For the Mets, the day couldn’t have gone any worse. They lost, 5-4, in 10 innings thanks to a home run off the bat of Bengie Molina. For the real story of this game, we have to rewind to the 4th inning. It was in the bottom of that from that Cain hit Mets’ 3B David Wright in the helmet with a 93-mph fastball. This AP picture taken by Frank Franklin II sums up the event in one frame:

Everyone on the Mets, even Santana said that they felt Cain was not headhunting in that situation. They knew he was trying to pitch inside and that the ball just got away from him. It happens. That said, Santana still reacted. With Pablo Sandoval at the plate in the 7th inning, Santana threw a fastball behind the rookie, meriting a warning to both benches from the home plate umpire. His second pitch knocked Sandoval off the plate too and his third offering was knocked out of the ballpark, putting the Giants ahead, 4-1. Molina came up next and Santana finally got hit the target, plunking the catcher. Despite being warned, Santana was not ejected; however manager Jerry Manuel removed the Mets’ ace from the game anyway.

The next part of this story is a little odd. When Giants manager Bruce Bochy came out to relieve Cain in the eighth, the New York fans jeered the pitcher for what he had done earlier in the game to their star at the hot corner. They had been giving it to him all game, despite the fact that Cain was visibly shaken after hitting Wright. Then, in a moment that had me scratching my head, Cain  tipped his cap in jest to the crowd. That gesture can be interpreted so many different ways. Was he upset that he was being taken out of a close game? Was he proud of the fact that he sent Wright to the hospital with what has been diagnosed as post concussion syndrome? Is he totally clueless? I really can’t explain it because I’m not Matt Cain, but it sure make you wonder.

The loss of Wright, for however long it may be, is devastating to the Mets. Since joining the club in July of 2004, the Mets have played 833 games. David Wright has missed 15 of those. He’s been one of the few constants for a team that has been absolutely ravaged by injuries this season. I know he wants to be out there, but it might be best if Wright sits the next week or so, or at the very least until Thursday or Friday.

Did anyone else catch the article in The New York Times this week by David Waldstein about the new batting helmets being developed by Rawlings? If you haven’t, I encourage you to do so (link). Read it and you might ask yourself if Jeff Francouer might be having a change of heart real soon.

Today, Williams landed the talented, but pricey Alex Rios in a waiver claim that was placed last week. The two-time American League All-Star is under contract through the 2014 season with a club option for 2015 at $13.5 million. All total, the White Sox inherit a contract valued at nearly $60 million. Tack on the $52 million that the White Sox took in Peavy’s deal and that makes for quite an expensive week for Williams and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

I wouldn’t call either of these bad deals because neither player is a rental for just this season. In the short-term, how often will Rios play? Jermaine Dye has right field locked up and assuming Carlos Quentin is fully recovered from the foot injury that cost him most of the first half, he needs to be in the lineup everyday as well. In center field, Scott Podsednik has been a fantastic addition for the White Sox, playing more like he did in 2005 than in ’06 and ’07. He’s an established lead-off man who won’t kill you in the field. If Podsednik is on the bench, does Rios automatically fill that lead-off spot? It will also take away at-bats from the recently acquired Mark Kotsay. Also, who is removed from the current roster? The logical choice is Mark Buehrle’s best friend, Dewayne Wise, but he is out of options and will have to pass through waivers, which is unlikely.

Looking beyond this season, the contracts of Podsednik, Dye and Jim Thome can come off the book. Dye has a mutual option for next season, but said this evening from Seattle that , “It’s a shock.”

As always, it’s tough to predict which direction Williams will opt to go. Dye has proven that he can still hit, as has Thome. As I mentioned before, Podsednik is healthy and a viable top-of-the-lineup hitter. At least one of these guys will be gone when the White Sox report to Glendale in February. However, like Williams always says, they’re trying to win it this year, and with these additions, they might be able to make a little noise in the next two months. Stay tuned.

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I’ll be back later this week for my triumphant return to the blogosphere. Stay tuned.

