BALTIMORE - Whenever I cover a game for Baseball Digest Daily, I have a story I want to tell.  Three times I have been to Baltimore to cover the Orioles and each time there was a story I wanted to tell if I could just will it to happen. 

On May 30, the target was Manny Ramirez’s 500th home run — I was one game off.  Fortunately, the game went extras, Red Sox Nation was alive and well in Baltimore and I lost my car in the parking lot.

On July 6, it was Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley and hopefully more Rangers named to the All-Star team to make an even better tale to tell along with a back story of a Baltimore Orioles team with more heart than talent trying to cling to playoff hopes.  The Rangers delivered with Hamilton and Bradley joined by Michael Young and Ian Kinsler to the All-Star squad and a tough Orioles team that scored three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth only to fall short 11-10 to the offensive juggernaut from Texas.

Tonight, it was Junior Griffey.  My questions were prepared, my ability to navigate Camden Yards at an efficient level — I got lost in the tunnels on my first trip in May — and there’s no mistaking Ken Griffey Jr. for any other White Sox player, he’s Ken Griffey Jr.  Griffey is such an icon, he doesn’t even have to do anything to craft a story around the future Hall of Famer.  All I have to do is find him, ask him some questions and there it is.  Easy enough, right?

Before the game, I made my first mistake.  Instead of putting down my laptop and heading to the White Sox clubhouse, I logged on and checked to make sure it was ready to go.  The Orioles were still at batting practice and even if I missed him in the clubhouse, as a member of the media, we have pre-game field access.  As I was on the stairs to the basement of Camden Yards, the White Sox headed to the field.  By the time, I hit their clubhouse, they were already out for batting practice.  There on the whiteboard it was written: “BP 5:15″.  My Blackberry read 5:05 though. 

On the field, it did not get any easier.  Griffey posed for pictures with two of the Orioles bat boys, he joked with teammates and smiled that vintage Griffey smile.  He participated in bunt drills with his fellow White Sox but looked odd in black.  Then Griffey stepped in for batting practice and there was a different feel to the park, a different sound from the crowd and a different crack from the bat.  It was tough for me to not be a fan again.  Griffey kept his distance from reporters though and my questions would have to wait for after the game.

For the Orioles, the game was over almost as quickly as it started.  A double by Orlando Cabrera and a home run by Nick Swisher off of recently recalled Brian Burres and the Orioles were quickly in a two-run hole.  Burres followed up allowing a single and a wild pitch before finally pitching out of the first.  A rough start?  Waiting for manager Dave Trembley for the post-game press conference, one reporter called it the worst start in Baltimore since Barbaro at the Preakness.  Harsh as the comment was, it’s the kind that are created surrounding a team that has dropped five in a row and seven of their last eight at home.

Griffey, the White Sox DH, batted in the first and received a rare warm road reception — rare except for Griffey — but he flew out to left.  At that point, I knew I wanted to ask Griffey about all of the warm receptions he has received this season including a standing ovation at the notoriously rough-on-visitors Citizens Bank Park earlier this year.

As the game progressed, the game told a number of tales.  The Orioles struggled but continued to fight until the last out.  The White Sox looked as loose as any team as I have ever seen including Griffey joking with fans in the eighth while waiting in the on-deck circle before he delivered his second hit — a soft seeing-eye grounder through the left side — which knocked in the White Sox eighth and final run of the game.

The star of the game was not Griffey or Jim Thome (who had the night off) or even Orlando Cabrera who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI.  Instead, it was Gavin Floyd.  Local boy Floyd — he’s an Annapolis native, 40 minutes outside of Baltimore — started the game retiring nine straight.  He went eight strong innings and gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts on just 98 pitches.

“Gavin pitched a great game,” conceded Orioles manager Dave Trembley in his post-game press conference.  “He had real good command of his off-speed stuff.  [He] kept the ball down.  I only think he got a couple fastballs up.  He had real good breaking stuff, good location and [his] tempo was good.”

The secondary story was another tough outing for the Orioles pitching staff and another late push that fell short by the offense.  The Orioles went into the ninth down 8-2 but added a run and loaded the bases before finally going away in the ninth.  At least it wasn’t quietly for the few remaining Orioles fans from an already light crowd of 15,398 — nearly 12,000 off the season average.

