Astros on the Verge of Trading Carlos Lee

Carlos Lee could soon be a Los Angeles Dodger. According to reports the Astros have agreed to trade Lee they are simply waiting on his stamp of approval on the deal.

Lee has a partial no-trade clause and must accept the trade before he can be dealt.

The Dodgers desperately need the offensive help. They're 15th in the NL in runs scored and have been shutout in 4 of their last 5 games. All-star slugger Matt Kemp has only appeared in two games since May 13th and is still on the DL with hamstring issues.

It seems like a pretty simple decision to me. Lee can move from the 32-45 Astros (who are 10.5 back in the NL Central) to the 43-35 Dodgers (who are 1.0 game back in the NL West).

Unless of course there's something more important than winning ...

UPDATE (3:50 PM): According to ESPN Carlos Lee is likely to veto the deal to the Dodgers. 

Aaron Hill Hits for the Cycle ... Again

Less than two weeks after hitting for a cycle Arizona Diamondbacks 2B Aaron Hill has done it again becoming the first player in more than 80 years to hit two cycles in one season. 

Hill's first cycle came on June 18 versus the Seattle Mariners. In that game he went 4-4. He accomplished the cycle in this following order: single, triple, double and finally the homer.

Last night versus the Brewers Hill went 4-5 in hitting for the cycle. This time he started with a double, then singled, hit a homer and had the hardest hit remaining, the triple, which he got in the 6th inning. Hill struck out in the 8th to end his evening.

There have been 294 cycles in Major League history and only three times - before Hill accomplished the feat this season - had a player hit for two cycles in a season. John Reilly (1883), Tip O'Neill (1887) and Babe Herman (1931).

Hill is now one cycle shy of being tied for the most career cycles in MLB history.

Franklin Morales Should Remain a Starter

Last week over on  Get Real Baseball I chronicled Franklin Morales' rise to the majors and asked the question whether or not the Red Sox should use him as a starter or a reliever.

In his first start, against the Cubs, he posted this line:

5 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER  9 K  0 BB  80 pitches, 65 strikes

His second start was versus the Braves:

6 IP 7 H 3 R 2 ER 8 K 1 BB 86 pitches, 62 strikes

Tonight he got the call against the Mariners and faced off against King Felix. His final line:

 7 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 7 K 2 BB 109 pitches, 70 strikes

After tonight, even though it has only been three starts, I'm convinced the Red Sox should continue to allow Morales the opportunity to show what he's got as a starter. His providing, arguably, the best performance of any of the Red Sox starters right now. The 5 man rotation currently consists of Lester, Doubront, Dice-K, Aaron Cook and of course Morales. Beckett and Buchholz are both on the 15-day DL.

Again as I mentioned in the previous article Morales is only 26-years old and it appears the Rockies gave up on him too soon and the Red Sox never gave him a chance; until now.

It would be wise if Bobby Valentine and the Red Sox continued to hand him the ball every 5th game.

Jacoby Ellsbury Begins Rehab Assignment

OF Jacoby Ellsbury has joined injured teammate Carl Crawford in the Gulf Coast rookie league in Florida as both prepare to return to the Boston Red Sox lineup.

Ellsbury has been out since virtually the beginning of the season (April 14th to be exact). Ellsbury injured his shoulder on a collision at 2nd base.

Ellsbury was one of the Red Sox best players last season hitting a team high 32 home-runs while posting a .928 OPS.

No time table has been set for Ellsbury's return to the Majors.

The sooner the Red Sox get both players back the better.

MLB Don't Look Now But ...

... The New York Yankees are sitting pretty with the best record in baseball at 46-28.

For those of us that dislike (to put it nicely) the Yankees season started out pretty promising. Off-season acquisition SP Michael Pineda went down with a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. Out for the season. Then on May 3rd the swan song season for uber-closer Mariano Rivera came to a sudden halt. Rivera tore his ACL shagging fly balls in batting practice. Many expected the 42-year old Rivera to retire at the end of the season even though he himself had been mum on his future. Most now seem to think he'll return for another season.

Things couldn't have been worse for the Yankees. They were mired in 4th place in the AL East 4.5 games back of division leader Tampa Bay.

