MLB Trades that Happen Today!

      Baseball Fan Gabe McBrayer presents today's list of MLB trades that happen today July 31, 2010

Arizona acquired OF Ryan Church, INF Bobby Crosby and RHP D.J. Carrasco from Pittsburgh for C Chris Snyder, INF Pedro Ciriaco and cash considerations.

Orioles traded LHP Will Ohman to Florida for RHP Rick VandenHurk. Optioned VandenHurk to Norfolk (IL). Recalled 3B Josh Bell from Norfolk.

Boston traded RHP Ramon Ramirez to San Francisco for RHP Daniel Turpen

Cubs acquired INF Blake DeWitt, RHP Kyle Smit and RHP Brett Wallach from the Los Angeles Dodgers for LHP Ted Lilly, INF Ryan Theriot and a cash consideration.
Detroit traded OF Wilkin Ramirez to Atlanta for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Royals acquired LHP Tim Collins, RHP Jesse Chavez and OF Gregor Blanco from Atlanta for OF Rick Ankiel, RHP Kyle Farnsworth and cash.

Dodgers acquired RHP Octavio Dotel from Pittsburgh for RHP James McDonald and OF Andrew Lambo.

Yankees acquired 1B Lance Berkman and cash considerations from Houston for RHP Mark Melancon and INF Jimmy Paredes. Acquired RHP Kerry Wood and cash from Cleveland for a player to be named or cash.

Pirates acquired RHP Joseph Martinez and OF John Bowker from San Francisco for LHP Javier Lopez.

Tampa Bay acquired RHP Chad Qualls from Arizona for a player to be named.

Rangers acquired RHP Roman Mendez, 1B Chris McGuiness, a player to be named and cash considerations from Boston for C Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Nationals acquired RHP Ryan Tatusko and RHP Tanner Roark from Texas for INF Cristian Guzman and assigned them to Harrisburg (EL).

Indians traded RHP Jake Westbrook and cash to St. Louis for San Diego RHP Corey Kluber. St. Louis sent OF Ryan Ludwick to San Diego for LHP Nick Greenwood.

But I ain't dead yet!

Oh my goodness, where to begin oh where to begin. I kind of let this blog go for a little while because work had me running everywhere and the umpiring little league games gig is now officially finished for the season. I think next year I will take a break from it and look at some other options. I love being an umpire and while it does make life interesting, it also sucks calling my son out at times especially when he makes a big mistake and then just stands there and looks pissed at me for calling him out. But usually by the end of the inning he's asking me what I thought of the plays he made.........sigh. Nothing like going from the good guy to the bad guy back to the dad and then to the bad guy when things don't go his way. My son loves me and that's all that matters.....but the boy was OUT! LOL!

I have kept tabs on a few things that have been happening in the hobby and it seems like Beckett is receiving the ol' loaded boxes again. Pretty sad to see that happening and yet nothing is being done about it. Topps has to fall and fall hard! Gellman had a great article that kind of sums it up! Rob over at Voice of the Collector touches on the subject as well.

Hey did you know that in the 2010 factory sets of Topps Baseball it includes Stephen Strasburg? I saw that in the State College Target store yesterday. Ya know it's funny.....he went on the DL already. Can anybody say, "MARK PRIOR"? And speaking of BIG NAMES falling fast.....anybody hear from Joba Chamberlain lately? And don't even get me started on all of the trades that have been happening in the past 24 hrs. My goodness you need a road map. Kerry Wood and Lance Berkman as YANKEES? UGGGGHHHHH!!! DeWitt went to the Cubs. Chris Snyder went to Pittsburgh. Rick Ankiel went to the Royals. Matt Capps went to the twins. Heck the Baltimore Orioles hired Buck Showalter as a manager.......NO ONE IS SAFE!!! And of course let's not forget Roy Oswalt going to the Phillies. All of these transactions have led to some setbacks for other players though. A bunch of semi stars have been demoted or released. Some have been promoted like Dominic Brown, Logan Morrison, and Brett Wallace. Who knows what will happen at 11:59 on July 31, 2010. WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT THE METS HAVE NOT DONE A DAMN THING!

From the mouths of kids:

My son asked me a question about a game used pants card of Adam Lind that I acquired: "Dad, This piece of pants is not from his butt where he farted on them is it?" I suddenly stopped touching the piece of game pants card and tried to come up with an answer but I failed. He might have a point!

Giants Add 2 Relievers Before Deadline

The Giants stayed relatively quiet on Saturday as the non-waiver trade deadline came and passed. They did pull the trigger on two small moves in order to bolster their bullpen, adding lefty Javier Lopez from Pittsburgh and righty Ramon Ramierez from the Red Sox.

