Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
Fernando Perez was probably going to have the first two weeks of the season to prove himself as an everyday major league starter. B.J. Upton, the Rays' regular center fielder who is coming off shoulder surgery, will likely need an extra few weeks after Spring Training before he's ready to come back. The speedy 25-year-old Perez was ready to step right in and take his shot.
Thursday morning, however, he received some very bad news. After rolling his wrist attempting a diving catch, he dislocated it. This injury will keep him in a cast for the next six weeks. All told, Perez will miss at least the next three months.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the ... Best team in baseball. Yes, they are still better than the Yankees and Red Sox. Lost in all the joy of last season were the facts that two key players were injured down the stretch and another had an absolutely dreadful offensive season. Throw in the addition of Pat Burrell, and the continued growth of the young pitching staff, and you have a team who can take on the big-spending Yankees and venerable Red Sox.
They're called the dog days of August for a reason. With the trade deadline in the books, major league teams are, barring a waiver trade, stuck with what they've got on the roster for the duration of the regular season. That means injuries, like the one suffered by Arizona's Orlando Hudson in the photo to the right, will shape the pennant races much more than they have over the last four months.
Five teams in the hunt for a playoff spot got bad injury news in the last 24 hours. Here's a look at who's hurt and how each team will cope with the absence of a key player over the final seven weeks.
- Carl Crawford, LF, Rays: The speedy Tampa Bay outfielder injured a tendon in his right middle finger on a check swing last night and was placed on the 15-day DL. The Rays are unsure how much time he'll miss, but a Seattle trainer told him he could miss six-to-eight weeks. If he's out that long, it could be devastating to their chances of holding off Boston in the AL East.
There are some trades that just make too much sense to not happen. Tampa Bay is embroiled in a playoff battle and playing Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Johnny Gomes, and Cliff Floyd in right field. They're talking about using Rocco Baldelli there when he comes off the disabled list. The Pirates' entire organization is devoid of pitching talent. They have Jason Bay. The Rays have tons of young pitching talent. Maybe these two crazy kids should get together. Dejan Kovacevic's PBC Blog at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says they might:
The Pirates and Tampa Bay continue to discuss Jason Bay, a process that became deep yesterday, and two prospect names known to be in the mix on the Rays' end are shortstop Reid Brignac and pitcher Jeremy Hellickson.
[...]
Neglected to mention this earlier, but Tampa sure is making things sound as if something will get done. The Pirates? Not so sure but, as the notebook mentioned earlier today, about 50-50.
The Rays seem relutcant to budge with too much for Bay and the Pirates seem reluctant to move Bay without gaining several elite prospects in return, but this deal makes so much sense for both teams that it almost would seem crazy if they couldn't get something done. I mean, Jason Bay's middle name is Raymond. How much more perfect can this match get?
The Rays claimed Dan Johnson off waivers from the A's earlier this week, and from jump street it was a little awkward trying to find him playing time. He was supposed to add depth at first base behind Carlos Pena and Eric Hinske, but once it became apparent that Pena's sore right hamstring wasn't going to keep him out of the lineup for long, Johnson never got a chance to get into the game.
And now, he never will.
The Rays acquired Gabe Gross from the Brewers on Wednesday, and he didn't just take Johnson's spot on the roster, he took his uniform number, too. From the Tampa Tribune:
The No. 26 jersey the Rays assigned to Dan Johnson when he joined the team Tuesday had a different name across the back Wednesday - that of the man who had just replaced Johnson on the roster.
The arrival Wednesday of Gabe Gross, acquired by the Rays from the Brewers the previous evening, meant somebody had to go. That somebody was Johnson, who was designated for assignment in a turn of events Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman described as "awkward."
So now, Johnson is right back where he started: designated for assignment, with 10 days to see if the Rays will trade or release him. He's tallied just a single at-bat this year but he could be useful for a lot of teams looking for a 1B/DH type. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise if he ended up back in the Bay Area, not with the A's but with the Giants. At the very least, he's getting some frequent flyer miles out of this.
I'll be honest, I could write up another post about the Brewers sliding, the NL Central sucking, and how Milwaukee seems more and more likely to take the division by the two most beautiful words in the english language (DEE FAULT! DEE FAULT!), but I kind of think that's getting a little stale and frankly, I'm a little bored of writing about it. So instead, let's look at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article about the other son of a major leaguer on the Brewers, Tony Gwynn Jr.
Entering play Saturday night, Gwynn was batting .350 in 60 at-bats with eight runs batted in, six stolen bases and a .418 on-base percentage. He also has been productive off the bench, batting .357 (5 for 14) as a pinch-hitter with four RBI.
Gwynn has not resembled the same hitter who struggled last September when given an audition in center field. He batted only .210 that month, making club officials too nervous to commit to him for 2007. Instead, Bill Hall was moved from shortstop to center.
While his numbers have dipped a bit since last night (he's now at .333/.400/.397), it's worth talking about whether or not the Brewers need to find young Tony a spot in the lineup. The real question is, how can they do it? Hall is in his natural position of center field. Can't bench him. Hall can't move back to shortstop because JJ Hardy is tearing the cover off the ball. I suppose Hall could try third, but the Brewers just called Ryan Braun up to fill that position. Corey Hart is struggling in right field, but Gabe Gross is putting up a good line with much more power than Gwynn can supply. Given Gwynn's minor league numbers (he was a career .271/.351/.343 hitter in the minors) he's probably not more than a fourth outfielder, now or ever.
