Kuzul

Daniel Nava became only the third player since 1898 to hit a grand slam in his first major league at bat. It is so rare that nobody hit a grand slam in their first major league at bat during the 20th century.

His second inning grand slam was part of a five-run second inning by the Red Sox. They eventually won the game 10-2 over the Phillies after having defeated them 12-2 the night before.

Nava was never drafted by a major league team, but the Red Sox signed him for $1 when he led the independent Golden Baseball League in hitting with a .371 batting average. He has a .342 average in his minor league career.

His page at milb.com tells more about his career and his minor league stats .

His parents, Don and Becky Nova, were at the game and his dad had this to say about seeing his son play in a major league game for the first time:

“My eyes need Band-Aids I’ve been crying so much,” Don Nava said. “He wasn’t a prospect. He’s never been a prospect. He washed uniforms for two years at Santa Clara. He’s called me between the washer and the dryer. I say, ‘What are you doing?’ He says, ‘I’ve got a pocket full of quarters.’ ”

His parents almost missed the game after missing their flight, but told the airline officials that they were going to see their son play his first major league game and they were put on a flight and got to Fenway Park shortly before the game started.

Nava not only hit the grand slam but also doubled in the contest and played left field in front of the legendary Green Monster.

His story is the reason why so many players play in independent leagues hoping for that one break to get into a major league organization. Nava’s dream came true yesterday so independent league players everywhere keep playing, hoping to play in the majors someday.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Carlos Pena who had been slumping hit a home run in his fifth consecutive game and he has hit six home runs in those five games.

Carlos Pena hit a home run in his fifth consecutive game while breaking a Rays franchise home run record of 129 home runs, which had been held by Aubrey Huff until last night.

Pena has hit more home runs than Alex Rodriguez in the last four years but had been slumping until recently. As recently as June 5 he had hit only eight homers in his first 55 games, but now he  has hit six in his last five games for a total of 14.

Pena had experienced an anemic month of May with three home runs and nine runs batted in, while hitting .120 and slugging .250 during the month.

He is currently hitting .196 but is hitting .313 for the month of June while slugging .885. The home run was the 216th of his career.

Around the Diamond

The White Sox won their third game in a row for only the second time this season as they defeated the Chicago Cubs 10-5 behind the pitching of Jake Peavy, who evened his record at 5-5 allowing two runs in seven innings.

Peavy had pitched well in his last start while allowing two runs in seven innings in that start against the Indians but still took the loss. In his previous four games he had given up 21 runs and 33 hits in 25 innings.

A.J. Pierzynski and Alex Rios each had four hit games combining for eight of the 16 White Sox hits and combined to drive in half of the ten runs scored by the White Sox in their 10-5 victory.

When Mark Teahen returns the White Sox may decide to keep Brent Lillibridge on the roster since Jayson Nix has only one hit in his last 20 at bats hitting .050 in his last 10 games, while so far Lillibridge has doubled and homered in two pinch hit at bats.

Adrian Beltre hit his eighth home run of the 2010 season in the 12-2 runaway win by the Red Sox over the Phillies. He has eight home runs in 234 at bats while hitting the same number of home runs for the Mariners in 449 at bats in 2009.

David Ortiz entered the game in a 3-for-29 slump but his 3-for-5 night while driving in four runs raised his average ten points to .247.

The Brewers put it all together last night with a well-pitched game from Chris Narveson, while their four sluggers each hit home runs with Casey McGehee, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and NL leader Corey Hart homering in the contest for a 6-2 win.

Ichiro Suzuki is experiencing a rare slump with only two hits in his last 20 trips to the plate, dropping his average from .358 to .337. Ubaldo Jimenez pitched his worst game of the season, but he still notched win No.12 of the season with one loss. He gave up three runs in a rain shortened 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Tim Lincecum won for only the second time in his last nine starts while defeating the A’s 6-2 and improving his record to 6-2. Lincecum has little chance of taking his third Cy Young award with Ubaldo Jimenez having six more wins than Lincecum.

All five AL Central teams won their games yesterday and all the teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Twins were the only first place team in the majors to record a win yesterday.

Carlos Silva 8-0 will try to tie the record of Ken Holtzman who started his 1967 season with a 9-0 record which is the Cubs record. He will be facing Mark Buehrle of the White Sox at 4:10 ET.

