Received Chipper Jones for Jorge Cantu.  My offense if fine, but could use help mostly in AVG and despite his current slump Chipper should help in that area.  Even if he misses a few games here and there (more like when) I still would rather have Chipper over Cantu.  I also have Aramis Ramirez on my DL, so I'll be able to put one of the two at CI or UTIL when he comes back.

I was getting some serious interest in Zack Greinke. Aside from Greinke my starting pitchers consists of Jon Lester, Yovani Gallardo, Matt Cain, Edwin Jackson, John Danks and Max Scherzer.  As you can see, pitching is pretty solid.  Since the offers were coming back fairly aggressive, I decided to see how high I could sell on Greinke as I have already had a half seasons worth of great production.  The deal ended up like this...

My team traded: Zack Greinke, Shane Victorino and Frank Francisco

My team received: Alex Rodriguez, Matt Kemp and Chad Qualls

The way I see it: A-Rod has started to find a little groove.  While I don't think he'll be the A-Rod of old for the rest of the season, he should be a great addition to Chipper/Aramis at 3B/MI/UTIL and makes one of them expendable should I want to try and deal for another position.  To me Matt Kemp>Shane Victorino.  They are the same type of player, but Kemp has more power and more speed.  Frank Francisco for Qualls is basically a wash at this point.  Francisco has not looked sharp since returning from the DL and Qualls is a low end closer.  My other closers include Jose Valverde, Kevin Gregg and Kerry Wood.  Not the best closer group in the world, but it's holding me above water. 

All in all these are the players I gave up and received:

I got:

Chipper Jones

Alex Rodriguez

Matt Kemp

Chad Qualls

I gave up:

Jorge Cantu

Zack Greinke

Shane Victorino

Frank Francisco

How do you think I did in my day of wheeling and dealing?

P.S. have a great 4th of July weekend!!!!

Cody Ross hit his 14th bomb of the season of newly acquired Sean Burnett.  Ross is slugging .633 vs. left handed pitching this season. 

Josh Johnson left the game after only 3.1 innings.  No injury, just a rain delay and 4 walks to go with a rising pitch count.

Ricky Romero continues to impress.  He's stranding over 85% of runners and his FIP is a run higher than his ERA before his start yesterday.  Walks and the AL East are my concerns, but he's definitely a guy worth rostering right now.  He's only owned in 33% of Yahoo! leagues.

Brad Bergesen impressed against the Red Sox.  He's not going to strikeout a ton of guys, but he's keeping the ball on the ground and keeping the walks to a minimum.  His next start comes against the Mariners.  If you need a spot start, he's worth another go.

Yovani Gallardo struck out a career high 12 in 7 IP against the Mets.  If Gallardo can reduce his walk rate, he's basically Lincecum light.

Gil Meche, coming off a "dead arm" period, threw 121 pitches in only 6 innings.  His arm looked fine with a fastball sitting in the mid 90's, but minor injuries have been an issue this season.  If I'm A Meche owner (or a Royals fan) I'm not happy about the pitch count at all. 

Billy Butler, 4-4, continues to outperform James Loney, but it seems no one is paying attention. 

Jason Hammel has been pitching well for the Rockies lately.  He's not quite the ground ball pitcher Aaron Cooks is, but he is getting enough groundballs and limiting walks to be an NL-only add.

Troy Tulowitzki got cold just as fast as he got hot two weeks ago.  I think he'll finish with an AVG around .270.

Jimmy Rollins took another o'fer, but so did most of the Phillies against Jair Jurjjens who only allowed 1 hit. 

Justin Verlander was touched up last night.  That makes two less than spectacular starts in a row.  I'm not reading much into it.

Jose Contreras has struck out 8 batters in 3 of his last 4 starts.

Randy Wells pitched well again and got his third straight win.  I'd start him again at home vs the Braves in his next start. 

