On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
While they have had many chances to take over the AL Central lead from the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins had been faltering all summer to capitalize on Chicago's mistakes. They would get to within a half-game of the White Sox only to lose every time Chicago opened the door.
That is, until yesterday. After taking three of four from the Sox and two of three from the Indians over the weekend, the Twins are finally on top of the division (again) where nobody expected them to be (again). Now today the Twins will begin to find out that sometimes the only thing tougher than catching the team in front of you is staying ahead of them once you get there.
Is it a coincidence that on the day the Twins finally woke up and brought Francisco Liriano back from minor league purgatory that they gained control of the division? Probably, but his presence in the rotation will go a lot further in helping them hold onto it than Livan Hernandez would have.
Will they hold onto their lead, or let it slip through their grasp? It's still too early to tell but they will begin their quest to put some distance between themselves and the competition after the jump.
With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.
- Along with Colorado closer Brian Fuentes, Baltimore left-hander George Sherrill continues to be the hottest commodity on the trading block, drawing interest from many contenders including the Cardinals, Rays, Red Sox and Marlins, according to Dan Graziano. The Orioles remain somewhat reluctant to even deal their closer, particularly since their bullpen is a bit shallow after Sherrill, Dennis Sarfate and Jim Johnson and also because he is under team control for the next three seasons after this one.
Mark Teixeira, Braves Buzz: Though Atlanta has denied a willingness to trade Teixeira over the last few weeks, the club appears to be moving toward becoming a seller. How the Braves play over the next week will likely determine whether or not the team moves the slugger.
Jeff Zelevansky, Getty Images
A.J. Burnett, Blue Jays Buzz: Though several teams have scouted Burnett, trade movement remains slow as teams balk at the right-hander's uncertain contract status. He has great stuff and would be a quality No. 2 starter for a contender down the stretch.
Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images
Brian Fuentes, Rockies Buzz: The closer has reportedly been scouted by seven different clubs over the last few days, but Colorado's asking price -- rumored to be a top pitching prospect -- might be scaring potential suitors off. Florida will not deal Chris Volstad for Fuentes, but is still pursuing a deal for the southpaw.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
George Sherrill, Orioles Buzz: The Cardinals and Angels are among the teams who have asked about the closer, while the Brewers are not. Baltimore's rumored asking price is said to be two or three prospects.
Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images
Barry Bonds, Giants Buzz: The Yankees are the latest team to say they won't rule out pursuing the all-time home run king now that Hideki Matsui could miss the rest of the season. Hank Steinbrenner has admitted that the team will discuss Bonds in the next few days as they go over their options.
Lisa Blumenfeld, Getty Images
Jarrod Washburn, Mariners Buzz: The Seattle left-hander is drawing interest from the Yankees, who could use him to bolster their rotation. While not an ace, Washburn is a reliable innings-eater.
Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images
Huston Street, Athletics Buzz: Though some teams are worried about the recent drop in his arm angle and velocity, Oakland's closer seems to have no shortage of suitors. The Reds are the latest team believed to have expressed interest in Street. The Brewers have also made inquiries about his availability.
Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images
Greg Maddux, Padres Buzz: San Diego would ideally like to move the future Hall of Famer, but he has a full no-trade clause and is rumored to only be willing to accept a deal to a West Coast team.
Marc Serota, Getty Images
Brian Giles, Padres Buzz: Giles is an on-base machine and a solid defender who could give a contender looking for a corner bat a boost. Getting out of pitcher-friendly Petco Park could lead to a power spike.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
Andy LaRoche, Dodgers Buzz: LaRoche, L.A.'s No. 2 prospect entering the season according to Baseball America, is reportedly being showcased for a potential deadline deal.
Christian Petersen, Getty Images
But at some point the offers from other clubs are going to be hard to ignore, particularly if the team continues to struggle as it has recently. And Sherrill will probably become the latest chipped cashed in by GM Andy MacPhail as the O's continue to build toward contention in 2009 and 2010.
- Though they have a ways to go to get to the top the AL Central, the Tigers do not consider themselves sellers and are looking at adding pitching, particularly in the bullpen if reliever Freddy Dolsi continues to be bothered by shoulder discomfort. Detroit's biggest need is probably a starting pitcher, not a relief arm, but unless it pursues a bargain option like Odalis Perez, the Tigers do not have the assets in the upper minor leagues to get someone like A.J. Burnett.
