Horsehide Chronicles

Matt Garza is arguably the best starting pitcher on the Chicago Cubs. He's certainly the best starting pitcher on the trade market this year. And that's good news for the Cubs, as their ongoing rebuild could very much benefit from a trade of Garza to a team that needs him more than they do.

All of this, however, doesn't necessarily make Garza a top-of-the-rotation starter.

"Back, back, back, back, back...GONE!"

Dear Mr. Amaro Jr.,

First off, congratulations!

There are several teams on the cusp of falling out of playoff contention, which is always fun as it opens up the potential for even more trade rumors.

Seven teams—the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox—are currently more than 10 games back of a playoff spot, a very tough spot from which to bounce back. More could join them soon in the land of non-contenders. 

Derek Jeter has been able to do nothing but watch this year, and what he's seen hasn't been pretty.

Before a team pulls the trigger on a July trade, it'll likely have revisited several trades from past years in order remind itself of why it would trade a productive veteran for an unproven minor leaguer or vice versa.

"If you're going to make it as a pitcher, kid, you've gotta have a fastball. Develop a good one, and you'll go far."

I'm certain I had a little league coach tell me that once. You probably did too when you were in little league. Guys like Justin Verlander, Matt Harvey and Stephen Strasburg probably heard the same thing.

Homer Bailey is basically Nolan Ryan.

OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But the Cincinnati Reds right-hander and the Ryan Express now have something pretty cool in common, and it also serves as clarification for a certain something else: the fact that Bailey is a lot better than you might think he is.

Introducing Porter Fischer, the latest key witness for Major League Baseball in the league's ongoing investigation into the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs scandal.

Major League Baseball already has in-season tests for players, ones implemented to ensure that they're not getting ahead of the curve by doing things they shouldn't be doing.

But what about the other guys on the field? Should umpires be subjected to different sorts of tests? Perhaps tests implemented to ensure that they're not drifting behind the curve?