“You need better pitching is what you need,” said Trembley when asked about dropping seven of eight games.  “That’s the name of the game — starting pitching.  You watch the game Sunday night?  Phillies and Dodgers?  They talked to Joe Torre, all those great teams he had, he says, ‘It all starts and ends with starting pitching.’  That’s what it’s all about.”

But what about Griffey?  Caught up in covering the game, I forgot about Griffey!  At least there was time, the players had to shower.  Remember to look for #17 not #30 like he wore in Cincinnati, I told myself as I headed to the White Sox clubhouse.  As I arrived, there was no sign of Griffey.  So, I blended in and picked up some other player/reporter conversations around the locker room.

Floyd was flanked by the media seconds following his arrival from the shower to his locker.  “I feel confident with pretty much everything,” said Floyd.  “I just try to stay focused.  14 [wins are] nice but I just want to finish the season and make the playoffs.  I think of myself as 0-0 after every start.”

Then the questions turned to Floyd’s success in Baltimore where he pitched six innings and allowed just two hits back on April 17 in a game the White Sox didn’t hold on to.  “It’s just a different ball field on the road.  [Chicago] is great.  I left 10 tickets myself [for family].  My parents set-up everything else but they never tell me how many.”  Estimates from last game were that over 100 members of family and friends turned out for the game.  He knew his fiance was there tonight to see him get his first win in his home state and knew there were more friends and family but not how many more.

The clubhouse buzzed with energy, the polar opposite of the Orioles’ clubhouse.  Floyd spoke about how loose the team was.  “We’re having fun.  I’m having fun.  I haven’t had fun in three years with my situation.”  It’s easy to have fun with 14 wins on a first-place contender in August compared to his first four seasons where he notched just eight total wins.

As the Floyd interview wound down and he joked with the local sports radio host about the late night ahead of him and how he might not be on the top of his game for an 8:15 a.m. interview, my attention turned to Griffey.  But he was nowhere to be found.  One look at his locker and I realized his street clothes were gone.  Griffey had a head start on the rest of the team as the DH since he was not on the field for the last out of the game. 

But in the end, the fun and excitement surrounding a team in contention in the AL Central, a former first-round Draft choice beginning to show signs of what led the Phillies to draft him fourth overall in 2001 and an Orioles team in desperate need of starting pitching but not willing to go away until the final out were probably better tales to tell, anyway.

GAME NOTES:  The White Sox have won 15 of their last 21 games… The Orioles have allowed a run in the first inning 59 times and are 23-36 when doing so…  Orlando Cabrera’s four hits tied a season and career high.  He was a home run short of the cycle… Nick Swisher’s home run in the first went 385 feet.  He left the game in the fourth inning with a lower leg contusion after fouling a ball off of his shin… Ramon Hernandez’s career-long 15-game hitting streak was snapped.

By the time the Dodgers finished sweeping the Phillies in a four-game series in Los Angeles on August 14, everybody was scrambling for answers as to what was holding the Phils’ offense down. I and a few others had deduced it simply to bad luck on balls in play; others had their own theories, like “They’re not clutch,” “They strike out too much,” or “Jimmy Rollins is a bad influence on the clubhouse.”

Last night, the Phillies returned the favor to the Dodgers by sweeping them in a four-game series in Philadelphia. The offense appears to have returned as they scored 27 runs in the four games (6.75 per game) and held the Dodgers to a mere five (1.25 per game). The Dodgers’ O was at its worst last night when they accrued 13 hits and 3 walks yet pushed zero runs across the plate against Brett Myers, J.C. Romero, and Clay Condrey.

According to Baseball Reference, the Dodgers tied a record for the most hits in a game without scoring a run. Counting walks as well, only three teams rank higher and one more team ties with the Dodgers.

Tonight, the Blue Crew once again had opportunities to score — seven hits and four walks — but did so only once against the Washington Nationals. The last time the Dodgers scored more than three runs was on August 17 in a 7-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Perhaps the Phillies’ offensive deficiencies were transmitted much like a virus. Greg Dobbs forgot to wash his hands after coughing into them, and then he shook Juan Pierre’s hand, whose hands go everywhere in the clubhouse and now that’s why the Dodgers can’t hit. Sounds like a logical explanation to me.

