Derek Lowe No Longer Mediocre

On May 22, Derek Lowe had an embarrassing ERA of 5.34. Since then, he has quietly become the Dodgers' most reliable pitcher, stringing together five very impressive starts while lowering his ERA to very respectable 4.03:

6/13 at Tigers: 7 innings 2ER

6/7 vs. Cubs: 7 innings 3 ER

6/2 vs. Rockies: 8 innings 1 ER

5/28 at Cubs: 7 innings 0 ER

5/23 vs. Cardinals: 7 innings 2 ER

Lowe, 35, is in the final year of a four year, $36 million contract and will probably command a three or four-year contract this winter. The 2009 free agent starting pitcher market will be relatively thin, so Lowe will likely be one of the most sought after pitchers after Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia.

Mets Willie Randolph Asks: 'Where Is the Love?'

During a recent practice session during a home stand against the Dodgers, Mets manager Willie Randolph looked up from the batting cage to see portly Dodgers broadcaster Charlie Steiner ambling over

"Charlie, come here," Randolph called to him. "Give me a hug. I need it."

As the two former Yankees employees embraced, Randolph was in the process of surviving his first MLB rumors gauntlet, spared from being fired by a sudden spurt of player productivity and what would turn out to be a short lived revival in the standings.

Now Randolph finds himself in trouble again as the team continues to fall short of the .500 level, is seven games out and leading only the lowly Washington Nationals.

"It's a bad feeling to get your butt beat," Randolph admitted afterwards.

As Newsday columnist Johnette Howard noted in the next day's editions: Randolph might have added: "Again," as his most recent 10-inning, 5-4 humiliation in Arizona marked the sixth straight game in which the Mets have blown a lead.

Steiner -- host of The Beat on XM Radio channel 175 -- has steadfastly defended Randolph on the grounds that Randolph doesn't swing the bat, throw the ball, make the catches or run the bases; his players do.

The problem is that Randolph sets the tone in his clubhouse, and his clubhouse is run like a retired millionaires club: "millionaires," because they are millionaires; and "retired" because they are retired, at a rock bottom minimum of 27 per game.

The Mets have no vibrancy, no spirit, no fight and no tenacity, and because Randolph seems unable to instill in them any sort of cohesion, character or drive, a change must come in the name of making a change for the sake of a change. You're bright, you're experienced, you're knowledgeable and capable, Willie, but your methods for whatever reason just aren't working and it is time for you to go.

Rockies Troy Tulowitzki Boots Two, Will Sit Out

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki -- attempting to come back from a knee injury -- appeared slightly shakey in his second rehabilitation start, committing two errors and going 0-3 for Single A Modesto in an 8-1 loss at Visalia.

Modesto manager Jerry Weinstein rested Tulowitzki after six innings, as the team has targeted him for a return to the majors in about 10 days. When healthy an outstanding fielder, one of Tulowitzki's errors was charged after he appeared to pull up short while trying to reach a grounder that normally would have been in his range.

Tulowitzki -- a 2007 Rookie-of-the-Year candidate -- is now 0-6 in two successive games for Modesto, and is scheduled to sit out the first of three road games against the Single A Rancho Cucamonga beginning Friday. Weinstein will bring him off the bench if Tulowitzki feels up to it, the decision being up to him.

If Tulowitzki continues to be evaluated as healthy, he will play nine innings against Cucamonga on Saturday and Sunday.

Initially Tulowitzki was expected to sit out perhaps another month or more, but the 22-year-old rising superstar has proved to be a quick healer.

Tulowitzki played only five innings in his first appearance for Modesto, and claimed he felt no discomfort. But in his second game he appeared to slightly favor his left knee, which sustained a torn quadriceps muscle May 12. Otherwise he moved with relative fluidity.

The weekend will mark the end of Tulowitzki's current stint, meaning that Modesto fans will not see him in a local game unless he is unready to advance to Triple A Colorado Springs. Tulowitzki is scheduled to return to the Rockies on or about June 20 if he continues to progress.

Injury Updates

• The Padres activated Jake Peavy and he pitched 6 shutout innings against the Dodgers.
  
• The Angels expect to activate Chone Figgins from the DL tomorrow.
• Nomar Garciaparra is on target to return June 25, the first day he is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list.
• Andruw Jones has started shagging flyballs and thinks he is 2 weeks from beginning a rehab assignment.
  
