Jonathan Mayo has the scoop. First Alonso signs with the Reds, then Justin Smoak hooks up with Texas, and now Buster Posey in San Francisco.

Jim Callis says the deal with Smoak is for $3.5 million, but is not a major league contract.

Callis also has the contract info on Posey. “Buster Posey got $6.2 million from the Giants, the largest up-front bonus in draft history. Straight bonus, no major league deal.”

The Cincinnati Enquier is reporting that first round pick Yonder Alonso has signed a major league deal with the Reds.

Update: John Manuel at BA breaks it down. “The Reds did get Yonder Alonso done, and it’s a major league contract as reported earlier. Terms: $2 million bonus, $4.55 million guarantee on the MLB contract.”

“Both sides are happy we could come to an agreement,” said Reds Senior Director of Scouting Chris Buckley. “Yonder is a polished college player and an advanced hitter who performed at the highest level. He’s one of the top players ever to come out of Miami, which has produced a lot of baseball talent.”

Buckley added, “We did our homework when we drafted him. Some of our baseball people were very close to his family. We believe we made the right choice when we selected him, and we hope he has a long career as a Cincinnati Red.”

During the regular season Alonso hit .373 with 15 HR, 51 RBI and 8 stolen bases for the Hurricanes and was ranked by Baseball America as one of the best prospects in the country.

As a freshman at UM he led the club into the College World Series with a team-best 69 RBI. The next season he hit .376 and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 18 HR while recording 74 RBI and 57 runs scored. That sophomore year he also ranked second in the ACC with a .519 on-base percentage an .705 slugging percentage.

It’s been a busy day in the Majors.  The Atlanta Braves placed pitcher Tom Glavine on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left elbow.  The move came one day after his return from a two month stay on the DL where Glavine was roughed up for seven runs on seven hits in four innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Glavine is now on the disabled list for the third time this year and might not pitch again.  His last trip to the DL was for a partially torn flexor tendon in his left elbow which Glavine elected to skip surgery and instead went with rest and rehabilitation.

To replace Glavine on the 25-man roster, the Braves brought up pitcher Matt DeSalvo from Triple-A Richmond.  DeSalvo, 27, was 2-11 with a 4.60 ERA at Richmond and previously pitched in the Majors in 2007 with the Yankees where he went 1-3 with a 6.18 ERA. 

The team is expected to use DeSalvo as a reliever and make an additional move to fill the void in the rotation created by the loss of Glavine.

—–

Not to be outdone, the St. Louis Cardinals sent veteran starting pitcher Chris Carpenter back to the 15-day disabled list with a right posterior shoulder strain retroactive to August 11.  Carpenter will miss at least two starts and is eligible to return on August 26.

Carpenter returned from Tommy John surgery on July 30 and made three starts for the Cardinals before leaving the third game with the injury that sent him back to the DL.  In the three starts, Carpenter pitched 14 1/3 innings and went 0-1 with a 1.88 ERA.

Outfielder Brian Barton filled the vacant roster spot created by the departure of Carpenter.  Barton was sidelined on July 6 with a fractured wrist and recently spent a 20-day rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis.  In his rookie season, Barton is hitting .246 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 63 games.

—–

As expected, the Tampa Bay Rays sent closer Troy Percival to the 15-day disabled list on Friday.  Percival left Thursday’s game after injuring his knee fielding a sacrifice bunt.  The Rays recalled right-handed pitcher Juan Salas from Triple-A Durham to replace him.

The 39-year old Percival has been on the disabled list three times this season.  Between DL stints, Percival is 2-0 with 27 saves and a 3.69 ERA and the Rays are 32-0 when he enters the game in a save situation.

Salas was 4-5 with one save and a 2.62 ERA in 28 relief appearances for Durham.  He made 34 relief appearances with the Rays in 2007 and went 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA but issues with his visa caused the 29-year old reliever to miss all of Spring Training and when the problem was finaly resolved, Salas was sent to Durham.

—–

The Yankees made some unexpected moves on Friday.  First, the club optioned outfielder Melky Cabrera to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  Then, the Yankees designated Richie Sexson for assignment with plans to release Sexson.  Cabrera and Sexson were replaced on the 25-man roster by Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom.

Cabrera started the season as the Opening Day center fielder but the 23-year old struggled as the season progressed.  In 117 games, Cabrera hit .242 with eight homers and 36 RBI. 

