Kuzul

The Boston Red Sox pitching staff is healthy and very formidable. It’s the offense that has been destroyed by injuries. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury took a knee to the ribs from Adrian Beltre nine games into the season, rehabilitated his five broken ribs, then, a week-and-a-half into his return, he re-breaks a rib, making what was already a lost season for the Oregon-native truly lost. Kevin Youkilis, one of their steadiest hitters, landed on the DL prior to Ellsbury’s season-ending news, and he will miss the rest of the season as well. It’s surprising and sad to see both stars out of the lineup, but it wasn’t surprising to find out that Mike Cameron, oft-injured and old, will also miss the rest of the season after undergoing abdomen surgery.

Still, though, three productive players are gone, and the list doesn’t end there. Former MVP Dustin Pedroia, their heart and soul, fouled a ball off his foot against the San Francisco Giants in a late-June contest and missed nearly two months with a bad break. While he was on the DL, he was so anxious to return that he took fielding practice on his knees. He returned, the competitive player he is, sooner than expected.

He struggled to get re-acclimated, just as Ellsbury did. Also as Ellsbury, who was deemed “back” after swiping four bases in a game against New York, Pedroia was thought to have returned to moderately full health when he collected his first hit in his second game back, scored a run, and swiped a base in a win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. But that would be his last game. He was scratched from Thursday’s lineup after admitting discomfort felt in the foot that was broken. He did not believe it to be that serious a setback, but Friday’s news determined he was living in a bit of denial mixed with his incredibly competitive spirit.

Pedroia is back on the disabled list. The 27-year old star second baseman told reporters before Friday’s game that the foot felt “a lot worse” than it did Thursday. He didn’t re-break the bone; the DL stint is purely because of soreness. Of course, Pedroia, being who he is said, “I felt like I let the team down.” It’s better to sit than to chance it getting worse, Pedey.

It is not known whether this will end his season. It could just be two weeks; then, he will be back in the swing of things. Having a good idea of Pedroia’s persona, he wants to play today. But precautions need to be taken.

His team may not survive the latest setback, but Boston has remarkably managed to stay afloat so far in spite of all the injuries. They have three catchers on the disabled list, and Victor Martinez, who has been banged up throughout the year, could easily be their fourth with what he’s had to suffer through pain-wise. As it stands now, they have relatively no speed to speak of with Ellsbury and Pedroia out, and are relying heavily on two rookie outfielders, Daniel Nava and Ryan Kalish.

Nava and Kalish have produced: Nava is hitting .278 with one homer, 17 RBI, and an above-average .378 on-base percentage, while Kalish has two homers and eight RBI in his first 15 games. Both have been stellar in the field.

Mike Lowell has filled in well at first base in Youkilis’s stead, doing surprisingly well defensively. He was never very mobile, but despite that fact and a bum hip he’s gobbling up hot-shots. His all-out effort exemplifies what Boston’s team is all about. Playing hard can go a long way, which is why the Red Sox are still within reach of the Wild Card and even the Division.

Likewise, Jed Lowrie has played well in place of Pedroia since his long stint on the DL due to mono, hitting .304 with two homers, seven RBI, and nine runs scored. He’s hitting .344 this month and in 19 games overall has a tremendous .418 on-base percentage. Should Pedroia be out for the year, Lowrie’s bat and improving glove should continue to be more than serviceable.

The Red Sox have been resilient all year, and manager Terry Francona has done a marvelous job patching their lineup. Despite losing Ellsbury for 104 games, Pedroia for 47 games, Lowell for 77 games, Cameron for 74 games, and Youkilis for 20, the offense ranks fifth in the Majors in batting average, and second in runs scored, home-runs, and rbi’s.

As a result of their offensive production (which has been led by Beltre’s .337 BA, 23 homers, and 84 RBI, as well as David Ortiz‘s .268 BA, 27 homers, and 78 RBI), and their fairly efficient starting pitching staff (led by Clay Buchholz‘s 14 wins and 2.36 ERA, as well as Jon Lester‘s 13 wins and 2.80 ERA), Boston is currently six-and-a-half games back of New York in the AL West (whom they face three more times at the end of September), and five and a half back of Wild-Card leading Tampa Bay, (whom they face six more times this season).

They have time to make up ground. But to make the playoffs would be a tall order, considering they could be without four offensive stalwarts for the home stretch. Maybe more, if the cruel Baseball Gods have anymore debilitating injuries in store for the resilient Red Sox.

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There have been many memorable home-runs hit in major league baseball history.

There was Bill Mazerowski’s shot in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series; Carlton Fisk’s in the 1975 World Series, waiving it fair; Kirk Gibson’s in the 1988 World Series, hobbling around the bases, and pumping his fist rounding second to the, “I don’t believe what I just saw!” call from Jack Buck; Joe Carter’s 1993 World Series winning homer; Aaron Boone’s drive deep into the New York night to end Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox; and David Ortiz’s blast to end Game Four of the 2004 ALCS, igniting a historic four-game rally over the rival Yankees.

But few were as memorable as Bobby Thomson‘s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” off the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ralph Branca, to give the New York Giants the 1951 pennant over their vaunted rival.

It is renowned as the greatest round-tripper in history, but Thomson never saw what all the hubbub was about. “I can’t believe we’re still talking about it,” he said on its 40th anniversary.

Believe it, Mr. Thomson.

It ended perhaps the most exciting pennant race of all time, and few moments in any sport’s history can rival what transpired that magical day on the diamond.

The Giants were deemed dead in the water in August, but a 37-7 finish remarkably forced a playoff with the Dodgers. Their rally was unthinkable—undeniably the most miraculous in history—a rally which ended in the most exhilarating and dramatic of fashions.

Thomson died today at the age of 86. He, nor his famed home-run, will ever be forgotten. Its clearing of the left field wall did much more than win a baseball game. The rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers went beyond sports: it was the battle for New York.