The Giants and Brian Sabean apparently re-visited the most logical trade options for the team in the hours leading up to the deadline, including re-starting the Corey Hart talks with Millwaukee and they even were in talks regarding a potential 3-way deal involving the D-Backs and Blue Jays that included names Kelly Johnson, Jose Bautista, Jason Frasier and Scott Downs. However, in the end, they came to the realization that there just weren't any deals that made enough sense for them to pull the trigger on. Every team wanted either Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner, and Brian Sabean wisely kept the team's strength in-tact. Still though, I think he gave up a tad too much in order to get Javier Lopez in here. I like Lopez and believe he'll help this bullpen a lot, but the Giants had to give up Joe Martinez and Jon Bowker. Now, neither of those guys have significant roles with the Giants, so they won't be missed immediately, but both of those guys will end up starting in Pittsburgh. Basically, the Pirates just traded a middle reliever, for a 27 year-old starting pitcher who will go right into their rotation, and a 27 year-old outfielder who should hit 20 hr's per year with a full playing load, to come in and start in right field for them. I'd say the Pirates got the better in this deal in the long-term, although Lopez could provide a Jeremy Affeldt (2009 version) type upgrade to this bullpen if he comes in strong.

I don't quite understand the Ramon Ramirez deal as much as the Lopez trade. The Giants desperately needed another lefty so Lopez was a necessity (Bochy was relegated to using Jonathan Sanchez to get an out in Friday nights game due to no other left-handed options), but Ramirez wasn't exactly dominating in Boston (4.46 era, 1.30 WHIP) and doesn't really appear to be an upgrade over the rest of the right-handers the Giants have in the pen right now. What Sabean is hoping for, is that Ramirez will revert back to his pre-2010 form, when he sported a 2.74 era and a .226 BAA and nearly a K per inning in 140 innings between '08-'09. It's going to be interesting to see what the Giants to in order to make room for Ramirez on the 25-man. Obviously, Lopez will slide into Joe Martinez's spot, but it's not clear on what will happen in order to clear room for Ramirez. If I had to guess, I'd say he replaces Santiago Casilla or Guillermo Mota. Neither has been particularly effective of late, in fact, all the right-handers in the Giants' bully have been hit around a bit lately. The Giants gave up minor league releiver Daniel Turpen, who has had a strong 2010 season in AA.

So, although they still could make a deal before the August 31'st waiver deadline, it appears as if the Giants are content with standing pat, sitting just 2.5 games out of first place in the West and atop the NL Wild Card standings. Somewhat lost in all the trade deadline speculation and rumors, the Giants have also had a few interesting things happen already in the series with LA. Tim Lincecum debuted a new delivery on Friday night, and it resulted in 7 strong innings, 9 strikeouts and his 11th win of the season. Lincecum was backed by Aubrey Huff's 20th jack and Juan Uribe's 15th longball of the year. Aubrey Huff continues to look like the best valued free-agent signing of last offseason, now hitting .313 with 65 RBI and a .959 OPS to go along with his 20 homers, and I really wish Sabean would extend his contract another year already. I'm fairly confident that he's going to become the first left-handed hitting Giant, not named Barry Bonds, to have 30-home run season since the team moved into AT&T Park. He's not discouraged by hitting in this park, and it's tough to find hitters, especially of the left-handed variety, that you can say that about. Only question is whether or not Huff would have interest in coming back. He's having a great year, but he may think that if he were playing in a more hitter friendly yard, he'd be putting up even better numbers. Not to mention, after his big season, he's going to get some lucrative multi-year offers from other clubs.

Cardinals Pull off Three Way Deal

The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and also sent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres.The three-team trade involving a pair of division leaders was announced Saturday.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals got Westbrook and cash. They also got minor league pitcher Nick Greenwood from San Diego.
The NL West-leading Padres acquired Ludwick. The Indians got Double-A right-hander Corey Kluber from San Diego.

Cards pick up Mike MacDougal

. Cardinals purchased the contract of RHP Mike MacDougal from Triple-A Memphis.

MacDougal was signed to a minor league contract by the Cards earlier this month after opting out of his deal with the Nationals. The 33-year-old right-hander compiled a 3.86 ERA over eight relief appearances with the Redbirds. He had a 3.60 ERA, 20 saves and a 31/31 K/BB ratio over 50 innings as the primary closer for the Nats last season. Don't look for him to steal Ryan Franklin's job.

