The Dodgers catcher and Cardinals' shortstop both swatted grand slams for some rare RBI as their division-leading teams won.
Martin's sixth-inning blast broke a tie with the Cubs, and the Dodgers went on to win 7-2. His four RBI on that swing were more than he had in the previous 21 games. It was also Martin's first homer since July 26 and his fourth of the season after hitting 13 a year ago.
"I haven't trotted around the bases too often this year," Martin said. "It was nice just to get a breather."
Earlier Wednesday in the power rankings I speculated -- off the cuff -- that Cleveland would start trading veterans. Well, it appears they will, because Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting the Indians have officially placed Mark DeRosa on the proverbial trading block.
The versatile DeRosa can play adequate defense anywhere on the diamond except shortstop, center field and the battery, which could make him an attractive trade piece for teams with a variety of different needs. One in particular everyone is hearing is the New York Mets.
Usually when a team benches one of their players it's because he is doing the team harm. That's definitely the case with Khalil Greene in St. Louis. His OPS is .586 and he's done a poor job defensively as well, each of which is reason enough for the Cardinals to try out a new shortstop for the immediate future.
And that's what they're going to do. Tony La Russa told Greene that he'll move into a utility role for the immediate future, but his play is only part of the reason. The other part is the damage that Greene is doing to himself as a result of his struggles. It seems that Greene isn't able to leave his troubles in his locker at the end of the day.
After undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right (read: throwing) shoulder, St. Louis Cardinals' third baseman, Troy Glaus, will be sidelined for the next three months as he rehabs. This seems like odd timing for a surgery, especially when Glaus missed time in September with woes in the same shoulder. Obviously, we can't make the assumption that nothing new happened, but it really does seem like a coincidence.
Either way, the Cards will be without Glaus until about the third week of April. Of course, if he gets started late in Spring Training, how much longer will it take him to play into everyday baseball shape?
It was a little puzzling this winter when the Cardinals signed Cesar Izturis. Free of David Eckstein, most people expected them to attempt to upgrade their team at the crucial position. Instead, the Cardinals went out and signed Izturis, who sat on two benches in NL Central last year (with the Cubs and Pirates). Why they did that is beyond me, but Brendan Ryan's giving them an out this spring with his .366 OBP while Izturis has racked up five hits and six errors. Tony La Russa, however, insists on sticking with Izturis:
"What bothers you most the errors or the hits?" La Russa asked the media this morning. "He's playing very well defensively. So, the errors - I don't have any problems with. If you're going to evaluate people on the number of errors in spring training, over time you're going to make a lot of mistakes. There's some guys who can't play, but not him. Hitting, I think he's getting better."
I'm certainly not one to quibble with ignoring spring stats, but you don't need spring stats to tell you that Izturis isn't much of a player anymore. He is quite literally one of the worst offensive players in the game and his defense has started to slip in the past few years. Really, there's no excuse for him to be in a starting lineup anywhere in the league. The fact that he's found a starting job is mind boggling.
Of course, you didn't need me to tell you that Scott Rolen is ailing -- just one look at his paltry home run total (four) should tell you that something is up. He's slugging just .371 this year -- that's worse than his .383 mark from injury-plagued 2005 season. On Wednesday, Rolen left the Cardinals to have that same shoulder looked at by team physician Dr. George Paletta. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Rolen also will receive an injection of anti-inflammatory medicine, and manager Tony La Russa said he expects Rolen to rejoin the team for this weekend's series in Atlanta.
Reserve infielder Brendan Ryan will replace Rolen in tonight's all-righthanded lineup against Marlins lefthander Dontrelle Willis. ... Rolen's primary backup, utilityman Scott Spiezio, is on the disabled list with a finger infection.
Rolen twice had surgery on the shoulder in 2005, when he played only 56 games. He returned to hit 22 home runs last season, but has hit only four in 2007. With the exception of the injury-curtailed '05 season, Rolen has hit 20 or more homers every year since 1997.
Needless to say, my money is on Rolen failing to reach 20 this year. And even though La Russa is confident Rolen will return soon, I also won't be surprised at an extended trip to the DL sometime soon -- the guy just isn't right this year.
No one still considers the Cards to be legitimate contenders anymore, do they? Well, needless to say, any length of time without Rolen should officially sink the Cardinals. They're already 8.5 games behind the division-leading Brewers and five behind the surging Cubs.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Earlier Wednesday in the power rankings I speculated -- off the cuff -- that Cleveland would start trading veterans. Well, it appears they will, because 
Usually when a team benches one of their players it's because he is doing the team harm. That's definitely the case with 
After undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right (read: throwing) shoulder, St. Louis Cardinals' third baseman, 
It was a little puzzling this winter when the Cardinals signed 
Of course, you didn't need me to tell you that 