The other five Cubs who have started a game in 2010 are a combined 12-24. It is not saying much for the rest of the starters to have only four more wins than Silva among five starters.

Stephen Strasburg will take the mound again tomorrow in Cleveland against David Huff at 1:05 ET.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Robinson Cano doesn’t get the publicity of Yankee teammates Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Mark Teixeira, but he is having the best season of any Yankee position player in 2010.

He is currently leading the majors in hitting with a .376 average and is fourth in the majors in runs batted in with 46 with only Miguel Cabrera, Vladimir Guerrero, and Evan Longoria ahead of him.

Cano leads the majors in hits with 88 with Ichiro Suzuki next with 83. He is tied for sixth in home runs with 12. Only Cabrera has more total bases than Cano with 145 with Cano one behind at 144. His .418 OBP is sixth best in the majors among players with at least 150 at-bats.

He is fourth in the majors in slugging with a .615 mark. Only Cabrera, Justin Morneau, and Andre Ethier have a higher percentage. For sake of comparison, Albert Pujols is No.16 on the list at .557.

Cano is fifth in OPS with a 1.033 mark. Alex Rodriguez is way down the list with a .843 mark.

He almost leads the Yankees across the board in most offensive categories. He leads in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, all four offensive percentage categories, and extra-base hits.

All of his current offensive percentage numbers are career highs. His 88 hits with over 100 games left in the season should insure his second straight 200-hit season.

His .312 batting average is No. 12 among active players. At 27 it may be too young to even consider Cano as a future Hall of Famer, but if he keeps playing like he has in the past six years, he could very well have a plaque on the wall in Cooperstown along with many other Yankee greats.

When he hits his next home run, it will be the 100th of his career, but he should reach the 200 homers plateau a lot sooner since he has hit 37 since the start of the 2009 season.

Cano hits even better away from Yankee Stadium with a .380 road average. He has hit consistently all season, hitting .400 in April, .336 in May, and .455 in June. His batting average in night games is an amazing .421.

Even when playing defense he has done well, with only one error in 305 chances with the season over a third over.

If Cano continues to play at this level all season, he should receive consideration as the AL MVP, but for right now he is definitely the MVP for the Yankees at this stage of the season.

Around the Diamond

Boof Bonser allowed four runs and two hits while not retiring a batter in the 11-0 loss by the Red Sox to the Indians. MLB.com doesn’t even list his ERA, as it is so high since he has not retired a batter this season, as that was his first appearance.

Mark Teixeira may be finally breaking out of his season-long slump after having five hits in his last nine at-bats in his last two games after going 0-for-10 in his previous two games. His .224 average matches his season high when he was hitting .224 on May 19.

Jonathan Sanchez (4-5, 2.82) is continuing to be a victim of little run support when on the mound. He has lost games this season when he gave up one run in seven innings, one run in five innings, one run in eight innings, and two runs in seven innings. His four wins have come in games in which he gave up no runs or one run.

The Rays have outscored their opponents 28-6 in their last three games and have outscored the Blue Jays 19-1 in their last two games, allowing the Blue Jays one run and six hits total in those games.

David Price (9-2, 2.23) needs only one more win to match his 2009 total, when he posted a 10-7 record with a 4.42 ERA. It took him 23 starts to record the 10 wins last season while needing only 12 starts to win nine games in 2010.

The two Chicago teams, who have not been hitting well for most of the 2010 season, broke out last night, scoring a combined 24 runs and hammering 28 hits, including eight home runs. The Cubs posted a 9-4 win over the Brewers with Carlos Zambrano winning his first game as a starter since April 10 despite walking five batters in five innings. The Cubs moved to within 5.5 games of the second place Cardinals in the NL Central.

Derek Lee hit his 300th home run of his career, while Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd each hit two home runs in the contest.

Meanwhile, at Cellular Field in Chicago, the White Sox blasted the Tigers 15-3 behind the pitching of Freddy Garcia (6-3, 4.82) and a 16-hit attack that lifted the team average to .245 after being .225 earlier this season.

The White Sox scored seven times in the fourth and seventh innings. Brent Lillibridge hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning in only his second at-bat this season. All 10 White Sox who hit in the game had at least one hit.

Omar Vizquel had three hits and drove in three runs, while Ramon Castro drove in four runs, including a three-run home run. Gordon Beckham had his first extra-base hit since April 29 when he doubled.

