 games with the team that would not make another World Series appearance until Ted Williams’ 7th season at the major league level.

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I hate to say it, but I don’t like this trade. It was very frustrating to me that on the day the Phillies got arguably the best pitcher in baseball, I couldn’t be excited about it because they traded away a top ten pitcher in the league. Cliff Lee did everything the Phillies asked him to do and then some. He had an unbelievable postseason run, and he was rewarded by being shipped off to Seattle. Don’t get me wrong. I like the Halladay move a lot. As a Phillies fan and follower of the team for many years, I have coveted Halladay for about six years now, so I cannot be upset with the Phillies for acquiring him. However, I do not understand why the Phillies had to trade Cliff Lee too. I mean, I do understand somewhat, but I disagree with the Phillies logic that they could not afford the extra nine million dollars because according to Team President David Montgomery they would be “operating in the red” if they were to take on Lee’s salary, and they were determined to stay at their $140 million dollar budget for the 2010 season.

If you have a chance to have Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee at the top of your rotation, you should not pass up on that opportunity. Even more so, if Cole Hamels comes back strong, you would most likely have the best 1-2-3 punch in all of baseball, and you would be deemed the favorites to win the World Series by Las Vegas. I understand that the Phillies claim this was a baseball move because they wanted to replenish their farm system, but the way I see it, this was strictly a money decision. I want to go one step further and say that not only was this a bad move now, but they made a mistake at the trade deadline in 2009. I am not saying this in retrospect. In fact, I wrote an article toward the end of July right here on baseballdigest.com that once the Phillies went out and acquired Cliff Lee, (in what may go down as one of the best trades in baseball history), why not go out and get Roy Halladay too?

This way you would have both of these aces for a one and a half year period, along with the rest of the core of their team, and you could have gone down as one of the best dynasties in history. The Phillies could have potentially won the World Series three straight years, and if they did that, who cares about sacrificing the future? The Phillies have a small window when all these players will be in tact, and they may miss out on their opportunity to win even one more World Series. It seems that the Phillies would rather be in the postseason eight out of ten years, be competitive, maybe win the World Series twice in that span, including the one they already have, than they would be content winning three straight World Series and only being in the postseason in five of those ten years. I disagree with this philosophy 100 percent, and I’m curious to hear what you fans out there have to say about that. Having bashed the Phillies for this move, overall I do like the Halladay move. I don’t like losing Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor because I think both of them could end up being All Star caliber players, but if you had to give them up to get the best pitcher in baseball, I am okay with it. I simply wish they didn’t have to give up one of the best lefthanders in the game in the process too. Stay tuned for more “Getting to Know Your Phillies” pieces and everything Phils in the 2009-2010 offseason.

Looking at the American League, it happened a little more frequently that a team beat another team in back-to-back years. However, the difference is, unlike the NL, not all of the series were won in the same amount of games. Here are the years, followed by the teams, and then the games: 2000-2001-New York Yankees over the Seattle Mariners, 4-2, 4-1. 1976-78, (only time in history three years in a row), Yankees over the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1. By the way, the Yankees also won the World Series over the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978 by a margin of 4-2, 4-2. 1973-74-Oakland Athletics over the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, 3-1. And, finally, 1969-1970, (the first two years there was a championship series), the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-0, 3-0. Since I didn’t have a chance to personally witness all the World Series of the 70’s and early 80’s, it’s always fun to go back and take a look at history.

By the way, I believe in my LCS predictions I had the Phillies over the Dodgers in six games, (I guess I gave the Dodgers too much credit), and the Yankees over the Angles in six games, which I was dead on…not to toot my own horn or anything. Stay on the lookout for a full World Series Preview of the Phillies and Yankees, and until then, feel free to make any comments on this story or anything else.

The Phillies have built their success on developing players and acquiring the right talent that meshes well with their team. Since 2001, the Phillies have had just one losing season, which happened in 2002 when the team went 80-81. Since then, they have won at least 86 games each season. In 2008 and again this year the Phillies won 90+ games. Their lineup is littered with homegrown talent and key free agent pickups;

Their catcher, Carlos Ruiz, was signed as a free agent in 1998 and spent 7 years in the minor leagues before breaking into the everyday lineup.

Ryan Howard, the hulking first baseman, was drafted in the 5th round in 2001 and has since won the 2005 Rookie of the Year award, the 2006 MVP award and most recently the 2009 NLCS MVP award.

Second baseman Chase Utley was drafted in the first round of the 2000 draft and established himself as an everyday player and perennial All-Star by2006.

Jimmy Rollins was drafted by the Phillies in the second round in 1996 and made his mark in his first full season in 2001 when he swiped 46 bases, was made an All-Star and challenged Albert Pujols and Roy Oswalt for Rookie of The Year honors. Rollins won the NL MVP award in 2007 along with his first of 2 Gold Glove awards.