But since that time the Yanks have regrouped and have gone a Major League best 33-16 averaging 4.7 runs scored per game. During that span the Yankees are holding opponents to 3.6 runs per game.

Setup man turned closer Rafael Soriano has come in to replace Mariano Rivera and has put up a sub 2.00 ERA. He had 88 career saves prior to signing with the Yankees to be their setup man before the 2011 so it wasn't as though he was without experience. As the Yankees closer this season he's putting up Riveraesque numbers converting 17 of 18 saves with a 1.88 ERA.

They've also received great pitching from the un-retired Andy Pettitte. Pettitte missed the entire 2011 season after retiring but decided he wanted to come back to the Yankees. They gave him another shot and since rejoining the team on May 13th the 40-year old Pettitte has a 3.22 ERA with 59 Ks compared to 15 BB in 58.2 IP. The Yankees will be without Pettitte for at least 6-8 weeks though as he did fracture his ankle recently and has gone on the 60-day DL.

Helping out on the offensive side of the ball Yankee Captain Derek Jeter has seen his power swing return this season. He has 7 HR in 316 AB after hitting only 6 all of last season (546 AB).

It doesn't seem to matter what troubles the New York Yankees face each season they find a way to overcome them ... much to the dismay of the rest of baseball

Note: The Yankees lost 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox tonight thus giving them a 46-29 record on the season and dropping them a 0.5 game behind the Texas Rangers for the best record in baseball.

Clay Buchholz Uses DL Trip to Party

No Red Sox fan will forget the collapse of September 2011 and the reports that followed about the in game “activities” of the starting rotation. On nights when certain starters (Beckett, Lester, Lackey) were not pitching they descended into the club house to play video games, drink beer and eat fried chicken. The immature actions became the poster of failure for the 2011 Red Sox. It led to Terry Francona being ousted as the manager. It led to Theo Epstein jumping to take the President of Baseball Operations job for the Cubs. It forced ownership to make a change and bring in a disciplinarian (Bobby Valentine). Early in Spring Training all alcohol was banned from the clubhouse. Yet despite all the changes made by the Sox the immaturity of their roster, particularly their starters, continues to rear its ugly head.

On Wednesday night Clay Buchholz, he of a recent trip to the DL, was spotted a charity pool party at Foxwoods which was sponsored by Stoli Vodka. Normally doing charity work would be a positive story but in this case one has to question the judgement of Buchholz. He was released from hospital less than 24 hours earlier after being treated for esophagitis; the ailment that landed him on the DL. It was reported that Buchholz did not drink at the event.

It’s hard to fault someone for doing charity work but Buchholz should have thought about how the media would perceive his attendance at this party.

Buchholz said of the illness, "It was real scary. Whenever you got doctors telling you, 'All right, come on over to my office and we'll check you out,' and you're like, 'I can't get there, I can't walk,' it was pretty scary for about three days.”

If you’re that concerned about your health what is the first thing you’re going to do when you get released from hospital? You’re right I was thinking pool party as well.

The saga continues in Boston.

Sports and Politics Just Don't Mix

I'm not going to start this article out by suggesting I know anything about American Politics, because I don't. I am only 75% sure there is an election this year ... that's how much I care or know. But when politics crosses over into sports that's when I'll throw my two cents in.

Today President Obama was in Boston (campaigning?). It is a well known fact that Obama is a staunch supporter of Chicago sporting teams. Once he went out to the mound at Nationals Park and pulled out a White Sox hat before throwing out the first pitch. Nationals fans weren't too impressed.

(See there's picture proof).

Now back to today, Obama, White Sox, in Boston ... get where this is going?

No, Obama didn't lament his team trading Brent Lillibridge to the Red Sox.

However, if you said Obama ribbed the crowd about the White Sox recent acquisition of Kevin Youkilis you'd be correct.

Now this is where the story gets a little muddled. Depending on who you ask the crowd responded with either "boo", "Youuuuk"' or a mix of the two.

Obama heard it as boo's:

''I'm just saying,'' a smiling Obama told the audience. ''I didn't think I'd get any boos out of here. I guess I should not have brought up baseball. My mistake.''

