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Baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal reported that the world champion New York Yankees are the front runners to acquire pitcher Dan Haren.

Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks has been a consistent pitcher since 2005.

Last season, he had an ERA of 3.14 and picked up 14 wins. Note the fact that the D-Backs had a losing season.

The Yankees have been looking for an above-average starter to fill in Andy Pettitte, who is injured, and to have an always-stockpiled starting rotation.

Both organizations believe that this deal can go through, but the D-Backs are asking for a high price tag on the ace pitcher.

Their proposal was for pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Ivan Nova, Zach McAllister, and a Class A player. Not only that, they must take in all of the money left on Haren’s contract, which is $33 million. On the bright side, he is signed through the 2012 season, with an option for 2013.

Nova and McAllister are prized starting pitchers, but the Yankees will have time to put their farm system again, as the rotation would include Dan Haren, C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Phil Hughes.

There are questions regarding Javier Vasquez and Pettitte’s future with the Yankees, but if Vasquez is let go they will have some spending money left for the 2010 free agent class.

Chamberlain can’t get the job done anymore (well at least in the American League), so they might as well send him. The only problem is that the Yanks want to stick with him: well at least for a while.

If Haren does land in the Bronx this season, it will make up for most of the failure to acquire Cliff Lee.

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Many Yankees fans have been hoping that Cliff Lee would end up in New York this season via trade with the Seattle Mariners.

But it will never happen.

The Yankees seem content with the current starting rotation: Javier Vasquez has turned around and A.J. Burnett seems to be coming back to his usual form as well after a miserable June.

Believe it or not, the Yankees have a budget. Which was one of the reasons they didn’t make the best offer to Johnny Damon.

To add to the odds, there has been reports by many sources that the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins have agreed on a trade that we send the ace Lee to Target Field.

The deal had been agreed upon, but has yet to happen. The main player Seattle was getting was catcher Wilson Ramos, but he had strained his oblique. 

After Ramos recvoers from his injury and off the disabled list, the trade will be made. 

Minnesota already has star Joe Mauer behind the plate, so they are in no need of high potential catchers. They would also reportedly send two unknown minor league players to Seattle.

The chance of Cliff Lee coming to the Bronx is very slim.

The Yankees do not have the deepest farm system or players on the trading block.

There is no reason for Yankees fans to have hope of Lee getting traded to New York, as that will just break your hearts by July 31st.

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Pirates prized prospect Pedro Alvarez had been called up by the team this week, and will probably replace Andy LaRoche.

Alvarez, 23, is a power hitting 3rd baseman, who can be a threat every at bat at the big league level but is very weak when it comes to defense.

He reminds us of a somewhat Adam Dunn, who is a power hitter, yet isn’t the greatest fielder (I mean years ago, he has gotten better this year). Also, Dunn and Alvarez both strike out often. 

With Pittsburgh needing help at this point, they called up the young 3rd baseman.

But now, what will happen to Andy LaRoche, who is a .258 hitter, but a great defender? Could he be on the trading block this year? Probably, as Pittsburgh is known for trading its starters for more future stars. One of them has to go, to the minors or traded, as Pittsburgh is in the National League with no DH.

Minnesota needs some help over at 3rd base, with Nick Punto and Brendan Harris not producing. Therefore, they did call up prospect Danny Valencia, who has a very high ceiling. But we do not know if he can hit in the Majors yet, and he also might need some more experience. 

So, why not bring LaRoche in? He is a solid defense addition to the team, as well as a better offensive player than Harris or Punto. 

There were some reports regarding that the Twins were interested in Mike Lowell of the Red Sox, but he does have a high salary. Not only that, who knows if his body will break down?

The Minnesota Twins might have some interest, as July 31st gets closer and closer.

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Before the season, I wrote a similar article ranking the Top Five pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.

There were some agreements and some disagreements.

Two pitchers have made the list again, and three are new on the list.

These pitchers would make the best possible starting rotation if the MLB was to make an all Major League Baseball team.

The pitchers are not in a specific order.

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The Washington Nationals have stepped up a notch in the MLB with their performance this year after their horrible 103-loss season in 2009.

The Nats did make quite a few moves for Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham before the 2009 season, and they are now the core guys, along with Zimmerman in the lineup. They also traded for the speedster Nyjer Morgan.

With Washington making plenty of wise moves this offseason, they are off to an average start, with a 31-33 record. They are just 6 games back in the National League East. 

Since the Nationals have shown that they may be ready for playoff contention, Cubs’ Kosuke Fukudome might be the next starting Right Fielder for the Nats.

