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."
When it was announced Monday that Edinson Volquez had Tommy John surgery, my immediate gut reaction was: "Everyone will blame Dusty Baker for this." Of all of the managers in baseball, Baker is the most notorious destroyer of young arms after his stint in Chicago dramatically altered the careers of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.
With another promising young starter getting ligament replacement surgery under his watch, the easy assumption is that this is just another notch on Dusty's belt. The easy assumption isn't always the right one, though, and immediately blaming him didn't quite sit right with me.
I remember watching how he handled both Volquez and Johnny Cueto last August and September and nothing jumped out at me as out of the ordinary or abusive. So is it Dusty's fault that Volquez will miss the rest of 2009 and most of 2010?
In all of the excitement of the trade deadline yesterday, one piece of news went unnoticed; Edinson Volquez suffered a setback during his rehab. The expected follow up to that news was announced by the Reds Saturday; Volquez will undergo an unspecified elbow surgery on Monday. Whatever the procedure is, it seems likely that Volquez, who's only thrown one inning since May 16, is done for the season, especially with the Reds dropping out of contention after losing 10 of their last 11.
The big question that remains is what sort of surgery Volquez will require and how much time he'll miss next year. If he does need Tommy John surgery (which has been mentioned as a possibility), he'll be out until this time in 2010 at the very least and he could potentially miss all of the season, depending on how his rehab goes. That's all speculation, of course, the Reds are being vague and we may not know what's actually wrong with Volquez's elbow until he comes out of the operating room on Monday.
MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
The second half of the season is in full swing and lo and behold if capitalism hasn't reared it's ugly head once again. Billy Beane was spun off Matt Holliday (as expected of course) and the eleventy billion dollar payroll machine that is the New York Yankees are in first place in the AL East. (Of course, that can't explain why the Mets are horrible but that's a whole other thing.)
Will the Yankees' surge be enough to propel them into the critically important No. 1 slot of the FanHouse MLB Power Rankings? Find out after the jump.
"It's too early to tell," Reds manager Dusty Baker said last week. "It's two starts. But he's at the corner. It's progress."
Sometimes it's easy to forget that David Dewitt Bailey is barely 23 and instead focus on his false starts and yo-yo trips between the majors and Triple-A. The Reds' No. 1 draft pick in 2004, Bailey has had to deal with high expectations ever since. But he had a 5.76 ERA in nine starts in 2007 and a 7.93 mark while going 0-6 last year.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.
WASHINGTON -- Reds manager Dusty Baker called his team's three-day visit to the nation's capital "taxing." Two rain delays and a 12-inning game -- even if it's a win -- have a way of leaving that impression.
So does blowing a 2-1 lead and a series sweep in the eighth inning of the finale on an error.
That's just what happened to Cincinnati Thursday evening. Second baseman Brandon Phillips compounded some spotty relief work by the soft underbelly of the Cincy bullpen by throwing the ball away on a double-play attempt in the eighth. The error wound up plating the decisive run for the Nationals in a 3-2 win and cost the Reds a chance to move within a 1/2 game of first place in the NL Central.
Phillips was unapologetic for the airmailed throw that went past first baseman Adam Rosales and scored Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman.
In my head, whenever I write about Dusty Baker, I imagine him to be a character called, "Dusty Baker, Baseball Alchemist." This has a lot to do with his wildly-reasoned argument from the early spring that a whole bunch of players in Cincinnati would play well because they were once high draft picks. I just have the general feeling that Baker feels like there's some secret recipe to winning that if he follows it, eventually success will find him and the Reds.
One of those ingredients must be getting his starting pitcher through five innings at any and all costs. Yesterday afternoon/evening, he sent Aaron Harang back out to the mound to finish the fifth inning after a rain delay that lasted more than two hours. Harang only pitched to one batter after the delay and recorded a strikeout of Humberto Quintero to qualify for the win.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
When it was announced Monday that 
In all of the excitement of the trade deadline yesterday, one piece of news went unnoticed; 
MLB Power Rankings
Maybe 
Starting Five
MLB Power Rankings
WASHINGTON -- Reds manager 
In my head, whenever I write about 