• The Canton Repository reports that Indians catcher Victor Martinez is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after he has surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow.
• Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman will miss at least another 4-6 weeks. If rehab does not improve his left shoulder, he may have surgery which would cause him to miss 3-4 months.
• The Mariners are portraying closer J.J. Putz's sore elbow as a problem of the day-to-day variety and don't believe he will go on the DL.
  

Not Hitting Your Weight Is Embarrassing

A general rule in baseball is you better be able to hit your weight or you are really pathetic. It is not that difficult since this usually only requires hitting about .230.  Players are usually sent tot he minors before their batting average gets a chance to descend that far, so this rare achievement truly deserves praise and admiration.

Mariners fans have grown accustomed to Richie Sexson (240 pounds, .216 average) achieving this rare phenomenon and Dodgers fans pretty much expected Andruw Jones (240 pounds last time anyone checked, .165 average) to be awful.  (note:  Chin-Lung Hu can probably be included in this category but he will be spared the humiliation of publication of either his weight or batting average).  

But nobody really expected this from Ryan Howard.  Howard is a big guy, weighing 256 pounds, so if he were hitting .240 nobody would care.  However, his .208 batting average is embarrassing no matter how you look at it.  Howard is a career .280 hitter and has made serious runs for the MVP award the last two years, so this is surprising and a huge concern to the Phillies. 

Matt Kemp's Suspension Reduced for Dodgers

The suspension handed down to Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp has been reduced from four games to two, for his part in inciting a brawl against the Rockies last week. No decision has been reached on Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba's three-game suspension for his role in the fight, but presumably it will be reduced to one or two games.

Kemp will serve his suspension today and tomorrow, during which time third base coaches and baserunners for the Padres and Tigers will get to enjoy Juan Pierre's terrible arm in center field.

The Dodgers face Padres right-handed ace Jake Peavy today so its possible the right-hitting Kemp would not have played anyway. In two games against Peavy this year, Kemp has not been in the starting lineup, but that was before Andruw Jones' injury left Pierre as the backup center fielder.

Cubs Likely Indians Partner in C.C. Sabathia Trade

It's just so much window dressing now, those lofty Indians pretensions that the team is still competing for a playoff berth this year. Bet on it: the front office inner sanctum is all but ready to trade ace C.C. Sabathia -- in all likelihood to the Cubs -- and get on with a mini-rebuilding plan.

The loss of starting pitchers Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona to the disabled list -- not to mention the lackluster performances of Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner and others -- have only accelerated the need to deal the Sabathia before the trade deadline in order to receive value for him in his walk year.

While a minority opinion will likely be expressed to re-sign Sabathia, his near $100 million price tag puts him beyond reach.

The Cubs remain the most likely trading partner because that's the team with the most trade bait, most notably young starters Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher and Rich Hill, who are widely believed to have been on the block when the Cubs failed in an attempt to acquire second baseman Brian Roberts from the Orioles

Milton Bradley Gets Upset

Milton Bradley, known for his temper, did not take kindly to comments made about him by Royals announcer Ryan Lefebvre on Wednesday night. Lefebvre complimented Josh Hamilton on turning around his life but said that "it doesn't appear Milton Bradley has done the same thing in his life." Oh? He's only leading the American League in batting average at .333 and is on pace to hit 37 home runs, far surpassing his career high of 19. Lefebvre went on to assert that Hamilton would make a good role model for Bradley.

After hearing these comments in the clubhouse after the game, Bradley immediately made a rush for the Royals' TV booth to confront Lefebvre. He was stopped 20 feet from his target by Rangers' general manager John Daniels, manager Ron Washington, and a security guard.

Lefebvre's comments were out of line but Bradley did not help his case by attempting to storm the broadcast booth during a post-game show. Pacman Jones showing up to a strip club while he is being investigated for being at a strip club thinks that's a bad idea. Any other player would have been justified in confronting Lebebvre, but not one trying to shake the bad temper reputation.

Beyond their MVP type seasons, there is little to compare between Hamilton and Bradley. The career challenges that each has faced are completely different. Hamilton almost lost everything to drug addiction while Bradley is just an angry guy. Bradley has said in interviews that he wants to put his incidents behind him and just play baseball this season. Whether he is just emotional or angry at his parents for naming him after a board game company, Bradley would do himself a favor by going back to putting up MVP numbers and staying invisible.