When Obama conceded, ''You've got to know your crowd,'' he received some laughter.

I'm fine with all that. It's just a bit of lighthearted fun. Sports poke at each other all the time. Why shouldn't the President of U.S. do the same? He was just happy that his team finally has a bat at the hot corner and the Red Sox practically paid the White Sox to take Youkilis off their hands. Comment, boo's/Youk's ... should be the end of the story.

Instead Mit Romney's Press Secretary had to throw some fuel on the fire:

''Maybe the president should have congratulated the team for winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007,'' Andrea Saul said in an email. ''Instead, he chose to mock them for trading away one of its favorite players at a time when the team is struggling.''

Stick to politics, please. You're out of your element here Andrea. Mocking is too harsh a term to describe what Obama did. I wish politicians would just take things a little less seriously. Romney's camp make it sound like Obama's not fit to run a country because, as some people seem to feel, his comments were inappropriate. If you don't like him or his politics that's fine. But don't try to make him out to be a bad President because he's a devout Chicago sports fan (it's not the best choice but hey we all make mistakes).

His comments were far from inappropriate. They were timely and they were funny from one sports fan to another (or a group of them).

Republicans, stop pandering for votes.

Marlon Byrd Tests Positive For PED

Former Red Sox OF Marlon Byrd has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for a banned, performance enhancing, substance.

Byrd was designated for assignment by the Red Sox three weeks ago and was subsequently released. He has yet to sign with another team and the suspension makes that even more unlikely.

Byrd released the following statement through the Major League Baseball Players Association:

"I made an inexcusable mistake. Several years ago, I had surgery for a condition that was private and unrelated to baseball. Last winter, I suffered a recurrence of that condition and I was provided with a medication that resulted in my positive test. Although that medication is on the banned list, I absolutely did not use it for performance-enhancement reasons."

For once I actually believe the offender. If he was taking it for performance enhancing reasons I can only assume he'd have put up better numbers. At the time of his release he was hitting .210 with 1 HR and 9 RBI in 143 AB (with the Cubs and Red Sox). Not the typical power numbers you'd expect from a guy on PEDs.

Red Sox deal Youkilis to White Sox

A move that has been expected for some time has completed. Everyone seemed to know Youkilis was on his way out of Boston, it was simply a question of where would he end up. On Sunday that question was answered as Youkilis trades in his Red Sox for White ones (not actually since the White Sox actually wear black socks).

On an emotional Sunday Youkilis played his final game for the Red Sox, at home in front of the Fenway faithful. When he was removed for a pinch runner he was given a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the fans. Youkilis received hugs from his teammates as he left the field.

The Red Sox will pay a large portion of Youkilis' remaining contract (which expires at seasons end). In return Boston received RHP Zack Jackson and Utility Infielder Brent Lillibridge. Neither player are likely to see significant playing time for the Red Sox.

Youkilis Trade Appears Imminent

Kevin Youkilis' days in a Red Sox uniform are dwindling and a number of teams appear to have some degree of interest in acquiring his services.

Most reports have narrowed the teams interested in Youkilis to the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers. The White Sox and Pirates appear to be the two most serious suitors.

Youkilis has been made expendable by the performance of rookie Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks has homered in 3 of his last 4 games and has 9 total for the season (Youkilis has 4). The Red Sox are 17-1 in games that Middlebrooks has recorded an RBI.

Youkilis has struggled in recent seasons with a multitude of injuries and numerous trips to the DL. His performance on the field has dipped and he doesn't appear to be the same player that hit 29 and 24 HRs in 2008 and 2009.

Youkilis is owed $12 million for 2012 and his contract runs out at the end of the season (the Red Sox do have a $13 million option that they are certain to decline, at a cost of $1 million). Any trade will almost certainly require the Red Sox to eat a large portion of what is owed to him.

The White Sox seem to be the most interested and the most logical destination for Youkilis. Brent Morel, their starting 3B, is on the DL. Prior to injuring his back he was hitting .177. Fill-in Orlando Hudson hasn't been much better, hitting .160 with the White Sox. Even though Youkilis isn't playing particularly well he'd almost certainly be an upgrade for a team that is 0.5 games out of the lead in the AL Central.