Really, it’s just a lot of bad luck (bad timing) and a lack of power. They had  a .302 BABIP between August 19 and 25, which is about normal if not above-average. However, in that span, the Dodgers have only had 14 extra-base hits out of their 61 hits (23%) as opposed to 30% on the season. Singles, which account for 77% of their hits between the 19th and 25th, are great if you’re getting them in bunches, but string out one or two per inning with very little movement in terms of stealing bases and bunting runners over, and runs aren’t going to be scored too frequently.  And, hey, it kind of hurts when you hit into 10 double plays in the last seven games going into tonight, as the Dodgers had between the 19th and 25th.

Teams go through spurts of poor offense over the course of a 162-game season. The Dodgers, not an offensive club by any means before or after the Manny Ramirez (who has a .553 OPS in his last 7 games, by the way) acquisition, should expect this to come about even more often than other teams. The Phillies, on the other hand, should be shocked when they’re not scoring runs in bunches.

Braves’ Heyward up to Myrtle Beach
The Braves promoted right field prospect Jason Heyward to High-A Myrtle Beach. Atlanta’s second-ranked prospect by Baseball America put up a .318 EqA and was named to the South Atlantic League all-star team and the league’s Most Outstanding Major Leauge Prospect while with Rome. (more…)

A stress fracture in his left foot has sidelined Austin Kearns of the Washington Nationals.  Kearns is expected to miss two to four weeks with the injury and the move is retroactive to August 25.

Kearns, originally injured on August 3, was examined on Monday and placed on the DL on Tuesday.  After sustaining the injury, Kearns hit .172 with two home runs and four RBI in 19 games.

This is Kearns’ second stop on the disabled list in 2008.  Earlier this season, Kearns missed 38 games after surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow on May 23.  On the season, he is hitting .217 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 86 games.

—–

The Boston Red Sox ended their waiting game with outfielder J.D. Drew on Tuesday when they placed him on the 15-day disabled list with a herniated disk in his back retroactive to August 18.

Drew has not played since August 17 when he left in the third inning of their game with the Toronto Blue Jays with back tightness.  Drew was told of the herniated disk on Friday but waited until Tuesday to officially move to the DL.

Drew is hitting .280 with 19 home runs, 64 RBI and a .930 OPS in 107 games. 

This offseason, general managers voted 25-5 to explore the use of instant replay.  10 months later — after some controversial home run decisions, issues with the Players Association and a snag with the Umpires — Major League Baseball announced plans to introduce instant replay on “boundary calls” beginning with Thursday’s games.

Instant replay usage is reserved for “boundary calls” only and defined as the determination of whether home runs are fair or foul, went over the fence or did not and whether there was fan interference.  On all other calls, the decision on the field stands.

A crew of two — a technician and an umpire supervisor or retired umpire — will be stationed at the office of Major League Baseball Advanced Media in New York and if the pn-field crew chief determines a replay situation, the office crew will show umpires the call.  After the review, the crew chief will determine if there is “clear and convincing” evidence and the call will be made accordingly.

After the decision, if a manager leaves the dugout to argue the call, he will be automatically ejected.

Major League Baseball joins the National Football League, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Grand Slam tennis events to use instant replay to aid officials during games.

WALKOFFS…
Jody Gerut hit a two-run two out walkoff homer off Jon Rauch and the San Diego Padres stopped their seven-game losing streak by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2. For Gerut it’s 14 homers for the season and seven in August. He also has 17 RBI in 21 games this month. Luis Rodriguez singled with two down and Gerut slam dunked the next pitch from the 6-foot-11 Rauch (4-5) into the right-field bleachers. Trevor Hoffman (2-6) pitched a scoreless 9th for the win. Acquired from Washington last month, Rauch has given up home runs in back-to-back outings. Dan Haren started and went seven innings, allowing two runs and nine hits striking out a season-high 11 and he walked one. Jake
Peavy pitched six innings, yielding two runs and four hits, while striking out seven and walking two.