Source: Rotoworld

Giants Have Options as Deadline Nears

The Giants continued their 2nd half magic Wednesday with another extra-inning victory over the Florida Marlins in a wild one, 10-9. And with the way the team has been thriving right now, it must have Brian Sabean in a tough spot, with the trade deadline looming (72 hours and counting), as he decides whether to add or stand pat.

When I saw the headline the other day from MLB Rumors that said the Giants were interested in Scott Podsednik, I was at first surprised, but then I remembered, this is Brian Sabean after all, and when he sets his sights on a player (the Giants have had interest in Podsednik more than once in the past too) he never gives up. What does surprise me, and upsets me to a degree is that he's spending his time focusing on adding a leadoff guy, while Andres Torres (4-6, 1 hr, 3 RBI Wednesday) does all he can to prove himself. I mean, I'm not totally sold on Torres as the future leadoff man for the Giants, but right now, I'd say he's doing an admirable job, and if the Giants are going to add a bat, it should be one that they'd hit in the middle of the order, not at the top. The popular name floating around right now is Jorge Cantu, who's having a less-than stellar .260, 10 HR, 54 RBI campaign with Florida. If that is indeed a target, I'd just assume stand pat. I'd rather give Travis Ishikawa at-bats right now than Cantu to tell you the truth. If they are going to make a move, a few realistic names I'd like Sabean to look at would be another Marlin by the name of Dan Uggla, Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones, Adam Dunn, Lance Berkman or Corey Hart, but only if the price is reasonable. I don't really see the Giants having enough or wanting to part with enough to get Prince Fielder, but that rumor just refuses to go away.

An area which the team also needs help at, and an area that has been hurting recently is the bullpen. They've given up 6 runs in this Marlins series alone and all have been crucial runs. I'm not worried about Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo or Denny Bautista, but the rest are expendable if you ask me. What they really need is another lefty, or Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler to each return strong here in the next week or so. Even when Affeldt and Runzler back, this bullpen could use a shot in the arm and some reinforcement. A few guys Sabean has apparently been looking at are Scott Downs and former Giants' top-pick David Aardsma. Relief pitchers are one of the easiest positions to come by this time of year, I just hope the Giants can get a quality one and either of those two guys would fit the bill. As far as guys I'd be stingy with when it comes to trading chips, I came up with a list of 12 Giants' prospects that I'd be extremely cautious with and would only use to obtain a player for the long-term. Here are the names I came up with: OF Thomas Neal, 1B Brandon Belt, OF Francisco Peguero, 2B Charlie Culberson, SS Ehire Adrianza, SP Zach Wheeler, SS Brandon Crawford, OF Roger Kieschnick, c/1B Tommy Joseph, 3B Chris Dominguez, SP Eric Surkamp and SP Jorge Bucardo. Everyone else in the minors in my mind is expendable and a few guys that I think could draw at least some interest are OF Jon Bowker, IF Connor Gillespie, RP Henry Sosa, SS Emmanuel Burris OF Darren Ford, SP Craig Westcott, SP Joe Martinez, RP Jason Stoffel. Of those "expendable" guys, I actually believe Bowker, Stoffel and Burris may have somewhat of a market, and the other guys could be decent deal-sweeteners. Even Jesus Guzman could have some appeal to an AL team desperate for right-handed power off the bench/DH.

The one thing different for Sabean this time around is that he does leverage, this year more so than any in the last 7 years, in that he doesn't really "need" to make a move for the Giants to stay in contention, and other teams can't really hold a gun to his head in negotiations this time around. Should be interesting to see what goes down, I'll certainly be watching closely.

Trade Winds Blowing through St.Louis

This morning Ken Rosenthal reported that the Cardinals are no longer intrested in trading for Oswalt. With this in mind other names have been mentioned in recent days that are on the Cardinals radar. Among the names are Jake Westbrook, Dave Bush and Livan Hernandez.

It is just now reported in Rosenthals tweets this afternoon that the Cardinals do have intrest in Miguel Tejada.

Last winter the Cards did show intrest in him. I wouldn't mind if the Cards pick up Tejada for the right price.

Miguel Tejada

Stan Musial Appears on Sports Illustrated Cover

St. Louis’ own Stan Musial appears on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated. The theme of the issue is “Where Are They Now?” Interestingly, though this will be the seventh time Musial has appeared on an SI cover, it is the first time he has not shared it with another player.

The Musial profile is written by Joe Posnanski, and according to a release by Sports Illustrated, “praises Musial for his quiet brilliance and boundless good will—a model of grace for the game that is seen and appreciated less and less often.”