The Chicago Cubs look as if they are a “selling team” this year, and the Nationals could use help in RF. 

They have been using Mike Morse and Roger Bernadina together, and it is going fine. But Fukudome could be the guy that can start in all 3 outfield positions, and he could also be a solid 4th outfielder. He is also locked up in his contract until the end of the 2011 season. 

The salary is another problem, because of his $13.5 million earnings per year. But if the Cubbies decide to take some of that portion off, the Washington Nationals might be able to land this guy.

We do not know if the Nationals can keep playing good baseball like they have been all year, but at this point, Kosuke Fukudome can be brought in to help them become an overall solid team. 

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The New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros 9-5, as they swept them at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have finally closed the gap between the Rays and are in first place in the American League East.

To help this cause, catcher Jorge Posada hit a grand slam: in two straight games.

Robinson Cano also chipped in, by hitting a solo home run. This was a small milestone for the young second baseman, as the home run was his 100th.

Starter Phil Hughes wasn’t much impressive, as he allowed 5 runs in 5 2/3 innings, but he still picked up the win.

Utility man Ramiro Pena replaced Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.  He was just as productive as a starter, with 2 RBIs.

Outfielder Brett Gardner slapped 2 hits, raising his batting average to .317.

New rookie Chad Huffman also played and got his first big league hit.

This was a great three game series for the Yankees, as they swept the Astros at home. Because of the fact that the Yankees have struggled for a while in May, this series might get them back on track.

With an eight game win streak at home, things look bright as ever for the Bronx Bombers.

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Baltimore Orioles catalyst 2nd baseman Brian Roberts will be out until Tuesday, June 15th, a major blow considering how important a player he is both on Baltimore’s offense and defense.

He was placed on the Disabled List since April 9th, and has not played in any baseball game since then.

He did resume baseball activities for a while, but will not do any of that until Roberts gets another examination.

With a herniated disk in the back, it has been tough for the O’s star player.

Between injuries and lack of ability on the entire team, they would at least like to compete before they finish with the worst record in baseball.

Making the playoffs at this point seems impossible, so they would at least like to hurt some teams in the playoff race.

No team wants to be the one where other teams say, “It’s an easy win.” But it certainly has been like that for the Baltimore Orioles.

They need Brian Roberts back quickly and fully healthy: soon.

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Stephen Strasburg was drafted by the Washington Nationals last year with the first pick in the Rule 4 Draft.

Fans, scouts, and players say he has the best stuff they have ever seen. Every eye was on him as he progressed through the Minor Leagues. Some said that he could have just skipped the Minors.

The Washington Nationals made an announcement that Strasburg would be starting on June 8th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

He has the potential to become the next Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens.

But there is one thing that might hold Strasburg back, and maybe even end his career—his windup. 

When he delivers a pitch, his arms make an M, as shown above. Ring a bell?

Mark Prior anyone?—He seemed to be a player born to dominate baseball throughout his career, but after one strong season, injuries kept him from making some starts, and it ended his active career. He is now a free agent.

Could this be the same fate for Stephen Strasburg?

All the money, cameras, and scouting wasted on a busted player?

Because Prior has had healthy seasons, there is hope.

People ask, why not just change his windup. Fat chance.

You would not tell a first year pro baseball pitcher to change his windup completely when you have dominated like he has through Double and Triple-A and threw a no-hitter in college.

Nationals fans: let’s just hope for the best. 

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In baseball, there are no exceptions.

If you fill the potentials in you or live up to what you are getting paid, there will be no problems.

But if you do not, your career takes very large U-turn.

That is what happened to the next 5 players you will see, as they are all now either free agents or struggling on teams.
Here is the list of the biggest busts in baseball since 2000.

(Note: Salary or Potential wise)

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I previously wrote a scouting report on Eduardo Nunez, a young shortstop with great batting, speed and occasional power.

Nunez is currently in the New York Yankees Triple A system, the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees. 

I, myself, and others think that he will one day soon replace Derek Jeter at short when he retires. 

But with the injury bug infecting the Yankees, Nunez’s number might soon be called up to the big league level. 

The Yankees already called up Kevin Russo and released Randy Winn. Curtis Granderson is finally coming back, while Nick Johnson will have season ending surgery.

They like what they see in the rookie Russo, and they might want to see what other rookies can do, too.

There is a bigger chance Nunez will get his first taste of the big leagues, and very soon.

Another reason why he might be called up: a .317 average and 12 stolen bases (as of May 28, 2010.) The stats do not lie.

Remember his name.

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