Garcia pitched well except for solo home runs given up to Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera. The problem for the White Sox has been consistency since they have one winning streak of over two games, when they finished a three-game sweep over the Mariners on April 25.

The only other time the White Sox have won as many as two games in a row is when they defeated the Marlins on May 22 and 23. They have alternated losses with wins over their last four games.

John Danks takes the mound tonight for the White Sox and has lost five of his last six starts. His mound opponent, Max Scherzer, struck out 14 in his last win on May 30 against the A’s but lost his last start against the Royals and has only one win since April 18.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Nationals may be in last place in the NL East but they were in the spotlight yesterday when they made Bryce Harper, a 17-year-old slugger, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 amateur draft.

They will be in the spotlight again today when Stephen Strasburg makes his major league debut a year after being chosen No. 1 in the 2009 amateur draft.

It is unlikely that Harper will be making his major league debut next season since the Nationals probably have no plans to rush him to the majors. With Scott Boras as his agent, it is unlikely that Harper will even sign before the minor league season is over in less than three months.

He may make more money with Boras as his agent, but he will pay the price in time lost while sitting on the sidelines and will slow his development as a professional baseball player.

Harper, who will be 18 in October, was an easy No. 1 choice for the Nationals and should be in Washington sometime during the 2012 or 2013 seasons.

Meanwhile tonight at 7:05 ET Stephen Strasburg will make his major league debut in Washington against the Pittsburgh Pirates with Jeff Karstens (1-1) as his mound opponent.

It would have been easy for the Nationals to have called up Strasburg sooner when they were a season-high five games over .500 with a 20-15 record on May 13. Since then they have posted a 7-16 record and are in last place in the NL East.

The question is, if Mike Leake of the Reds who went directly to the majors after compiling a 40-5 record while pitching for Arizona State, then why wasn’t Strasburg offered the same opportunity? Leake has a 5-0 record after defeating the Nationals last Saturday.

Strasburg was 7-2 with a 1.30 combined ERA in two minor league stops at AA Harrisburg and AAA Syracuse. He has allowed only one home run in 55 innings while striking out 65 and walking 13.

The game tonight will be shown on MLB Network at 7:00 ET unless blacked out in an area.

Is Baseball’s Draft Overhyped?

You would think that 45 years after the major league amateur draft started the walls of the Hall of Fame would be adorned with several plaques of No. 1 picks. However, not one No. 1 pick has a plaque on the walls.

It will be five or six years before Ken Griffey Jr. should be the first No. 1 pick inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Alex Rodriguez is the only surefire Hall of Famer among active players today. He needs 406 hits for 3,000 hits, nine home runs for 600 home runs, and 51 runs batted in for 1,800 runs batted in and he won’t even be 35 till next month.

He is only two years from having 2,000 runs batted if he stays healthy. That would place him with Hank Aaron, 2,297, Babe Ruth 2,213, and Cap Anson 2,075 as one of only four players to have 2,000 runs batted in.

The only other No. 1 picks playing today who have a chance of entering the Hall of Fame are Chipper Jones, Joe Mauer, and Adrian Gonzalez. Jones looked to be more of a sure thing a couple of years ago but his three home runs in 189 plate appearances and his recent injury history make it a closer call on whether he will be inducted.

Meanwhile, Matt Bush, the No. 1 pick in 2004, is trying to make a comeback at the age of 24 with Charlotte in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system, but is currently on the disabled list.

Grandson Makes All Star Team

It looked like my grandson might not make the Groves, Texas Little League All Star team a few days ago but he called last night and told me had made the team.

He hopes to play in the major leagues someday, and he has the work ethic it takes to make it, but a lot can happen in the next few years. But for right now his dream is still alive.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Justin Morneau is barely leading his closest competitors in the AL batting race. He is hitting .370 with Robinson Cano second with a .363 average, Ichiro Suzuki third with a .358 average, and Miguel Cabrera is fourth with a .351 mark.

However he has a wide lead over his closest NL competitor Martin Prado who is hitting .328 and is eighth in the majors behind seven AL hitters. The next NL hitter is Joey Votto who is listed 12th with a .318 average and Albert Pujols is 14th with a .317 average.

Those stats show that the NL only has three hitters among the top fourteen hitters in the majors. One thing to remember though is that Andre Ethier who has spent time on the disabled list but doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title is hitting .353 and should eventually have enough at-bats to qualify.

