B & G's 7/26/09

Baseballs:

**Austin Kearns, Washington Nationals- Austin hit the walk off single to drive in his 17Th run. He came into the game for defensive purposes in the 9Th, yet he winds up being the hero. Austin is now hitting .201.

**Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays- Brett was fantastic today, he threw 7 innings, just giving up 1 run (1 earned), he walked 3 and struck out 7. Brett earned his 4Th win and he now has a 4.27 ERA.

**Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies- Ryan finished the day perfect, going 3-3 with a Home Run, his 25Th of the season, and he drove in 3 runs, giving him 75 RBIs. Ryan is hitting .266.

**Derek Jeter, New York Yankees- The Yankee captain went out there and did what he does best, lead. He finished up 2-4 and drove in the winning run, driving in 2 runs to give him 43 RBIs. Derek is hitting .321 on the season.

**David Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles- The young rookie threw 7 strong innings against one of the best offenses in the Major Leagues, Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Very impressive, he gave up 1 run (1 earned), he didn't walk anyone and struck out 2. David has 3 wins and a 3.20 ERA.

**Livan Hernandez, New York Mets- Livan gave his club a great start, going 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (3 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 7. Livan now has a 4.87 ERA.

**Atlanta Braves Offense- They gave Derek Lowe some runs, and he responded by giving them a Quality Starts. 10 runs, 12 hits, and 8 walks. Led by Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson both went 3-4 with a walk, a Home Run each and drove in 2 runs. Nice production.

**Rich Harden, Chicago Cubs- Rich pitched a day game and he was almost unhittable. He threw 6 innings, giving up 1 hit, 1 run (1 earned), he didn't walk anyone and struck out 8. Rich won his 7Th game and he has a 4.55 ERA.

**Dustin Nippert, Texas Rangers- Dustin came into the game in a tough situation. Kevin Millwood only lasted 2 innings because of an injury, so Dustin came in and threw 4 1/3 innings, just gave up 1 run (1 earned), he walked 2 and struck out 1. Dustin won his 3rd game of the season and he now has a 3.54 ERA.

**Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies- Aaron won his 10Th of the season and his 7Th consecutive win. He threw 7 innings, giving up 2 runs (2 earned), he didn't walk anyone and struck out 2. Aaron also helped his own cause by going 1-3 at the plate, a double, his 1st of the season. Aaron is hitting .135 and more importantly, Aaron has a 3.87 ERA.

**Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins- Justin hit 2 Home Runs, his 25Th and 26Th of the season and drove in 3 runs, giving him 82 RBIs. Both lead the league in Home Runs and RBIs. After his 2-4 day, Justin is now hitting .315.

**Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins- Hanley went 2-4 at the plate, and he drive in 3 runs, giving him 65 RBIs. He is hitting .348.

**Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks- Parra had a great day at the plate, going 3-5, with a Home Run and driving in 4 runs. Para has 5 Home Runs and 37 RBIs, he was a triple short of hitting the cycle. Gerardo is now hitting .270.

**Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians- The Indians completed their sweep, the 2Nd time this season they had done so and Jhonny set the tone. He hit a grand slam, his 7Th Home Run of the season, giving him 47 RBIs. Jhonny is hitting .263 after his 2-4 afternoon.

**Clayton Richard, Chicago White Sox- His team was on the verge of being swept in a 4 game series against the 1st place team in the AL Central, and this kid responded by going 8 strong inning, giving up 1 run (1 earned), he walked 2 and struck out 3. Clayton now has a 4.65 ERA.

Goofballs:

**Padres Offense- They only scored 2 runs, but they also just delivered 7 hits and 1 walk. If you can't have base runners, you can't have much of a chance to win.

**Rays Offense- They got overwhelmed today, striking out 11 times. 1 run on 5 hits, 3 walks.

**Todd Wellemeyer, St. Louis Cardinals- Not good today, he threw 5 2/3 innings, giving up 7 runs (5 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 3. Todd lost his 9Th game and now has a 5.79 ERA.

**Dallas Braden, Oakland Athletics- Pitched 5 2/3 innings today, he gave up 7 runs (7 earned), but he walked 6 and struck out only 2. Dallas lost his 9Th game and now has a 3.74 ERA.

**John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox- His velocity was there, but the location was not, and it showed. John threw 5 innings, giving up 6 runs (6 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 6. John now has a 7.04 ERA.

**Astros Offense- 3 runs on 10 hits, no clutch hitting. They also struck out 9 times and didn't give themselves many good at bats.

**Brewers Bullpen- Braden Looper didn't help much, but the bullpen didn't give the Brewers a chance to come back. The combination of Mark Difelice (1 run in 1 inning), Mike Burns gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in 1 inning, and Chris Smith gave up 2 runs (2 earned) in 1 inning. S a combined 5 runs (4 earned) in 3 innings. Difelice has a 1.83 ERA, Burns has a 6.30 ERA, and Smith with a 4.18 ERA.

**Reds Offense- They could only get 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, and 10 strikeouts. The Reds are struggling right now and getting swept by your division rival doesn't make things better either.

**Juan Cruz, Kansas City Royals- Only lasted 2/3 of an inning, giving up 4 runs (4 earned), he walked 1 and didn't strike anyone out. Juan raised his ERA to 6.31.

**Giants Offense- 2 runs on 9 hits, they had their chances, but they couldn't get the hits that counted against Cook.

**Ervin Santana, L.A. Angels- Ervin threw 3 2/3 innings, he gave up 6 runs (6 earned), walked 2 and struck out 4. I wonder if Ervin still is healthy because this year, he just isn't having a good season. He has 6 losses, and a 7.29 ERA.