With no disrespect intended for his competition (Washington’s Cristian Guzman, Arizona’s Mark Reynolds, the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp and the Phillies’ Shane Victorino), I love watching San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval play. He’s a switch hitter, he can play multiple positions and he’s playing for a team who, very quietly, has the second best record in the National League. He deserves to be in St. Louis representing his team.

Sandoval is batting .333 with 12 homers and 44 RBI. In addition, he ranks in the top 10 in the NL in all of the following categories (per MLB.com): doubles, multi-hit games, slugging percentage, hits, extra-base hits and OPS.

In the American League, the five players on the ballot are Toronto’s Adam Lind, Texas’ Ian Kinsler, Anaheim’s Chone Figgins, the Rays’ Carlos Pena and Detroit’s Brandon Inge. This one is a little bit tougher for me than the NL. Inge and Figgins offer Maddon great versatility. Pena and Lind are great hitters who can prove to be crucial in a pinch-hitting situation. I maintain that Kinsler should have named to the team in the first place and he was another victim of the Red Sox nation. That said, he deserves to be in St. Louis.

Photo Credit:
Sandoval

I’m headed out of town again for the holiday weekend, but I’ll be back next week to talk about the All-Star rosters and take a look at the second half of the season.

Until then, have a safe and happy 4th of July!

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My friend Matt brought up the point that he has a problem with Manny being allowed to make a “rehab” assignment with the Dodgers’ farm club before the conclusion of his 50-game suspension. I hadn’t given it any thought prior to his statement, but I totally agree with him. It’s not exactly fair. If the Dodgers want him to see game action before he returns to their lineup, then he can begin to resume his training on July 3rd when he is eligible to return.

I want to hear from you. Do you think it’s fair that Manny gets to play in three or four games before his suspension is over? Leave a comment.

Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci believes that Harper is the best player to come along since Alex Rodriguez. The part of the piece that I found most disturbing is Harper’s plan to get drafted sooner than anyone else who was born in 1993. According to his father, Ron, he is planning on taking the GED and enrolling in a Junior College in the fall, likely College of Southern Nevada. If all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, Bryce should be able to be drafted in 2010. By the look of things, the Washington Nationals could have the chance to take him just as they did with Stephen Strasburg this year. Can they afford both? Doubtful, but GM Mike Rizzo  could have one hell of a core on his hands if he does select the phenom.

The situation is unprecedented for Major League Baseball. No one has challenged the system like the Harper’s are prepared to do, but then again, not many 16-year olds have had the skill that Bryce has. Some people will say that it’s being blown up by the media, but people said that about LeBron James when he was a sophomore at St.Vincent-St.Mary High School too. I think that’s worked about fairly well for the Cavaliers and the NBA as a whole.

Here is the article posted on SI.com today by Verducci. I assure you, it’s certainly worth your time whether you read the piece in the magazine or not.

Personally, I hope Harper succeeds because I don’t like to see anyone fail. I also hope he surrounds himself with the right people who will help him achieve his dream in the best way possible.

Catcher – The Sox’ A.J. Pierzynski is as durable as they come, but he has never been known for his offensive prowess. On the North Side, Geovany Soto is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year and All-Star starter behind the dish. Whatever the reason, Soto has not lived up to that billing in 2009. He is struggling mightily at the plate with just three homers and 16 RBI through 50 games. Batting average (.223) and slugging percentage (.318) are also way down. My vote goes to A.J. The veteran’s power numbers aren’t great (6 and 15), but that’s never been his game. He’s hitting for average (.303) and producing wherever manager Ozzie Guillen slides him into the lineup.

First Base – Both Paul Konerko and Derrek Lee have been good, but not great in 2009. Konerko is having a much better season than he did a year ago when he was plagued by injuries. He’s got 8 home runs and 41 RBI. He’s batting .294 with a .471 slugging percentage. He did miss a few games with a thumb injury last week, but came back strong in two wins over the Brewers. Lee struggled through April and much of May, but has quietly recovered. He’s got 7 homers and 27 RBI, but is a far cry from where he was in 2005 when he finished third in the NL MVP voting. My pick is PK over D-Lee.