Sexson was signed by the Yankees in July after he was released by the Seattle Mariners.  Since his signing, Sexson was 7-for-28 (.250) with one home run and six RBI.

Gardner is back for his second stint with the Yankees.  The 24-year old Gardner hit .153 in 17 games with the club in June and July.  At Scranton, Gardner was used mostly as an outfielder and hit .296 with a .414 on-base percentage in 94 games.

Ransom, 32, is headed to the Majors for the third team in his career.  He played off and on at the Major League level with the San Francisco Giants from 2001 to 2004 and with the Houston Astros in 2007 before joining the Yankees.  In 140 lifetime at-bats, the utility infielder hit .236 with three home runs and 16 RBI.

In a more expected move, the Yankees officially sent pitcher Dan Giese to the 15-day disabled list.  Reliever Chris Britton was recalled from Scranton to fill the void left by Giese’s injury.  Also, the Yankees announced Darrell Rasner will take Giese’s turn in the rotation on Tuesday.

—–

Wednesday night, Angels’ shortstop Maicer Izturis injured his thumb diving for a grounder against the Mariners.  On Friday, the club announced that Izturis would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament.  First baseman Kendry Morales was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill Izturis’ roster spot.

Izturis played 79 games this year and hit .269 with a .329 on-base percentage and scored 44 runs, notched 37 RBI and stole 11 bases.  Izturis was used mostly as the team’s shortstop where he made just two errors in 52 games.

The injury to Izturis will mean more playing time for Erick Aybar who has already made 68 starts at shortstop.  Aybar is hitting .286 with three home runs, 30 RBI and 40 runs scored in 75 games.

Morales is on his second stint with the team in 2008.  In his last stop, Morales went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in his only appearance.

—–

Maybe it should be drafting the fix–but I digress.

No, I’m not sure how to go about it–the thing is, there would need to be failsafes (failsaves? Is there even a plural for this word?), checks and balances for both sides since neither agent nor club can be trusted. I have a few thoughts–feel free to poke out the flaws in my logic since maybe it will help refine the concepts.

There’s no real point and purpose to this exercise–I have a wife and two teenaged daughters and I can spend the next while trying to figure out women or fix the draft.

I’m going with the latter–it’s easier even though I will still doubtless be wrong and I can find three people guaranteed to agree with you!

Oops–there I go, digressing again.

Probably what needs to happen is that there needs to be disincentives for the player not to sign while at the same time protecting his right to a fair negotiation by creating disincentives for not signing draft picks. After all, the player will be sacrificing years of his life for poor pay, unenviable working conditions, battling injury and so forth with no guarantee of success.

If he does succeed–there will be a major payoff for both sides but one side already has a bunch of payoffs on their side of the ledger. Further, the drafting team gets several years of paying below market wages–often for a player’s best years (or some of them) and later have the option of paying him market wages or letting someone else overpay for his decline phase.

Bottom line, I’m not opposed to healthy bonuses but I don’t like seeing a player gamble several million dollars in hopes of getting a few hundred thousand more. Matt Harrington can utter all the brave words he likes but all of us know he kicks himself on a nightly basis for walking away from $4 million guaranteed dollars while the Colorado Rockies thank their deity of choice every bit as frequently for his hard-headedness.

The perfect system is–a player gets a nice nest egg that with some intelligence and foresight can make him secure for life freeing him up to perfect his craft while the player gets as early a start on his career as possible and the best amateur players are signed by the team needing the talent the most.

Here are some working points to fixing the draft: a percentage of revenue sharing subsidies are set aside for the sole purpose of ensuring the drafting team can sign their top picks. The available revenue is placed into a common pool so agents cannot calculate how many extra funds are available and base their bonus demands on that.

The phrase “signability issues” need to be purged from the drafting lexicon for all time. A team should make their picks solely on talent. While I am sympathetic to young men who might wish to start their careers with a certain team, well that’s why the game has free agency. Dreams are earned and not bestowed–the path to play for a certain team is earned by six years major league service and not by being the big stud on a high school or college team.

Consider it an added incentive–dreams shouldn’t come true right after you leave school, it leaves too much life left over.