The Pirates also seem to have a serious interest in Youkilis. The Pirates are once again having a solid season and could use an additional veteran presence in their clubhouse. Their current 25 man roster has 8 infielders listed who have a combined 24 years of Major League service. A veteran like Youkilis might help the Pirates young roster from collapsing like they did in 2011. The Pirates were tied for their division lead on July 25th last season before collapsing and finishing 24 games out in the NL Central. The Pirates have shown a willingness to take on slumping veterans with expensive contracts, providing the team they are leaving pays a large chunk of that contract. In February the Pirates acquired AJ Burnett from the Yankees. Burnett was owed $31.1 million over two seasons. The Pirates managed to get $18.1 million of that off Yankees. Burnett is 8-2 for the Pirates.

The Indians, Braves and Dodgers have all contacted the Red Sox but do not seem to be seriously interested.

Crawford Begins Rehab

Boston Red Sox OF Carl Crawford saw his first game action of the 2012 season, albeit in the Gulf Coast League. Crawford is expected to be on a rehab assignment for three weeks before rejoining the Red Sox. He was 0-3 with 2 BB in his first game.

The three week schedule would mean Crawford could be back for the first series after the All-Star break. The Red Sox will be taking on Crawford's former team the Rays in Tampa Bay.

It's good news for the Red Sox who are starting to play well and are starting to get some of their injured stars back.

MLB Uniform Policy ... Or Lack There Of

This is something that has been bothering me for quite some time. I decided someone else needed to hear about it. Why does MLB allow teams to have 4 uniforms? It actually drives me crazy as it seems so unnecessary. I get that it's an extra jersey that you can charge fans $100+ (US) for and that's a nice added revenue stream, but come on, isn't three enough? Don't think other league's are exempt either, I hate when NFL teams do it as well.

The whole idea to complain about this came recently when I was watching the Red Sox. They were wearing their alternate navy blue unis. I hate those shirts. They look like they belong in batting practice. Now I like the home whites, the road greys, and the alternate reds that the Sox wear. Three jerseys. That's enough. Even though I don't like the navy blue tops I'd be happy if they eliminated the red jersey then. Stick to three, please.

I just like the classic look. I hate the Yankees but I respect the fact that they only wear their pinstripes at home and their greys on the road. I find some sort of peace in knowing what they'll be wearing. If they added a third jersey to their rotation it just wouldn't feel right. What colour would it be, black? No, thanks. Imagine if they added two jersey's. A black one and a slightly off colour grey. Mmmm appealing.

Fans will buy your jerseys even if you only have three, I'm pretty sure. The Red Sox especially do not need that added revenue stream.

Before I go any further I should note that I am fine with throwback jersey's that teams wear once or even a few times a season. That's alright. A regular second alternate, or fourth uniform though, not cool.

Here are the teams that are guilty of HAVING TOO MANY JERSEYS:

AL
A's (white, grey, green, yellow)
Indians (white, off-white, grey, navy blue)
Mariners (white, grey, navy blue, green-ish)
Orioles (white, grey, orange, black)
Rangers (white, grey, red, blue)
Rays (white, grey, light blue, dark blue)
Red Sox (white, grey, red, navy blue)
Royals (white, grey, light blue, blue)
Twins (white, off-white, grey, navy blue x2)

NL
Astros (white, pinstripe white, grey, red)
Braves (white, off-white, grey, red, navy blue)
Brewers (white, pinstripe white, grey, navy blue x2)
Diamondbacks (white, grey, red, black)
Giants (white, grey x2, orange)
Marlins (white, grey, orange, black)
Mets (white, pinstripe white, grey, black)
Nationals (white, grey, red, navy blue)
Padres (white, grey, navy blue, camouflage)
Rockies (white, grey, black, purple)

That's 19. Yes ONE-NINE teams that have, at least, 4 jerseys they regularly wear. It's ridiculous.

I just don't get it. Why do you need a white jersey and an off-white jersey? Why do you need a jersey that's the same colour but has two different logos on it? The answer? YOU DON'T!!!

