ekansekans's blog: "df"

The Nationals, the Reds and the Diamonbacks. What do these three teams have in common? Well, they all made significant trades for starting pitchers in the off-season, and all three are in the thick of the race for playoff spots in the National League.  As of this writing, Washington leads the East, Cincinnati leads the Central, and Arizona is still close in the West and NL wild card races. How does this apply to the Blue Jays? If theyre going to be better next season, theyll might have to trade for starting pitching this season, like the Nationals, Reds and D-Backs did in 2011.  Lets revisit each of those swaps to see what it took to get done. The Blue Jays were in the race for Mat Latos, who ended up going to the Reds. Cinncinati gave up standout catching prospect Yasmani Grandal and two other prospects, Yonder Alonzo and Brad Boxberger, plus veteran starter Edinson Volquez. It was a pretty hefty price to pay but Latos has delivered. Arizona picked up right hander Trevor Cahill and lefty reliever Craig Breslow from Oakland for three prospects. Ryan Cook has become the As closer and Jarrod Parker is now a fixture in their rotation, while outfielder Collin Cowgill remains in the minors. Based on what Cook and Parker have done, the As look like winners in this deal, but Cahill gave Arizona another veteran arm for their rotation and he isnt eligible for free agency until 2016. Washington picked up lefty Gio Gonzalez from the As along with prospect Robert Gilliam in exchange for four players; lefty starter Tommy Milone, catcher Derek Norris and prospects A.J Cole and Brad Peacock. Milone and Norris have played significant roles with the As and have helped keep them in Wild Card contention, but Gonzalez has blossomed with the Nationals and is turning into a star. Not one of Cincinnati, Washington or Arizona got burned in these deals and all could conceivably make he post-season. The Blue Jays have an abundance of prospects, especially pitchers who arent quite Major League ready. To make a quantum leap next season, Alex Anthopolous is going to have to make at least one bold trade for an established starter. The alternative is sifting through free agents and over-paying that way. The best of the lot is Zack Greinke and the competition for him figures to be fierce. One dream trade would be to get Felix Hernandez out of Seattle. "King Felix" is only 26, has a 95-72 career record with a 3.18 earned run average.  Hes already won a Cy Young Award and could be in contention for another one this season with a 10-5 mark with a 2.63 ERA, 159 strikeouts and three shutouts. He is also greatly respected by his countryman, Jays right-hander Henderson Alvarez. But thats still just a dream I keep having. Down the Stretch:  There really is no clear favourite for the World Series in the American League. The Yankees are tailing off a bit, and the Rangers just seem to keep running into problems. Colby Lewis and Neftali Felix are gone for the season, Roy Oswalt is upset because hes been exiled to the bullpen and shortstop Elvis Andrus has a tender shoulder. None of the other teams in playoff contention are without flaws either. If Tampa Bay can get Evan Longoria back healthy and contributing, the Rays just might surprise everybody. In the National League Cincinnati looks like a force to be reckoned with in the post-season. The Reds have won 22 of their last 25 games and are 16-4 without Joey Votto, whos recovering from knee surgery. Jays Sign Cust:  This is probably just a look-see signing like Vladimir Guerrero was earlier this season, but if 33-year-old DH Jack Cust pans out at Las Vegas, its just one more reason to believe Adam Lind wont be back with the Jays next season. Wholesale Jerseys Paypal . Taylor Teagarden ended his first game with the Baltimore Orioles in stunning fashion, hitting a two-run homer in the 13th inning that sealed an 8-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Wholesale Jerseys . - Brittany Lang won the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, birdieing the par-5 18th three straight times in a playoff. http://www.unityvirtual.net/hot.html . -- Jim Calhoun retired as Connecticuts basketball coach Thursday, closing a 26-year career at the school with thanks to everyone who helped him turn UConn from an athletic backwater into a national power that won three national titles.HOUSTON -- Starling Marte insisted he wasnt nervous before his major league debut Thursday night. When Pittsburghs prized prospect sent the first pitch he saw into the seats for a home run, it was evident that he was perfectly comfortable in his new role. Martes leadoff