The AL has 25 players hitting .300 or higher while the NL has only 16. The AL has 11 players hitting .315 or higher while the NL has only four.

The AL has an amazing 13 players among the top 15 players in hits this season. Ichiro Suzuki and Robinson Cano lead the majors with 82 hits. Martin Prado is second with 80 hits but the only other NL player in the top 15 is Ryan Braun who is listed ninth with 71 hits.

The AL home run leaders also lead the NL leaders with the AL players having 13 players with at least 12 home runs while the NL only has six.

When comparing AL and NL batting average for the 2010 season the AL is outhitting the NL by .260 to .257 but five of the seven worst hitting teams in the majors are surprisingly AL teams.

Evidently once getting past the top echelon of hitters the two leagues are much closer in batting average. It will be interesting to watch how the two leagues fare the rest of the season since there are about 100 games still left in the 2010 season.

Around the Diamond

Ubaldo Jimenez continued his mastery yesterday with a 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. The win improves his record to 11-1 with more than a month to the All Star game. After 12 starts Jimenez has not given up more than two runs in a game and yesterday was only his third start in which he allowed more than one run in 2010.

Tim Lincecum winner of the Cy Young award the last two seasons didn’t fare nearly as well as Jimenez as he couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead or a 3-2 lead. He received his fifth no-decision in his last eight starts and has won only once since April 23. He has only one win over those last eight starts.

Mark Teixeira continues to struggle as the season enters the third month. His 0 for 4 yesterday dropped his average to .211 and he is slugging only .363….Javier Vazquez is showing signs of breaking out of his early season slump after limiting the Blue Jays to two runs and one hit in seven innings as the Yankees defeated them 4-3. He has allowed only three runs and five hits combined over his last two starts and has won four of his last five starts.

John Jaso had a five RBI game for the Rays in their 9-5 win over the Rangers….Gio Gonzalez improved his record to 6-3 with a 5-4 win over the Twins.

Dubious Stats Leaders

Billy Butler of the Royals leads in grounded into double plays with 16….Ian Desmond shortstop for the Nationals has six more errors than any other major leaguer with 15 errors….Ryan Doumit has thrown out only four baserunners in 51 attempts this season and is actually worse than in 2009 when he threw out 20 in 64 attempts.

Charlie Morton leads all major league pitchers in losses with nine with Kenshin Kawakami and Roy Oswalt close behind with eight losses each….Jake Peavy who has led the NL twice in lowest earned run average has allowed more earned runs than any other pitcher allowing 48 runs to score this season.

Dan Haren has allowed the most home runs this season allowing 16 roundtrippers. Ian Kennedy and Kevin Millwood are next allowing 14 each….Clayton Kershaw leads the majors in walks allowed with 42 in 70 innings.

Ricky Romero of the Blue Jays leads all pitchers in wild pitches with 13 with Edwin Jackson second with 8….Trevor Hoffman and Tyler Clippard lead the majors in blown saves with five each. Hoffman does have five saves while Clippard has none but his 8-3 record ties him for the NL lead in wins.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Vin Scully showed again last night why he is regarded as the dean of baseball broadcasters still broadcasting today, and could very well be the best ever.

When he got word that John Wooden had passed away, Scully announced to the crowd at Dodger Stadium that Wooden had died and did it in a way that only he could do it. He mixed some Shakespeare in with the announcement and also mentioned that Wooden was a a baseball fan. This article and the video of the announcement show Scully at his best.

Vin Scully was born in the Bronx on Nov. 27, 1927, about two months after Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in a season there in the Bronx. At the age of 22 he joined broadcasting immortal Red Barber in the booth for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950.

Barber told him to never be a homer by rooting openly for the Dodgers and to keep his opinions to himself, and he has done just that over his career.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of broadcasting baseball games for Scully. He was in the booth for one of the low points of Dodger history when Bobby Thomson hit the shot heard ’round the world off of Ralph Branca to give the Giants a dramatic 5-4 win over the Dodgers on Oct. 3, 1951.

He witnessed the early days of Sandy Koufax struggling to gain control of his fastball when he was nine-10 in his three years in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles. Koufax was 27-30 over his first three years in Los Angeles.

Then Scully saw Koufax at his best in the last four years of his career when he won 25, 19, 26, and 27 games before retiring after the 1966 season at the age of 30.