Second Base – Do we have to pick one? The Cubs have about four candidates to choose from while the Southsiders have a couple of their own. For the sake of this argument, I am going to make the finalists Chris Getz for the White Sox (over Jayson Nix) and Mike Fontenot (over Aaron Miles and two or three Iowa Cubs to be named later). Getz, in his first full season, has played some very solid defense and a few nice moments at the plate. Fontenot’s average is in the gutter (.236), but he does have 6 homers and 26 RBI for the Cubs. He’s also been asked to fill in at third base for the ailing Aramis Ramirez, which he’s done with mixed results. I vote for Fontenot, but I believe that Nix would be the best if he got more regular playing time.

Shortstop – A second slow start for Alexei Ramirez means that the Cubs’ Ryan Theriot gets the vote. There is no doubt that Ramirez is a better defender, but Theriot has proved to be no slouch. Theriot already has a career-high six home runs and is on-pace to set a new high in RBI also. His average is down from 2008, but slugging and OPS are both up. Ramirez has raised his average from .203 on May 1st to .252 today. He’s also walked 17 times (18 in all of 2008) and collected 10 stolen bases (13 last year). I’ve got an idea. How about we slot Ramirez at his 2008 position (2B) to avoid picking though the garbage we’ve seen from both sides this season?

Third Base - Josh Fields appears lost at the plate and looks nothing like the guy who belted 27 homers when Joe Crede went down in 2007. Since being called up, Gordon Beckham has not performed at the plate either. Fontenot already won at second base by default and any of the Iowa Cubs to be named later don’t fit here either. I’m going to have to piggy-back Rogers and select ailing Cubs’ 3B Aramis Ramirez. Ramirez has played in just 18 games, but in that time he has more homers (4) than Fields (3) has in 55. Unfortunately for the Cubs, Ramirez is struggling to get back on the field and could miss another 3-4 weeks.

Left field – The nominees here are Alfonso Soriano and Scott Podsednik. Pods, a 2005 cult-hero, didn’t even join the big league club until May 1st, but he’s had a positive impact at the top of the lineup since. He slid over to LF when Carlos Quentin went to the disabled list and has done a fine job getting on base at the top of the lineup. He’s batting .311 with an OBP of .360. He’s also stolen 8 bases and scored 18 runs. For the Cubs, Soriano has 14 homers, but just 27 RBI. His average is terrible at .229 and he has already struck out 66 times. Soriano, I guess.

Center field – The Brian Anderson – Dewayne Wise – Brent Lillibridge trio hasn’t produced very good numbers, so this pick is pretty simple: the Cubs’ Kosuke Fukudome. He looked great in April, but has steadily declined in production each month of the season. Just like second base, I’d rather slide Podsednik over to center and have Soriano in left than pick from the existing crop of candidates.

Right field – Milton Bradley is in the argument for the worst free agent signing this past winter, while Jermaine Dye has been as steady as ever patrolling right field for the Sox. Dye has seen a dip in his batting average, but he’s got 15 homers and 39 RBI. He’s also playing great defense for a guy whose legs have seen better days. Dye gets the vote and could end up being the Sox’ lone representative at the All-Star Game in St. Louis (though I hope Mark Buehrle and Matt Thornton get invited as well).

Bat off the bench – This could be the easiest no-brainer on the board: Jim Thome. He gets on base (.403), he hits home runs (12) and he drives in runs (39). Thome continues to cement his status as a Hall of Famer.

Reliever – Matt Thornton might be the best left-handed relief pitcher in the game. He throws 97-99 MPH with ease and he’s been in the right spot to collect four wins in relief so far. I REALLY hope that AL manager Joe Maddon recognizes his importance and brings him along to St. Louis in July.

Closer – At 14 of 16 saves converted, Bobby Jenks has been more consistent than his counterpart, Kevin Gregg on the the North Side. Jenks might not be as dominant as he once was in the second-half of 2005 and 2006, but he’s still getting it done.

Starter – To me, it comes down to one guy on each side of town. A couple of lefties have been the most consistent pitchers in Chicago – Ted Lilly for the Cubs and Mark Buehrle for the White Sox. Lilly is 7-4 with a 2.94 ERA, while Buehrle is 6-4 with a 3.23 ERA, though he has had a couple of tough no decisions that could easily take him to 8 wins. He also hit his first career homer in Milwaukee over the weekend, which is nice. I’m going to choose Lilly. Hopefully if the Cubs make it to the playoffs in 2009, Lou Piniella won’t be dumb enough to keep Lilly on the shelf through the first three games like he did last season.

