No sooner do I complain about Yankees' rookie reliever Edwar Ramirez's lack of use then he is used and is awful. Without retiring a batter, he allowed three runs on a hit and four walks. It may have been from a result of a lack of work but do not expect Torre to use him again. Torre has demonstrated that he sticks with those he favors to the exclusion of the rest of the roster. (Sorry Gary, but this likely offers a more benign explanation than the racist one you offered.)
The next hit rookie C Kurt Suzuki gets will be his first since Jason Kendall was dealt. Overall, he is hitless in his last 18 ABs. Could the A's catching tandem of Suzuki and Rob Bowen be worse than the prior Kendall/Suzuki one? If so, then the A's season is going to get a lot worse than it currently is.
The Dodgers Brett Tomko pitched six effective innings against the first-place Mets. While he struck out just a single hitter, this performance launches him to the top of the list of available starters. Being inexpensively signed for 2008 may push Tomko's price tag to a level that would surprise most people.
Thank God for sabremetrics because it has helped transform a former 35 HR/100 RBI right fielder from a feared middle-of-the-order hitter to a good OBP lead-off hitter. With a .382 OBP, Padres RF Brian Giles is an effective lead-off hitter despite his .353 SLG. Working on a consecutive sub-.400 SLG season, Giles is Luis Castillo minus the speed. Would anyone give him $45MM to lead-off with that OBP but no speed?