The rumors have been circulating for a while now, but on Wednesday morning the Philadelphia Phillies made it official and announced that they've signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez. As for when Martinez will make his first start in a Phillies uniform, well, we're going to have to wait at least 15 more days to find out.
That's because along with announcing the deal the Phillies also announced that they've placed Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with a mild right shoulder strain. The Phillies will send Martinez on a quick minor-league rehab assignment before deciding on when he'll make his debut.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Marlins and Tigers are on fire.
Exactly two weeks ago, Florida was eight games behind Philadelphia. Since then the Marlins have gone 9-3, all in interleague play, to close within a game of first place. The hot streak includes four one-run wins and Thursday's 11-3 victory that sealed a sweep of the Orioles and ran Florida's win streak to five.
During this 12-game stretch, Hanley Ramirez has batted .400 with three home runs (one of them a grand slam Thursday) and 19 RBI while Cody Ross has hit .400 with five homers and 12 RBI.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.
"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."
For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what's ahead. You Oughta Know ... That it's awfully hard for K-Rod to earn his money if J.J. Putz isn't doing his job ahead of Rodriguez. For the second straight day, Putz had a rocky outing. He surrendered two runs in a touch and go eighth inning Sunday against the Marlins (the Mets still won the game) and followed that Monday by allowing four runs and taking the loss against the Pirates.
Putz gave up four consecutive singles during Pittsburgh's rally, and attributed much of his performance to misfortune.
"A couple hoppers up the middle," Putz said. "They hit groundballs; they just hit them to the right spot.
"There's not much you can say about that. There's a little bit of bad luck involved."
The rumors have been circulating for a while now, but on Wednesday morning the Philadelphia Phillies made it official and announced that they've signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez. As for when Martinez will make his first start in a Phillies uniform, well, we're going to have to wait at least 15 more days to find out.
Starting Five
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
Starting Five
