Maybe there won't be a classic Brad Penny emotional display when the Giants' right-hander faces the Dodgers, his former team, on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Park.
Apparently Penny and Dodgers' third base coach Larry Bowa, who had engaged in a long distance war of words since spring training, have kissed and made up. Well, minus the kissing part.
Penny and Bowa reiterated their hard feelings toward each other on Friday, before the opener of the Dodgers' series in San Francisco, in separate interviews with John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Bowa also asked Shea to pass Penny his hotel room number, so they could talk. Penny, who joined the Giants a couple weeks ago, is staying at the same hotel.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That it took a lot of work for the Rangers to climb within two games of the Red Sox in the American League wild-card race.
Texas swept a doubleheader at Cleveland, 11-9 and 10-5, and the games took a combined five hours, 59 minutes.
"It's pretty good to get back on track and win some ballgames," manager Ron Washington said. "We'll come back tomorrow, get greedy and see if we can get a [series] sweep."
Texas has played three regular (i.e., not day-night) doubleheaders this year, most in the majors, and has swept all three.
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
The Giants signed Brad Penny, a source confirmed to FanHouse. The move fortifies the back end of their rotation for the final month-long push toward the National League wild-card.
Penny, 31, was released by the Red Sox after going 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA. The Giants are obviously hoping that a return to the National League will help the right-hander, who flourished with the Dodgers from 2004-08, including back-to-back 16-victory seasons.
The Giants had a gaping hole in the No. 5 spot in their rotation. Since the All-Star break, Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski had been a combined 2-5 with an 8.47 ERA in that spot. The only game the Giants lost on their just-completed homestand was one in which Martinez was blasted for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
Every Hot Stove season, each team reshapes its roster in an attempt to better themselves. After each transaction, whether a free agent acquisition, trade or something else, writers and bloggers everywhere provide knee-jerk reactions on each particular move. Though the majority of the analysis is educated, it's still just conjecture. Today, we'll take the long view and look back at some of the maneuvering this past offseason and see how it played out on the field.
Maybe I'm being a bit hard on these guys, but almost 59 percent of the 41 pitchers who are starting twice this week are being placed in the "Risky Business" category.
There are a couple of touted rookies who make up the 59 percent like the Rays' David Price and Atlanta's Kris Medlen. There are also some big-named pitchers who should never be placed among the "Risky Business" pitchers who just are throwing well, or their teams aren't winning behind them. Jon Lester and Francisco Liriano come to mind immediately.
Like I said, in all there are 41 two-start pitchers this week. Make sure that you get your lineups locked early today as there are a bunch of afternoon games. The first is 1:10 PM ET when Houston plays Cincinnati.
The picture (right) of John Smoltz in a non-Braves jersey looks awfully weird, but we still haven't seen it in a regular season game. The wait will continue, because he's having some small issues in his surgically repaired right shoulder, and he will be shut down completely for a week.
It's not like the Red Sox are starved for help right now, considering they've won 12 of their last 13 games, but they have had some starting rotation holes. Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the disabled list and Brad Penny has had two awful outings. Fortunately, this setback isn't serious, according to Red Sox manager Terry Francona.
SAN FRANCISCO -- If you doubted the Dodgers because they didn't have any top-of-the-rotation starters to replace Brad Penny and Derek Lowe, Randy Winn has a little newsflash for you.
Chad Billingsley is an ace-in-waiting, and he may not be waiting much longer.
Billingsley, the only 4-0 pitcher in the National League, will look to go 5-0 against Winn and the Giants on Tuesday night at AT&T Park.
"He's had the stuff to be a No. 1 starter," Winn said. "It's just the teams he's played for they had some more experienced guys, like Penny and Lowe. Now those guys aren't there, so people are looking at him in a different light, but people who had to face him the last few years know he's been really good."
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Must Start Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - Tuesday vs CHC (C. Zambrano) and Sunday at MLW (D. Bush) Chad Billingsley, Dodgers - Tuesday at SF (B. Zito) and Sunday vs SD (J. Geer) James Shields, Rays - Tuesday at MIN (F. Liriano) and Sunday vs BOS (B. Penny) Gil Meche, Royals - Tuesday vs TOR (S. Richmond) and Sunday at MIN (S. Baker) Kyle Lohse, Cardinals - Tuesday at ATL (J. Reyes) and Sunday at WAS (J. Lannan) Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at ARZ (Y. Petit) and Saturday vs FLA (A. Sanchez)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Red Sox are still trying to figure out what they've got in Brad Penny, this All-Star turned No. 5 starter.
Catcher Jason Varitek, who caught all 86 of Penny's pitches in his Boston debut on Saturday, and manager Terry Francona both said they are feeling out Penny. Even after his six innings, he still seems like an unknown, albeit a promising one.
"We're still trying to figure out who he is, to learn him," Varitek said. "He's done a good job to get his work in and be where is at right now."
Maybe there won't be a classic Brad Penny emotional display when the Giants' right-hander faces the Dodgers, his former team, on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Park.
Starting Five
The Giants signed 
The picture (right) of John Smoltz in a non-Braves jersey looks awfully weird, but we still haven't seen it in a regular season game. The wait will continue, because he's having some small issues in his surgically repaired right shoulder, and 
SAN FRANCISCO -- If you doubted the Dodgers because they didn't have any top-of-the-rotation starters to replace 
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Red Sox are still trying to figure out what they've got in 