Carlos Zambrano, Hitting .364, May Be Cubs DH

Cubs manager Lou Piniella -- confronted with the sudden loss of outfielder Rafael Soriano due to a fractured finger -- has told reporters he is giving serious consideration to using staff ace Carlos Zambrano as the everyday designated hitter in an upcoming series against the cross-town White Sox.

Zambrano is hitting .364 with a homer and .523 slugging percentage in 44 at-bats, and has received high praise for his all-around athletic ability and zeal at the plate and on the basepaths in addition to his outstanding pitching.

Outfielder Felix Pie -- recently beginning to swing the bat a little better after being demoted to Triple A Des Moines -- is also expected to be considered, though Pie might be more likely to come off the bench.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, meanwhile, issued a warning to Piniella that even though their two teams are in first place, neither the White Sox nor the Cubs had better not slack off if there is to be a serious chance the two will meet in the World Series.

Guillen told The Chicago Tribune that even though the White Sox have pulled away from the pack for now, the early season favorite Tigers "have a lot of talent. You can't take anything for granted. You have to continue to play."

Troy Tulowitzki Returns to Action at Visalia

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki -- initially expected to be out until the All-Star break or beyond with a quadriceps muscle tear -- has so far proved to be an especially quick healer as he returned to action in a rehabilitation start this week for the Single A Modesto Nuts.

Tulowitzki went 0-for-2 but drove in a run with a sacrifice fly at Visalia, according to The Modesto Bee.

It was Tulowitzki's first game since being injured on April 29. If Tulowitzki continues to move freely, without pain and with confidence, preliminary indications point to a return to Denver well before the end of the week, though the team may want to avoid rushing him as he had been struggling at the plate even before he was injured.

Tulowitzki was expected to continue traveling with the team for another start, with further evaluation to be taken from there.

No Lingering Effects for Blue Jays Vernon Wells

That Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells so suddenly returned from a so-called "broken wrist" should come as no surprise to readers of MLB News Online, which reported exclusively on May 13 that Wells' injury report was bogus.

If Wells actually had a "broken wrist" as the team claimed, his arm would still be in a cast today and most of the remainder of his season would be in doubt, as the rehabilitative regimen resulting from extensive immobilization would have been significant.

That means now that little residual effect should linger from the injury -- a mere sprain -- and Wells can be expected to recover his normal capabilities immediately without significant risk of relapse.

The Blue Jays original bogus report was carried by mainstream media after Wells was said to be disabled for a minimum of six to eight weeks as the result of hurting himself while diving to catch a fly ball.

The initial radiograph failed to show a fracture, yet someone on the staff ordered a superfluous magnetic resonance imaging test that turned up a false positive.

As has been repeatedly opined in this venue before, the "gold-standard" textbook definition of a fracture is one found in a good old-fashioned X-ray, not a CAT scan or MRI.

In only the most unusual of circumstances will a CT scan or MRI be called for to look for a clinically important (read: important) fracture. The wrist is not one of them. Every physician knows that if every musculoskeletal extremity injury with a negative X-ray were run through the CT or MRI, numerous fractures would be "discovered."

A Chance to Shine for Indians Kelly Shoppach

With struggling Indians catcher Victor Martinez having already missed time with a hamstring problem -- and now a sore elbow -- backup catcher Kelly Shoppach at last may be given a long-overdue chance to shine.

One of the best-kept secrets in the majors, Shoppach likely could start for a number of teams, but has been stranded behind Martinez.

Not only can Shoppack hit if given regular at-bats, he calls an intelligent game, is highly athletic behind the plate and has a canon for an arm. Shoppach is a far more effective all-around catcher than Martinez ever thought of being.

Now coming into his own at age 26, Shoppach was a standout prospect in the Red Sox system when acquired from Boston, having hit 49 homers at Triple A Pawtucket. He was much more than a throw-in in the Coco Crisp deal.

Shoppach won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top collegiate catcher when he batted .397 with 12 homers in 300 at-bats for the Baylor Bears in 2001.

Cardinals Lose Pujols and Wainwright to DL

The Cardinals have lost first baseman Albert Pujols and staff ace Adam Wainwright to the 15-day disabled list.

Pujols injured his calf running out a ground ball Tuesday night and Wainwright sprained the middle finger on his pitching hand. The team expects both to miss at least three weeks.

Pujols has been having an MVP season, hitting .347 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI. Wainwright has also been excellent, going 6-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 13 starts. The Cardinals currently sit 2.5 games behind division leading Cubs.