Posnanski writes in the article, “A few years back, when Major League Baseball held a fan vote to name its All-Century Team, a special committee had to add Musial because the fans did not vote him as one of the 10 best outfielders ever. Ten! Only (Hank) Aaron had more total bases. Only Tris Speaker and Pete Rose hit more doubles. Using Bill James’s famous formula, only Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds created more runs. Still, Musial did not get America’s vote. He is not forgotten, not exactly. It is more this: For most of the nation, Stan the Man is a name that has faded into the great American past like singers wearing Tuxedos, John Wayne movies and kids shooting marbles.”

Musial will turn 90 in November.

The Musial issue of Sports Illustrated hits the newstands tomorrow.

by Roger Hensley

Who is John Jay?

A natural outfielder from Miami, Florida John Jay played football and baseball for Columbus High School in Miami, Florida.

He was a three-time All-American and a First Team-All Atlantic Coast Conference selection...was on the 2005 National USA baseball team...resides in Miami where he enjoys fishing and boating.

Jon Jay was the Cardinals second round pick (74th overall) of the June 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Miami.

Jay was rated as the fifth best prospect by Baseball America who had this to say, “Jay has an unorthodox approach but consistently shows the ability to hit pitches in all parts of the zone. His game is built around hitting line drives and making the most of his solid-average speed. While he doesn’t have a standout tool, he is pretty solid across the board.

The only thing that stands in John Jays way is Colby Rasmus. Colby has better tools and is now a starting ourfielder for the Cards. I give John Jay some time before he is at his top peak as an starting outfielder. If the Cards do trade Ludwick during the 2010 offseason I wouldn't be surprise if they give Jay the starting job at rightfield.

With Oswalt no longer a possibility due to the Astos reluctance on trading him to the Cardinals. The Cards GM John Mozeliak is now turning his attetnion to Kelly Johnson according to Rick Hummel this morning on KFNS. The Oswalt deal is so out of reach due to the Astros asking so much in return. Johnson would be a better fit for the Cardinals since we need another bat in the line up. With the poor fielding with Schumacher and Ryan, Johnson will be a great consistent second basemen. Arizona is looking to unload Johnson by the end of this week. Kelly carries a left handed bat and also plays left field. He currently has only six errors as a second baseman. Schumacher has 13 errors at 2B, if we can trade for him this would be a great upside.

San Francisco Giants: Hottest Team in Baseball?

The second half of the Major League Baseball season is barely 2 weeks old, but since it started, there hasn't been a team hotter than the Giants in all of baseball.

Since the 3 day break, the Giants have gone 9-2, and lost those 2 games by a combined total of 3 runs. It's been the two rookies that have grabbed most of the headlines over the last two weeks, with Buster Posey extending his hitting streak to 18 games on Sunday, and Madison Bumgarner getting stronger with each outing at the big league level. Over that 18 game hitting streak, Posey's hitting .467 with 7 home run and 23 RBI and a 1.300 OPS. Talk about video game numbers! I don't really like making comparisons unless I really see something in a player, but I can't help but be reminded of a right-handed Joe Mauer with even a little more power, when looking at Posey. If Posey can somehow manage to get to the minimum plate appearance number in order to contend for the batting tittle, I'd put my money on him winning it. He's currently sitting at .371 with 178 at-bats and chances are that he will reach that minimum of 450 plate appearances (not sure on exact number needed) that he'd need in order to be eligible for the batting title. I'll tell you this much, he's the hottest hitter on one of the hottest teams in baseball and it's no surprise the Giants are 14-4 over that span. If he doesn't win Rookie of the Month for July, it would be a crime.

The other prominent Giants' rookie to really step up and claim his spot on the 25-man roster for good is Madison Bumgarner. The 20 year-old power lefty was a little bit of an afterthought in Giants fans minds after a sub-par spring and a slow start in the minor leagues, but he's come on strong and is throwing as well now than at any point in his professional career. MadBum won his 4th consecutive start on Saturday, shutting down the Diamondbacks in Arizona with 7 strong innings that included 7 strikeouts. The Giants have to be pleased with the way Bumgarner has responded after taking a couple of tough luck losses in his first 2 starts of the season. A lot of 20-year old's would have lost their confidence and probably let the situation get worse, then ultimately find themselves back in the minor leagues. Instead, Bumgarner stayed focused and positive and all the sudden he's 4-2 a month later. The success of Bumgarner cannot be overlooked, as it really has rounded out, or completed the Giants rotation. For years now the Giants have kept a 5th starter that was basically keeping the seat warm for Bumgarner, and finally, the Giants rotation is flying at full-force, and it's showing. Even with Buster Posey's emergence, and the solid output from Aubrey Huff, without Sandoval and Rowand hitting, the Giants lineup will not be a strength, so for them to be 13 games over .500 at this point is truly a tribute to their pitching staff.