Scully was also there in 1955 when the Dodgers finally defeated the Yankees for the World Series championship, and a year later was at the mike when Don Larsen pitched his perfect game against the Dodgers in 1956 World Series.

His most famous call was when he called Hank Aaron’s 715th home run on April 8, 1974, announcing the game over the Dodgers radio network.

The following video tells in Scully’s own words what was going through his mind when he managed the Dodgers for an inning:

He was not only a baseball announcer but also announced NFL football games for CBS from 1972-1982.

Scully won’t announce a game east of Denver and had announced he might retire after the 2010 season, but is not closing the door on returning for the 2011 season.

In the times I have heard Scully broadcasting on television he doesn’t have another broadcaster making idle chatter. With Scully, you only need to hear the best broadcaster ever, so there is no need for banter between him and another broadcaster. Dodger fans are very fortunate to have had the best baseball broadcaster for the last 60 years.

Scully was voted the winner of the Ford Frick Award and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982. He has broadcast 28 more years since being inducted. He also was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Jim Leyland showed how much he respected umpire Jim Joyce, who missed the call that prevented Armando Galarraga from recording the third perfect game of the season, by sending Galarraga to the plate with the lineup card for the Tigers.

Joyce took the field visibly shaken and in tears the day after making the incorrect call of what should have been the last play of a Galarraga perfect game. When he shook hands with Galarraga at home plate yesterday, it was a touching moment that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

With this gesture, they both showed they are class acts. I can’t praise Galarraga enough for his composure after the incident. I can’t help but root for Galarraga after he showed great restraint after the bad call. He went back to the mound and retired the last batter. I have seen a lot of pitchers implode after losing a perfect game or a no-hitter in the ninth inning.

For Joyce to admit he made a bad call after the game tells me he is not the arrogant umpire some have become, who seem to be spoiling for a fight and why MLB is cracking down on those umpires with an agenda that includes baiting players.

Joyce was born in Toledo, Ohio and will celebrate his 55th birthday in October. He started umpiring in the Midwest League in 1978. He now lives in Oregon with his wife and two kids. He was upset with fans who brought his wife and kids into the controversy over the call.

He had this to say about Galarraga after the game yesterday:

“I didn’t expect,” to see him, said Joyce, who choked up after the game recounting the moment. “That shows me a lot of class. The sportsmanship that he holds in his inner being is right there with the best of them.”

Galarraga made this statement about Joyce:

“Nobody is perfect,” Galarraga said again Thursday. “Inside of my heart, I don’t have any problem.”

Galarraga was born in Venezuela and is now 28 years old. He was signed by the Montreal Expos at the age of 16 in 1998.  He didn’t play his first professional game till the age of 19 with the Gulf Coast League Expos and played for them the next three seasons.

Later on, he would play in the Washington Nationals organization before being included in the trade that sent Alfonso Soriano to the Nationals with Galarraga, Termel Sledge and Brad Wilkerson being traded to the Rangers.

He was 23 before he played his first AA game with Harrisburg of the Eastern League in 2005.  He started playing in the Rangers organization in 2006, but compiled a 1-10 record that season. He rebounded to post a 11-8 record in 2007.

Galarraga was then traded to the Detroit Tigers for Michael Hernandez in 2008 and finally reached the major leagues ten years after signing with the Expos. He was 13-7 for them in 2008, but fell off to a 6-10 record in 2009.

After starting the 2010 season with Toledo (ironically the birthplace of Jim Joyce) of the International League, he made his first start of the season for the Tigers with a 5-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on May 16.

He is currently 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA. He makes his next start against the White Sox on Tuesday and will be facing Gavin Floyd in Chicago.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Bud Selig needs to ponder whether Armando Galarraga should be given his perfect game, which was taken from him by umpire Jim Joyce when he made a horrific call that ruled Jason Donald was safe at first base even though he was clearly out.

Yesterday was a day that had a little of everything, but the one thing most fans will remember will be umpire Jim Joyce making a safe call on a play that should have been the last play of a perfect game for Armando Galarraga.

Instead of a perfect game, it will go down as a one-hit shutout as the Tigers won the game 3-0. Joyce admitted after the game that he blew the call, but that won’t give Galarraga his perfect game back unless Bud Selig uncharacteristically becomes involved and rules that he should receive credit for his perfect game if Selig has the power to make that decision.