A player has two choices: sign or don’t sign. A high school graduate has to declare himself eligible for the draft. If he wishes to go to college he has to declare himself ineligible for that year and attend class and he is off-limits to all 30 major league clubs. He has to do this every year through post secondary education. If he declares himself eligible and doesn’t sign, he has to postpone going back to school for that year. If he elects to return to class and go to college after declaring himself eligible for the draft (and doesn‘t sign) he is ineligible to be drafted again until one year after he graduates.

If he wants to play pro ball, let him play pro ball–if he wants to go to college, let him get his education but he will not be allowed to use one against the other. Education should never be used as a bargaining chip–besides, college will still be there should a professional career not work out. Let the young man decide which path he wishes to take and let him take it unequivocally.

If such a player declares himself eligible and doesn’t sign–the team that failed to sign him receives no compensation and forfeits his second pick in the following year’s draft. This creates pressure on both sides to come to an accord–this rule applies only to players drafted in the first two rounds since they’re the hottest commodities and it prevent teams from putting the screws to lower round picks.

If a college graduate drafted in the first two rounds fails to sign–he is ineligible for the draft for two years. He can play in an independent or foreign league until he is eligible to be drafted again but he cannot sign with a major league team unless he is drafted.

The first three rounds of the draft will have bonus slots (90–plus the number of sandwich picks–slots) depending on when the player is picked)–not maximums but a predetermined floor that a player is guaranteed when he signs. The floor will be established by total bonuses paid in the previous year’s draft initial three rounds plus sandwich picks. I’ll leave it to people smarter than me (a pool of close to seven billion so we’re in good shape) to figure out how to allocate the money per draft slot.
If a player drafted in the first two rounds and the team drafting him cannot reach agreement by the deadline–the player has two choices … decline and accept the consequences or submit his claim to a draft arbitrator. Just as in salary arbitration both sides make their case and the arbitrator decides on one figure or the other–his decision is final and binding and the player signs after the decision is rendered. The arbitrator will also hear about how the negotiations went and whether the club did everything in its power to come to an accord–if the club acted in good faith, the revenue sharing pool set aside for the draft will make up the difference between the club’s final offer and the arbitrator’s decision should he rule for the player’s side.

If the arbitrator feels that the club did not bargain in good faith–the entire bonus comes out of team revenues.

If any agent “advising” players has two clients that go unsigned in the first three rounds (including sandwich picks) of the draft he is ineligible to represent any eligible players for a period of three years. The agent will be put on a blacklist where should any player using that agent in a draft that he is suspended from loses his draft eligibility for that year.

Ideally, what has to be created is a system that creates consequences for the three main parties in any draft negotiation–team, player and agent. If a player wants to play pro ball then he commits to getting his career started–once drafted, pressure has to be brought to bear on both the club and agent to make sure the drafted player gets a fair deal and get signed. A guaranteed floor and arbitrator for the early round picks insures that the player doesn’t get shafted by the club and is assured of getting a nice bonus for his troubles and his pending minor league apprenticeship.

Well, I have done my part and now it’s your turn–let’s refine this bad boy and see if we can make it work better.

Best Regards

John

SWEEPS
GRRR…
I won’t lie, Daisuke Matsuzaka makes me crazy. If there is a pitcher who can ruin a game for me, this is the guy. On the hand, after he pitched seven shutout innings against the insane hitting machine known as the Texas Rangers, I can only bow in awe. The Red Sox completed their decimation of Texas “paitching” last night with a 10-0 win, the Sox’ league-leading 12th shutout. While he was in there Dice-K allowed 11 baserunners on six hits and five walks and held the Rangers hitless in four at-bats with runners in scoring position and allowed only two runners to advance past second base. Opponents are now 0-for-12 against him with the bases loaded. Matsuzaka’s 14-2 record trails only Bob Stanley’s 15-2 mark in 1978 for best Sox winning percentage among pitchers with at least 15 decisions.

CUBS WIN
The Cubbies finished off their sweep of the Braves despite Mark Kotsay hitting for the cycle in losing cause. Aramis Ramirez (he later left the game with a bruised left hip) and Alfonso Soriano hit home runs as the Cubs beat Atlanta and Tom Glavine, 11-7. Glavine (2-4) gave up seven hits and seven runs in four innings in his first start since June 10 in his return from a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow. Glavine walked four batters and had three strikeouts. Not only did Chicago a sweep the series, they swept the season from the Braves for the first time since the rivalry between the franchises began in 1876. In these three games, the Cubs outscored the Braves 29-9 to run their road winning streak to eight games, their longest road winning streak since 12 straight wins away from Wrigley Field in 1945.

