By Christopher Reina Each MLB team is represented below, marked by a not-so-subtle nod to the general managers we focus so much of our site's attention towards and our namesake. American League The Brian Cashman
? Tim Smith of the New York Daily News: You know things have gotten boring with the Yankees when the only thing their fans can talk about is the travails of pitcher Javier Vazquez, the No. 4 starter. The Yankees starters are 15-4, including A.J. Burnett (4-0), who pitched another gem in the Bombers' 4-1 victory over Baltimore Tuesday night. Vazquez is 1-3, which makes him the anchor on the Bombers staff. And that's not in the same sense as the fourth man on a relay team.. But there is no drama. Where is the walk-off homer? I miss the cream pie in the face. That brings us back to Vazquez - the mustache on the Mona Lisa. How is this drama? It only makes you wistful for the George Steinbrenner of old. The Boss. He would have ripped into Vazquez already. Read him the Riot Act." The Theo Epstein
? Andrew Lipsett of Fire Brand of the American League: "These past two nights, we?ve gotten a glimpse of what this team could look like with things going right. Strong pitching performances by Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, backed by an offense that at worst grinds down opposing pitchers and at best can be explosive, with two solid W?s as a result. So is this a Sox team we can expect to see more of, or just a mirage that will soon evaporate?.. The refrain going into this season was that our starting staff was unstoppable, the best in the majors. Three aces, a young star, and either Wake or Matsuzaka rounding it out certainly sounded dangerous on paper. But it seems like someone forgot to tell them that, as right out of the gate the starting staff struggled mightily. Beckett was shelled in three of his first four starts, with the other being a somewhat mediocre win over the Royals; Lackey started better, putting a zero on the board for six innings against the Yankees, but had very mixed results over his next three games. The biggest surprise out of the gate was the performance of Jon Lester, who was rocked three straight games and displayed a poor K/BB ratio throughout. In all three of their last starts, however, there has been dramatic improvement: Beckett?s seven inning, two-run start against the O?s featured six strikeouts and no walks, a far cry from his previous totals; Lackey nearly duplicated that line, though he added three walks; and Lester hurled the first true gem of the season, going seven while allowing just a hit and two walks and striking out eleven." The Alex Anthopoulos
? Hugo of BlueBird Banter: "Ricky Romero had an interesting game.? He clearly had some command issues, but battled through 6, striking out 9 and walking just two, though also hitting a batter and uncorking 3 wild pitches and an errant pickoff attempt.? He gave up all 5 Indians runs. The third inning was really the problem for Romero, he allowed 6 straight hitters to reach base that inning, and that's never good." The Mike Flanagan
? Steve Melewski of MASN Sports: "One of the O's top pitching prospects, lefty Zach Britton, got quite a scare today pitching for Bowie at Harrisburg. Britton took a two-hit shutout to the bottom of the fifth when the first batter hit a liner back toward the mound. "It hit me right in the (left) shoulder and dropped right in front of me. I was able to pick up the ball and throw him out at first," Britton said. "Right now it's tight, but no pain or anything, just a little sore. I wanted to go back out there. I had just 50 pitches and felt I could have gone deep in the game. But Brad Komminsk and Kennie Steenstra said 'You've done enough today,'" Britton said by phone from Harrisburg.. Britton continued to pitch in that fifth inning and got the next two batters out after the liner hit him." The Andrew Friedman
? Tommy Rancel of DRaysBay: "For the old dog, James Shields, it has been a mix of new and old tricks in 2010. When in doubt, he's still going to his fantastic change up, but there is something new working for Big Game this year. Shields said he's changed some things in his mechanics?that have him?throwing harder than he ever has at this level. Coming into play tonight/morning, Shields was averaging almost 92 mph on his fastball; nearly a mile and a half?over his career average. In this game hit 95 on the TV gun, and 94.8 on pitch f/x. The increased velocity on the fastball, and the plus change-up, has turned Shields into a strikeout machine. After striking out 12 batters in his last start, Shields struck out 10 more batters on the evening. He has 43 strikeouts in 40 innings of work this year - good for a strikeout per nine of 9.6. His previous career high is 7.70. Of course, it's early, but definitely something to monitor." The Dave Dombrowski
