The National League The Kevin Towers Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com: "Second-year first baseman Paul Goldschmidt returned to the starting lineup Sunday after a day off and remains a work in progress at the plate. Goldschmidt, who entered the game hitting .237 with two home runs and 15 RBIs, has been fine-tuning his mechanics with hitting drills on a tee this week. He said his confidence is not one of the problems." The Frank Wren David O'Brien of Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The good news is that no player has been more durable this season than Michael Bourn, no NL leadoff hitter has had more of an overall impact on his team, and arguably no center fielder has played better defense." The Jed Hoyer Gordon Wittenmyer of Chicago Sun-Times: "Pretty impressive how the Cubs' new front office and field staff took a long first look at Jeff Samardzija and turned him into one of the best starting pitchers in the National League." The Walt Jocketty Meggie Zahneis of MLB.com: "The 25,000 fans who walked away from Saturday's Nationals vs. Reds matchup did so with a one-of-a-kind souvenir tucked under their arms. It's a Joey Votto bobblehead commemorating the first baseman's 2011 Gold Glove Award. Those same fans may wonder where their collectible came from." The Dan O'Dowd Patrick Saunders of Denver Post: "Considering left-hander Jorge De La Rosa is being counted on to stabilize the Rockies' reeling rotation, news that he was removed after just one inning during a rehab start Saturday night at Double-A Tulsa sounded ominous." The Michael Hill John C. Rodriguez of South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Had he needed to sprint out of the box, unsure whether cavernous Marlins Park would hold it, Giancarlo Stanton still would have relished the walk-off grand slam. That wasn't the case though." The Jeff Luhnow Zachary Levine of Houston Chronicle: "The Astros were irked about a couple of check-swing calls that didn't go their way in the late innings of Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Pirates. Brett Myers didn't get a third-strike swing call he wanted on ball four to Jose Tabata leading off the ninth, and Tabata would score the tying run for Myers' first blown save of the season." The Ned Colletti Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.: "The Dodgers look to continue their home success Monday night as they open a quick two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers have swept four of their six opponents at home this year, which has led to a 15-3 record at Dodger Stadium." The Doug Melvin Todd Rosiak of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "It was a crazy weekend to say the least for Milwaukee Brewers closer John Axford. To recap: Axford saw his streak of 49 consecutive games saved snapped in the Brewers' 13-inning win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night; learned his wife, Nicole, was going into premature labor shortly thereafter; and then left the media a note on the chair in his locker explaining the situation, a move that became a story in itself on the Internet." The Sandy Alderson Chris McShane of Amazin Mets: "As you may have heard, the Mets' bullpen did not have a good weekend. Frank Francisco, the highest paid pitcher of the bunch, has not only failed to live up to expectations but has been downright awful. As a group, the Mets' bullpen's 5.01 ERA is the third-worst rate in the National League after blowing late leads in two of three games against the rival Miami Marlins." The Ruben Amaro Jr. Kieran Carobine of Phillies Nation: "Cole Hamels finished off the week with his fifth win in a row and leads the Phillies staff with those five wins. Hamels is the third guy in a rotation behind Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, but its the lefty thats been confusing hitters all season." The Neal Huntington Al Yellon of SB Nation: "I'm about as traditional a baseball fan as there can be. I like old-fashioned stirrups on uniforms, don't care for weird-colored alternate jerseys, and love the history and tradition of the classic ballparks, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. In a perfect world, I'd love to still see 81 day games every year at Wrigley (yes, I know in real life that's not feasible), and pitchers not yanked automatically after 100 pitches. And until recently, having grown up a National League fan, I was pretty dead-set against the designated hitter coming to the NL." The John Mozeliak Viva El Birdos: "Earlier today, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that they had unconditionally released veteran left-handed reliever J.C. Romero. Taking Romero's spot in the bullpen will be right-hander Eduardo Sanchez, who has apparently showed enough improvement with his mechanics and control in in the eyes of the front office to merit the promotion. The release of Romero and promotion of Sanchez means only one southpaw remains in the Cardinals bullpen. With only a single lefty remaining in the bullpen, who will fact opposing left-handed batters?" The Josh Byrnes Gaslamp Ball: "This is the kind of story that could keep the Phillie Phanatic out of the #1 spot again next year on Forbes' America's Favorite Sports Mascots. It sure sounds like he drives his ATV like a number two. During the pre-game ceremony at