In today’s game of baseball, members of the Red Sox and Yankees talk, laugh, and commiserate before games. The Giants and Dodgers did no such thing. Hate is a strong word, but it can aptly be used to describe their feelings for each other.

Thomson played for the Dodgers Rookies, a sandlot team and part of the Dodgers organization before signing a contract with the Giants for $100 a month, a solid chunk of money in those days. Some players grumbled over salary, but for the vast majority, playing the game was enough (unlike in today’s money-grabbing era).

That’s how it was for Thomson. He had an incredible love for the game, and was darn good at what he did.

He hit a career-high 32 homers during the 1951 season, his sixth of eight seasons with the team.

He bounced around for the rest of his career, playing with the Milwaukee Braves for three-plus seasons, then back with the Giants for the remaining 81 games of ’57, and then made stops in Boston and Baltimore to finish a 14-year career that ran from 1946-1960.

He hung up his spikes with eight 20-plus homer seasons, including five straight with the Giants, and had 264 in his career to compliment 1,026 RBI, 903 runs, 1,705 hits, three All-Star selections, and an MVP finish in the top-10, which came, fittingly, during that famed ’51 season.

Thomson couldn’t have played in a better era for the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. In ’51, the Dodgers held a 13.5 game lead on August 11th, fueling a premature proclamation from Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen, “The Giant is dead!” It turned out, backed by rookie Willie Mays and, of course, Thomson, the Giants stormed back, ending with the most extraordinary of finishes.

That extraordinary finish was brilliantly documented in Don DeLillo’s 1997 best-selling book Underworld. DeLillo documents the adventure undertaken by Cotter Martin, a young kid who, fictionally, has a helluva time sneaking into the third playoff game between the two, evading “a cop in municipal bulk” in the process:

“Cotter gives him a juke step that sends him nearly to his knees and the hot dog eaters bend from the waist to watch the kid veer away in soft acceleration, showing the cop a little finger-wag bye-bye.

… He cuts into an aisle in section 35 and walks down into the heat and smell of the massed fans, he walks into the smoke that hangs from the underside of the second deck, he hears the talk, he enters the deep buzz, he hears the warm-up pitches crack into the catcher’s mitt, a series of reports that carry a comet’s tail of secondary sound.

Then you lose him in the crowd.”

Then, after the crack of Thomson’s bat:

“And Cotter standing in section 35 watching the ball come in his direction. He feels his body turn to smoke. … But before he can smile or shout or bash his neighbor on the arm. Before the moment can overwhelm him, the ball appears again, stitching visibly spinning, that’s how near it hits, banging at an angle off a pillar–hands flashing everywhere.”

That eloquent description of the homer and the pandemonium which ensued, communicates one of the most jubilant feelings one can feel, and one that Cotter and the thousands who actually bought tickets felt.

The homer by Thomson, who, “had the good fortune in 1951 to come to bat at the right time,” fueled a rivalry which went beyond the game, a rivalry which was also ignited by Sal Maglie, the Giants ace who was aptly nicknamed The Barber for his close shaves—that is, his desire to give opponents chin music whenever he felt necessary.

Just as the Dodgers hitters knew Maglie all too well, Thomson was Branca’s worst nightmare. Branca had allowed a homer to the then 27-year old in the first playoff game, then the shot on October 3rd, which completely erased a 4-1 ninth-inning deficit.

Whatever happened to the genius nicknames like “The Barber”? What ever happened to playing for the thrill of the grass? What ever happened to cleverly labeling game-winners as Thomson’s was? What ever happened to baseball being more than baseball, a game full of turf wars, bad blood, and tremendous history?

The game has lost it’s imagination. The game is rapidly losing the all-important meaning of game. And now, the game has lost a shy, nonchalant man, a man who hit the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” a man, as well as his shot, who will never be forgotten.

(photo from USA Today)

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There and Back Again for Jacoby Ellsbury

When I went on my 10-day hiking trip to the Oval Lakes of Northern Washington, I expected I would miss no-hitters, some shakeups atop the many tight-knit divisions, and a franchise-altering trade made by Rich Cho and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Hiking peaks and lounging around a nearby lake reading Michael Chabon’s brilliant novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, the very strange Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, and David Halberstam’s superb October 1964 was very enjoyable, but as the trip went on, I began to have withdrawals. I dreamed of writing articles. I conjured up what I was sure had happened, was happening, and what was going to happen prior to my returning to Eugene, Oregon.

After pining for a newspaper throughout the nine-mile hike out, I snatched a USA Today at a nearby gas station to see that though not much newsworthy took place, it was still an exciting week in the world of sports.

Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees, August 5th-9th; Red Sox were 6 1/2 back to begin series

Boston managed a split in their four-game series against New York. Clay Buchholz, perhaps the best in a rotation full of solid starters, paced the team in the opener and a David Ortiz homer backed his performance.

They lost the next two games of the series. Saturday’s Yankee win was overshadowed by an ankle injury suffered to Alex Rodriguez, who appears to be alright after that scare considering he hit three home-runs the following Saturday. Derek Jeter passed Babe Ruth on the Yankees all-time hit list as they blasted Josh Beckett in the third contest between the foes.

The Red Sox salvaged a draw with a victory in the finale behind six shut-out innings by Jon Lester, who, the following Saturday, tossed eight more scoreless innings over the deadly Texas Rangers.

Given how action-packed Red Sox-Yankees series usually are, this was a ho-hum duel. Nothing changed in the standings, which hurts Boston. And they couldn’t gain any more ground the rest of the week, too.