Sox – 5 (Pierzynski, Konerko, Dye, Thornton and Jenks)
Cubs – 6 (Fontenot, Theriot, Ar. Ramirez, Soriano, Fukudome, Lilly)

As of April 22, the right-hander was 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA. In three starts immediately following that initial post, Contreras went 0-2 and his ERA on the season had moved up to 8.19. In short, he wasn’t getting it done. With young lefty Clayton Richard ready to slide from the bullpen to the starting rotation, General Manager Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen made the call to option the 37-year old to Class AAA Charlotte. It was actually Contreras’ decision. The demotion was his idea so that he could work on his mechanics, mainly his splitter.

No matter management’s intention, Contreras went down and started to put the pieces back together. He went 3-1 and posted a 2.70 ERA in five starts. The game that he lost, his third start, was by far the worst and not just because he took the loss. Contreras allowed seven runs over 5.2 IP against Indianapolis. That outing, however, came after his best performance with the Knights, a one-hit shutout against Toledo. In that particular outing, he had a no-hitter for 7.2 IP.

With a doubleheader against the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers on the schedule, Williams and Guillen knew they had to bring Contreras back to help out and to see for themselves if he really had it all figured out. Getting the ball in the nightcap, the Cuban was nothing short of dominant – 8.0 IP, one hit, no runs, three strikeouts and just one walk. To back that up, Contreras went out yesterday against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and, if it’s possible, looked even better. He pitched 8.0 IP again, allowed two hits, no runs, two walks and struck out eight. That’s three hits and 16.0 scoreless innings against two division leaders.

After yesterday’s win, Contreras told the media that he’s feeling as good as he has since 2005-06 when he won 17 straight games from August ’05-July ’06 and was named the starter for the AL All-Star team (though he was scratched after throwing two days prior for the White Sox). He’s feeling so good that there’s is talk that his next start will be moved up to Thursday so he can pitch in the Crosstown Classic against the Cubs. The White Sox are off on Monday so the move comes as an effort to keep Contreras on normal rest, pitching every fifth day.

If the White Sox are really luck, Bartolo Colon will rise to the challenge as well. That is, once his swollen knee improves. Then again, if you really believe Colon has a swollen knee, I have some land in the Everglades I’d like to sell you.

Price was the first overall pick out of Vanderbilt by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2007 draft (I think they still had the Devil in ’07). The tall left-hander was an integral part of the Rays’ magical run in 2008 that ended with them losing to the Phillies in the World Series. He began this season where he spent most of the last, the minor leagues.

Since being called up from Class AAA Durham in late May, Price has made four starts for the Rays. He’s posted a 1-0 record and a dazzling 2.37 ERA. He’s got 26 strikeouts, but 18 walks. The Rays are 3-1 in the games in which he’s taken the bump. David Price looks like he’s in Tampa to stay, but in my eyes, he needs a little bit of fine-tuning.

In his four starts, Price has lasted 5.2 IP twice. The last start on 6/11 against the Angels, he went 4.1 IP (Rays won, 11-1) and in his season debut at Cleveland, he made it only 3.1 IP (Rays lost, 11-10). In that game against Cleveland, it took Price 100 pitches to get 10 outs.  For a frame of reference, Royals’ ace Zack Greinke has five complete games this season in which his average number of pitches is 110.8.

Back to Price, he’s averaging 12.3 K/9.0 IP in his four outings this year, but if he’s not out there for more than four or five innings per start, what’s the point of that? Maybe Price is destined to be a closer a la Kerry Wood. Wood, remember, was nicknamed Kid K for a reason – just ask the Astros who were in the lineup on May 6, 1998 when he fanned 20. Sure he was moved to the bullpen by the Cubs after spending eight or nine seasons as a starter, but in just a few seasons there, he’s been very impressive and looks to have lengthened his career in doing so.

Photo Credit:
David Price