The Phillies leftfielder, Raul Ibanez, spent much of his career with the Seattle Mariners and was 2 years removed from his 30+ HR seasons when the Phillies signed him as a free agent before the 2009 season. He responded to switching leagues for the first time by cranking a career high 34 home runs.

Speedy centerfielder Shane Victorino was twice left exposed during the Rule 5 draft, to the benefit of the Phillies. First drafted by the Padres from the Dodgers in the 2002 Rule 5 draft, he was returned to the Dodgers in May of 2003. Victorino was again left exposed during the 2004 draft and the Phillies picked up their centerfielder who has been an All-Star and Gold Glove winner while swiping over 100 bases for the team in 5 seasons.

Phillies rightfielder Jayson Werth was traded twice before the age of 28 when he became a free agent. The Phillies signed him, and he had a breakout year in 2008 with 24 home runs to go along with 20 stolen bases, with an equally impressive 2009 campaign with 36 home runs and 20 stolen bases that earned him his first All-Star appearance.

Even the Phillies pitching is in part a result of drafting choices.

Cole Hamels was drafted by the Phillies in the 1st round of the 2002 draft, establishing himself in the rotation by 2007 when he led the team in wins, ERA and ERA+.

J.A. Happ was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2004 draft,  and had two brief stints with the big league club in 2007 and 2008. This season he emerged as a solid compliment to Cole Hamels in the rotation.

The mid-season acquisition of Cliff Lee helped provide the Phillies with a formidable 1-2-3 punch down the stretch. In 12 regular season starts Lee went 7-3, with 3 complete games including a shutout against the Washington Nationals in September.

At the All-Star break, future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez was still sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a call to pitch in the 2009 season. On August 12th, Pedro made his first start with the Phillies, a good effort 5 innings of work versus the Chicago Cubs. In 9 starts, he went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA. In his one postseason start this season, he held the Dodgers to 2 hits in 7 shutout innings.

The Reds of the 70′s had Johnny Bench,  Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, and Ken Griffey to go along with Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, and Don Gullet as they ran the table in 1975 and 1976. The Phillies collection of Utley, Howard, Rollins, Werth, and Ibanez to go along with Hamels, Lee, Happ, and Martinez may very well be the first team to give the National League back-to-back World Series champions since the Big Red Machine.

As the Phillies prepare to face either the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or the New York Yankees, they may want to look to Pete Rose from the Big Red Machine and member of the 1980 World Champion Phillies for quotable motivation.

“Somebody’s gotta win and somebody’s gotta lose and I believe in letting the other guy lose.”  -  Pete Rose

A long-running major award that has traditionally received less acclaim nationally is the Hutch Award, given annually to the major league player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of renowned baseball player and manager Fred (“Hutch”) Hutchinson.  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center — which was named in Hutch’s honor by his brother Dr. Bill Hutchinson, a surgeon, after Fred succumbed to cancer at age 45 — is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the understanding, treatment and prevention of cancer and related diseases.

Ten Major League Baseball players, including two foreign-born stars, Albert Pujols and Justin Morneau, have been named finalists for the 2009 Award.  A national committee has released the list, with the winner to visit Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in January. The finalists for the 45th annual Hutch Award are:

• Jonny Gomes, Cincinnati Reds
• Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves
• Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Mark Lowe, Seattle Mariners
• Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox
• Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
• Kevin Millwood, Texas Rangers
• Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
• Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
• Mark Teahen, Kansas City Royals

This year’s Hutch Award recipient will be selected in November through a vote of all surviving former awardees. A total of 44 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award.  Eleven Hall-of-Famers, including Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock, all have received the Hutch Award, and in more recent years Jamie Moyer, Trevor Hoffman, Craig Biggio, Mark Loretta, Mike Sweeney and Jon Lester, the 2008 winner, have joined their ranks.

Only one internationally-born player has won the award, Venezuela’s Omar Vizquel in 1996.

Since 1992, when the Award moved to Seattle for presentation, Major League teams have been asked to submit nominations for the Award.  In addition to MLB team nominations, an informed committee comprised of the current winner, sports media personnel, Hutchinson family members, and Hutch Award Planning Committee members nominate players each year.  The nominations are then screened by Hutchinson Center staff to verify adherence to the Award criteria.

Click here for the full list of Hutch Award winners.

The award is presented each January in Seattle, Hutch’s hometown and the site of the renowned cancer center that bears his name. The Hutch Award will be presented at a fundraising luncheon honoring the awardee on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 at Safeco Field in Seattle.

Hutchinson was 95-71 in a 10-year major league career, all with the Detroit Tigers.  He went on to manage three teams over 12 years, winning 830 games and copping the pennant with the 1961 Reds.