Youkilis out for season with thumb surgery; Ellsbury struggles, then returns to the Disabled List

Kevin Youkilis, one of Red Sox best hitters, was deemed done for the season as he underwent surgery to repair a tear in his thumb. It’s a devastating blow to Boston, a team already depleted by the injury suffered to former MVP Dustin Pedroia. Their lineup has been makeshift all year, and with this and what would come, it certainly will remain that way for the rest of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury had four stolen bases in the Red Sox win over the Yankees in their series finale, but that was the lone highlight of his brief return. He was deemed ready to play after missing all but nine games due to severe damage done to his rib-cage. His performance suggested he was not healthy enough to, though, as he went 4-34 with no rbi’s before landing back on the Disabled List.

He returned to the DL Saturday night after re-injuring his ribs in Friday’s loss to the Rangers. He underwent CT and MRI scans, which found “some edema in the same area,” according to manager and apparent M.D. Terry Francona, and a new fracture line. Overall, Ellsbury said, through Francona, that it is worse than the first relapse in May. He may be done for the year. Sadly, a lost season for not only a very dangerous leadoff man, but a Oregon-native and former Oregon State Beaver.

Collison can now turn that frown upside down: the Pacers are his team to run.

A four-team trade in the NBA that helps all but one

New Orleans traded away promising young point guard Darren Collison along with James Posey to the Indiana Pacers; the Pacers traded power forward Troy Murphy (who has an expiring contract) to the New Jersey Nets; the Houston Rockets sent young guard Trevor Ariza to the Hornets; and the Nets traded their version of Ariza, Courtney Lee, to the Rockets.

Indiana, a team discontent with T.J. Ford and A.J. Price as their depth, gets the point guard of their future. Collison performed admirably in Chris Paul’s stead during his rookie season, and now he won’t be in his shadow anymore. He averaged 21 points and eight assists in 42 minutes per game during February when Paul was on the shelf, and finished the season averaging 12 points and upwards of six assists per game. He could potentially be a top-ten point guard in the league come this season, as ESPN’s Josh Whitling suggested.

Murphy gives the Nets cap-room for the Summer of 2011. The team will target Carmelo Anthony (if he doesn’t accept the Nuggets $65 million offer that’s been on the table for over a month) and Tony Parker during that free agency period, and Murphy’s expiring $11.9 million contract, should give them a considerable chance to at least nab one of the two premier talents.

Ariza put up solid numbers in his lone season with Houston, but shot just 39 percent. I’m not sure Lee will be much of an upgrade, but he’s a defensive-stalwart who seems to have a bit better head on his shoulders than Ariza. Just like every move Kevin Pritchard made for the Blazers before his dismissal, every deal that Houston does is seemingly intelligent with Daryl Morey at the helm.

The deal makes little sense for the Hornets, though Ariza does fill a need. They are taking a risk on moving Collison, as Paul could choose not to re-sign and test the free agent market. If that indeed does happen, New Orleans will have to take the time to develop a point guard, which is no easy task.

Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen inducted into Hall of Fame–deservedly, too.

Malone never won a championship with the Utah Jazz, and there have been some who have argued he isn’t Hall of Fame Material, but, in my mind, he was one of the best players of his generation–of any generation, for that matter. The Mailman formed an effortlessly talented tandem with one of the best point guards ever to play, John Stockton, and averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds per game for his career.

There was Malone-Stockton, but then there was Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen. The latter duo kept the former duo from winning any rings.

Pippen was the quintessential side-kick, stifling on defense, one of the better athletes ever to play in the NBA, and a solid scorer to compliment Jordan’s greatness. He averaged 16 points (20 during his prime), dished five assists and grabbed six rebounds per game over a 16-year career, and came up huge come playoff time, averaging 17-7-5 in 208 playoff games.

New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez was arrested for assault and the San Francisco Giants acquired a big bat in Jose Guillen. Those two tidbits, a thumb surgery, newly fractured ribs, a quiet week and a half in baseball, and a four-team trade in the NBA that could have fairly large ramifications is the collection of sports news that I missed. Now I return to the blogosphere, ready to write articles off the headlines as they happen.

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With Saturday’s trade deadline looming, teams are looking either to bolster already formidable rotations and lineups or to move the present and build for the future. It happens every season in baseball.

And considering the excitement generated so far, 2010 has been no different.

The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, last year’s World Series representatives, improved just for the heck of it.

The Phillies, which acquired ace Roy Halladay in December, traded for another very accomplished pitcher, the Houston Astros’ Roy Oswalt , in exchange for 27-year old left-hander J.A. Happ and two prospects on Thursday.

Oswalt, who spent his first nine-plus seasons with the Astros, will bring his 3.46 ERA over to Philly to try to win his first World Series championship.

Considering Oswalt, 32, has a career 3.24 ERA, a tremendous repertoire, and a knack for pitching effectively deep into games, it would be hard-pressed not to believe they will once again be the National League’s representative in the Fall Classic.

A tandem of Halladay and Oswalt atop a rotation will undoubtedly make opponents cringe, especially come playoff time when the duo can pitch four of a seven-game series.

Halladay is one of the best pitchers in baseball, if not the best, and Oswalt isn’t far down the list of elite arms in the league. His 6-12 record on the season isn’t indicative of his performance on the mound. It’s just that Houston’s offense has been dreadful.

One of the players responsible for their ineptitude is Lance Berkman. He watched his career-long teammate move on Friday, and then was sent packing Friday.

The New York Post ‘s Joel Sherman first broke the news that the 34-year old slugger is now a member of the New York Yankees.

The deal won’t be announced until Saturday, and it is not known who the Astros have received in return, but considering the reconstruction of his deal that allows New York to buy him out after the season, he’s a very solid rent-a-player, even though he doesn’t fit an immediate need.

Berkman has had a terrible season by his standards, hitting .245, 51 points lower than his career average. Despite hitting poorly average-wise, he has 13 homers, 49 RBI and a .372 on-base percentage.

He will presumably become their designated hitter, and if he can turn his season around, the Yankees offense that has scored the most runs in baseball to date will be even more deadly.