DODGERS SWEEP AND MANNY GETS A TRIM
The last time the Dodgers had a four-game sweep of the Phillies was in the Sandy Koufax era in July, 1962, the inaugural season at Dodger Stadium. He’s not Sandy, but Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven Koufax-like innings as he improved to 5-1 at home with the 3-1 win. Kuroda (7-8) walked none and struck out seven and has given up just three runs and 14 hits in 22 1/3 innings in his last three outings. Matt Kemp hits his 14th homer of the year and his 11th at home in Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers hadn’t swept a four-game series since July, 2004 in Arizona and hadn’t done so in Los Angeles since June 1995 against the San Francisco Giants. Philadelphia has lost five of its last seven games. “One inch, half an inch,” Ramirez said. I’ll let you figure out what he’s talking about. Samson went 0 for 3.

WASHINGTON PLAYS TO THEIR POTENTIAL
Brian Schneider and Carlos Delgado homered to help the Mets beat the Nationals 9-3 and finish a three-game sweep and taking over first place in the NL East. The Mets held the Nationals to six runs in the three-game series and Washington never led. Washington has lost seven straight.

SWEEP AND BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK AND HIT AGAIN
The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 completing a three-game sweep. In the process , Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe went back-to-back-to-, er…all homered consecutively. The White Sox lead the majors with 172 homers this season and Carlos Quentin, who leads the league with 32 homers, was hit by a pitch in the 1st inning, the sixth straight game he’s been hit. He leads the majors with 20 HBP.

THE BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACKERS

2008 White Sox v Royals - J. Thome, P. Konerko, A. Ramirez, J. Uribe
2007 Red Sox v Yankees  - M. Ramirez, J. D.Drew, M. Lowell, J. Varitek
2006 Dodgers v Padres  - J. Kent, J.D. Drew, R. Martin, M. Anderson
1964 Twins v A’s  - T. Oliva, B. Allison, J. Hall, H. Killebrew
1963 Indians v Angels - W. Held, P. Ramos, Tito Francona, L. Brown
1961 Braves v Reds  - E. Mathews, H. Aaron, J. Adcock, F. Thomas

ASTROS SWEEP AGAIN
The Houston Astros completed their sweep of the Giants yesterday 7-4 giving the ‘Stros a four-game sweep and their eighth straight win. Houston has won 16 of 20 and moved three games over .500 for first time since June 3.

IN OTHER ACTION…
• Dan Haren (13-6) pitched eight strong innings giving up one run while striking out nine Rockies in the D-Backs 6-2 victory.
• Carlos Pena’s 23rd home run in the top of the 12th helped the Rays to their seventh win in their last nine games as they topped the A’s, 7-6. A’s rookie Brad Ziegler allowed his first run of the season, ending a streak of 39 innings. It was the second-longest streak by a rookie since 1900 and tied for the longest single season streak by a reliever (Al Benton, 1939). His ERA is now 0.22. Tampa Bay closer Troy Percival left the game in the 9th after spraining his right knee while trying to field a sacrifice bunt. Oakland is now 4-21 since the All-Star break.
• Jake Peavy outdueled Ben Sheets and the Padres stopped the Brewers eight game winning streak, 3-2. Peavy (9-8) allowed one run and four hits and lowered his ERA to 2.61 to take over the NL lead from San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum (2.67). San Diego reached Sheets (11-6) for three runs in the 7th after the Brewers scored in the top half against Peavy. Trevor Hoffman allowed Mike Cameron’s 20th homer before finishing for career save No. 550, and his 26th in 29 chances this season.
• Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer and a run-scoring double and Todd Wellemeyer pitched three-hit ball into the 8th and the Cardinals took 3 of 4 as they beat the Florida Marlins. 3-0. The Marlins were shut out for the eighth time this season and third time in the past nine games.

INSTANT REPLAY, INSTANT REPLAY
Old Man Selig said that he has visited the so-called “war room” in New York where officials would review video feeds of disputed home runs. “We’ve spent a lot of time doing a lot of wiring of ballparks, doing a lot of checking,” Selig said. “Let’s just say my confidence is growing.”