? Tom Gage of the Detroit News: "After a battle against bile duct cancer, one he knew he would lose, Ernie Harwell died about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in his apartment at Fox Run Village and Retirement Center in the Detroit suburb of Novi, said his attorney and longtime friend, S. Gary Spicer. He was 92. With his death, Michigan loses one of its most beloved figures, and baseball does as well. For 55 years, Harwell was a major league broadcaster, 42 with the Tigers. He broadcast his last game Sept. 29, 2002. It was Harwell's smooth and silky voice that taught generations of fans their first lessons about baseball, a sport he loved and respected. And it was that love and respect that lives on in the hearts of the players, managers, journalists and fans who continue to pack Comerica Park and other parks across the country on a daily basis." The Mark Shapiro
? Dennis Manoloff of the Plain Dealer: "The Indians, who entered hitting .204 against lefties, tagged the Blue Jays' Ricky Romero for five runs on nine hits in six innings. They snapped Romero's streak of quality starts at five, but he slipped away with the victory because Tribe pitching faltered." The Bill Smith
? Twinkie Town: "The MVP of the night was Nick Blackburn, who pitched a complete game and gave the Twins bullpen a much-needed day off.? His sinker was clearly working, and he ran into real trouble all of twice: once in the middle innings when the Tigers collected four consecutive hits to tie the game at 2-2, and once when he threw a breaking ball that Brennan Boesch DID NOT MISS (/blyleven) in the 9th to tie the game at 3-3." The Kenny Williams
? George Ofman of Chicago Now: "Kenny Williams must examine a trade before Mark Buehrle is vested as a 5 and 10 man.? On July 6th, Buehrle will regain his full no-trade status thanks to being in the big leagues for 10 years and the same club for 5. He can veto any trade. Buehrle of course, has spent his entire career with the Sox, much to the delight of their fans who clamored for the general manager to sign him to a long term deal before the 2007 trading deadline. The fans got their wish and so did Buehrle who signed a 4 year extension worth 56 million dollars. Buehrle had a no trade clause through the 2008 season but it became a limited no-trade until July 6th of this season. Here's the problem; Buehrle has not pitched the way he did during his first 5 years with the sox when he went 81 and 52. Since then, his?record is 52 and 48.? What's far more troubling; since his perfect game against the Tampa Rays back on July 23rd, Buehrle has gone 4 and 11 and his ERA is a frightening 4.95, over a full run higher than his career number.? And over the last four plus seasons, his strikeouts to walks ratio has decreased while his WHIP has risen. Once a workhorse, Buehrle's innings pitched over the last four years are down an average of 25 from his first 5 years." The Dayton Moore
? Craig Brown of Royals Authority: "So Kila Ka?aihue gets the call.? It?s deserved.? The dude is banging .304/.466/.620 this year in Omaha with 7 HR, 24 BB and 17 SO in 103 plate appearances.? Solid. I know there are a huge number of readers who are members of the Free Kila Society, so I don?t mean to be a downer, but I just get the feeling this guy has been recalled to be Justin Huber, Version 2.0.? Remember back in 2006, when Huber was recalled when Iron Mike Sweeney hit the DL?? We were all excited? Huber was a quality hitting prospect who had done good things in Omaha and the thought was the Royals were going to give him an extended look.? Except the Royals were committed to Doug Mientkiewicz and Matt Stairs.? Huber had 11 plate appearances and was shipped back to Omaha.? Out of site, out of mind. Of course, those were different times in Kansas City.? The Royals, for some strange reason, thought they had the talent to compete.? Look at some of those lineups.? Dreadful.? With Allard Baird was calling the shots and Buddy Bell was absorbing the losses, it was decided it wouldn?t be fair to Dougie to hand some of his playing time to the rookie Huber. That brings us to today.? Things are different? sort of.? The names have changed.? We now have Dayton Moore calling the shots and Trey Hillman absorbing the losses.? The team is still old, and they are still under the illusion they can compete, but they really can?t." The Billy Beane
? John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle: "The A's failed to sell out Opening Night despite having the smallest capacity - 35,067 - in the majors. On April 16, they were outdrawn by their top minor-league team, the Sacramento River Cats, 14,014 to 12,225. When the champion New York Yankees visited Oakland four days later, fewer than 20,000 fans attended the series opener. For some A's-Yankees games in the early 2000s, more than 55,000 packed the Coliseum.. With a Major League Baseball committee in its 14th month examining possible sites for the A's, fans question the team's direction: Have the A's done enough to stay in Oakland? Or have they done just little enough to ensure a move?" The Jack Zduriencik