There have been very few positive moments for the Mariners or their fans this season, but Adrian Beltre provided one last night as he hit a walkoff two-run homer with one out in the 11th inning propelling the Mariners to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field. Minnesota dropped to 2-3 on its current 14-game road trip — its longest since 1969.

SWEEP
Turn about is fair play. Brett Myers threw seven scoreless innings, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and two RBI, and the Philadelphia Phillies completed their first four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 23 years with a 5-0 win. Myers (7-10) ran his scoreless innings streak to 16. The Phillies demoted their opening-day starter on July 1 after he went 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA in his first 17 starts. Since returning, Myers is 4-1 with a 1.66 ERA in seven starts. He allowed nine hits, struck out eight and walked three. The Dodgers had 13 hits. Only two teams have had more hits without scoring a run in a nine-inning game: The New York Giants got 14 hits in a 7-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 14, 1913, and the Cleveland Indians had 14 hits in a 9-0 loss to the Washington Senators on July 10, 1928. It was the Phillies’ first four-game sweep over the Dodgers since Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, 1985, at Los Angeles. Philadelphia had never swept the Dodgers in a four-game series at home. Manny doesn’t have an RBI in the last seven games.

THEY’RE THE PITTS
The Cubs showed why they are one of the best, and the Pirates showed why they are one of the worst as Chicago won, 12-3. Aramis Ramirez homered and Kosuke Fukudome, hitting .161 in August when the game began, drove in four runs with a sacrifice fly, a two-run single and an RBI double. He has six RBI in five at-bats in two games following a pregame hitting session Sunday with manager Lou Piniella, who was a .291 career hitter.

PELFREY COMPLETELY GRAND
Carlos Delgado hit a pair of three-run homers and helped turn three double plays as Mike Pelfrey pitched his second successive complete game to give the New York Mets a 9-1 victory against the Houston Astros. It was Delgado’s 46th multi-homer game and fourth this year. Jose Reyes had a two-run triple among his three hits, and Pelfrey’s six-hitter followed his first career complete game, when he allowed three hits in a 6-3 victory against Atlanta last Wednesday. Pelfrey (13-8) became the first Mets pitcher with back-to-back complete-game victories since Bret Saberhagen in 1995.

WHITE SOX PLAY A “HOME” AND HOME
It took four months and 14 innings and two cities but the Baltimore Orioles beat Chicago, 4-3 in Baltimore to conclude the game suspended after 11 innings by rain on April 28 in Chicago. With the score 3-3 in the finale of a four-game series in Chicago, play was stopped with the infield unplayable. It was the Orioles’ final scheduled visit, so baseball officials ruled that the game would be completed in Baltimore. Lance Cormier, who started the 12th for the Orioles, was playing for Triple-A Norfolk in April. The White Sox went with Ramirez, who was in Kansas City’s minor league system when the game began. The last road team to hit in the bottom of an inning was Cleveland on Sept. 26, 2007, in the first game of a doubleheader at Seattle. That was the last of four games to be made up from an April series in Cleveland that was snowed out.

In the regularly scheduled game, the White Sox topped the Orioles, 4-3.

WHEELIN’ AND HEALIN’
• Minnesota has re-acquired former Twins closer Eddie Guardado from the Texas Rangers. The 37-year-old Guardado was 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA in 49 1-3 innings for Texas. Opponents are batting .220 against the left-hander this season. Guardado has 187 career saves, 116 with Minnesota — where he played from 1993-03.
• John Maine was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a bone spur in his right shoulder yesterday, leaving the Mets without a key starting pitcher. Maine had a cortisone shot last Thursday then pitched Saturday, way too soon.
• The Mets activated Luis Castillo. The Mets have gone 31-16 without Castillo, who is in the first year of a four-year, $25 million contract, and Manuel has been happy with the platoon of Damion Easley and rookie Argenis Reyes.
• Erik Bedard, still trying to work through shoulder problems that have sidelined him since July 4, threw 50 pitches at 90-foot distance on Monday. There is no timetable for Bedard to throw off a mound.
• Padres RHP Chris Young will throw a simulated game Tuesday at Petco Park and could rejoin the rotation next week.
• Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki admits the torn tendon in his left quadriceps that sidelined him in May won’t be fully healed until next season.
• First baseman Todd Helton began playing catch last week, and ran in the outfield prior to last night’s game with the Giants.
• Chicago activated 3B Joe Crede from the DL
• Johnny Cueto only has a right elbow strain and is expected to miss only a start or two.
• The Orioles optioned RHP Kam Mickolio to Triple-A Norfolk and recalled LHP Brian Burres.
• The Pirates received Triple-A catcher Robinson Diaz from Toronto as the player to be named in the Aug. 21 trade involving third baseman Jose Bautista.
• According to Brian Cashman, Joba Chamberlain “threw well” during his bullpen session