As I've said before, the Orioles have always been MY BOYS so I'm trying desperately to do that rosey goggles thing and see them for what they are in a positive light: The Bad News Bears if you replaced all the children with goofy looking white teenagers and Hispanic guys. I'm hoping for some karmic retribution for that 69 World Series loss in the form of a Miracle Season where the Orioles win a hundred games out of nowhere and make it deep into the playoffs.
I will settle for Albers and Sarfate being adopted by a homeless guy. This is Birdland~! after the jump.
Hold on, I'm going to change into my Sports Writing pants for a second.
How dare you, Miguel Tejada. How dare you treat the citizens of this great state of America with such disregard, such painful abandon, such un-sincerity. How dare you point your cold, skeletal finger at our government and say, "I did not have sexual relations with that steroid." How dare you, Miguel Tejada. How dare you indeed!
/takes off pants
I hope we find out that Miggy is 100% clean, that he only stuffed creatine up his butthole to keep his iron up or something, and that we find out how big of a jackass any sportswriter is who'd vilify a sports celebrity for something like this. After the jump, I kind of condescend on people who aren't from America in a secondhand, found art sort of way, and then rats attack!
I've been an Orioles fan since birth. I watched them win a World Series when I was three. I collected Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray cards from the back of boxes of macaroni and cheese. I put stickers of guys like Larry Sheets into sticker books even when they couldn't use the logos and everybody wore solid color hats. In the last few years I grew up, moved to Cleveland, and discovered that practically everybody who has ever been an Oriole snorted weed off of Jose Canseco's rippling abdominals and hates me.
Maybe it's just Peter Angelos. Maybe he knows some deep, dark secrets about the bubbling potential of Matt Albers that I don't know, but I don't think he does. I think he wanted to unload a guy who was mailing it in anyway. Yeah, that's fine. I'm glad we got 5 Houston Astros jobbers instead of Manny Ramirez and Matt Clement. We should've gone even farther and just gotten five players to be named later. Players that aren't even born yet. Let the Astros sit on it for a while, see how they like their All-Star shortstop for several seasons of divisional contention.
I like my Orioles like I like my Dugouts: with overwhelming apologies to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
Just before the 2006 trade deadline rumors abounded that Miguel Tejada would be traded to the Houston Astros in exchange for Roy Oswalt. The deadline passed, though, but Houston never lost a taste for Tejada. They traded five players to Baltimore today to acquire the four-time All Star.
Tejada, 31, isn't coming off his best season. He hit 18 homers, drove in 81 RBI and posted a 799 OPS in a season interrupted by his first career trip to the disabled list. That OPS was his lowest since his first full season, however, and it isn't as if the Astros got much production from Adam Everett at shortstop. There was talk of moving him to third because of glove issues but he'll likely stay there for now. That's good as his offense isn't all that special from a third baseman.
The Orioles did very well in return. They pick up outfielder Luke Scott, third baseman Michael Costanzo and pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate. Patton ranks third on Baseball America's list of top Astros prospects while Costanzo ranks sixth. Albers ranked third, behind Patton, on last year's list. Scott posted an 855 OPS in 369 at-bats this season and should provide the Orioles with cheap power in a corner outfield spot.
For a team that's short on young players, the Astros dealt a lot of them for two years of Tejada. Everyone knew that the Orioles were desperate to move Tejada's salary. To get so much in return for a player coming off a down year is a feather in the cap of Andy MacPhail.
Recommended reading:
Hold on, I'm going to change into my Sports Writing pants for a second.
I've been an Orioles fan since birth. I watched them win a World Series when I was three. I collected Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray cards from the back of boxes of macaroni and cheese. I put stickers of guys like Larry Sheets into sticker books even when they couldn't use the logos and everybody wore solid color hats. In the last few years I grew up, moved to Cleveland, and discovered that practically everybody who has ever been an Oriole snorted weed off of Jose Canseco's rippling abdominals and hates me. 
Just before the 2006 trade deadline rumors abounded that 