Johnny Cueto brought back the strikeout last night against the D-Backs.  Of course the D-Backs are second only to the Marlins in team strikeouts. 

Kevin Millwood and Jered Weaver squared off in a battle of the "sell highs".  Neither faired particularly well and neither are likely to repeat their first half numbers in the second half.

Nelson Cruz left with a back injury.  It didn't sound serious, but I never like to hear about back problems.  Keep an eye on the situation.

Albert Pujols did not hit a homerun, but he did go 2-2 with a stolen base.  Can he go 60/20!!?  Not likely, but this is just amazing to watch.

Matt Cain continues to strand runners like crazy.  8 Cardinals left on base and only 3 strikeouts. 

Adam Wainwright struck out a career high 12 in 9 innings.  He's throwing a curveball or slider on nearly 40% of his pitches.  That combined with only 132 innings pitched last season raises a bit of a red flag for potential time missed later this season. 

Have you ever listened to one of those morning zoo nut-hut talk radio shows? I'm sure you have, and yet you managed to change the dial before slitting your wrists. Often times these extremely boring people will go to excrutiating lengths to have a compelling talk segment. Right about now they're probably talking about how we are now over the hump - the days are getting short again (but they were so long for a while there, ha-ha! Can you beileve how long the days were? Blah blah, I couldn't go to sleep some nights the sky was so bright! Haw!) - and how winter is already on its way.

As much as I detest those jabrones, I can't help but think about the same sort of thing -- the year is flying by. We're coming upon the All Star Break -- aka the most boring week in sports every year -- and before you know it we'll be headed toward October, and long winters, and the hot-stove again. The speed of summer just makes me feel old, and this year in particular there has been little to keep me interested in the baseball season on account of how the Cubs have been a total, unbelievable, typically Cub bust. Man, those guys suck. Still, there are on-going story-lines and we will take a look at those now.

Rising
Mariano Rivera's Save Total
I am getting old. I still remember Rivera as the set-up man on the '96 Yankees. A decade and a half later and he's still there, shutting down opponents, racking up saves. I would guess that the average life expectancy of a closer in baseball is perhaps three seasons, and it's incredible to see Rivera nearing his 1,000th inning pitched in relief, reaching his 500th career save, posting an ERA of 2.31 in an era known for offensive theatrics and booming homeruns. He's done it in years in which he struck out nearly 11 per 9 nnings, and in years in which he's only managed about 6 per 9. Not to mention that in October -- when he is facing the creme of the crop -- his career ERA is 0.77 in 117.1 innings of work. Surely the Yankees will lament the loss of their team's captain, Derek Jeter, when he finally hangs them up. But if we're being fair, I think the loss of Rivera - which will come sooner - will hurt even more. He's been nothing short of amazing his entire career.

The Cardinals' Cances of NL Central Dominance
The NL Central has been a cluster-bomb of crappy teams looking to cough up the division. For a while now it has seemed that the team with the best chance of winning would be whichever one made the first big trade. Then the Cardinals swooped in and stole Mark DeRosa from the Indians for a song. DeRo brings 13 homeruns and a .270 AVG to St. Louis, along with his amazing defensive versatility. I am surely not the only Cub fan to be left cursing in anger over this trade, and it bodes badly for the rest of the NL Central in 2009.

Holding
The health status of Josh Hamilton
When he went down earlier this year, I wondered how the doctors would treat Hamilton. The issue is that he's an addict. No matter how long he stays clean, no matter how successful he is in life, he will always enjoy mood-altering drugs just a little too much. He had a hernia, how do they treat it? Does he get pain killers? Must he go without them? Regardless, Hamilton is progressing and may be back relatively soon. Maybe it's unfair to always see him with that skewed light, I'm sure that more than one Rangers fan bristles at the idea that he might pop one too many Oxy's but I know I would be worried about it if he were on my team. Nevertheless, if the Rangers have any hopes of surprising the league, Hamilton's return will play an instrumental part.