Ready for this weekend's small sample size lunacy? After spending the off-season trying to find a place for Bill Hall to play, then spending all spring teaching him to play center field in order to get his bat into the lineup, Brewers manager Ned Yost has now kept Hall out of the lineup for two straight days (though only one game as last night's game was rained out) because of his slow start. From the Milwaukee Journal- Sentinel:
Hall is batting .194 with one home run and two RBI, with only one hit in his last 16 at-bats.
"It gives Billy a chance to regroup and get back on track," Yost said of the decision to give him another day off and start Gabe Gross instead.
"We know what kind of player Billy is. He's struggling a little bit right now, and 'Gaber' had a pretty good night (Wednesday in Florida)."
No word on the lineup for tonight's game (which has been pushed back to a 7:05 Eastern start from a day game due to bad weather in St. Louis), but it seems a bit earlier to be giving Gabe Gross significant playing time over Hall, who was the Brewers best offensive player after they traded Carlos Lee away last year. Early indications seem to point towards the NL Central having another weak year and I think the Brewers can contend in the division, but they're going to need Hall's bat in the lineup to do it.
One of the best parts about the early season is what a huge difference one day can make. When yesterday began, the Brewers were a game under .500 and Rickie Weeks' batting average was down in the Mario Mendoza range. By the time the night had ended, the Brewers were above .500, tied for first in the NL Central, and Weeks' had pulled his average up to .242.
The Brewers and Marlins played a pretty unique double dip last night. They started things an hour early in the 11th inning of the 2-2 tie game that started on Tuesday, but had been halted by rain. That one finally finished up in the 13th inning when Prince Fielder singled in Weeks, who had drawn a walk to start off the 13th inning, and Francisco Cordero held down the Marlins in the bottom of the inning for his second save of the year. Shortly after that, they started the night's regularly scheduled game and things continued to be all Rickie Weeks all the time. He got hit by a pitch and scored in the first, hit a two run homer in the third, and tripled and scored in the sixth, helping account for the first four Brewer runs of their 5-2 win.
Weeks wasn't alone in helping the Brewers to that second win, however. Dave Bush rebounded from a rough first start against the Cubs to throw six strong innings, scattering eight hits and only allowing one run. The bullpen then held the lead, finishing up with Francisco Cordero picking up his second save of the evening and third save of the season. Gabe Gross also added two RBI on the night, knocking in Weeks in the first and JJ Hardy in the ninth for a final insurance run.
Beyond the Cards drubbing of the 'Stros, there were actually two other games of note involving the other four NL Central teams today, making it a pretty good day for the division.
It took a week, but the Pirates finally got the 2006 NL batting champ back into their lineup today in Cincy and Freddy Sanchez picked up where he left off last year. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and Zach Duke pitched very well for six innings (before getting shelled in the seventh) while the Pirates did one of the very few things they're good at, beating Eric Milton and by extension the Reds, 6-3. To build on to Red's Canadian meme from earlier, BC native Jason Bay hit his 2nd homer of the year to finish the Reds off and Pittsburgh's Brad Eldred made the most of his first playing time this year by homering and doubling in another run. Ken Griffey Jr. had 2 RBIs for the Reds and Xavier Nady went a full nine innings without batting any flyballs over the fence with his glove.
Meanwhile in Milwaukee, Wade Miller made his first start in Cubbie blue and he didn't look much like the Wade Miller of old, giving up six earned runs in less than 5 innings of work. Geoff Jenkins and Gabe Gross both went deep against Miller for the Brewers and Craig Counsell knocked in three runs to help the Brew Crew a 9-4 win to even off both teams' records at 3-3.
Pittsburgh and Chicago both move on to their home openers against the Cardinals and Astros, respectively, while both the Brewers and Reds will head on out towards warmer weather in Arizona and Florida.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
They're called the dog days of August for a reason. With the trade deadline in the books, major league teams are, barring a waiver trade, stuck with what they've got on the roster for the duration of the regular season. That means injuries, like the one suffered by Arizona's Orlando Hudson in the photo to the right, will shape the pennant races much more than they have over the last four months.
There are some trades that just make too much sense to not happen. Tampa Bay is embroiled in a playoff battle and playing 
The Rays claimed 
I'll be honest, I could write up another post about the Brewers sliding, the NL Central sucking, and how Milwaukee seems more and more likely to take the division by the two most beautiful words in the english language (DEE FAULT! DEE FAULT!), but I kind of think that's getting a little stale and frankly, I'm a little bored of writing about it. So instead, let's look at 
Ready for this weekend's small sample size lunacy? After spending the off-season trying to find a place for Bill Hall to play, then spending all spring teaching him to play center field in order to get his bat into the lineup, Brewers manager Ned Yost has now kept Hall out of the lineup for two straight days (though only one game as last night's game was rained out) because of his slow start. From 
One of the best parts about the early season is what a huge difference one day can make. When yesterday began, the Brewers were a game under .500 and Rickie Weeks' batting average was down in the Mario Mendoza range. By the time the night had ended, the Brewers were above .500, tied for first in the NL Central, and Weeks' had pulled his average up to .242.
Beyond 
