Around the Bigs

• The Rays acquired catcher Gregg Zaun from the O's for either a PTBNL or cash considerations.
• Baseball America ranks the countries hottest prospects.
• Pirates signed 8th round pick for a whopping 1.1/1.2 million dollars.
  
• The Brewers designated lefty R.J. Swindle for assignment to make room on the roster for Jesus Colome. Then the Rays claimed him and used his one remaining option and sent him to the minors.
  
• Last night the Yankees acquired Chad Gaudin from the Padres for a PTBNL.
• The Red Sox designated John Smoltz for assignment.
  

Stay tuned.....

End of the Week Injury Notes, and IL Report

First of all a few moves:

• The Yankees have acquired Chad Gaudin from the Padres to add depth to their bullpen. The Padres will get a PTBNL in the waiver deal.
• The Padres have extended Buddy Black's deal through 2011.
• The Twins have added veteran pitcher Carl Pavano from the Indians for a PTBNL.
• The Red Sox have signed Paul Byrd.
• The Braves have signed their first round draft pick Mike Minor.

Now the injury reports from the last few days:

• Jed Lowrie of the Red Sox is having left forearm issues.
• Jake Peavy will be back in Chicago this weekend to throw a side session off a mound. He could start a minor league rehab stint on August 13 (next Thursday).
• The Arizona D'backs have placed Justin Upton on the 15 day DL with a strained right oblique. Trent Oeltjen has been called up from AAA Reno to fill the roster spot.
• Mets' starter Jonathon Niese is out for the season after tearing his hamstring.
• Jason Bay could miss the start of the series against the Yankees with a hamstring injury.

Also, Prince Fielder has been fined but not suspended for what happened in LA, and David Ortiz will have a news conference tomorrow to take about his name showing up on the list of positive PED tests from 2003.

International League (AAA) Update

Top Hitters:

• 1. Jorge Padilla, SYR: .367
• 2. Don Kelly, TOL: .333
• 3. Jordan Brown, COL: .331
• 4. Andy Marte, COL: .327
• 5. Jeff Fiorentino, NOR: .318

We'll continue to track the minor leagues as well this month, especially AAA because Sept. call up are soon!

B & G's 8/6/09

Baseballs:

**Trevor Crowe, Cleveland Indians- Trevor had the game winning hit, driving in his 8Th run of the season to give the Indians a 2-1 lead. Trevor is now hitting .225 and is hitting .375 since he got called back up.

**Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals- Ryan finished the day 4-4 with 3 RBIs. He was a double shy of hitting the cycle. He hit his 1st triple of the season and now has 23 Home Runs with 74 RBIs. Ryan is hitting .300

**Alex Aliva, Detroit Tigers- Alex, son of Assistant General Manager Al Aliva made his Major League debut. He responded by going 2-4 with a RBI double, his 1st Major League hit. Alex is now hitting .500.

**Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies- Cliff came into his new surroundings in Philadelphia and responded with 7 strong innings, giving up 1 run (1 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 9. Cliff wins his 9Th game and now has a 2.95 ERA.

**Alex Romero, Arizona Diamondbacks- Alex went 4-7 at the plate with a double and he drove in 3 runs, giving him 9 RBIs. Alex is hitting .290 this season.

**Erick Aybar, LA Angels- Erick went 3-4 at the plate and his his 4Th Home Run of the season, driving in 2 runs, giving him 41 RBIs. Aybar is now hitting .311.

**Tommy Hunter, Texas Rangers- The rookie pitched 7 strong innings, giving the Rangers a big lift. He gave up 3 runs (2 earned), walked 2 and struck out 4. Tommy won his 4Th game and a 2.63 ERA.

**Jorge Posada, New York Yankees- Jorge finished the night 3-5 with his 14Th Home Run of the season, driving in 3 runs, giving him 50 RBIs on the season. Posada is hitting .278

**Bruce Chen, Kansas City Royals- Bruce threw 6 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs (2 earned), he walked 1 and struck out 4. Bruce won his 1st game and he now has a 5.28 ERA.

**Clayton Richard- Clayton has won 2 in a row for his new team, he threw 5 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs (3 earned), he walked 4 and struck out 5. Clayton now has a 4.49 ERA.

**Andre Ethier, LA Dodgers- Andre hit a walk off Home Run, a 3 run shot to win the game. Andre has 23 Home Runs and now has 72 RBIs. Andre is now hitting .274.

Goofballs:

**Twins Offense- 1 run on just 7 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. They lose a series they needed to win.

**Luis Ayala, Florida Marlins- Luis threw an inning, giving up 4 runs (4 earned), he walked 2 and struck out 1. Luis lost his 4Th game and now has a 4.99 ERA.

**David Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles- David only lasted 3 innings, giving up 5 runs (5 earned), he walked 2 and struck out 1. David now has a 3.96 ERA.

**Rockies Offense- 1 run on 8 hits, they struck out 12 times.

**Steven Jackson, Pittsburgh Pirates- Steven threw 2 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned), he walked 3 and struck out 1. Jackson now has a 4.37 ERA with 2 losses.

**John Danks, Chicago White Sox- John lasted 6 1/3 innings, but he gave up 7 runs (6 earned), he walked 3, struck out 5, and 3 Home Runs. John has a 4.23 ERA.

**Athletics Offense- 3 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts.

**John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox- He was awful, lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up 8 runs (8 earned), he walked 4 and struck out 3. John now has a 8.33 ERA, losing his 5Th game.

**Mariners Offense- 2 runs on 12 hits, no clutch hits. They left 9 men on base.

**Livan Hernandez, New York Mets- 5 innings for Livan, giving up 7 runs (7 earned), he walked 4 and struck out 2. Livan now has a 5.08 ERA.

**Rafael Soriano, Atlanta Braves- Blew his 3rd save of the season and couldn't retire any hitters. Soriano now has a 2.34 ERA.

The A's Released Jason Giambi

According to Joel Sherman; the A's released Jason Giambi.

Twins Acquire Carl Pavano

The Twins acquired Carl Pavano from the Indians for a player to be named later.