Two teams that desire to thwart New York’s plans of reaching the World Series improved their chances tremendously: The Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers.

First, the White Sox acquired 26-year old starting pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitching prospects Dan Hudson and David Holmberg .

Jackson has had a tumultuous career, and this is now the fourth time he has been traded, but he did throw a no-hitter earlier this season , is a tremendous athlete, and is capable of winning 15-plus games a season if he cuts down on his wildness.

He would be a solid acquisition for the White Sox, though a project for pitching coach Don Cooper. But his stay in Chicago may be a short one.

Rumors are flying that he could be flipped to the Washington Nationals as part of a package for slugging first-baseman Adam Dunn .

Unlike Berkman’s situation with the Yankees, Dunn would fill a hole in the middle of Chicago’s order and greatly help them in their efforts not only to keep their extraordinary in-season turnaround going, but also to create some distance between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers, two teams currently on their heels.

The asking price for Dunn is astronomical, so it would most likely take Jackson and a few solid prospects to bring him to the Windy City.

Dunn has been one of the more prolific home-run hitters over the past nine seasons. He has hit 40 homers in a season six times, and should be on his way to notching his seventh, as he currently has 24 longballs.

He has never been one to hit for average, as his career clip is .251, but he has done much more than swing for the fences this season, batting .286. He has 340 homers and is only 30 years old. Scary.

If everything goes as planned for the White Sox and they do acquire Dunn’s bat for the home-stretch, they will look to acquire the next item on their list, who is believed to be Astros starting pitcher Brett Myers .

Myers, a reliever turned starter, would be a very smart acquisition, as he has bounced back from an ineffective end to his career in Philadelphia to go 8-6 this season and boast a 3.10 ERA, which is 116 points better than his career mark.

As with Dunn, it seems he has been around a lot longer than he actually has. Myers is only 29 years old, yet he has eight and a half years of major league experience under his belt.

And with the way he is pitching, he can make those who haven’t completely forgotten about Jake Peavy do so and help the White Sox considerably.

Infielders Jorge Cantu and Cristian Guzman could bolster the American League West-leading Rangers, as the two were acquired from the Florida Marlins and Nationals respectively.

The Rangers, like the White Sox, are aggressively buying this trade season in hopes of dethroning the Yankees as the league’s best. They lost second baseman Ian Kinsler to a strained groin, and did extremely well in replacing his production.

Though the Yankees are the cream of the crop and are about to acquire Berkman, I consider the Rangers to be the most dangerous team in the American League.

A few weeks ago they acquired one of the best pitchers in baseball, Cliff Lee , to make an already top-ten ranked rotation even better. And now they acquire two players that can bring plenty to the table offensively.

Cantu’s numbers aren’t all too flattering, as he’s hitting .262 with 10 homers and a well below average .310 on-base percentage, but he does have 54 RBI, and could be very productive in a utility role.

He was acquired not only for his bat, but for his versatility defensively. It is believed that he will platoon with rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland to begin his tenure in Texas, then will see time at second and third base.

Similarly, Guzman, who doesn’t get on base much either but has put up respectable numbers, will see time at second and shortstop.

He is hitting .282 this season, and, like Cantu, could help replace Kinsler’s production, then, once Kinsler returns, become adequate infield depth.

As these moves suggest, many of the contenders made the most of their aggressiveness.

The Phillies, Yankees, White Sox, and Rangers didn’t necessarily need to do anything to be dangerous during the heat of August and September, but they did plenty and will be rewarded greatly.

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The Chicago Cubs don’t want to have to be sellers at the trade deadline. They feel, with a few hot streaks, they can make a run in the National League Central. A sweep of the division-leading Cardinals would be an uplifting start in that direction. They could accomplish that feat Sunday night and build an extraordinary amount of confidence in doing so. But missed opportunities hurt them considerably in their efforts. Lucky for them, their rivals struggled to make the most of their chances as well.

The series finale was very eventful. An inning didn’t go by without some sort of threat. Only five half innings were tossed perfectly, and unfortunately for the Cubs, they were at the plate during three of them. Still, despite having a few quiet frames, it looked as if they would come out on top.

The chaos began in the first inning, with Cardinals power-hitting outfielder Matt Holliday attempting to steal second. A runner, recently activated Ryan Ludwick, was on third-base, so the thinking was for Holliday to force a throw down to second base and distract the infielders as well as catcher Geovany Soto long enough for Ludwick to swiftly sprint home for the game’s first run. Chicago saw right through that. As 20-year old shortstop Starlin Castro caught Soto’s throw, he ran Holliday back to first base momentarily then fired back to the catcher, who easily tagged the slow-footed Ludwick out at the plate. The first tense situation and the first opportunity missed. There would be many more of both.

The Cardinals made up for their botched first inning by breaking through against Cubs righthander Ryan Dempster, playing two runs on RBI-singles by Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan. Dempster, who hasn’t received much run support in his career when facing St. Louis, hoped his team’s bats would back him.

A runner was in scoring position in the third with one out, but nothing came of that. Different stories were written in the fourth and fifth, however. Ever since Chicago has placed rookies Tyler Colvin and Castro atop the batting order, they have averaged seven runs per game. It appeared they may have been on that track again. Power hitter and longtime Cub continued his revitalized July, socking a double off Chris Carpenter to begin the fourth and scoring moments later on a single by Marlon Byrd, who has been one of the better Cubs players this season.

They took the lead the following inning as Dempster pitched a second scoreless frame. A triple by Ryan Theriot that allowed Soto to rumble home and a clutch two-out single by Castro gave Chicago the advantage. It was a playoff atmosphere at Wrigley. The Cubs certainly weren’t acting like a team nine games back. They were playing the Cardinals. If they were 20 games out they still would have been up for the rivalry’s latest installment.