**Jason Schimdt, Los Angeles Dodgers- Jason didn't help matters, he threw 3 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 1. Jason has a 7.88 ERA.

**Pirates Offense- They were shutout and only collected 5 hits. The Pirates didn't walk and struck out 9 today.

**Jason Vargas, Seattle Mariners- Jason didn't help his team much, he only lasted 4 innings, giving up 6 runs (6 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 2. Jason raised his ERA to 4.39 and lost for the 4Th time.

**Tigers Offense- 1 run on just 5 hits. The pitching did fine after the first 2 innings, giving the Tigers a chance to come back, but they were shut down by the White Sox pitching instead.

Jarrod Washburn to Milwaukee?

9:15 PM: Tom Haudricourt:

"I know for a fact that the Brewers have been discussing Washburn, even though he is a free agent after the season. Because Washburn is a Wisconsin native, maybe the Brewers think they could convince him to stay with another contract after this year."

Haudricourt notes the M's would probably ask for a shortstop in return, naming J.J. Hardy and Alcides Escobar as possible trade chips. I doubt that Alcides Escobar is going anywhere.

"The Brewers probably would want more than Washburn in return for either shortstop," Haudricourt adds, "considering his pending free agent status."

9:06 PM:Geoff Baker thinks the Brewers might trade for Jarrod Washburn.

"Brewers pitcher Seth McClung went on the 15-day DL on Saturday and today, the Brewers called up Tim Dillard from Class AAA Nashville. But here's the wierd thing: the Brewers are refusing to name Dillard as their Tuesday starter." Might it be Washburn? Or someone else?

Sunday Roy Halladay Rumors

Roy Halladay rumors:

8:00 PM: Ken Rosenthal heard from Ricciardi that the chances of Halladay leaving Toronto at this point are "very slim."

"We've said that we would listen, but that we would have to be motivated and 'wowed. Right now we haven't been. I've said all along my gut tells me I won't be. I still stand by that."

"If we get to the last week and haven't really made any progress with anybody, I'm not going to say it's 100 percent certain, but I would have to pretty much think it's not going to get done."

7:18 PM: Christian Caple passes this along:

[Halladay is] scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, but whether he makes that start is up in the air. Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi said last week he wants Halladay assured of his future when he takes the hill for that outing -- in other words, if Halladay does pitch on Wednesday, supposedly, he won't be traded before the deadline.

5:21 PM: The Rangers are still interested, but can't take on that type of salary; writes T.R. Sullivan.

4:54 PM: Fox Sports reports that the Red Sox are still in the mix for Halladay. Jays prefer not to deal within division.

2:07 PM: According to Jon Heyman; the Phils are starting to consider Cliff Lee as an alternative to Roy Halladay. Toronto is scouting Dominic Brown today.

11:16 AM: The Jays rejected the Phillies offer of Carrasco, Donald, J.A. Happ and outfielder Michael Taylor. The Jays are now telling the interested teams that their only gonna trade Doc if there "wowed," writes Jayson Stark.

9:45 AM: Tim Brown reports that the Angels were lose to removing themselves from the Halladay sweepstakes, they couldn't believe the asking price was Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar, Brandon Wood and a prospect such as outfielder Peter Bourjos.

Indians Acquire Jess Todd

Derrick Goold reports that the Indians have acquired Jess Todd as the player to be named later from the Mark DeRosa trade.

He'll be added to the 40-man roster, and be assigned to Triple-A Columbus. Coming into the season Jess Todd was the 4th overall prospect for the Cards.

Dodgers Serious about Martinez and Lee

According to Ken Rosenthal:

4:30ish PM: Kevin Baxter quotes a Dodgers executive saying there is "less than zero truth" to the rumors regarding the trade.

Both clubs have "strongly denied" the previous reports that the teams were in serious talks about Martinez and Lee (Rosenthal).

3:40 PM: Rosenthal now suggests that the young starter could indeed be one of Billingsley or Kershaw:

"Lee would replace either left-hander Clayton Kershaw or right-hander Chad Billingsley — it is not known which the Dodgers would part with in the package — giving manager Joe Torre the more experienced starter that he covets."

3:21 PM: The Dodgers and Indians are in serious talks that would send Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee to the Dodgers for James Loney, a young starting pitcher, and prospects.

Would the Dodgers relinquish Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw in a deal to acquire the Indians' superstars.

Brewers to make a Splash?

3:07 PM: Jeff Fletcher reports that the Brewers have a scout in attendance for Justin Duchscherer's rehab start tonight. He should be ready in two weeks.

2:15 PM:Adam McCalvy reports that Brewers manager Ken Macha may have hinted at an upcoming acquisition of a starter before the deadline for the Brewers.

"The trading deadline is coming and Doug [Melvin, Milwaukee's general manager] is trying to help the club," Macha said. "I don't want to try to create expectations, but he's trying to make the club better and I'm sure if he finds a starting pitcher who can help out, it's something he would do."

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Jarrod Washburn, and Brian Bannister are name of interests for the Brewers.

Yankees Scouting Snell

According to Jenifer Langosch the Yanks have scouts at the triple-A affiliate of the Pirates to watch Ian Snell throw. The Yankees are still looking for a replacement for Chien-Ming Wang, while Snell has dominated in Indianapolis.

Mets Release Brandon Knight

Mets have released righthander Brandon Knight from Triple-A Buffalo so he can play in Korea; writes Bart Hubbuch.

Brewers Sign Jesus Colome

Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers signed Jesus Colome {reliever) to a minor league deal. The Nats DFA'd him earlier this month, Colome will report to rookie ball to gain arm strength.

Cards want to lock up Holliday

Joe Strauss talked to Cardinals chairman that he hopes to sign Holliday to an extension: "We're not looking at this as a one-year deal, I assure you."