? Dave Cameron of USS Mariner: "In more positive news, let?s talk about the only good thing the M?s had going tonight ? Jason Vargas. If you?re not on his bandwagon yet, I don?t know what else you need to be convinced. Going against a really good line-up, he racked up a career high eight strikeouts, constantly fooling Rays hitters with his fastball/change-up combination. He gave up a home run to Evan Longoria, but other than that, he was brilliant, despite the ridiculous lack of support he was getting from his infielders. He may have only pitched 6 2/3 innings, but when you factor in the outs that Wilson and Figgins cost him, he basically threw eight innings of brilliant baseball. I know everyone?s in love with Doug Fister right now, but of the two, Vargas is the one who I?d bet on sustaining his success all year." The Tony Reagins
? Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times: "(John Lackey), who will face his old teammates for the first time in Fenway Park on Wednesday night, couldn't help but notice some irony in the Angels' failure to match the Boston Red Sox's bid for his services last winter. "It is different," Lackey said, when asked about the Angels' tendency to let their own veterans leave as free agents. "The way they preach the team game, the way you're supposed to give it up for the team -- that's a little suspect. "You're supposed to give up for the team; then when it comes time, they might not want to give it up for you. But I was prepared for that. That's the nature of the game today." " The Jon Daniels
? Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram: "Davis has played one game at third base for Oklahoma City and could find himself playing the corner outfield spots. Davis' athletic ability is one of his best assets, general manager Jon Daniels said, but he must get his hitting straightened out before the Rangers consider bringing him back up. He was in the minors seven weeks last year before being recalled in August. Davis is hitting .385 with a homer and 14 RBIs in nine games for the RedHawks, finding a groove at the plate after returning to an open, more upright stance. That's the production that could get Davis back with the Rangers. Smoak and Davis are not in an either-or situation, and Daniels said both of them can be in the same Rangers' lineup." National League The Brian Sabean
? Tyler Kepner of the New York Times: "(Barry) Zito, who also finished last season strong, said his improvement has been mostly mental. But Sabean and the pitching coach, Dave Righetti, said he is also physically stronger. Never a hard thrower, Zito?s fastball dipped to about 83 miles an hour at its slowest with the Giants. Now it sits around 85 to 87 m.p.h. with life, and his increased arm strength has made his changeup, slider and signature curveball sharper. ?He?s hitting corners with the fastball, not like before,? catcher Bengie Molina said. ?Most of the time, if we tried to go in, he?d miss in the middle with the fastball and get hit. If we tried to go away, he?d miss in the middle and get hit. But the fastball location has been great this year, and his off-speed has been great.. Sabean said Zito seemed more comfortable as one of many strong starters, without the perceived demands of being a No. 1. That is Lincecum?s title, and it is fine by Zito. He is a respectable major league pitcher again, because he knows he can still be happy even if he were not. ?Sometimes when you deal with the worst stuff ever and you come through it and you still have a reason to smile every day, you stop worrying about, ?What if things get really bad???? Zito said. ?Because if things get really bad, I?ll still enjoy my friends, I?ll still play guitar and write music. It?s not going to make my life come to a halt, like I thought it was before I dealt with it.? ? The Ned Colletti
? Phil Gurnee of True Blue LA: "Wonderkid Clayton Kershaw was klobbered (Tuesday) under an assault of walks, HBP, fly ball doubles, and one massive home run by Prince. He ended up giving up seven earned runs in the second inning and had to rely on Ramon Ortiz to finish the 2nd inning." The Dan O'Dowd