A Baseball Bat, Unswung, On Manny's Shoulder
The return of Manny Ramirez has hit a snag -- he hasn't exactly hit well since he embarked upon his comeback from suspension. That said, he's still due back by the end of the week (just in time for the All Star Game! Wee!) Here's the thing. It's probably safe to say that PED's remain in heavy use in Major League Baseball. It's safe to say that there are players out there right now rolling the dice on staying ahead of the testing curve. Therefore I have to wonder -- when Manny returns, will he stay clean? So if he returns and sets the league on fire -- a very real possibility, despite his present druthers -- does that mean he never needed to cheat, or does it mean that he's just gotten slyer in his cheating ways?

Falling
The Phillies
Philly is a pretty good team, especially offensively. Their problem is that behind Cole Hamels their rotation is shaky at best, and Hamels hasn't been himself of late either. Still, while the Phillies are 3-7 in their last 10, the Mets aren't exactly charging to the front in the NL East. Hopefully the return of Jimmy Rollins will make a difference for the Phillies, but what they need more than that is a pitching staff they can count on -- probably a far reach when the only starter with a Sub-4.00 ERA is 26-year-old lefty J.A. Happ - a guy whose name sounds like an anagram.

The Hapless Chicago Cubs
So much for one of the largest NL payrolls and one of the most well-rounded teams put together this year. The Cubs are a .500 team (at best!). When their pitching is there, their hitting is missing. When their hitters are on fire, their pitching has evaporated. The year is far from lost but not even the biggest haters saw the Cubs playing so badly so late into the season. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as if they are capable of fixing these problems, either.

• The Nationals have activated Scott Olsen off the 15-Day DL.
• The Rangers may be going after starting pitching on the free agent and trade markets, instead of relievers as some originally thought.
• Yankees catcher Jose Molina is close to returning from the DL. He ran the bases, felt no pain, and said he "could play today".

Baseball's a funny game. A beautiful game.

And the really great thing about it is its length. 162 games. The cream rises to the top. The playoffs, sure, anything can happen. Especially in the first round, which is too short. Should be seven games. Come on, after six months of grinding it out, you can be eliminated in the equivalent of a weekend series? Three lousy games? Ridiculous.

But not in the regular season. In the regular season you have to earn it. A hot streak, a hot pitcher, a missed suicide squeeze won't do it for you. You have to gut it out, and be better than the other teams. Period.

Which is why the Angels are back in first place. Finally. Feels like it's been an entire season already.

And hey, there was a moment there when they were sinking and the Texas Rangers were rolling and things could have turned into 2010. This season could have been lost. Still could be, of course. More than half the season to go. But it doesn't feel like it. It feels like finally, the Angels are starting to play like the team that hit the century mark last year. Actually, I hope they're not that team. I hope they're better. Don't want to see another first round exit (would somebody PLEASE beat the Boston Red Sox in the east!)

They're sill iffy on power, despite the recent surge. Still iffy in middle relief. Still a cold spell away from the annual 'fire Hatcher' chant.

But they're playing better.

Lackey looks like himself again. Vladdy seems ready to get hot. Aybar's playing smart. Rivera is ready. Napoli's swinging at pitches down the middle of the plate instead of taking them for strike three. And Fuentes looks pissed off enough on the mound to be a shut down closer. Hell, it's almost time to get giddy (don't though, that always leads to a losing streak...)

Once concern, though. They're tearing it up against the National League, and as I've stated before, the Angels are the best National League team in the American League.

Will the wins, and confidence, carry over to league play?

This time, I think they will.

Damn it! 

Big Papi cranks his 7th of the season.  See above.

Zack Duke improves to 8-5 with 6 IP, 1 ER effort last night.  Duke now has lowered his ERA to 3.09 for the season.  Like other pitchers getting by on groundballs and very few strikeouts (Nick Blackburn, Mark Buehrle, Kevin Slowey) there is always the distinct possibility for a complete falloff.  However, given that all these guys should have cost you very little on draft day, who really cares.  Sell high if you can, just enjoy the unexpected value you've received if you can't. 