Walking Wounded: The Giants did lose a couple of players to the 15-day DL this weekend. Eugenio Velez took a Pat Burrell line drive off the face in the dugout and even though he ended up OK considered what happened, the Giants will still shelve him for 2 weeks. He's being replaced by Ryan Rohlinger. Joe Martinez also was recalled a few days ago to replace Jeremy Affeldt who has a strained oblique and will miss 2 weeks as well.

Whitey Herzog's Number 24 is Officially Retired

Congrats to the White Rat to make it to the Hall of Fame. I am also happy to report that the Cardinals have also retired his jersey number 24.

The announcement was made today by Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. at a party for Herzog in Cooperstown.

The official ceremony will be next Saturday night at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals' play the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Whitey's number 24 is now the 11th number to be retired by the Cardinals

Asros and Cardinals are in Talks

Ken Rosenthal from FOX SPORTS is reporting the Cards have contacted the Astros and are in trade talks for Roy Oswalt at this moment. There are some banter in regards to the financial part of this trade and who the Astros want in return. The Cardinals are dangling Shelby Miller at this time to lure the Astros into a deal. Hopefully if the Cardinals are able to meet Oswalts and the Astros conditions then the deal will be met.

According to Rosenthal these are the criteria that needs to be met with the Astros and Oswalt:

1. The new team will be wealthy enough to assume all the money left on Oswalt’s contract — and pick up the 2012 option.

2. The new team will be prospect-rich and surrender multiple high-end players.

3. The new team will not be in the National League Central.

4. The new team will be within a reasonable distance of Oswalt’s Mississippi home, theoretically ensuring his personal contentment.

Cardinals In Play for Oswalt?

Earlier today Jayson Stark of ESPN reported that Roy Oswalt would okay a trade to any team under one condition, to pick up his $16million option for the 2012 season. Well the Phillies didn't like the idea of picking up his $16Mil option. Both sides are shut down for now. Guess who has entered into the picture, the Cardinals. At 10:30pm Craig Calcaterra with NBC Sports has reported that the Cardinals are now the front runners for Roy Oswalt. This is what Calcaterra wrote:  


A major league source tells me that, contrary to what we've all been hearing for the past several days, the Phillies are not the front runners for Roy Oswalt.  The St. Louis Cardinals are.

In fact, the Astros have been talking with Cardinals GM John Mozeliak for several days now, and Oswalt is quite amenable to go to St. Louis if the teams can agree on what players will head back to Houston.  For their part, the Cardinals are convinced that matching Roy Oswalt up with Dave Duncan would take a guy who is already an ace and turn him back into the Cy Young candidate he was a few years ago. I'll stop believing stuff like that when Dave Duncan actually fails for once. Which I wouldn't bet on, frankly.

Of course, the big issue everyone has been talking about today has been Oswalt's desire that his 2012 option be picked up.  That's $16 million, and that ain't hay.  My source tells me, however, that Oswalt would be willing to work with the Cardinals to make the option more palatable, possibly in terms of deferring some money.  The sides aren't quite that far yet.

As for that option: my and everyone else's sense on this as the news spread about it today was that wanting the option exercised would effectively scuttle any deal. If Oswalt is willing to be flexible on it, however, it wouldn't be daunting.  And let's not forget: Oswalt bargained hard for a no-trade clause, and one of the things he gave up to get the security that he'd stay in Houston was a guaranteed pay check in 2012. If he's going to lose in-season home he's come to love in Houston, it's not unreasonable to expect that someone is going to have to pay for it. 

So that's the state of play: the Cardinals are hot for Oswalt, and Oswalt likes the idea.  Now let's sit back and see if these kids can work something out.

Here's my take:

If the Cardinals can land Oswalt what a strong rotation we will have for the rest of the season. Carpenter-Wainwright-Garcia-Oswalt-Hawksworth/Lohse. Love to have Oswalt here with us. I know Bill DeWitt had said before if there is an opportunity to make this team stronger there would be money av available to get that player. So lets get it done.