With the crowd buzzing, the great Albert Pujols stepped to the plate to begin the sixth inning. He was frustrated with his mechanics in batting practice, shaking his head after a few swings. Orel Hershiser, announcing ESPN’s telecast, pitied the next team that had to face Pujols. King Albert didn’t want to wait that long to take out his anger, though. Whatever glitch that was in his mechanics before the game was gone, as everything clicked with one oh-so powerful swing. Dempster fired a fastball into the heart of the plate, right in the wheelhouse of the best hitter in the game. Then he watched it catapult off his bat and zoom into the left-field seats, leaving Cubs fans groaning and Cardinals fans joyous.

St. Louis soon had the chance to break the tie Pujols was responsible for securing, but their two-out rally was thwarted by a brilliant throw by Byrd. Schumaker doubled with two out, and, playing percentages, catcher Yadier Molina was intentionally walked to bring up Carpenter. This nearly backfired, as Carpenter stroked a single up the middle to a charging Byrd. The center-fielder threw a frozen rope that two-hopped beyond the mound and smack into Soto’s glove. Schumaker didn’t stand a chance, and the catcher made sure of it.

Onto the ninth they went, still tied at three apiece. It would stay that way as extras were forced, but what took place in the inning is well worth noting. Carlos Marmol, the Cubs closer, entered his outing with a Major League Baseball-best 16.5 strikeouts per nine innings, translated to 87 in 46 1/3 innings. He exited with 89, disposing of Felipe Lopez looking at a slider that curved deceptively into the middle of the plate, then let loose with a flaming fastball that Ludwick swung right through.

Wrigley went crazy at Marmol’s the sight of Marmol’s dominance, relishing in his devastating fastball-slider combination that the best hitters in the world can’t hit in their wildest dreams. But Cubs fans stopped applauding when Alfonso Soriano’s sawed off liner into right field in the bottom of the inning turned into a costly base-running mistake. The smacked curveball bounded down the right-field line as he neared first base and was misplayed by Ludwick as he rounded the bag. Someone aware of the bobble that slipped past Ludwick would have sprinted for second and reached safely rather easily. But Soriano, even with his speed, didn’t break for second, a mental lapse the fan-base is far too familiar with.

Because of his gaffe, a threat wasn’t made. The Cardinals had an opportunity to take full advantage to begin extras, but three singles wasn’t enough to send home the go-ahead run as Molina grounded into a swiftly-turned double-play.

It was the Cubs turn to load the bases in the bottom of the tenth, but it was also their turn to squander a chance to sweep St. Louis and head into their series with the lowly Houston Astros full of momentum. Byrd struck out as thousands of Chicago fans buried their heads in their hands in frustration that has haunted the franchise since 1908.

Fittingly, with their luck over the past 101 years, St. Louis broke through, undoing the deadlock with a scorcher into the right-field seats by Felipe Lopez in the 11th. Chicago went quietly in the bottom to end the intense marathon and their fans were sent glumly back to their cars, forced to let the team’s 53rd loss sink in.

There is still hope for the Cubs in the divisional race. Far bigger comebacks have been made with far less time to go in the season. But, none have been made by championship-starved Chicago in recent memory. The curse has to be reversed some time, and though their chances don’t look promising during the final season Lou Piniella will ever manage, a series win over the hated Cardinals, despite the disappointing finale, could spark a fire under their lot of underachievers, overpaid stars, and prized rookies and lead to an unexpected burst into playoff contention.

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Rumors have been swirling around the potential availability of Houston Astros 32-year old ace Roy Oswalt . He has been the lone bright spot on a team that entered Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds with a 39-56 record. Since the season is considered lost, it was of little surprise to find that they are indeed trying to unload their franchise player of nine-plus years in an attempt to acquire solid prospects in return and rebuild.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals have all expressed interest in acquiring the 6-foot, 143 game-winner who has a solid 3.22 career ERA. The Reds have not, and for good reason. They don’t need him. Their pitching staff is already terrific, featuring a young rotation that is anchored by 24-year old Johnny Cueto .

Cincinnati’s offense tagged Oswalt for six runs in the first three innings, and the stocky, powerful Dominican right-hander made sure the early advantage would hold by continuing his stellar 2010 campaign.

He began his career in 2008. His statistics weren’t eye-opening to start, as he lost 14 times and carried a 4.81 ERA, but he showed many glimpses of what kind of pitcher he could be in the future. He was un-hittable at times, impressing the Reds fan-base and frustrating the opposition’s with a lively fastball and a filthy array of offspeed pitches.

He made significant strides the following season, polishing his pitches and taking forty points off his ERA. This year, he has solidified himself as the team’s best pitcher, going 9-2 with a sub-3.30 ERA. He is one of the main reasons Cincinnati hasn’t put any of their eggs in Oswalt’s basket. He’s been pitching even better than the trade market’s hot commodity.

He certainly continued to against the Astros. The five-run cushion was more than enough against Houston’s underachieving bats. He threw a substantial amount of pitches, but the results were desirable. His speed discrepancy and unpredictability kept hitters off-balance. He breezed through the bottom halves of the first three innings, striking out four, then methodically baffled Houston over the next five innings with his particularly effective fastball-slider combination.

He predominately used those two pitches, as was especially the case in the sixth inning. They were all he threw, and the frame featured a strikeout, a lazy fly-ball, and a tapper back to the mound. When he was in a jam in the eighth, his final inning, he thwarted a two-on, no-out attempted rally by pumping in 94 mile-per-hour fastballs then pulling the string with 83 mile-per-hour sliders. The Astros knew one or the other was coming, they just didn’t know how to handle either.

Their offense has struggled this season, but with the names they have in their lineup they certainly aren’t chopped liver. Speedy Michael Bourn was kept off the basepaths and power hitters Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman , who are both very surprisingly batting in the .230′s, continued their woes. In all, Cueto tossed eight shutout innings , allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out six. He threw 122 pitches but was hitting the mid-90′s on the gun in his final inning. And he did this while battling the flu.