homer helped the Pirates jump out to an early lead and they held on for a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros. "I was serious," Marte said in Spanish through a translator. "I was pretty confident." Marte is the third player in franchise history to homer in his first at-bat and the first to do it since Don Leppert in 1961. No Pirate has homered on the first pitch of his major league career since Walter Mueller did so in 1922. A.J. Burnett (12-3) shut out the Astros for seven innings before Chris Johnson and Carlos Corporan connected for solo homers in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-2, bringing Brad Lincoln out of the bullpen with one out. Johnson hit a two-out RBI single off Joel Hanrahan in the ninth, but Hanrahan struck out Brian Bogusevic for his 30th save. Pirates fans couldnt wait for Marte, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, to reach the majors and he didnt disappoint, taking rookie Dallas Keuchels first pitch deep to left-centre. "I told some players in the dugout before the game that if he threw a fastball down the middle I was going to take a hack at it and thats exactly what I did," Marte said. Keuchel wanted to be more aggressive than he has been and Marte made him pay for it. "I figured hed take a strike to see what I got; I never thought he would hit a homer on the first pitch of the game," Keuchel said. Marte was promoted to improve the Pirates production in left field, where Alex Presley and Drew Sutton have previously manned the position. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said he got goose bumps when Marte knocked it out of the park. "That was a swing that touched a lot of people," Hurdle said. "Starling has been a special player all the way up. Hes been a lot of places and a lot of people have had the opportunity to watch him. Weve got an entire minor league system and an academy in the Dominican Republic pulling for him. So (it was) really cool, really cool." Marte hadnt had a chance to speak to his family in the Dominican Republic when he talked to reporters after the game, but said he planned to send the home run ball to his grandmother there. The 23-year-old struggled to conveyy how much Thursday night meant to him and to summarize what a whirlwind the last day has been for him.dddddddddddd "Its a lot," he said. "My emotions are running high right now. Its hard to describe how Im feeling. Its very emotional." Garrett Jones added a two-run homer later in the first inning, and former Astro Clint Barmes had a two-run shot in the second to extend Pittsburghs lead to 5-0. The loss runs Houstons skid to a season-worst 10 games and the Astros, who own the leagues worst record, have dropped 23 of their last 25 games. "Its hard coming in every day and getting beat; guys are getting (ticked) off a little bit, and they want to come out here and get a win," Johnson said. "Tomorrow we are going to have to come out here and do whatever we can to get a win. That is what it has to be." Burnett allowed four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings to improve to 11-1 since a loss on May 2. Martes second hit came on a single to left field in the fifth inning. He hit .286 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs in 98 games this season for Indianapolis. He said before the game that when his minor league manager called him into the office Wednesday to inform him of his call-up, he tricked him by saying that he didnt run hard enough on a double that day and so he wasnt going to play him in the next game. He then quickly ended the joke by telling him hed be playing for the Pirates instead. Marte, who stole 21 bases this season in the minors, was caught stealing to end the fifth inning. Keuchel (1-3) settled down after the first two innings, allowing just one hit and walking one in his last four innings. He gave up five hits and five runs in six innings. Burnett didnt allow a hit until Corporan singled to left field with one out in the third. He walked Johnson with one out in the fifth, but didnt allow another hit until Scott Moore singled with one out in the seventh. Burnett still faced the minimum in that inning after J.D. Martinez grounded into a double play. NOTES: LHP Wandy Rodriguez, who was traded to Pittsburgh from Houston on Tuesday, will start against his former team Saturday. The Pirates moved starter Kevin Correia to the bullpen to make room in the rotation for Rodriguez. ... Pirates OF Gorkys Hernandez was optioned to Indianapolis to make room on the roster for Marte. ... The teams continue the series on Friday when Pittsburghs Jeff Karstens opposes Jordan Lyles. ' ' '