I wish MLB would step in and put a stop to this ridiculousness. I'm going to pick on a few teams in particular because they're uni's are just plain stupid.

Tampa Bay Rays - do you really need two different colour blues? Come on pick one, stick to it.

Minnesota Twins - hey you have two navy blue jerseys. One says Minnesota and the other says Twins. I don't think we could have figured out who you are so I'm glad you have options on your alternates depending on whether you are home or away. You have five, yes five, jerseys. Two are the same colour and two are some sort of white. Give me a break.

Milwaukee Brewers - You are guilty of the same offence as Minnesota. Two navy blues. Come on now. I will give you some credit for your throwback, pinstripe, white jersey, though. It's a beaut.

San Fransisco Giants - You might be guilty of the stupidest jersey offence. Who has two road grey's? You just introduced the grey with "SF" over the left chest. Let's hope you dump it after the one season.

Miami Marlins - I just hate your new uniforms and logos. Go back to Florida.

Padres - Camouflage, really? If it's a tribute jersey that's cool, but an everyday alternate? FAIL.

Now on the other hand I would like to give some major credit to the Cardinals, Dodgers, Tigers and Yankees. Historical teams remaining true to their roots. One home white and one road grey. Classic looks. A+.

Also the follow teams just run with three unis. Angels, Blue Jays, White Sox, Cubs, Phillies (even though you have two whites), Pirates and Reds. Good work, I'll still give you an A.

It's never going to happen - a rule against how many uniforms you can have - but now I feel better for having ranted about it. 

String of Bad Luck Continues for Blue Jays Starters

The Toronto Blue Jays (32-32) saw their third starting pitcher in less than a week leave a game early due to an injury. Tonight it was Drew Hutchison. The 21-year old rookie was making his 11th start of the season and on his 9th pitch felt something wrong. Manager John Farrell and Trainer George Poulis came to the mound and after a chat removed their starter from the game. The Jays bullpen managed to put together a great outing a secured a 3-0 victory over the visiting Phillies. Of greater concern has to be the health of their starting rotation.

The first injury occured on Monday when Brandon Morrow left after, coincidentally, 9 pitches. On June 13th (retroactive to June 12) he was placed on the 15-day DL with an oblique strain. Two days later Kyle Drabek left after 85 pitches. He was then placed on the 15-day DL June 15 (retroactive to the 14th) with a sprained right elbow ligament. That's never an injury you want associated with any of your pitchers. Then the injury bug struck again, exactly two days later. Whoever is pitching on Sunday might want to call in sick or something. It doesn't seem like a good day to pitch (it's actually Brett Cecil who is scheduled to pitch, fresh up from AAA to replace Drabek).

If the Jays aren't careful they'll run out of arms and this could quickly derail a promising season for the young but talented Toronto squad.

Matt Cain is Perfect

Perfection. It had only been done 21 times in Major League history before Matt Cain toed the bump on Wednesday June 13, 2012. By the time Matt Cain's night was done that number was at 22. A perfect game. One of the rarest feats in Major League Baseball has been achieved for the 2nd time in 2012 (Phil Humber of the White Sox threw one on April 21).

Cain's final line was remarkable. 9 IP 125 pitches (86 for strikes, 68.8%) and 14 Ks. It was the first Perfect Game in San Francisco Giants history hard to believe considering the franchise has been around since 1883 and had 13 previous no-hitter's before tonight. The 14 Ks tied Cain with Sandy Koufax for the most ever in a Perfect Game.

Watch the last out here

Cain had previously thrown a 2 hitter and a 1 hitter this season already.

This one wasn't entirely easy. Cain got some help from his defence with two great catches in the outfield. Watch them below.

Blanco's catch
Cabrera's catch

Being the 2nd Perfect Game of 2012 marks another rare feat. Only twice before have there been two Perfect Games in one season, 1880 and 2010. There has never been 3 Perfect Games in one season.

Additionally it is the third no-hitter thrown in June, a month that is only 13 days old. It is the 5th no-hitter of the season. The most no-hitters in one season is 8 done back in 1884.

On a sad note I had to look up who the third no-hitter of the month was. Obviously Cain is one. I thought of Johan Santana. I couldn't think of the third. It shows you how unimpressed I really am with multiple pitcher no-hitters. I even wrote about the Mariners no-hitter. I still forgot about it. 