With the 7-0 victory , the Reds moved back into sole possession of first place in the National League Central. If he continues to pitch like he did against perennially a top-ten pitcher in the league, the team will have a great chance of holding that lead or at least remaining within striking distance through the heat of summer.

This may have been Oswalt’s final start with the only major league team he has played for, but, with a dominant Cueto, the dependability of fellow young flamethrowers Edinson Volquez , Mike Leake , and Travis Wood , as well as the steadiness of veterans Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang , it is clear where he won’t end up.

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Tim Hudson threw seven strong for the Atlanta Braves as they took back the National League’s best record in their series win over the San Diego Padres.

At the beginning of the season, it was thought by many that the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals would finish one-two in the National League. At this point of the season, the top two doesn’t currently consist of either of those teams.

Instead, the very surprising Padres and the always-contending Braves held down those spots entering their matchup in the finale of their three-game set at Turner Field.

Atlanta was 55-39, a half-game back of the National League and division-leading Padres, looking not only to take the lead atop the league, but take the series as well.

They had the right pitcher on the mound to accomplish these two feats, Tim Hudson, their ace of five-plus seasons who carried a 9-5 record and a sub-3.00 ERA into his start.

And, not surprisingly, he delivered, feasting on the Padres’ weakness.

What is San Diego’s weakness? Their offense is woefully inconsistent, and far too often, completely nonexistent. How can a team manage 55 wins while ranked 21st in runs scored and 25th in batting average? Their situational hitting has been superb and their pitching has been even better.

Behind the pop out of Adrian Gonzalez‘s bat, time and time again they sneaked by scoring three to four runs per game thanks to a rotation and bullpen that has a combined 3.30 ERA, which is good for second in the majors.

Solid pitching and good enough hitting took a night off, as Hudson baffled the Padres inning after inning, while Clayton Richard struggled out of the gate. Newly acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez was behind Richard’s struggles.

After a sacrifice fly by Troy Glaus and timely two-out hitting that kept the inning alive, Gonzalez singled in a run in the first—his first run as a Brave to begin what would be a brilliant night at the plate.

Richard had to face him more times than he would have liked. Atlanta scored in the second, so with Hudson cruising along, Gonzalez’s damage in the third went a long way toward sealing a victory. Left fielder Matt Diaz continued his torrid July, lining a single in front of Gonzalez.

The former member of the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays—who entered the game with 17 homers, 50 RBI, and 26 doubles—socked a Richard slider deep over the head of center fielder and former Eugene Emeralds spark plug Luis Durango for his 27th two-bagger to score Diaz, notching his 52nd RBI and second with the team.

Hudson took this four-run cushion and breezed through San Diego’s order. He tossed a perfect fourth inning against the heart of the order that included Gonzalez, who leads the team in average, homers, hits, RBI, and on-base percentage.

Gonzalez succumbed on the 10th pitch of his plate appearance to begin the inning, getting severely under Hudson’s very effective changeup to become the fourth of eventually six straight retired by the 35-year-old veteran right-hander.

After mowing down the sixth of these Padres, Wil Venable, to end the fourth, Hudson ran into the lone trouble of his outing to begin the fifth.

Scott Hairston lined a single to center and Everth Cabrera was nailed in the foot by an errant slider, putting two runners on with nobody out. He made this hiccup very minor, getting out of the jam unscathed quite easily.

Durango, who entered the appearance with a .487 batting average in 29 Major League at-bats, grounded into a swiftly-turned double play by Gonzalez and second baseman Martin Prado to squash the threat completely thwarted by a groundout by Richard.

Hudson went on to throw two more scoreless innings, lowering his already sparkling ERA to 2.47 while surrendering just four hits and a walk. If the four runs he received while he was on the mound weren’t enough, his offense made sure his 10th win would be the result of his gem.

An offense that ranks 25th this month in runs scored took its anger out on 24-year-old, 6’6″, rookie right-hander Ryan Webb, whose July struggles continued in allowing four runs to cross.

In doing so, Webb allowed four hits, walked two Braves—one intentionally—and hit a batter. Not surprisingly, Gonzalez was right in the middle of the offensive outburst, turning a one-out walk issued to Diaz into a very successful inning that did in the already-cooked Padres.

His frozen-rope single to left on a straight 94-mph fastball was followed by a David Ross RBI-double, a curveball that plunked Eric Hinske on an 0-2 count to force in a run, and then a pair of two-out RBI singles by future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and budding star Jason Heyward.

Hudson had been fairly economical, and though his pitch count was just into triple-digits, he probably could have gone out there for the eighth.

But there was no need.

The Braves had their National League-leading 56th win in the bag and, once two relievers finished off the four-hit shutout, a seven-game advantage over the New York Mets in the division.

With the way the team is put together—a very capable mix of veterans and youth on the mound and at the plate—Atlanta should hold onto their lead over the Padres and Mets for the long haul.

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Vladimir Guerrero is a Hall of Famer. First ballot, no question. He was a few years ago, but if there was any doubt from potential voters, his extraordinary first season with the American League West-leading Texas Rangers puts to bed any question regarding his candidacy.

Coming off a injury-riddled final season with the Anaheim Angels in which he managed to only appear in 100 games and hit 15 homers and 50 RBI, the free-swinging Guerrero has surpassed those statistics in 87 so far with the offensively-gifted Rangers.

Currently, he is second in the major leagues with 76 RBI, bringing his career-total to 1,394. That’s still nearly 400 away from Manny Ramirez, another future Hall of Famer, and 903 less than Hank Aaron, the all-time leader.

But despite being ranked in the 80s on the list, it’s an incredible amount. He has nine 100-plus RBI seasons, and will increase that total to 10 soon enough. Who cares about rankings when that’s one of his credentials.

