Fan News

Coming into the 2010 season, I was sure of three things:

1. The Milwaukee Brewers would improve their record from last season.
2. Trevor Hoffman would reach 600 saves.
3. Ken Macha would eventually be fired as manager.

This season, I'm 0-3, but I've got a shot at No. 3 still going down.

Trevor Hoffman, who totaled 34 saves against just three blown last season, has five blown already. He's been replaced by rookie John Axford, who's really come on strong for the Brewers.

Due to the financial disarray created by the McCourt divorce, Russell Martin may be growing too expensive for the Los Angeles Dodgers to retain beyond this season, and the Boston Red Sox could try to "make a run" at the All-Star catcher, according to NESN analyst Peter Gammons.

While the Dodgers have indicated they are willing to spend at this year's trade deadline, their sincerity and ability must be questioned due to the financial gridlock caused by ownership's protracted divorce proceedings.

LOS ANGELES—Once again, the Mets offense disappeared right in the middle of a game, right when it looked like it was about to break out.

The Mets failed to record a hit from the seventh through the 13th innings, being shut down by the Dodgers bullpen after they tied the game in the sixth.

Mike Pelfrey was on the mound, and rebounded from a horrible four-start stretch. He only went five innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in a tight situation. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked a batter intentionally and struck out two.

And we’re back. Hopefully the short week didn’t treat you too badly. Good to see the NL finally win an All-Star game, couldn’t believe it has been 14 years since their last win.

But now we get move to one of the most fun parts of the baseball season: the trade deadline.

The waiver wire suddenly gets a big boost in activity as people jump on players who suddenly have value due to the transactions of playoff hopefuls and surrender monkeys.

The San Francisco Giants really need another left-hander out of the bullpen now that Jeremy Affeldt's sidelined with a torn oblique muscle.

The club also needs minor league talent to attract a proven big league run-producer in trade.

Todd Wellemeyer's pitching well for the Fresno Grizzlies in the Pacific Coast League, but that doesn't mean that fans calling for the club to trade Jonathan Sanchez for a hitter have any idea how difficult it would be to fill the No. 4 spot in the rotation.

Billy Bob Thornton. Bob Knight. Nelly. Bill Clinton.

Recently another big name has been added to the above list. Apparently, Roy Oswalt is a Cardinals fan.

The Astros' ace has stated on numerous occasions that he'd favor a trade to the St. Louis Cardinals, and because Oswalt has a full no-trade clause, he holds all the cards.

So now it's up to St. Louis to make a move. With a farm system that has been depleted by several trades over the past few years, the Cardinals cannot afford to make a mistake here.

About a week ago, it may not have seemed as though the Florida Marlins had much life left in them. They were four games under .500 and seven out of the Wild Card lead with a losing series away from becoming instant sellers at the trade deadline.
Flash forward a week later, surprise! The Marlins have reached their first goal of getting to .500 now comes the Wild Card.

As the trade deadline approaches, Minnesota Twins fans are hoping the team adds another arm to the rotation to help push the Twins to an AL Central division title and beyond.

It was about this time last year when the Twins added Carl Pavano to the rotation.

"I could ask the Phillies to keep me on to add to my statistics, but my love for the game won't let me do that." —Mike Schmidt

It’s always refreshing for a Hall-of-Famer like Mike Schmidt to know when the time’s right to hang up the spikes.

Nothing really happened between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks regrading RHP Dan Haren today. That hasn’t stopped the usual suspects from passing along information they’ve heard throughout the day.

Early morning reports

Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted :