NL Central

The planets are back in alignment.

After two grand slams, a benches-clearing brawl, a rain delay, and a series to remember, the St. Louis Cardinals have returned to their usual perch atop the National League Central.

For Brandon Phillips, firing up your team should probably not involve getting teams into fights.

Phillips, easily one of the best players and leaders for the Cincinnati Reds, may be the reason why the St. Louis Cardinals swept their recent series, ending today with the Cards winning 6-1.

“I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em.

Brandon Phillips's comments from Sunday served as the catalyst for the brawl that erupted in last night's game between the NL Central co-leaders. 

It was Phillips who said, "I hate the Cardinals. All they do is b***h and moan about everything, all of them, they're little b****es, all of 'em."

That comment, followed by an unwelcome tap of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina's shinguards, turned into a face-to-face spat between Phillips and Molina before a bench-clearing brawl broke out between the two teams.

On December 21, 2007, news broke that Josh Hamilton had been traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.  

At the time, it was a fairly big trade; Hamilton had hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI in just 298 ABs for the Reds, while Volquez was a top prospect in the Rangers organization.  Herrera was not a top prospect, but he has gone on to be a solid bullpen arm.  

But we all know what became of Hamilton and Volquez.  

The doctors call it a UCLR (ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction). Baseball players and fans call it Tommy John surgery—named after the pitcher who was the first to have the surgery in 1974. Fans of the Cardinals call it the surgery that saved former left-handed reliever Ken Dayley's career, and also gave him spotlight from the way he recovered from it. Dayley recovered in an astonishing seven months where most pitchers take up to 14 months recovering from the operation. 

The Cubs placed Geovany Soto and Derrek Lee on the 15-day disabled list and the bereavement list, respectively, on Tuesday. In their stead will be 23-year-old Welington Castillo and 30-year-old Micah Hoffpauir from Triple-A Iowa.

It's no secret that Mark Prior has talent.

That's never been a problem for the one-time ace. It's been injuries that have plagued the Southern California native.

So, why would any team be interested in the former flamethrower?

If you're St. Louis Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, you should. Not because the Cardinals lack starting pitching. Far from it.

The Cardinals head into Cincinnati on Monday looking to make up two games in the standings on their rivals, the Reds. For most of the season, the two teams have been locked in a to-the-death battle for first place in the National League Central. Who wins this three game series could likely have a major impact on the pennant race going forward.

With three of the National League's best starters taking the mound for St. Louis, they have the early edge in this series.

Walt Jocketty, once again, has reached back into his past and grabbed a veteran to bring into the Cincinnati Reds organization.  This time, he has traded away Chris Dickerson to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jim Edmonds. 

Edmonds, now playing for his seventh Major League ballclub in his 16th year as a major leaguer, was hitting .286 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 73 games for the Brewers.