There’s plenty more statistical feats on his resume, too. He has 20 homers this season and 427 in his career. Usually, if you are a power hitter, you are measured by your home runs. Hitting 500 or more is seen as a shoe-in for power hitters, barring it being steroid-free, really no matter if their career average is in the .260s.

Guerrero may not reach that milestone. If the 35-year-old stays healthy and plays a few more years, he could. But he definitely doesn’t need that on his resume. When you have 2,358 hits and a career .321 batting average, that mark is meaningless as far as the Hall of Fame is concerned.

The same goes for career-long Atlanta Brave Chipper Jones . He has 433 homers as a perennial 30-plus homer hitter throughout his prime, but that’s not what stands out. He has a .306 batting average over 17-plus seasons, a .405 on-base percentage, nearly 2,500 hits, and 1,400 RBI. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols could retire tomorrow with 387 homers and find himself in Cooperstown five years from now.

Long-legged, well-built at 6’3″ 235 pounds, Vlad the Impaler as he is nicknamed, Guerrero could steal a bag or two in his heyday. His wheels didn’t last long, but he swiped 37 bases in 2001 with the then Montreal Expos and 40 the following year, his second to last with the team.

He narrowly missed joining the illustrious 40-40 club by nailing 39 homers during the latter campaign, and that was really the last he was heard from on the basepaths.

With how he impacts the team in so many other ways, the Rangers, like the Anaheim Angels, could care less if he could rack up the thefts or not. He could and clearly can still hit.

In happily counting Alex Rodriguez as a steroid-user and sadly counting David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez as well, Guerrero is one of only five clean hitters that have hit for power and average consistently over the past 20 years, joining Junior Griffey , Jones, and Pujols. None of the other four have his plate discipline, or lack thereof, however.

What makes Guerrero remarkable is that he’s never seen a pitch he hasn’t liked yet rarely strikes out. He’s aggressive but not over-zealous. He, who is one of the few players that doesn’t wear batting gloves, knows the strikezone but loves to live outside of it.

There may have been some hitter prior to my time, which lasts back until 1990, but he’s the best bad-ball hitter I’ve ever seen. For such a great hitter he’s produced some of the ugliest swings I’ve ever seen, too. He’s swung at pitches that have bounced before reaching the plate. Sometimes, he’s hit those pitches. He’s fouled off pitches that would have hit him.

This is the main reason why he’s never walked more than 84 times in a season. But his incredible ability to put the ball in play amidst the periodical craziness is the reason why he’s never struck out more than 95 times in a season. Aside from a cup of coffee with the Expos in 1996 and last season, he has annually driven in more runs than he has struck out.

Pujols hasn’t k’ed more than 93 times, and that was in his rookie season. Since, he hasn’t whiffed more than 69 times, which is mind-boggling. Like-wise, Jones hasn’t reached triple-digits. Griffey did five times, from 1996-2000, but that was also his prime. And he was forgiven since those were his most productive seasons: over that span he had a ridiculous 658 RBI and 249 homers.

Griffey had Rodriguez to help him in the middle of the Seattle Mariners order. Pujols has had and currently has plenty of protection. Jones had Andruw Jones, providing a one-two punch that deepened my love for Atlanta.

Guerrero was relatively alone with the Expos. He had scrappiness behind and in front of him with the Angels, along with Garrett Anderson. And now he has Josh Hamilton, forming the deadliest duo in the majors this season.

Baseball hasn’t seen what Guerrero and Hamilton have done since the Ortiz and Ramirez smashed balls out of Fenway nightly. Hamilton started the season slow, but thanks to a June in which he was as hot as can be at the plate, he is in the hunt for the Triple Crown. He hit .454 (49-108) in the month, which is hard to believe, and socked nine homers, drove in 31 RBI, and reached base 48 percent of the time.

He has continued to hit extremely well and holds a MLB-leading .353 batting average to complement his 22 homers and 67 RBI. Forty-two homers, 143 RBI, and a .337 average. Not too shabby.

And what makes the Rangers so scary is that these two aren’t the only ones hitting. The team carries a .278 batting average, which is second to, of all teams, the lowly Kansas City Royals in the majors. The pitching staff is in the top-10 in baseball across the board. Good pitching and even superb hitting puts them five games ahead of second-place Anaheim.

But, they wouldn’t have the third-best record in baseball if not for Guerrero. Robin to Hamilton’s Batman for the dangerous Rangers. Hall of Famer. And one of the best players ever to play this grand game.

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At the halfway point of the season, the Boston Red Sox are five games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees. That doesn’t look very satisfying, but considering what they have been through it undoubtedly is.

The injury bug that has hit them borders on ridiculous, with many of their impact-players on the shelf. The performance by the pitching staff hasn’t been anywhere near eye-opening, and their offense has missed its usual bop of years past.

Yet, they are 51-37, carrying the third-best record in the American League and fifth best in baseball.

Their lineup has been patched together for the better part of the year. Speedster Jacoby Ellsbury went down 10 games into the season, then Mike Cameron did. Ellsbury is still out and Cameron returned late last month, meaning their outfield was makeshift for a long period of time.

The replacements have stepped up. The offense hasn’t been off the charts, but Daniel Nava, Eric Patterson, and Darnell McDonald have filled in admirably. Clearly they have been good enough considering where Boston currently stands.

The trio has combined to hit .280 with a respectable .348 on-base percentage, nine homers, 43 rbi’s, 41 runs, and 83 hits.

A lot of players in the majors have put together this stat-line by themselves during the season’s first half, but coupled with the production from Marco Scutaro at the top of the order and Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre, and David Ortiz in the middle, the team has scored the most runs in the most runs in baseball, 481, driven in the most rbi’s, 462, clubbed the second-most homers, 118, and sported the third-best average, .276.