Citizen's Bank Ballpark the Phanatic recklessly drove his ATV within a foot of hitting Yonder Alonso." The Brian Sabean Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicle: "Well, Sergio Romo isn't a closer. But he did finish the game on Sunday by striking out the side. That counts toward the new McCovey Chronicles policy of .giffing a half-inning in which the closer strikes out the side. Also, the Sergio Romo Is Awesome Clause amended the new policy to include Romo. Maybe that isn't a clause titled "Sergio Romo Is Awesome", but rather something the kids are saying these days. "Oh, that new video game is awesome claus." Will investigate later." The Mike Rizzo Adam Kilgore of Washington Post: "The Nationals headed home Sunday night, leaving Great American Ball Park at a time when, had the weather cooperated, they already would have been lounging back in D.C. They will start their series against the Padres out of first place for the first time since April 11, and with another heap of adversity to face." The American League The Dan Duquette Dan Connolly of Baltimore Sun: "People keep asking me about if I'm surprised about the Orioles' quick start. The answer is simple: Yes. Completely surprised. I can give you plenty of reasons this team should not be winning. Yet it is." The Ben Cherington Rob Bradford of WEEI.com: "It had been since Aug. 16-18, 2011, since the Red Sox strung together three straight starts of six innings or more and three earned runs or less before they accomplished the feat this past weekend." The Kenny Williams South Side Sox: "It has become a long-running, annual joke that Alexei Ramirez will be terrible offensively at the start of the season and, when things warm up, the sunshine-loving Cuban will start hitting." The Chris Antonetti Lets Go Tribe: "The Indians are going with Jeremy Accardo to replace Dan Wheeler in the bullpen." The Dave Dombrowski Terry Foster of Detroit News: "The Tigers did not make a mistake in getting rid of Brandon Inge. The mistake they made at second base happened three years ago when they allowed Placido Polanco to walk because of money. By the way, the guy wanted to stay and he is continuing a fine career with the Philadelphia Phillies." The Dayton Moore Royals Review: "With three walks yesterday, Jarrod Dyson nearly doubled his season total, and pushed his OBP up to .375. His season line, in 72 PAs, is .306/.375/.355. Two days ago, he had three walks total. So, progress." The Jerry DiPoto Steve Hunt of Fox Sports Southwest: "Not only did [Vernon] Wells come to a new team with a new skipper in Mike Scioscia, but he also was learning how to play a new position, left field. He had previously played center for the Blue Jays, so learning the nuances of left was a bit of an adjustment." The Terry Ryan Jim Souhan of Star Tribune: "During a day of many positives, Trevor Plouffe butchered another grounder at third base on Sunday. Brian Dozier (the subject of my Monday column) played extremely well at shortstop and seems to have locked up the starting job for the next six years, but what if the Twins can't stand to watch Plouffe, who has already failed as a shortstop, kick the ball at third base?" The Brian Cashman Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave Blues: "Where would the Yankees be right now without Raul Ibanez? The guy so many people wanted gone after a painfully unproductive spring has pulled his weight and then some. His .273/.330/.568 line translates to a 136 OPS+, which ranks behind only Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson among Yankees with more than 50 PA. Yet Ibanez's overall production is only part of the story. It's when he puts up those numbers that has made the greatest impact." The Billy Beane Susan Slusser of San Francisco Chronicle: "Grant Balfour was matter-of-fact about it, not swearing or slamming things, but he isn't pleased to be replaced as the A's closer, and he told manager Bob Melvin so." The Jack Zduriencik Seattle Times: "In Seattle, it's leading to confusion about what the team has done with players on multiple levels, largely because of faux debates and controversies surrounding a "Veterans versus Young Guys" dynamic. Now, I don't think fans are totally to blame for this. The Mariners, after all, set themselves up for this phony controversy by proclaiming that it's all about the young guys now as they continue to cut payroll and wait for the bigger contracts of some veterans to run out." The Andrew Friedman Roger Mooney of Tampa Tribune: "On the sixth day of this road trip, the Tampa Bay Rays offense finally showed up. Carlos Pena doubled twice, Ben Zobrist doubled and homered and Elliot Johnson homered as the Rays snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-8 victory against the Orioles." The Jon Daniels Dallas Morning News: "Texas Rangers bench coach Jackie Moore has been released from an Arlington hospital after treatment for dehydration. Moore became light-headed on the bench Sunday night during the team's 13-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels." The Alex Anthopoulos Chris Toman of MLB.com: "A glowing example of the impact sports can have on the lives of others can be found in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where severely impoverished kids have learned the game of baseball with a little help from the outside world."