Here’s how it would work:

• Managers won’t have a say about when replay is used. Umpires will use replay only when they think it’s needed.
• Replays would be used only to determine whether a ball leaving the field is fair or foul, or whether it actually went over the fence. It would not be used on close plays on the bases, or to determine balls and strikes.
• A central office in New York will view replays. An official at the office will be notified by the on-site crew chief when a play needs to be reviewed. The official will watch the replay, then relay his view back to the park, but the crew chief will have the final say.
• There also will be a viewing station at every park (above the urinals?). According to a source, making sure technology is in place at all 30 parks is one reason the system was not implemented by August 1, which was the target date at one time.
• The plan for replay has to be approved by the players association and the umpires union.

DID YOU KNOW?
Prior to Mark Kotsay, Albert Hall was the only Atlanta Brave to hit for the cycle. He did it on Sept. 23, 1987, against Houston.

    
Bill Chuck is the creator of Billy-Ball.com (www.Billy-Ball.com) and, with Jim Kaplan, is the author of the book, “Walk-Offs, Last Licks, and Final Outs – Baseball’s Grand (and not so Grand) Finales,” with a Foreword by Jon Miller, published by ACTA Sports, and available worldwide. Autographed first editions are available by contacting, Bill@billy-ball.com or order directly from Acta Sports or from your favorite bookstore.
 

The Orioles and first-round pick Brian Matusz have agreed to terms on a major league deal that would immediately put him onto the team’s 40-man roster.  The former University of San Diego left-hander and the fourth overall pick in June’s First Year Player Draft will receive a $3.2 million bonus.

The Kansas City Royals today announced they have reached an agreement with fourth round draft choice Tim Melville. The bonus is worth a reported $1.25 million.

“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Tim Melville. Tim, his family, and advisor Jason Cook remained committed to this process from start to finish,” said Deric Ladnier, Royals Senior Director of Scouting.  “Tim is a very talented young man and we are excited that we were able to add a player of his caliber to the Royals organization.”

Melville is the 2007 Aflac National High School Player of the Year recipient. The 6’5” right-hander from Wentzville, Mo. finished his senior campaign with an 8-1 record, a 2.56 ERA, and 89 strikeouts in 52 innings. As a junior, Melville compiled a 10-1 mark with a 0.89 ERA which helped Holt High School reach the Missouri Class 4-A finals.

Melville was considered a first round talent that slid due to salary demands and college considerations.

The players to watch and what to watch for this weekend:

Ryan Ludwick, Saint Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (8/15-8/17)

Ryan Ludwick is just 10 RBI away from a 30 home run/100 RBI season.  With 38 games remaining, it is likely Ludwick will join 14 other players in Cardinals’ history to reach 30 homers and 100 RBI.  A Cardinal not named Albert Pujols — who is in jeopardy of missing the 30/100 club for the first time in his Major League career — has not accomplished the feat since both Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds both achieved 30 homers and 100 RBI in 2004.  While Pujols is still six homers and 25 RBI short, Ludwick should have no problem with reaching the feat especially with the help of a three-game series at the Great American Ballpark.  Back in early June, Ludwick went 7-for-13 with two homers and six RBI in the team’s first three-game series in Cincinnati where they took two out of three.  In 10 games at Great American Ballpark, Ludwick is hitting .371 with six home runs in 13 RBI in just 35 at-bats.  The Cardinals need a big weekend in Cincinnati with the team slipping out of the National League Central and Wild Card race.  They trail the Cubs by 7 1/2 games and the Brewers by three games for the Central and Wild Card spots.

Marlon Byrd, Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays (8/15-8/17)

An 0-for-4 in Thursday’s loss to the Red Sox cost Marlon Byrd a six-game hitting streak and the Rangers fell to .500 for the first time since June 28.  Now, the Rangers must win on Friday to avoid falling below .500 for the first time since June 20 when they lost to the Washington Nationals.  Byrd’s recent hot streak has not meant wins for the team.  In the last 10 games, Byrd is 22-for-42 (.524) with two home runs — including a walk-off grand slam against the Yankees — and 11 RBI.  Unfortunately, the Rangers are 3-7 during the same stretch.  Personally, Byrd is looking to hit over .300 for the second season in a row which would further bury memories of his 2006 season with the Nationals where he hit .223 in 78 games.  He is also ahead of pace for the highest Slugging % of his career at .477 and at eight home runs is just two short of his career high in 2007.