PROBABLE PITCHERS
AL
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees, 7:05 pm
(R) Tim Wakefield (7-8) vs. (L) Andy Pettitte (13-9)
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees begin their final regular-season series at Yankee Stadium tonight. In the words of the King, for the Yanks, “It’s now or never.”
Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 pm
(R) Gavin Floyd (13-6) vs. (L) Brian Burres (7-7)
The ChiSox must take advantage of these games
Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 pm
(L) Cliff Lee (18-2) vs. (R) Chris Lambert (0-0)
Last night, Grady Sizemore became the second member of the Indians to have at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season. Joe Carter did it for Cleveland in 1987.
Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 pm
(R) Roy Halladay (15-9) vs. (R) James Shields (11-7)
Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 pm
(R) Kevin Millwood (7-7) vs. (R) Zack Greinke (9-9)
Still don’t care.
Oakland Athletics at LA Angels of Anaheim, 10:05 pm
(L) Greg Smith (6-12) vs. (R) John Lackey (10-2)
How low will the A’s go?
Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 pm
(R) Scott Baker (7-3) vs. (L) Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-2)
The first four batters in the Twins lineup are all hitting over .300.

NL
Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 pm
(R) Carlos Zambrano (13-5) vs. (R) Ian Snell (5-10)
The Cubs are 12-4 against the Pirates.
New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 pm
(R) Pedro Martinez (4-3) vs. (L) Jamie Moyer (11-7)
Playoff baseball in August.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington Nationals, 7:10 pm
(R) Derek Lowe (10-10) vs. (R) Collin Balester (2-6)
Are the Dodgers fading away?
Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 pm
(L) Scott Olsen (6-8) vs. (R) Jair Jurrjens (11-9)
The Marlins are hitting just .230 the second half with 35 home runs, compared to a .256 batting average with 135 home runs the first half.
Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros, 8:05 pm
(R) Bronson Arroyo (11-10) vs. (L) Wandy Rodriguez (7-6)
Don’t care.
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 pm
(R) Ben Sheets (11-7) vs. (R) Todd Wellemeyer (11-4)
Huge series for both teams.
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, 10:05 pm
(R) Brandon Webb (19-4) vs. (R) Chad Reineke (1-1)
Going win #20 tonight
Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 pm
(L) Jorge De La Rosa (6-7) vs. (R) Matt Palmer (0-1)
I can’t get excited about this one.

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.

…And the list gets longer of Minor Leaguers getting suspended for MiLB Drug Policy violations. You can add five more names to that list, Rafael Aybar (Dodgers), Alfredo Buret (Marlins), Julio Sanchez (Orioles) and Eliel Sierra (Twins). All were in the Dominican Summer League and tested positive for Boldenone.

Juan Castillo (Cardinals) who was in the Rookie Gulf Coast league tested positive for Stanozolol. All suspensions begin immediately.

This brings the total to 34 Minor Leaguers that have received 50 game suspensions for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs since July 25th.

…On Monday Barry Bonds looked to have most of the governments case against him dropped. Lawyers for Bonds argue that most if not all the charges against him are bases on “ambiguous” answers to “ambiguous” questions posed by prosecutor’s during his grand jury testimony. A spokesman with the US Attorneys office refused comment according to a report in the the USA Today.

…Chicago White Sox Designated Hitter Jim Thome moved into 15 place on the all time home run list - belting his 535th dinger of his career against the Baltimore Orioles.

“Very special,” Thome said. “We’ve talked about it. Anytime you can tie or move ahead of the greats that played the game, it’s very humbling. It’s something you look back and feel very honored. You cherish that, for sure.”