Sizemore goes deep for the first time since coming off the DL.  That didn't take long.  More on him later today. 

Joey Votto is a bit rusty.  Don't give up on him just yet.  He was in the midst of a breakout season before taking some time away for some real serious reasons.  He has the power and plate discipline to be a fantasy force in the second half.  I don't think he'll hit anywhere near .350, but .290-.300 with 15 or so homers is realistic. 

Scott Richmond continues to make the best of his opportunities.  I'm still nervous about endorsing Richmond because of his GB/FB rate, which favors flyballs. His 21% line drive rate is a bit high too.  I'd sit him upcoming against the Phillies.

Pat Burrell connected for his second homerun of the season.  Burrell is only owned in 54% of ESPN leagues and there is no doubt that when healthy he can provide plus power.  Much way I liked the pickup of Marcus Thames, I would say the same for Burrell, especially in OBP leagues.

Holy Joe Blanton!  10 K's in 7 IP.  Blanton has been pitching much better since his rough month of May.  His peripherals are actually much improved from last season.  As of yesterday his K/BB rate stood at 2.79, which but him alongside Jered Weaver and just below Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee and Jake Peavy.  Keep him on your watch list for good matchups.  Toronto is not one of those good matchups. Correction: Blanton's next start would be against the Braves.  That is a go for a spot pickup. 

David Wright goes 4-4 in an 11-0 rout of the Cardinals.  He also added his 19^th stolen base of the season.  Power outage!?  With a .356 AVG and 19 steals, who cares!!

It might be safe to say that Rickey Nolasco is officially back.  7 IP, 7 K, 1 BB in a win against the Orioles.  Nolasco hasn't given up more than 2 ER runs in July and has only walked 5 batters in 4 games.  He walked 3 on June 7th, his first game back from the minors. 

With the news that Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom was headed to the DL, the guessing game began for, "who will be the next Marlins closer?"  Leo Nunez seemed to be the first in line, but perhaps his ankle injury was not 100%.  I had a hunch on Reynel Pinto, but he was brought on to pitch the 8^th.  The save went to Dan Meyer, who has been exceptional for the fish this season.  Reports were that Fredi Gonzalez would use a mix and match to close out games so stay tuned.

Jason Kubel hit his 13^th homer of the season.  Now Kubel's line stands at .311,.373/.512, 13 HR, 40 RBI.  ESPN's "Player Rater" scores Kubel at 6.43, which is higher than the scores of Andre Ethier, Alex Rios, Bobby Abreu, Jermaine Dye, Carlos Lee, Matt Holiday and Nick Markakis.  All of those players listed are owned in at least 90% of ESPN leagues.  Kubel is owned in less than 64% of ESPN leagues.  If he is available and you have the roster space, go get him. 

Nick Blackburn gets hit pretty hard, but still manages to keep the damage to only 3 ER on 11 hits.  Uncharacteristically, Balckburn surrendered 13 fly balls to only 9 ground balls.  More of this type of outing to come.

Both closers struggled in the Kansas City/Houston game.  Joakim Soria and Jose Valverde blew their respective save chances allowing 2 hits and one run each.  They each are well enough along from their DL returns to think this was just one of those days and nothing more like an injury. 

You may have noticed that Joe Torre doesn't think Matt Kemp is a valuable enough hitter to bat in the middle of the order.  Well, last night he batted Kemp 9^th.  He also batted Mark Loretta 6^th.  I love you Joe, but you are driving me freaking insane.  Too much wheatgrass I guess.  All Kemp did was blast his 9th homerun of the season. 

Forget BABIP, Dan Haren is the unluckiest pitcher in baseball!  How does a guy with a 2.25 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 104 strikeouts have a 6-5 record? 