Cardinals Linked to Haren and Westbrook

Dan Haren

For some time now Dan Haren has been on and off in the trade rumors with the Cardinals, Yankees, Twins, Tigers, Nationals and Phillies. As of late Ed Price of the FANHOUSE reported that the Cardinals are believed to trying to get Dan Haren and Jake Westbrook. I believe the Cardinals have the edge on trading to get Haren. It was reported some time ago that Haren would love to come back to the Cardinals. It would probably take the likes of Lance Lynn, Allen Craig and maybe Eduardo Sanchez to land Haren. The Cards does have Shelby Miller as a hands off trade chip. So it may take some minor leaguers to land Haren.

Lou Piniella retires as Cubs Manager

 Lou Piniella removed lingering questions about his future as manager of the slumping Chicago Cubs by announcing on Tuesday he would retire after this season.

The Cubs, with a 42-52 record, are fourth in the National League Central Division, 10-1/2 games behind leaders St. Louis.

"I couldn't be more appreciative of the Cubs organization for providing me the opportunity to manage this ball club," the 66-year-old Piniella said in a statement.

"I've had four wonderful years here that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

"I've grown to love the city and the fans but at my age it will be time to enter a new phase in my life.

"It will enable me to spend more valuable time with my family," he added.

Here are some of the top names and their chances of managing the 2011 Cubs:

Ryne Sandberg
Joe Torre
Bob Brenly
Alan Trammell
Bobby Valentine

Giants Take 3 of 4 From Mets

The Giants offense really started to pick up early in July up until the all-star break, and it looks like they've picked right up where they left off. They started off the 2nd half of the season by taking 3 of 4 from the Mets and like always, got tremendous starting pitching in the process.

Timmy Lincecum started the 2nd half with a complete game shutout on Thursday night, allowing just 6 hits while striking out 5 batters and needing just 110 pitches to get through one of the better lineups in the NL. Lincecum was followed by an even stronger performance by Barry Zito, who allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10 in 8 strong innings to earn his 8th victory of the year. It was a big start for Zito who had hit a rough patch over the last month, and only won 1 game after May 16th. Matt Cain continued to add to the Mets offensive frustration Saturday with 7 strong innings, allowing just 3 hits and 2 runs. The Mets did touch up the Giants bullpen for 2 runs after Cain departed, but Andres Torres, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval provided all the offense the Giants would need. Torres and Posey each hit their 8th home run of the season and Sandoval had just his 2nd 3-RBI day of the year and first 3-hit day since May 31st. The Mets were able to salvage the fourth game of the series Sunday, although Jonathan Sanchez continued the trend of dominant starting pitching. Sanchez went 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately, the Mets got to Chris Ray and Brian Wilson for a run apiece which ultimately cost the Giants the game and the sweep.

What was a little surprising to me was that Bruce Bochy didn't give Travis Ishikawa some more at bats in the Mets series. Ishi was arguably the hottest Giants' hitter going into the break, and got just 1 start in the 4-game set. He did get the call to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth inning of Sunday's game with the tying runs in scoring position, and he delivered a game-tying single off of ace closer Francisco Rodriguez which pushed the game into extra innings. Right now, Ishikawa is as hot as any Giant not named Buster Posey or Aubrey Huff, and I think he needs to be given a steady 2 weeks worth of at-bats to see if this hot streak of his is real or not. If it means that Torres, Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell need to rotate in the 2 outfield spots next to Aubrey Huff in order to get Ishi into the lineup more, then so be it. Another positive in giving Ishikawa playing time right now is that he could be showcased as possible trade bait. The July 31st trade deadline is less than 2 weeks away and with the Giants right in the thick of the playoff race, and knowing that they haven't reached the postseason since 2003, something tells me they're going to be active. They may not make an earth shattering addition, but I do think they're going to attempt to upgrade somehow. There just hasn't been a ton of trade talk on the Giants front so far. I mentioned in our last post a list of premiere hitters who could likely be had for the right price, but the only name that has been directly linked to the Giants is the Brewer's Corey Hart. The right fielder would be a very nice add to the Giants lineup, just not sure the Brewers asking price fits with what the Giants are willing to part with.

Up Next: Now the Giants will play host to the sputtering LA Dodgers. The Dodgers just got swept by the Cardinals in St. Louis and only mustered up 9 runs in the 4-game set. I'm stoked to see how Madison Bumgarner does in his first second half start after looking so good in his first couple of starts.... Also, in roster news, the Giants recalled Eugenio Velez and sent down Joe Martinez to make room.