? Jeff Aberle of Purple Row: "Colorado has done quite well considering the circumstances. As I've written before, the Rockies are winning a lot of blowouts and losing close games, which helps their run differential and Pythagorean record, but not so much their actual record. The main positive so far is that the Rockies are trailing the Padres--not as much of a long-term threat as the Dodgers. Sure, the Giants?and their strange, one would think unsustainable?propensity for hitting?are worrisome, but it's the boys in blue that worry me the most even now. A Dodgers loss is more important in the long run than a loss by any of our other NL West rivals. As long as Ubaldo Jimenez leads the Cy Young race?(while pacing MLB with six wins and a 0.87 ERA), the Rockies should be just fine -- and they'll only get better as they get healthier. When they do, Jimenez will get the benefit of the victory bonus in ESPN's formula." The Josh Byrnes
? AZ Snakepit: "Ian Kennedy worked extremely hard to protect that (1-0) lead, and at times it almost didn't feel like he was winning. Kennedy battled with runners on base in the first two innings. In that second inning, fellow pitcher Oswalt put on a battle, fouling off pitch after pitch in an epic 12-pitch at-bat that ended in a single to left. But after two innings and 50 pitches, Kennedy settled down. He had a little help in the 6th when Hunter Pence singled to lead off the inning and later got caught in a rundown in a failed hit-and-run. He also had quite a bit of help from home plate umpire Brian Runge, who may have had a "strike zone the size of Montana." Houston batters were not happy, but the strike zone was at least fairly consistent for both teams. Kennedy hit for himself in the 7th inning and went out the next half, but with after 6 2/3rds innings and 110 pitches, A.J. Hinch pulled him for Juan Gutierrez. Ian Kennedy' final line: 6.2, 8H, 2BB, 3K, 0ER - a fantastic outing." The Jed Hoyer
? Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post: "San Diego was supposed to be rebuilding in 2010, not contending. But the Padres rank as the season's biggest surprise, leading their division behind terrific pitching. "This team reminds me a lot of the 2007 Rockies," said Padres catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a member of the Rockies' World Series team. "You have a lot of guys who are hungry to prove themselves." The Padres entered Tuesday with a 2.85 team ERA. The bridge to closer Heath Bell has been stronger than expected, with Edward Mujica and Luke Gregerson holding hitters under a .200 average. What's remarkably different from recent seasons is the Padres' aggressiveness on the bases. Their 31 stolen bases lead the National League, with Colorado product Chase Headley (eight) tops on the team." The Doug Melvin
? Anthony Witrado of the Journal Sentinel: "Figuring out this Brewers offense can make one bang his or her head on a wall in frustration because it seems like there is no rhyme or reason why it can be so potent one night and stink so bad the next. We?ve sunk out teeth into their skinny offensive output numbers recently, but tonight?s nine-run second inning and 11 total runs on 15 hits just shows you how difficult this team is to predict.. Braun said consistency is the key for this team, and trying to even out the highs and lows will get this team closer to where they need to be to contend in the division. ?The goal is consistency,? Braun said. ?You strive for (that) in all facets of the game. It definitely becomes frustrating, but you have to give some credit to the opposing pitchers. By no means is that an excuse but we just have to be as consistent as possible." " The Jim Hendry
? Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald: "Geovany Soto entered Tuesday as an on-base percentage machine. In fact, he was 2 plate appearances shy of qualifying for the National League lead in OBP, at .487. Soto entered the day leading the Cubs with 19 walks, and he added his 20th in his first plate appearance Tuesday. "Nineteen walks," manager Lou Piniella said. "He's been very patient at home plate. That pays dividends for you, not only with your on-base percentage, but it allows you to see a lot of pitches. "The more pitches you see, especially early in the year, the better you're going to be." Soto has done most of his hitting, and walking, from the No. 8 spot in the order." The John Mozeliak
? Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch: "The Los Angeles Dodgers hinted at the strategy last October and the Atlanta Braves may have brought it into vogue so far this season, but intentionally walking St. Louis Cardinals this season has been a dicey proposition. Especially, so far, when it brings up rookie David Freese. As a team, the Cardinals are 7-for-20 (.350) in the at-bats after an intentional walk. Five of those hits have been of extra bases, including Yadier Molina?s grand slam way back at the beginning of the season. The Cardinals have four strikeouts after IBBs, but three of them are by pitchers ? and two of those came in the 20-inning loss to the New York Mets." The Walt Jocketty