Selig, who has been on the down-low this season, does not like to be pressured into making decisions, so it will be interesting to see if he even comments on the situation. He was in hiding for five days after Alex Rodriguez was found to have used steroids before making a statement.

I can understand not using instant replay for an entire game, but it may be time to use it in the last two or three innings of games. Even the umpire Joyce probably wishes there was instant replay being used last night since the right call would have been made.

Instead, Galarraga, who was ready to celebrate, was shocked to see Joyce call Donald safe. Joyce may have been the only one in the ballpark who thought Donald was safe.

Galarraga, to his credit, maintained his composure after the bad call. Some pitchers, like Carlos Zambrano, may have made an ugly scene in the same situation, but it was amazing how Galarraga remained calm and went back to the mound and recorded the last out.

In the same night we witnessed perfection for 26 batters, we saw imperfection from Joyce, robbing Galarraga of a special moment that almost certainly will never happen again in his major league career.

Galarraga was fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2008 after compiling a 13-7 record but experienced the sophomore jinx in 2009, when his record fell to 6-10.

This year he didn’t even make the Opening Day roster and was sent to Toledo, where he was 4-2 this season after seven starts before returning to the Tigers. He was making his fourth start of the season for the Tigers after being recalled.

Austin Jackson made one of the best catches I have ever seen when Mark Grudzielanek hit a long fly ball that was chased down by Jackson. When the ball was first hit it looked like it would land between Jackson and left fielder Don Kelly, but Jackson made a catch similar to the catch Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series. I can’t recall an outfielder running as far as Jackson to get to a ball.

We can only wait now to see if Bud Selig will make the decision to give the perfect game back to Galarraga after Joyce took it away from him. I do give credit to Joyce for admitting he blew the call, but that doesn’t give Galarraga his perfect game back.

Knowing how reluctant Selig is to act decisively, he may just add this to his list of things to hand off to the new commissioner in 2012. He has put off for years a ruling on whether Pete Rose should be reinstated and become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, so there is no reason to expect him to act expeditiously now.

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires

It wasn’t the best day for Ken Griffey Jr. to announce his retirement, but it was still time for him to walk away from the game he has played professionally since 1987, when he played for Bellingham of the Northwest League in 1987.

Griffey, at age 40, is in position to be the first No. 1 draft pick since the inception of the amateur draft in 1965 to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in about six years. He is the last player among the 1987 first round picks to retire from baseball.

Only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays have hit more lifetime home runs than the 630 Griffey hit during his career. He has never been mentioned as a steroids user, making his numbers even more significant.

I salute Griffey for retiring even though he may have been kept on the roster despite having a non-Griffey type of year. His retirement showed me that he cares too much about the Seattle Mariners to remain on the roster while preventing a better player from helping the team.

His .184 batting average and two extra-base hits in 108 plate appearances with no home runs and seven runs batted in show he made the right decision. I have more respect for Griffey than ever for making this unselfish move to walk away from the game when it was evident he doesn’t have the skills he once had in his 22-year career.

If ever there was a player that is a lock for the Hall of Fame, it is Ken Griffey Jr. He will fall 219 hits short of 3,000 hits, but his other numbers are so overwhelmingly great that he will still go in the first time he is eligible.

He is 14th all-time in runs batted in with 1,836. He made the All-Star team 13 times and was third in AL All-Star DH voting at the time of his retirement. He won a Gold Glove for 10 consecutive years from 1990-1999. He won the 1997 AL MVP award. In addition, he hit 40 or more home runs seven times and drove in 100 or more runs eight times.

Baseball-reference.com compares his stats to those of Hall of Famers Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Mel Ott, Willie Mays, Dave Winfield, and Mickey Mantle.

Griffey missed a lot of games later in his career, which prevented him putting up even better numbers. He played in 130 or fewer games 11 times during his career and played in 100 or fewer games in five of those years.

We laud Griffey for playing the game the right way and for knowing it was time to leave the game he loves behind being a better game because he epitomizes what is good about baseball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It has been 22 years since Arthur Rhodes made his first pitch in professional baseball for Bluefield of the Appalachian League in 1988. Now at the age of 40, the Texas native is the leading setup man in Major League Baseball.