Frank Francisco, fresh off the DL did not come in for the save in a 2-1 game.  Francisco entered in the 8th and pitched a scoreless inning.  C.J. Wilson, who had been filling in for Francisco, was the one to come in and nail down the save.  Here's the quote from the game recap:

C.J. Wilson then retired the side in order in the ninth for his seventh save. Washington is still undecided when Francisco might return to his closer's role. This was just his second outing since coming off the disabled list on Saturday.

But one thing that Washington does like: seven strong innings from his starter, and then Wilson and Francisco finishing up -- no matter in what order.

"That's solid," Washington said.

No Ron!  We don't need solid!  We need to know who is going to close games for the Rangers!  Stop with all this real life, what's best for the team crap!  My fantasy team needs saves!!

I own Frank Francisco in two leagues.

There has been a Garrett Atkins sighting!  The Rockies said they were going to use interleague play to showcase Atkins and shocase they did.  3-4 with a homerun will do the trick.  That raised his AVG to .216.  Ian Stewart took an 0-3 and lowered his AVG to .218. 

3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.  There's the Jason marquis I know and love!

Chone Figgins is now hitting .330, but has only 3 steals in the month of June.  He has been caught stealing 4 times this month and had only been caught stealing 3 times in April and May.  That smells a bit fishy to me.

Eric Aybar has as many steals in June as Chone Figgins.  He stole his 4th of the season last night.  I still think Aybar has 20+ steal ability and it looks like he is sarting to run a bit more. 

Vlad shaved his dreads.  Then he hit a homerun, only his 2nd of the year.  If (and ONLY IF), Vlad continues to DH basically full time, he is a great buy low candidate. 

Russell Branyan has a chance to enter the all-star break with a .300 AVG and 20+ homeruns.  This guys needs to be at the all-star game.  Not only for his performance in 2009, but also for how long he has purservered in a mostly dissapointing career.  I mean Chris Davis has more friggin votes (ranks 5th for AL firstbasemen) and he might be at AAA by the break. 

You can put Brandon Morrow on the backburner now.  Control is still a huge issue and he has made no adjustment to get his fastball down. 

"With everything we've been through -- the death of a teammate, the injuries, the slumps, we've maintained, we've stayed close," Angels center fielder Torii Hunter said. "It feels good. I might kick back and have me a bottle of milk."

The Mets placed centerfielder Carlos Beltran on the 15 day DL due to a bone bruise on his knee.  Fernando Martinez replaced Beltran on the roster, but it has been fairly clear that Martinez, noly 20 years old, needs plenty more seasoning in the minors before he becomes a fantasy force. 

Travis Ishikawa does not want John Bowker to get the call-up.  Ishikawa has hit 3 homers in his last 4 games.  I have been very disappointed in Ishikawa thus far.  It looked like he was developing power coming into this season.  Maybe he has finally found his power stroke.  Monitor him over the next week or so. 

Jonathan Sanchez disappoints again against a poor offense.  This round's on me Jon.

A's starter Trevor Cahill now has 7 quality starts in a row.  I'm selling high if I can on Cahill after his current streak.  His K/BB rate is a weak 1.16 and his BABIP is .269.  There is no doubt that his very good sinker, which has produced ground balls at nearly a 50% clip, is the key to his success.  To me Cahill is very much in the Nick Blackburn mold right now.  Can he continue this the rest of the season?  Yes, but I'll putting him on the market,  He could be a nice add on piece in a 2 for 1 deal to upgrade your offense.  I'm sitting Cahill against the surging Rockies.

Matt Palmer's luck seems to have run out.  4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 5 K. 

Aaron Cook went for his 4th quality start in a row.  Cook is delivering ground balls at a 57.8% clip, but offers next to nothing in the strikeout category.  I'd run him out there in his next start against the A's.  

Joey Votto will be activated TODAY

Aramis Ramirez is getting ready to take some BP and should be back around the all-star break.