? John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "Brandon Phillips? lack of hustle on the ball off the wall last night was addressed. Phillips ended up with a double, instead of a triple, likely costing the Reds a run. ?He?s been talked to about this,? Dusty Baker said. ?We?ve talked to Brandon quite often. ?I guess he?s better than he used to be. We?re trying to get him to the point where he can be a big difference maker every day. He certainly has the skill and ability.? " The Ed Wade
? David Coleman of the Crawfish Boxes: "There were times when Craig Biggio was an Astro that the leadoff hitter was the best one in the lineup. That's exactly what Michael Bourn was in the first month of 2010. His wOBA of .385 led the team (well, Felipe Paulino had a higher wOBA, but in less at-bats). His BABiP was a very high .431, which was over 100 points higher than his batting average. As we've talked about before, fast players like Bourn can maintain high BABiP numbers and Bourn is certainly fast, stealing 11 bases in 14 attempts." The Neal Huntington
? Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review: "(Octavio) Dotel's save ? combined with strong work by left-hander Paul Maholm and relievers Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek ? gave the Pirates a 6-1 record in one-run games." The Frank Wren
? Capitol Avenue Club: "Because Chipper Jones has hit only .257/.387/.421 in 682 PA?s since the start of the ?09 season, many people think he?s done.? First of all, the average NL 3B hit .261/.333/.420 in 2009.? At worst, Chipper is still an above-average offensive 3B.. Above all else, Chipper?s biggest strength is getting on base, and only four 3B have posted a higher on base average than him since the start of 2009?Wright, Rodriguez, Sandoval, and Chone Figgins. Don?t buy any argument that suggests Chipper?s bat is useless or he?s no longer a well-above-average offensive 3B." The Omar Minaya
? Eric Simon of Amazin' Avenue: "John Maine is starting to take the "Who Sucks The Least?" rivalry he and Oliver Perez are entwined in very seriously. With another fine effort tonight in Cincinnati, Maine has the following combined line over his past two starts. 12 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 15 Ks. The walks are a bit high, but the strikeout rate is impressive considering he's barely hitting 90 MPH with his fastball of late. And the truth is that if he can manage six innings per start with around a strikeout per inning while keeping the walk rate below one per two innings he's going to be fine and the Mets' rotation will be considerably stronger as a result." The Ruben Amaro
? The Good Phight: "Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright held the Phillies to just one run and four hits in his eight innings.? But he was arguably outpitched by Cole Hamels. Hamels had another terrific outing, striking out eight in eight-plus innings pitched, and not surrendering a run until the ninth inning, allowing back to back doubles to lead off the inning.? He was relieved by Brad Lidge, who showed more signs of a return to 2008 form with a solid inning, ending the threat with no more runs and preserving a 1-1 tie." The Larry Beinfest
? Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald: "Last season, the Marlins took on former Cy Young winners eight times during the season and went a combined 6-2 in those games -- including 2-1 when they faced three former Cy Young winners in a row last June. After losing a 3-2 decision to Tim Lincecum on June 5, the Marlins beat Randy Johnson 4-0 before rallying to beat Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals 6-5 a day later. Of the 14 starting pitchers to win the award in either league since 2000, the Marlins have beaten nine: Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Johan Santana, Bartolo Colon, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez, Carpenter and Johnson. Entering Tuesday, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, Zack Grienke, Lincecum and Zito were among the former Cy Young-winning starters the Marlins had yet to beat." The Mike Rizzo
? Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post: Mike Rizzo held a news conference to discuss Stephen Strasburg's promotion from Class AA Harrisburg to Class AAA Syracuse, where Strasburg will make his debut Friday against the Gwinnett Braves.. (Rizzo was asked why the timing of the promotion). "Just because this is part of the process, the developmental process. He's done everything that he can do at the Double A level. Now it's time for him to progress to more veteran hitters with a little bit more sense of the strike zone and to get that type of experience at that level." " Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.