Izzy Auditions for the Reds

It was revealed during an interview on KFNS 590 that Izzy has been invited by the Reds for a bullpen session later this week. It looks as if Walt Jocketty is doing Izzy a favor since their days together with the Cardinals. Jason has been a free agent since June of 2009. Other teams that are intrested in him are the Royals, Rays, Yankees and Cardinals. What the Cardinals!!!?? i find that hard to believe unless Jason has regained his 97mph breaking ball? Not unless Izzy has his stuff from the 2002 season in which his fastball was prominant I would pass on Izzy

Giants Set to Begin Second Half

The 2nd half of the Major League Baseball season officially begins tonight, and the Giants hope they will pick right up were they left off before the break when they won 6 of 7 and had their offense clicking on all cylinders.

What really kept the Giants afloat for much of the first half was their spectacular starting pitching. All of their starting pitchers have era's below 3.76 and all of them and all should have winning records, although Matt Cain has once again pitched through some terrible luck. For a while there in early-mid June, it looked like 4 of the Giants 5 starters had legit shots at making the all-star team. All of them (besides Todd Wellemeyer) had era's under 3 and had winning records. They were thriving even though they weren't getting consistent run support. Unfortunately, they haven't really been able to get their offense and starting pitching clicking together at the same time. For much of the first half of the year though, the Giants offense has been very inconsistent. It took them a while to find their best leadoff man (Andres Torres) and a couple of their big hitters like Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe really didn't get going until May and June. The guy they were counting on really carrying the offense, Pablo Sandoval, has not been nearly the factor that he was in '08-'09, and I think that was a big reason why the offense was so slow out of the gate. However, ever since Buster Posey's arrival, it seems like the Giants offense has stepped it up a notch.

Posey's emergence has helped equal out the under-performance from Sandoval, and has really solidified the middle of the Giants batting order. That along with the solid outputs they're getting out of Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe has helped shape the best Giants lineup since the early 2000's. Keep in mind also, that they are doing this without Mark DeRosa (out for season with injury) and without getting very much out of Aaron Rowand (.238, 8 HR, 27 RBI). Even though Posey has been a big part of the Giants offensive turnaround, he wasn't the most valuable player for this team in the first half. That honor would have to go to Aubrey Huff, who's quietly put together one of his best halves of his career, and has turned out to be an absolute bargain at $3 million for 2010. Entering the 2nd half, Huff is hitting .295 with 17 bombs and 54 RBI to go with a .921 OPS. There were plenty of people who didn't even think Huff would hit 17 homers all year playing at AT&T Park after hitting just 15 last year with Baltimore. I'd have to say the two biggest contributors and most important pieces to the Giants lineup in half #1 were Huff and Andres Torres. The 31 year-0ld Torres has been huge at the top of the lineup where Aaron Rowand failed so miserably. He's cooled off a little lately, but his .281 average, .378 OBP and 17 steals at the leadoff spot has given the Giants their best production out of that slot since when Ray Durham was used there in his first few years in San Francisco.

It's all going to come down to offense for the Giants in the second half, and that's pretty much what everyone was expecting all along. The trade deadline is just around the corner (July 31st) and the Giants could go out and really put themselves in a good spot with another big bat. Their bullpen is rock solid, and their starting pitching, especially after the arrival of Madison Bumgarner, doesn't need any work. Even their lineup is starting to round into shape, but if they could just get one more corner outfielder, or possibly even a first basemen who could rake, it would really help their chances of winning this division. They may have found that extra bat in one of their own, Travis Ishikawa, who's been on fire since being inserted into the starting lineup. If they're going to go outside the organization, there are a bunch of options out there. A few that come to mind right off the top of my head are Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder, Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham, Dan Uggla and Garrett Jones.

Mozeliak Gets Extension on Contract

The Cardinals handed general manager John Mozeliak a three-year contract extension on Thursday, keeping him in St. Louis through the 2013 campaign.

Mozeliak replaced Walt Jocketty as general manager following the 2007 season. His career in the Cardinals organization began in 1995 in the scouting department before he served five years under Jocketty as assistant GM.
His biggest move in his two-plus year tenure at the helm was acquiring slugger Matt Holliday before the trade deadline last year, a move that vaulted the club to the top of the National League Central.

St. Louis headed into the All-Star break this year second in the division with a 47-41 record.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Rest In Peace King George

I was never a Yankees fan. I would consider the Yanks "The Evil Empire" and King George was in charge of the Yankee Abyss. It wasn't until 2008 when Joe Girardi that took over as manager that I took notice of the team and actually respected Steinbrenner. He created a model of how to build a dynasty. This is something that Billy Beane toke note of when put together the Oakland A's. Steinbrenner will be missed. He helped others in need and became a father to a lot of his younger players. George you will be missed. God Bless the Steinbrenners.