Considering Boston has been without Ellsbury, Cameron, Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, and Jason Varitek for a combined 219 games so far, the team’s offensive statistics are quite remarkable.

Their pitching staff has been decimated, too. Ace Josh Beckett has missed a majority of the season due to an arm injury, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, and Clay Buchholz have also been hit by the injury bug.

Buchholz, before he went down late last month, was their staff’s best pitcher, winning 10 games to four losses with a sparkling 2.45 ERA. Matsuzaka has made 12 starts and has pitched very well in eight of them. He allowed only eight runs in four June starts, and defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start to tally his sixth win.

Wakefield has been roughed up in a majority of his starts, but he has delivered a few times, his knuckler knuckling its way to three wins.

The quartet has combined to make 49 starts and has an atrocious ERA of 4.88. Yet, they have somehow managed to go 21-15 so far. That’s what good offense can do: make up mediocre pitching.

Offseason acquisition John Lackey hasn’t lived up his contract so far. He has a 4.78 ERA. He has allowed 135 innings in 113 innings, a terrible ratio. And he has given up 60 earned runs in his 18 starts; in 27 starts last year, he relinquished 75 earned runs. Still, he has nine wins, thanks in large part to the surprisingly prolific backing him.

The Red Sox are in a very enviable position despite being hit by injuries. And they can only get healthier. Beckett and Buchholz are set to begin their rehab assignments. Ellsbury rejoined the team for their series against the Blue Jays just prior to the break and is close to returning.

Cameron has swung a hot bat since his return from the disabled list. If he and the rest of the lineup continues to hit, if Ellsbury can return to full strength and be a nuisance at the plate and on the basepaths, if Beckett can pitch like he is capable, if Buchholz can pick up where he left off, if Lackey can develop some consistency, and if the role players can keep coming up clutch, Boston will have an extraordinary chance of catching the Yankees during the hot summer months.

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When Niuman Romero , a 25-year-old infielder, went 0-for-4 against the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month upon being called up from Boston’s Triple-A team the Pawtucket Red Sox, I was surprised. He had come out of nowhere, having been claimed from the Cleveland Indians prior to this season, and taking this into account, he fit the bill of someone who would have an immediate impact.

After all, other relatively unknown players thrust into meaningful roles have made sound contributions during the season’s first half.

He did manage to score a run in his only other appearance before being sent back down. It was bound to happen. The trend that was started by Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava continued, albeit briefly.

Ryan Shealy, who has played with the Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals but hasn’t seen major-league action since 2008, was called up from Pawtucket to take his place. Maybe he will pick up where Romero left off.

McDonald, 31, began his career as a 19-year-old in 1998 and after six years in the Baltimore Orioles organization, played in the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, and Cincinnati Reds systems before joining the Red Sox at the beginning of this season.

He was called up from Pawtucket when the injury bug severely decimated Boston’s outfield. Mike Cameron went down early on, as did Jacoby Ellsbury, who is still out.

McDonald saw limited action in his first 11 games, but he had seven hits in his first 17 at-bats. Both Ellsbury and Cameron were deemed ready to return from injury at the end of May, but Ellsbury’s condition worsened, meaning McDonald, who had just been released, had to be retained.

Boston has missed Ellsbury considerably, especially what he brings to the running game, but McDonald has played extremely well in his stead since being retained. He has appeared in 69 games now, and has a .272 batting average, six homers, 24 RBI, 22 runs scored, and six steals.

And today, he added to those respectable statistics, clubbing a two-run homer off Toronto Blue Jays starter Jessie Litsch in victory .

While his production has been ample, Nava has also proved very valuable. The former Independent-Leaguer started the season with Single-A Lancaster, made the trip to Double-A after an impressive .339 batting average, then hit .364 in 32 games with the Portland Sea Dogs before getting the call from the big club.

In early June, Boston placed pitcher Diasuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list, optioned outfielder Josh Reddick to Pawtucket, and put Nava in as the starting left-fielder.

All he did was hit a grand slam in his first at bat in a rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12. He fueled off that to bat .291 in the month, and has remained consistent, hitting .364 with a .440 on-base percentage this July to bat a very efficient .300 overall. He has become a fan-favorite, and, along with McDonald, appears destined to remain with Boston at least for the remainder of the season.

Other relatively unknown players have stepped up as well. First, it was Cameron and Ellsbury, now it’s star second baseman Dustin Pedroia who is scheduled to miss up to six weeks with a broken foot. No reason to fret: Bill Hall and Eric Patterson have filled in nicely.

Hall, who spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers and hit 35 homers in 2006, struggled to get on base during the latter stages of his career with the team, so he was let loose and after a brief and unsuccessful stint with the Seattle Mariners was given a chance by the Red Sox.

He has played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Boston. He struggled mightily out of the gate, collecting only 11 hits in his first 76 at-bats. But he has turned the corner with a heightened role. He was only 11 for 59 in June, but he had 10 RBI, more than April and May combined, and managed to get on base at a .371 clip despite the poor batting average.

So far in July he has hit .300, and in the series-opening rout of the Blue Jays he had three hits, two of which were doubles, and drove in four runs. Patterson, who can also play the infield and outfield, was terrible the first three months of the season with the Oakland Athletics, sporting a batting average near the Mendoza Line. But, upon being acquired in light of Pedroia’s injury during the end of June, he has performed admirably.

Manager Terry Francona has given either the unheard-of or historically woeful a chance to shine with Boston. He has made due with what he has at his disposal, which is surprising considering I didn’t think what he had could make due. Patterson has hit .271 this month, raising his batting average for the season to .217. He had three hits and two home-runs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on July fifth as part of his resurgence.

Boston wants Ellsbury, Cameron, and Pedroia healthy. They need them if they want to make the playoffs and play deep into October. But for now, their replacements—castoffs and journeymen—are keeping the Red Sox within striking distance of the division-leading New York Yankees.

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