Red Sox Bats Come Alive

For the first time in exactly a month the Red Sox managed to score double digit runs in defeating the Miami Marlins 10-2.

Unfortunately it wasn't an all around effort with 3 of the 8 starters not contributing on the stat sheet. Even so it's a good sign for a struggling offensive.

The biggest contributor was 1B David Ortiz who went 2-2 driving in 3 runs and connecting on his 15th home run of the season. It was a solo shot in the 4th that gave the Sox an early 2-0 lead.

Adrian Gonzalez who was 0 for in the last 4 games went 3-5.

Felix Doubront pitched 7 strong innings for the victory. Doubront didn't allow a hit until Jose Reyes stepped to the plate with 2 out in the 5th. On the 82nd pitch of the night Reyes hit a high fly ball over the LF fence ending the no-hit bid and cutting the Sox lead to 4-1.

Doubront came out for the 7th but was clearly running out of gas. He allowed a lead off single to Hanley Ramirez before Giancarlo Stanton doubled. After a pop out Justin Ruggiano ground out to Aviles at short. Stanton made a base running error trying to advance from 2nd to 3rd. With the play right in front of him Aviles threw to third and got Stanton easily for the 2nd out. A run scored on the play cutting the lead to 4-2. Doubront then got a fly out to end the inning and his night.

In the Top of the 8th the Red Sox sent 11 men to the plate scoring 6 times. Nick Punto led off, pinch hitting for Doubront, with a double. Four straight singles by Podsednik, Pedroia, Gonzalez and Ortiz plated 3. A sac fly by Salty scored another before Punto came up again and singled in 2.

There was some minor controversy in the bottom of the 8th when Bobby Valentine pulled Vincente Padilla after one pitch (a single to Brett Hayes). Padilla seemed miffed that he was being pulled after 1 pitch and such a large lead.

The Red Sox are now 31-32 for the season.

Do The Red Sox Have a Legitimate Ace?

Pitching has been a concern for the Boston Red Sox all season. Despite the recent run of strong starts the pitching staff ranks 12^th in the American League with a 4.40 ERA and 9^th in WHIP (1.34). If Boston wants to move out of the basement of the American League East the pitching is going to need to continue to improve. Going into play on June 13^th the Red Sox starters have these stats (Daisuke Matsuzaka has only made 1 start this season and thus not included):

Stats displayed are ERA/WHIP/K/BB Ratio

Josh Beckett (4.14/1.15/3.29/1)

Jon Lester (4.47/1.36/2.48/1)

Clay Buchholz (5.38/1.53/1.67/1)

Felix Doubrount (4.34/1.42/2.67/1)

These numbers should hardly strike fear in any opponent facing the BoSox. It begs the question; are the Sox missing a key ingredient in the rotation?

In order to succeed in MLB it is imperative a team has an Ace. Does the Boston rotation possess a pitcher who fits that billing? Well first let’s define the Ace as someone who is: a) a consistent performer b) has the ability to dominate for long stretches c) A Cy Young competitor/winner. There are certainly some names that will come to mind from around the Majors. However for the sake of this article I’m going to define the role even further. To be considered a pitcher must have made at least 100 career starts. Additionally the pitcher must have started one of his team’s first two games in 2012 (unless on the DL). If there is more than one pitcher that fits into these requirements the Opening Day starter was used. The Red Sox rotation has three pitchers that meet the requirements and I’ll look at all three to determine the potential Ace.

Stats are all career numbers, same stats as above

Josh Beckett (3.85/1.22/3.11/1)

Jon Lester (3.61/1.30/2.47)

Daisuke Matsuzaka (4.27/1.40/1.91/1)

It doesn’t come as much surprise that Dice-K is out of the running for the label “Ace”. Beckett and Lester each have solid numbers and could make a case for being named the Ace.

Before I continue here are the teams that don’t possess a pitcher who fits the requirements (or have a pitcher that does but whose career stats are worse than Beckett and Lester’s stats).

Orioles, Indians, Royals, Twins, A’s, Rangers, Cubs, Astros, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Padres.

