Johan Santana needs to get smarter now that his stuff is slower, writes Bob Klapisch. Within this piece, there is an acknowledgment from former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson that Santana's stuff has diminished; Peterson feels that Santana can make the adjustment to lesser stuff.

Which players selected in the 2008 immediately take over as their organization's No. 1 prospect? It looks like lefthander David Price beats shortstop Tim Beckham with the Rays, but what about third baseman Pedro Alvarez with the Pirates? First baseman Eric Hosmer over shortstop Mike Moustakas with the Royals? Catcher Buster Posey over first baseman Angel Villalona with the Giants?

Courtesy of The Poughkeepsie Journal, here is this week’s roundtable. the topic was one that is near and dear to my heart; we were asked to name three things that we find the most annoying in fantasy baseball.

ESPN: Fantasy Baseball w/AJ Mass - SportsNation

Steve (Ithaca): Hi AJ, general question about trading strategy - Do you think it's better to openly put a guy on the block in hopes of drawing multiple offers to choose from, or worse because the perception that you want to get rid of the player reduces his value? Thanks.

AJ Mass: (11:03 AM ET ) Openly putting a guy on the block doesn't have to lower his value. Think about it -- One week only... "Will take offers for Chase Utley!" Does that make Utley less valuable? No. Nothing wrong with shopping around, especially since you can always choose not to sell the guy.

General managers keep checking the landscape and keep shaking their heads, because everything that happens seems to reinforce two essential hypotheses.
No. 1: You almost never realize anything close to equal return in signing veteran players to long-term contracts.
No. 2: The perceived value of young players keeps rising and rising and rising.
The two premises will collide in the next two months, of course, as the trade market begins to take shape, with Premise No. 2 dramatically shaping decisions made by the GMs

Some pitchers who could be available between now and the trading deadline: Paul Byrd; maybe Jeremy Sowers if the right bat were available in return; Derek Lowe; Rich Harden; Odalis Perez; Brett Tomko; Jarrod Washburn; Zach Duke; Vicente Padilla; and Kevin Millwood, if the money could be worked out.
Then here are five unlikely, but not impossible, scenarios:
1. If the Blue Jays fall out of the AL East race because of injuries, they might move A.J. Burnett, who can opt out of his deal at the end of the season. Their starting pitching is so good, it's hard to imagine them falling far behind.
2. If the Indians fall out of the AL Central race because it can't hit, they may have internal discussions about whether it's better to do a deal for Bartolo Colon in July (the next Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips might be hard to find in this market), or to sign C.C. Sabathia or take two draft picks after the season.
3. If the A's fall, they might deal Joe Blanton. Actually, call Billy Beane right now. He'll always listen.
4. If the Padres believe it's hopeless this season, they might move Greg Maddux. Hello, Cubbies, Braves, Dodgers.
5. If the Brewers cannot get healthy and in gear, they may have to listen to teams about Ben Sheets, who is a free agent at the end of the year.

I like Derek Jeter. I do! I wouldn’t even care about Jeter’s deficient defense if certain people would just stop jeterating, stop mythmaking, stop telling me that the numbers are wrong and my eyes are wrong and that Jeter’s defensive brilliance is beyond my understanding, like the size of the universe or the appeal of Drew Barrymore.

Last of the Ninth - Cool Pictures From California League

Am I reading this chart wrong?