Dodgers Moving Nomar Garciaparra To Shortstop

The Los Angeles Times reports that former corner infielder Nomar Garciaparra could begin a rehab assignment next week, and will do so as a shortstop. Starting shortstop Rafael Furcal is now expected to miss at least another three weeks, and the Dodgers are apparently uncomfortable with recently acquired former Royals shortstop Angel Berroa, which begs the question of why General Manager Ned Colletti even bothered trading for him.

Since Nomar can barely stand at third base without getting hurt, one has to wonder whether the Dodgers regard his absence from the roster as vital to winning games, and are therefore trying to get him hurt again. If this is the plan, applause for Colletti, but it is doubtful he is that sophisticated.

This move also indicates that the Dodgers are committed to promising rookie infielder Andy LaRoche as a backup at both third and first base.

Dodgers Add Angel Berroa, Call Up Andy LaRoche

Impatient with infielder Chin-Lung Hu’s .159 batting average, and surely confused at times by what appeared to be a 13-year-old boy from Taiwan playing shortstop, General Manager Ned Colletti finally addressed the shortstop position Friday.

The Dodgers acquired former competent shortstop Angel Berroa, who failed to make the Kansas City Royals out of spring training and was demoted to the minors.

Berroa captured the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2003, but has since struggled. Before the trade, he was hitting .291 with 10 home runs in 189 at bats at Triple A Omaha (whoopdeedoo!). The first place Diamondbacks are no doubt shaking in their boots.

All that said, this is not a bad trade for the Dodgers. When starting shortstop Rafael Furcal returns from injury, Berroa will assume a utility role and strengthen the Dodgers bench. Until then, the Dodgers are not likely to get much offensive production out of the shortstop position.

Management had planned to ensure that Berroa could handle the starting shortstop job before demoting Hu to Triple A Las Vegas. One would think that Colletti would have at least liked to see Berroa get on base before he made any decisions, but not striking out in every at-bat sufficed, as the Dodgers demoted Hu on Monday after Berroa went 0-3 Sunday with two strikeouts.

The good news for Dodger fans is that rookie infielder Andy LaRoche is taking Hu’s roster spot. LaRoche is a highly regarded prospect, rated by Baseball America as the second best player in the Dodgers system, behind phenom starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Although fellow rookie Blake Dewitt has a firm grasp on the third base job for the time being, LaRoche has been playing a lot of second base at Triple A Las Vegas, and has played first base and outfield in the past.

With first baseman James Loney’s recent slump, 40-year-old second baseman Jeff Kent’s age, Dewitt’s youth, and outfielder Matt Kemp’s looming suspension, LaRoche should be seeing some playing time, especially against lefties. He also becomes the Dodger’s primary right-handed pinch hitter. Whatever his role, LaRoche is hopefully in Los Angeles to stay.

UPDATE: LaRoche started at first tonight and homered off Randy Wolf in his second plate appearance since being recalled.

Haranguing Reds Manager About Harang

Whatever that "old school" was from which Reds manager Dusty Baker graduated, apparently he skipped class the day they taught how to effectively use a bullpen.

On May 25 Baker found himself entangled in what would become an 18-inning marathon in San Diego, and with a 1-run lead chose not to bring in short man and future closer Bill Bray but instead mop-up man Josh Fogg. And Fogg promptly gave up that 1-run lead.

By the time Baker figured out it was Bray he should bring in, it was too late, and he had to exhaust his entire bullpen - even bringing in starters Aaron Harang and Johnny Cueto.

Harang - who had started just three days earlier, throwing more than 100 pitches - went 4 innings that night. And he hasn't been the same since. Harang was sharp that night in San Diego, striking out 9 in four scoreless innings. When he left the game, his ERA was 3.32.

Harang has started three times since, and only one of those outings was passable; the other two were terrible:

• May 29th: Gave up 10 hits, 6 ER in 4 innings
  
• June 3 - Gave up 9 hits, 3 ER in 6 innings
  
• June 8 - Gave up 11 hits, 7 ER in 5.1 innings
  

So before what should have been an unnecessary bullpen outing, Harang had a good ERA and league-leading strikeout numbers. Since that bullpen outing, Harang has pitched 15.1 innings with just 10 strikeouts, giving up 30 hits and 16 earned runs.

It's no wonder Baker has such a horrible reputation for handling pitching staffs.