Now look at that list and tell me how many of those teams have succeeded without an Ace. The only team on the list that has had any sustained success recently is the Texas Rangers. They don’t have a pitcher that fits the billing, however they lost C.J. Wilson to the Angels in the off-season. He would have fit the requirements. Also the Rangers continue to get career performances from guys like Colby Lewis. Additionally this season the Rangers acquired Yu Darvish and converted Neftali Feliz into a starter. Both potentially could be considered Aces in the future. Every other team on that list has had little or no success in the past few seasons.

Now on to the teams that DO have a Starting Pitcher that fits the requirements of an Ace.

Yankees, Jays, Rays, White Sox, Tigers, Angels, Mariners, Marlins, Phillies, Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Reds, Brewers, Giants and Dodgers.

Note: You may have noticed the Nationals do not appear on either list. This is because they have Stephen Strasburg, definitely an ace, who has only started 29 games in his career.

There is a lot more success among these franchises. There seems to be a trend emerging here.

For the 16 franchises that have “Aces”:

11/16 have a lower career ERA than Lester

15/16 have a lower career ERA than Beckett

14/14 have a lower career WHIP than Lester (2 have the same)

8/16 have a lower career WHIP than Beckett

13/16 have a higher career K/BB ratio than Lester

5/16 have a higher career K/BB ratio than Beckett

So what do these numbers mean? Who is the Red Sox Ace?

If you ask me it doesn’t matter who you call the Red Sox Ace. Both Lester and Beckett have a strong claim. The problem is neither compare relatively well to the top pitchers in the game. Therefore in my mind the Red Sox lack a true Ace, one that measures up against the Halladay’s, Verlander’s and Kershaw’s of baseball.

The Red Sox have spent a lot of money the last few years addressing the offence. Maybe it’s time they had a look at the top of the rotation instead.

The Jose Valverde "Spitball"

Sunday was a very interesting day for closers. While one was vomiting after completing a save another was apparently spitting on the ball.

The incident occurred with no outs in the bottom of the 9th. The Reds C Devin Mesoraco was at the plate with a 1-2 count. Enter the "spit". Valverde then struck out Mesoraco with the very next pitch.

As one Tigers Blog suggests the "spitball pitch" didn't act as it should (spitting on the ball is generally used to make the ball drop). Valverde instead threw a high and inside 4-seam fastball which does lend some evidence that Valverde wasn't spitting on the ball.

But if he wasn't spitting on the ball then what was he doing?

The Tigers won the game 7-6.

Perez locks up 20th save and then ...

After recording his Major League leading 20th save of the season yesterday in a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium Indians closer Chris Perez did this ... (watch the video here).

That's right. Projectile vomiting. Not something you see everyday. Perez could have come up with something more interesting to tell the media too. I don't know what but something better than this ...

''I drank some warm water and I ran out there and it just didn't settle well."

Weak.

Certainly a strange moment though.

Mariners No-Hit Dodgers ... Using 6 Pitchers

Last Night the Seattle Mariners pitched the third no-hitter in their franchise's history. This time though the feat will not be accredited to just one pitcher. It will be credited to six of them. First, the starter who left after six innings due to injury, Kevin Millwood. Followed by Charlie Furbrush (0.2 IP), Stephen Pryor (0.1), Lucas Luetge (0.1), Brandon League (0.2) and Tom Wilhelmsen (1.0).

I think shortstop Brendan Ryan sums it up best, ''I think we all took a second and looked around and were like, did that really happen - and what do we do now?''

That's pretty much how I feel about it too. Is it something worth celebrating? I mean it's pretty neat and rare - it's only been done 10 times - that your team didn't allow a hit for 9 innings. There's just something tainted about it for me.

No-hitters are special feats. It's just a lot neater for the record books when one guy throws it. When it's the team that accomplishes it I tend to look at it with a sigh and a "meh".

How do you feel about the accomplishment?

Notes: Randy Johnson threw the first no-hitter in Mariners history in June 1990 against the Tigers. Chris Bosio threw the second in April 1993 against the Red Sox. The last team to combine for a no-hitter was the Astros against the Yankees in June 2003.