He has allowed only one run in 23 relief appearances in 2010 for a 1-1 record and a 0.42 ERA. He has not allowed a run since his second appearance of the season on April 10 against the Cubs.

Rhodes issued his first walk since May 8 last night when he walked two Cardinals. He has allowed only nine hits in his 21 innings and has posted a 0.69 WHIP, and opponents are hitting only .130 against Rhodes.

For the first 13 years of his major league career, Rhodes pitched nine years for the Orioles and four years for the Mariners.

Since leaving the Mariners he has pitched for the A’s, Indians, Phillies, a second stint with the Mariners, Marlins, and Reds. He missed the entire 2007 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Rhodes has been stingy when it comes to allowing home runs and has allowed only eight home runs since 2004.

He pitched very well for both the Orioles and Mariners in back-to-back seasons. He compiled a 19-4 record for the Orioles over the 1996 and 1997 seasons. Later he would post an 18-4 record over the 2001 and 2002 seasons for the Mariners.

When Rhodes played his first season for the Orioles he only earned $100,000, and in his sixth season with the Orioles he was only earning $300,000. Today a first-year player earns over $400,000, but Rhodes didn’t earn that much till his seventh season, when he earned $1.6 million.

The Reds are currently one game ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central race, and Rhodes has been a big part of their success.

Around the Diamond

The Braves extended their winning streak to seven games after defeating the Phillies again last night.

While the Braves have the longest winning streak in the majors, the Diamondbacks have the longest losing streak with nine consecutive losses. A.J. Hinch, who took over the managerial reins for the Diamondbacks last season, may be replaced since the team has been 78-108 with him at the helm, and he has shown no sign of being able to turn the team around.

In his defense, though, the Diamondbacks have been without the services of Brandon Webb, 2006 Cy Young winner and the runner-up in 2007 and 2008, since he has thrown only four innings since 2008.

The Rangers moved into a one percentage point lead over the A’s yesterday. The Red Sox are only a half game behind the third-place Blue Jays in the AL East.

Javier Vazquez won his fourth game of the 2010 season last night. He didn’t win his fourth game till May 20 in 2009, so he has to be hoping he can put together another 10-3 record in the second half to make up for his dismal start in 2010. However, his ERA was 3.58 at this time last season but is currently 6.06.

Trevor Hoffman allowed three runs in the seventh inning to the Marlins when he allowed three hits and two walks, as the Marlins broke a 3-3 tie to take a 6-3 lead and eventually defeated the Brewers 6-4. It was the third time in his last seven appearances that Hoffman gave up three runs.

Hoffman has allowed 22 runs and 25 hits in 17 innings while striking out 10 and walking 10. Two years ago he had a strikeout to walk ratio of 46-9 in 54 innings but has walked 10 already this season in 37 fewer innings. He is proving not only that he cannot close games, but also that he cannot hold a lead if he enters the game before the ninth inning.

The Brewers are in a quandary since they would probably like to release him now but would like to pay him as little of the $7.5 million owed as possible depending on whether he has a guaranteed contract. One thing for sure is that it is very unlikely he will garner his 600th save since he still needs four more. I can’t see any team wanting his services since he has a 2.06 WHIP.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It is a no-brainer that Stephen Strasburg is at the top of minor league prospects in 2010. He is scheduled to make his major league debut next week for the Nationals.

Strasburg has posted a combined record of 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA in 10 starts, with five in AA and five in AAA.

He has struck out 60 and walked 12 in 50 minor league innings and has allowed only one home run. He also has posted an amazing 0.79 WHIP.

Mike Stanton may be promoted to the Marlins directly from AA Jacksonville. He has hammered 18 home runs and driven in 48 runs. Stanton is only 20, and the 6’5″, 235-pound Stanton is hitting .308 while posting a .439 OBP and a .704 slugging percentage.

It is not a matter of if Stanton will be called up, but it has to be soon since manager Fredi Gonzalez is already talking about where he will bat in the batting order.

Chris Coghlan is not hitting well so far this season, so the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year could be sitting on the bench to make room for Stanton in the lineup. The Marlins are not going to call up a 20-year-old player like Stanton to sit on the bench, so someone used to playing will be watching games from the dugout.

Jesus Feliciano cannot be considered a prospect since he will be 31 on June 6, but he is leading the International League in hitting with a .403 average for Buffalo, a Mets affiliate. He is playing his 13th year in the minors and hasn’t played in a major league game.