Billy Butler Bats .400, Bids for Return to Royals

Former Royals designated hitter-first baseman Billy Butler continued to press his case for a quick return to Kansas City, going 3-6 with a double to raise his batting average to .400 during Triple A Omaha's 13-0 trouncing of Mets affilliate New Orleans.

The 22-year-old former first round pick has renewed his relationship with former batting coach and minor league journeyman Terry Bradshaw -- who has temporarily taken over the helm at Omaha. The two picked up where they left off last year in Surprise, Ariz., with Bradshaw encouraging Butler to stay within himself, be patient, wait for pitches to turn on and most of all, believe in himself.

Butler owned a .336 career minor league batting average before winning a spot in the Royals starting lineup coming out of spring, but was demoted after going hitless in his last 10 appearances, with his average falling to .263 with just one home run and 18 RBI in 53 games.

Expect Butler to return to Kansas City as soon as the team is convinced he can overcome confidence issues to battle through the normal growing pains of a gifted yet still very young player.

Eric Hurley Callup Underscores Rangers Problem

The Rangers callup of Triple A starter Eric Hurley to replace discarded retread Sidney Ponson underscores the team's continuing failure to find, sign and keep effective pitching.

With a 2-5 record and 5.30 ERA for the Oklahoma City Red Hawks, Hurley can hardly be expected to make much of a difference on a parent club with a team ERA exceeding 5.00 while giving up 656 hits, 29th worst in major league baseball.

The good news is that Hurley has a 3.46 ERA over his last six starts, but he will not find much help from a rotation and bullpen that has blown 22 leads on the season -- second worst in the majors after San Diego.

The rotation is in such shambles that Jason Jennings, Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard are no longer on the roster after being asked to hold down the bottom of the rotation out of spring camp.

How one team decade after decade can make such poor evaluations regarding pitching -- and continually fail to address the problem -- remains something of a puzzle. Hurley -- 6-foot-4, 200-pound righty -- has shown an ability to reach the mid-90s with his fastball, but generally throws 4-5 mph slower to try to stave off flagging endurance that suggests he might be better suited as a middle reliever.

The Rangers acquired him in the first round of the 2004 draft, reaching for him ahead of Milwaukee's Yovani Gallardo -- projected as a future ace -- and Huston Street -- who immediately went on to be Rookie of the Year in Oakland. About the only good thing that can be said for Hurley at this point is that he is only 22, so the jury is still out. The worst thing that can be said about him is that he was drafted by Texas.

Fairly or unfairly, some have lain blame at the doorstep of Tom Hicks, the hands-on owner whose presence provides the single continuous thread through a succession of general managers and their numerous bad decisions from the disastrous signing of Chan Ho Park, Adam Eaton and others, and the loss of Chris Young, John Danks and Edison Volquez, to name a few.

Hicks hopefully has finally done something to reverse the trend by hiring Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan as team president. If Ryan cannot not fix it, it is time to begin investigating just exactly what is in that Trinity River water.

Felix Pie Finally Shows Signs of Life for Iowa

Mired in a horrendous slump since he was sent down to Triple A Iowa, former Cubs starting center fielder Felix Pie finally showed a little life, going 2-5 with a homer to inch his batting average a tad beyond the .150 plateau.

Demoted from his customary leadoff role to hit in the No. 2 hole for Iowa during his recent struggles, Pie's long ball paced his team in an 8-2 victory over Nashville.

Pie has been a major disappointment during two extended looks in Chicago. While still a legitimate prospect, the 175-pound Dominican speedster bears the extra burden of the "undrafted free agent" label, a disadvantage the Cubs thought was behind after he formerly had produced stellar stats at various minor league levels.

Florida Marlins Downfall Is Foreshadowed

With XM Radio and Orioles broadcast commentator Buck Martinez and others already raising a red flag of caution over the Marlins dubious defensive play, baseball analyst Troy E. Renck has joined the chorus with yet a further warning that the team may be headed for a fall from its lofty perch atop the National League East.

"...There are chilling warnings that a serious regression awaits," says Renck in Sunday's editions of The Denver Post. "The Marlins rely too much on the home run, which could spell doom.

"Why? The Marlins rank second in strikeouts in the National League and have the third fewest walks. When those big swings turn into a big breeze, they figure to collide with a long losing streak. That's particularly true for a team whose pitching ranks in the middle of the pack (4.41 ERA) and owns baseball's worst fielding percentage (.977).

"This is a fun team to watch. It's just doubtful that it will hold true come mid-September."