He’s just one home run behind Mikey Mantle on the list.

…To make room for Eddie Guardado the Minnesota Twins designated Mike Lamb for Assignment. The Twins will be eating $3.8 million dollars of Lamb’s contract.

…According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Pirates first round draft pick and he of the $6 million dollar signing bonus Pedro Alvarez has yet to report for his physical or his press conference to introduce him (he also hasn’t physically signed his contract yet, just gave his verbal go ahead). According to the report, this is pretty standard Scott Boras tactics, keeping his client from the team for a extra week. Well, what ever is going on it’s starting to drive the Pirates batty.

…The Seattle Mariners have recalled right handed pitcher Randy Messenger from Triple A Tacoma, while sending reliever Mark Lowe down. The Mariners signed Messenger after the Giants released him on July 10th. He would’ve been with the club sooner, when Arthur Rhodes was traded to the Marlins but Messenger turned down the promotion.

“I’d have been up earlier, but my wife was having our first child, and there were some complications, both for her and for our daughter,” Messenger said shortly after arriving in the Mariners clubhouse. “So I told them I couldn’t come up.”

…And to end things on a weird note: Nine Year-Old Jericho Scott has been banned from Youth Baseball because he throws too hard. That’s right, he throws too hard. At his age he’s able to throw the ball 40 miles per hour. The Youth Baseball League in New Haven Conn. says he can still play, just not pitch. Last week he took the mound anyway, and the opposing team forfeited the game.

Officials of the league (8 teams) says that if Jericho continues to pitch, his team will be disbanded. There’s even a lawyer involved who says that he shouldn’t be allowed to pitch because facing that kind of speed is “scary”. No, what’s scary is there is a lawyer involved with all that. And if that isn’t enough - here’s what Scott had to say.

“I feel sad. I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”

Once again, grownups not the kids suck the fun out of everything.

The New York Mets placed starting pitcher John Maine on the 15-day disabled list on Monday.  Maine’s injury — a bone spur in his right shoulder — is expected to sideline him for at least three weeks.  The Mets filled the roster spot with the activation of second baseman Luis Castillo and will make an additional move to add a starter prior to Maine’s next turn in the rotation.

Maine is 10-8 with a 4.18 ERA in 25 starts with the Mets this season but is 2-3 with a 5.09 ERA in his last nine starts and has not made it through the sixth inning since June 25.

The corresponding move to fill the rotation spot should be between Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa and Brian Stokes.  The move is not necessary until next Tuesday when the Mets face the Brewers in Milwaukee.  The starts comes one day after the expansion of rosters.

Out since July 2, Castillo returns to resume his role as the team’s starting second baseman.  While he was out, Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes filled in at second.  Castillo is hitting .261 with three home runs and 26 RBI in 68 games.

—–

On August 21, the Pittsburgh Pirates sent Jose Bautista to the Toronto Blue Jays.  On Monday, the two teams completed the trade with Toronto sending catcher Robinzon Diaz to Pittsburgh. 

Diaz, 24, has one game of Major League experience under his belt — he went 0-for-4 on April 23 — and played in the Futures Game in 2004.  The Dominican-born Diaz joined the Blue Jays’ organization as an 18-year-old prospect in 2002 and is a former South Atlantic League (Class A) All-Star.  In an injury-filled 2008 season, Diaz is hitting .244 with a home run and 13 RBI in 36 games at Triple-A Syracuse.  Diaz also had two successful rehab stints with Toronto’s Gulf Coast team and Class A Dunedin.

—–

Third baseman Joe Crede returned for the Chicago White Sox on Monday just in time to re-enter the completion of an Orioles-White Sox game from four months ago.  The Sox also promoted right-handed pitcher Lance Broadway.  To clear room for the two players, the White Sox placed Dewayne Wise on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin and sent down infielder Chris Getz to Triple-A Charlotte.

Crede, out since July 21, is hitting .255 with 17 homers and 54 RBI and immediately re-entered the lineup as the team’s starting third baseman.

Broadway, 25, returns for his second stint in August.  He made two appearances including one start and is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA.  The former first round Draft choice is 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in six career games.

Wise hit .288 in 35 games before being sidelined with the groin injury and Getz hit .286 in seven games.