Cardinals Looking at Alex Gonzalez

The Cardinals have expressed intrest in Alex Gonzalez recently due to the poor production the Cards have at shortstop. As of right now Gonzalez leads all shortstops in the AL with 17HR and 50RBI. According to Joe Strauss the Bluejays had their scouts at the Cardinal-Astros game over the weekend. It has been reported that the Bluejays have had intrest in Brendan Ryan. I wonder if both teams will swap both shortstops. I like Brendan Ryan, he earned his position last year. On the other hand the Cards have suffered the most when it comes to the middle infield. I use to love to watch the poetry in motion with Ozzie Smith and Tom Herr, and not to mention Edgar Renteria and Fernando Vina. These two where also a great pairing to watch. If we will trade for Gonzalez we also need to look into a starting pitcher. The Astros Roy Oswalt has been vocal about coming to the Cards but he just maybe too expensive to pick up.

Giants Cruise Into All-Star Break

Heading into July, the Giants were sputtering and fans started to panic a little bit. However, over the last 10 days, the Giants seem to have hit their offensive stride, it's just too bad they did it just in time for the all-star break.

All of the sudden, over the last week, the Giants offense has just exploded. They've scored 53 runs over their last 7 games, good for about 7.5 runs per game, and they've gone 6-1 in that span. One guy who's really flown under the radar in this first half has been huge over the last week, and that guy is Travis Ishikawa. Before July 1st, Ishikawa had just 36 at-bats all year, but since July 1st, he's collected 25 at-bats and has been extremely productive with those ab's (.385 with 1 hr and 8 RBI). Ever since the Giants traded away Bengie Molina, they've they've been working with some extra at-bats and Ishikawa has taken full advantage. So much so, that Giants fans are going to be expecting to see more of him when the Giants resume play on Thursday against the Mets. When Ishikawa plays first, Aubrey Huff has moved back to left-field, which once again takes the bat out of either Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowannd or Andres Torres hand, but with the way Ishi is playing, you have to do it in order to make room. Also, besides his clutch hitting, Ishikawa has always been a plus defender over at first base and although Huff has done a very good job over there this year, having Ishi there really strengthens the infield defense.

Speaking of Aubrey Huff, Giants management has to be pleased with the way his year has gone as we hit the un-official halfway point in the year. I remember before the seasons started, he was asked a ton about how he's going to deal with that huge right field space at AT&T, and early in the season, he had a few balls knocked down out there that would have been home runs almost anywhere else. However, he's showed his veteran savy, and has figured it out. He's hit 9 of his 17 first half home runs at home, and looks to be quite comfortable hitting in the pitcher-friendly confines of this yard. There hasn't been many left-handed power hitters who have come in and had success here, outside of Barry Bonds, but Huff looks to be one of those rare cases. Because of that, I think it would be wise for the Giants to try and extend him another year right now if possible. He's probably going to hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs and will get a multi-year deal somewhere if he hits the market, so why not give him a 1 year, $7 million extension right now if he'd do it. If Ishikawa continues to emerge in the 2nd half of the year and claims first base, then Huff can play the outfield in 2011, as he's shown the ability to do so this year.

Up Next: Up next here at The Giants Baseball Blog, we'll get into our first half review of the Giants season up to the All-Star break and discuss what needs to change in the second half in order for the Giants to win this wide-open division where 4 teams are separated by 4 games or less.

Ex-Cardinal Player Dimitri Young Busted

Former major league baseball player Dmitri Young was arrested by McLean County Sheriff's Department police early Monday on preliminary charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. Young posted $100 bond and was released from McLean County Jail later Monday. Officials at the jail said he had no court date scheduled.
Young, 36, who listed a Fort Lauderale, Fla., address, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals.
Young, whose last major league action was with the Nationals in 2008, is currently a bench coach with the Oakland County Cruisers of the Frontier League.

Mark Buehrle "Buehrolt"

Mark Buehrle's wine Buehrlot is a 2007 Merlot out of San Martin, California. His wine benefits Hope Rescue Animal Shelter in Alton,Illinois.

The color of this wine is intense-deep ruby purple. Aromas of ripe plums, smoky berry fruits and spice. Juicy red currant flavors on the entry, followed with rich, red cherry, black cherry and blackberry flavors extending to the mid-palate. A long finish with spicy oak and velvety fruit. Soft, lush and colorful!

I have done a search for this wine here in St.Louis,MO but had no luck finding it. It was available on the website http://www.charitywines.com/ but at this time Buerhlot it is sold out.