He has no power with only 18 home runs in 13 seasons. He has been in the minors since 1998, when he played for Yakima in the Dodgers organization.

Former major leaguer Hank Blalock is hitting well for Durham and may be called up to the Rays before long since he is hitting .349.

Pedro Alvarez of Indianapolis is not hitting for average (.261), but his power numbers may be enough for him to be called up by the Pirates since he has 11 home runs and has driven in 44 runs while slugging .511.

Dayan Viciedo of Charlotte has hit 11 home runs and driven in 24 runs while hitting .286 and could be playing at the major league level for the White Sox before the season is over.

Carlos Santana should be playing for the Indians soon since he has 10 homers and 43 runs batted in for Columbus while hitting .315 and slugging .565.

Jeremy Hellickson might be pitching in Tampa Bay by the end of this season after compiling an 8-2 record with a 2.49 ERA for Durham and allowing only two home runs in 65 innings.

Daniel Hudson, who was 2-0 for the White Sox in 2009, has improved his chances of being called up after a slow start by having the third most wins in the International League with six. Hudson pitched in five levels in 2009 by pitching in A, Advanced A, AA, AAA, and the majors.

The Dodgers have three of the top four hitters in the Pacific Coast League with Albuquerque, but only 25-year-old Xavier Paul could be considered a prospect since John Lindsey, leading the league in hitting with a .430 average, is 33, and Jay Gibbons, third in batting with a .389 mark, is also 33. Paul is fourth with a .388 average.

Chad Tracy, 30, of Iowa is hitting .424 but has little chance of cracking the Cubs lineup in Wrigley Field.

Buster Posey, 23, who was called up by the Giants, is the only player under 25 among the top 30 hitters in the Pacific Coast League.

Chris Carter, 23, of Sacramento might have already been called up by the A’s if not for his .237 batting average, but he is second in the league in home runs with 12 and second in runs batted in with 42. With the A’s needing more power in their lineup, Carter may be called up before the end of June.

Chuck Lofgren, 23, of Nashville with a 6-3 record, may be called up by the Brewers in the near future since the starting pitching in Milwaukee has not done well in 2010, and they could use some bullpen help too.

Twenty-two-year-old Casey Coleman, with a 5-3 record, has an outside chance of being called up by the Cubs before the end of the season.

The spotlight will be on Stephen Strasburg and Mike Stanton when they are called up, but we could see some AA players called up that will make a name for themselves during the 2010 major league season.

Around the Diamond

Ubaldo Jimenez continues to pitch in a league of his own, as he posted his 10th win of the 2010 season in a complete game 4-0 shutout win over the Giants. His 10-1 record, 0.78 ERA, and 0.90 WHIP can be described as amazing, but even amazing doesn’t do justice to what he has accomplished in 2010.

He pitched a no-hitter against the Braves, giving the Rockies a 4-0 win, on April 17, showing early on that this would be a special season for him.

After 11 starts he has not allowed more than two runs to be scored against him in a game. He has not allowed a run in six of those 11 starts. He has allowed two runs twice and allowed only one run in the other three starts.

He pitched a two-hitter in his only loss and allowed one run to score. Jimenez has struck out 70 in 80 innings, and opponents are hitting .172 against him. On this date last season his record was 3-6, and he didn’t win his 10th game till Aug. 12 in 2009, with that win making his record 10-9.

Andy Pettitte, 7-1, joined David Price and Clay Buchholz as the AL leaders in wins with his win yesterday.

Cristian Guzman may be leading the NL in hitting with a .327 average, but Andre Ethier should have enough at-bats to qualify as the leader soon since he is hitting .380 as of today.

Jose Bautista, with 16 home runs, needs a home run today to be on track for a 50 home run season since the Blue Jays will be playing their 54th game, which marks the exact one-third mark for the 2010 season.

Ricky Romero of the Blue Jays is leading the AL in strikeouts with 79.

Miguel Cabrera is leading the AL in runs batted in with 48 and is third in batting at .344 and second in home runs with 14.

Eight NL pitchers have lower ERAs than the best ERA by an AL pitcher. Ubaldo Jimenez leads the majors with a 0.78 ERA, while ninth-ranked Jeff Niemann leads the AL with a 2.37 mark. Only seven of the top 25 ERAs have been posted by AL pitchers this season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com