Jed Lowrie, Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays (8/15-8/17) 

When Julio Lugo went down in July, the Red Sox called up 24-year old shortstop Jed Lowrie.  The switch-hitting Lowrie has received most of the starts at short since his call-up and has been money for Boston, especially lately.  Lowrie hit safely in 11 of 12 games in August and is 15-for-44 (.341) with 17 RBI.  He got a walk-off single in Jason Bay’s debut on August 1 and the team is 9-3 in August.  The Red Sox have their work cut out for them — they still trail the Tampa Bay Rays by three games.  Not known for his power — he averaged a home run every 50.8 at-bats in the Minors — Lowrie is still in search of his first Fenway blast.  In 59 Fenway at-bats, he is hitting .305 with an .833 OPS but homerless in Boston.  The task will be a little tougher against Toronto than most teams.  The Blue Jays are owners of the best ERA in the Majors and third least amount of homers in the American League. 

Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Cleveland Indians (8/15-8/17)

In 2007, 11 players posted hitting streaks of 20 games or more.  This season, only two players — Ian Kinsler (25) and Michael Young (23) — own hitting streaks of 20 games or more and no one outside of the Texas Rangers’ roster has hit in 20 straight games.  This weekend, Garret Anderson looks to change that.  Anderson enters Friday’s action on the second longest hitting streak of his career at 18 games.  Back in 1998, the loyal Angel hit in 28 straight games and in 43 out of 45 games.  Entering action on May 4, Anderson was hitting just .218 but since then has raised his average to .288 after hitting .316 in a 79 game stretch.  The last time Anderson went hitless was against the same Indians he faces this weekend and his first opponent is Cy Young frontrunner Cliff Lee.  Anderson has a personal four-game hitting streak against Lee with a hit in all four games against the Indians’ pitcher in his career.  He is 6-for-13 (.462) with five RBI in the four games.  Against the rest of the current Indians’ pitching staff, Anderson is a horrible 1-for-28 (.036).

Jack Cust, Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago White Sox (8/15-8/17)   

There’s no surprise Jack Cust’s name has a “K” in it.  On Thursday, Oakland’s left fielder/designated hitter struck out for the 19th consecutive game matching his own club record of striking out in 19 consecutive games earlier this year.  In the last nine games, Cust actually struck out 35 times or in scorecard language: K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K.  Four times this season, Cust wore the golden sombrero, a term reserved for the dubious feat of striking out four times in one game.  He is the only player in Major League Baseball to strike out four times in one game that many times.  With 149 strikeouts in 109 games, Cust is on a pace to surpass Jose Canseco’s club record of 175 strikeouts in 1986.  In scorecard language, that’s K-K-K-K-K-K… you get the point!

Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs (Friday, 8/15)

Since his return from Tommy John surgery, the Marlins are a perfect 6-0 when Josh Johnson takes the hill.  The run includes a win over their weekend foes, the Chicago Cubs, at Wrigley and three consecutive wins in his last three starts credited to the 24-year old righty.  In the six starts, Johnson is 3-0 with a 3.19 ERA and four quality starts.  He has pitched into at least the sixth inning in his last five starts.  A win on Friday goes a long way in keeping the Marlins in the three-team race in the National League East with the Fish 2 1/2 behind the Mets.  The team has struggled in August and are 1-7 in the month when Johnson and Chris Volstad (featured in the July 11-13 edition of the Starting Lineup) do not take the hill. 

Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves (Saturday, 8/16)

At one point, Jonathan Sanchez looked like a lock to win 10 games this season.  In his first year exclusively as a starter for the Giants, Sanchez started the season 8-4 with a 3.79 ERA.  Since July 4, Sanchez is 0-5 with a 6.82 ERA in seven starts and has made it past the sixth inning only once.  With Sanchez stuck at eight wins and Matt Cain at seven wins there is an outside shot that Tim Lincecum will be the only Giants’ pitcher to reach double digits in wins.  The team has only had one 10-game winner in 10 of their 125 seasons with the last occurence in 1996 when only Mark Gardner won 12 games and the next closest to 10 wins was William Van Landingham who was 9-14 in 32 games.  The Braves are particularly tough for Sanchez who lost earlier this year in his only start against Atlanta and gave up three runs in the 13th inning of a game in 2007 in relief to take a loss.  His career stat line against Atlanta is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in three games which is not a good sign for Sanchez’s winless streak to end.

Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks at Houston Astros (Sunday, 8/17)

The Houston Astros are on fire lately winning 16 of their last 20 games.  Included in that run are four game sweeps of the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds and a three game sweep of the New York Mets.  If they plan to add to their hot streak, not only do the Astros have to beat Cy Young contender Brandon Webb on Friday, they must tangle with Randy Johnson on Sunday.  The “Big Unit” has never lost to the Astros.  He is 4-0 in six starts and the other two starts ended as wins for Johnson’s team.  The perfect record was not without lumps for Johnson who pitched just four innings and gave up six runs against the Astros on April 30 but the D-Backs battled back for an 8-7 win to preserve Johnson’s undefeated record against one of his former teams.  Johnson seeks his 295th career win at Minute Maid Park where he is an impressive 3-0 in three starts at Minute Maid Park.  He looks like his old self, too.  In his last seven starts, the 44-year old lefty is 6-1 with a 1.77 ERA and his only loss came against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the day Jeff Karstens retired 23 straight and nearly pitched a perfect game.

Dan Wheeler, Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers (8/15-8/17)

There are five teams in Major League Baseball who are undefeated when they enter the ninth inning:  The San Francisco Giants (41-0), Philadelphia Phillies (53-0), New York Yankees (56-0), Minnesota Twins (59-0) and Tampa Bay Rays (63-0).  One of the reasons the Rays are perfect is closer Troy Percival who was injured in Thursday’s game with the Athletics and might be headed to the 15-day disabled list.  However, Percival missed time earlier this season and is not the only reason for their 63-0 record.  Enter Dan Wheeler who is tied for second on the team in saves with four and one of five relievers on the team with at least one save.  Wheeler did blow a save on August 9 but the Rays bounced back to beat the Seattle Mariners in 11 innings, 8-7.  Wheeler is 2-5 in 52 appearances with a 2.61 ERA and a minuscule 0.99 WHIP.  With the possibility of Percival heading to the shelf for a bit, Wheeler and Co. must step up again in his absence to keep their hold on to their lead in the American League East.

A day after he was blasted for six runs in three innings, Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the second time with the same right shoulder stiffness that put him there in June.

Penny received a cortisone shot on Thursday and will not throw for five days.  The team is uncertain on when Penny will return and Penny described the pain as “exactly the same” as the pain that was diagnosed as tendinitis and landed him on the DL for two months.

Penny is 6-9 with a 6.09 ERA and is headed into a club option year worth $9.25 million which the club could buy out for $2 million.

Also, the Dodgers placed reliever Cory Wade on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder stiffness.  The move was retroactive to August 9 with Wade’s last pitching one inning on August 8 against the Giants.  Wade is 2-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 40 appearances this season.

To replace Penny and Wade, the Dodgers recalled Eric Stults and Tanyon Sturtzefrom Triple-A Las Vegas.  Stults made six starts in June and July for the Dodgers and went 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA.  Sturtze pitched for Joe Torre as a member of the Yankees from 2004 to 2006 and spent all of 2007 in the Atlanta Braves’ Minor League system.  The 37-year old Sturtze has a 40-44 lifetime record with a 5.21 ERA in 269 appearances.

Torre was non-committal on who Penny’s replacement would be in the rotation.  Penny’s next start falls on Monday which is an off-day which gives the manager the option of skipping Penny’s turn.

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Thursday’s medical exam of pitcher Dan Giese revealed rotator cuff tendinitis and the Yankees are expected to put him on the 15-day disabled list on Friday. 

The 31-year old rookie left Wednesday’s game after 15 pitches in relief of starter Darrell Rasner.  He gave up a hit and then walked the bases loaded before exiting with the injury.

Giese — 1-3 with a 2.58 ERA in 15 games — was scheduled to start on Tuesday in Toronto which creates a hole in the Yankees’ rotation. 

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Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the Opening Day dates for the inaugural stadium openings for the Yankees and Mets.

According to an anonymous baseball official, the Mets will open Citi Field on Tuesday, April 14 against the San Diego Padres.  The Yankees will follow two days later at new Yankee Stadium on Thursday, April 16 against the Cleveland Indians.

The report also detailed the opening and ending dates of the season.  The 2009 season is scheduled to open with a Sunday night telecast on ESPN on April 5 and end on October 4 setting the season up for a possible November 5 ending — the latest in Major League history.