RealGM Wiretap
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
? Joseph Pawlikowski of River Avenue Blues: "It appeared that (Ervin) Santana and catcher Jeff Mathis had a plan (to face Nick Johnson). The first, a fastball, hit the outside corner for called strike one. They went back outside on the second pitch, but that one missed considerably, evening the count at 1-1. Again Santana went for the outside fastball, but this one caught a bit too much of the plate. Johnson laid into it, crushing it into the right field bleachers for the first home run in his return to the Yankees. It boosted the Yankees? chances of winning by 9.5 percent, a good shift for the first inning." The Theo Epstein
? Ken Lipshez of the New Britain Herald: "Formulating a scouting report on highly touted Red Sox right-hander Casey Kelly from his start on Monday was quite difficult. He threw 16 pitches in the first innings and 29 in the second before the Red Sox shut him down, five pitches short of the 50-pitch limit that?s been imposed on him in the early going. ?It?s hard with a two-inning look,? Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith said. ?He?s got a good-looking frame, the ball comes out of his hand nicely but it?s tough to tell. As the season goes on and his pitch count gets longer, I think the thing that everybody?s going to see is he throws strikes and goes after the hitters.? The first order of business was establishing his fastball, which ranges in the 89-92 range, according to Baseball America?s Prospect Handbook. ?I didn?t really get into my curveball and changeup until the second inning when I got a couple guys on base,? Kelly said. ?For the most part the first inning and pretty much the second inning I threw all fastballs. I threw a couple curveballs to (Steve) Singleton to lock the bat and I started to mix in my changeup also.? " The Alex Anthopoulos
? Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star: "Eight days after teammate Shaun Marcum no-hit the Rangers through 6 1/3 innings, and two days after Yankees? ace C.C. Sabathia carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, (Ricky) Romero followed up by shutting down Sox hitters through seven complete innings. The Sox? only hit came when former Jay Alex Rios followed Pierzynski to the plate and hit a two-run homer to left. Even with the home run, Romero delivered the kind of dominant performance most observers thought had disappeared with Roy Halladay, stifling the White Sox with off-speed pitches and the adrenaline rush his near no-hitter gave him." The Mike Flanagan
? Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun: "The night began splendidly with left-handed phenom Brian Matusz, the club's only pitcher with a win, setting the tone. Matusz didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning -- a bunt single by Ben Zobrist -- and didn't allow two base runners on at the same time through seven, throwing an incredibly efficient 85 pitches. He started the eighth by striking out Willy Aybar to tie his career high with eight strikeouts. Then, typical of the Orioles this month, everything went horribly wrong, and the Rays sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring five runs. Matusz, who had allowed two hits and a walk to that point, yielded four straight hits -- the last an RBI single to left by Sean Rodriguez that ended Matusz's shutout bid and sent him to the dugout, with the consolation prize of a standing ovation from the 13,731 fans in attendance." The Andrew Friedman
? Steve Slowinski of DRaysBay: "Jeff "The Big Nyquil" Niemann was in classic form: no tricks, no flashy pitches, no eye-opening stats - just a yawn-inspiring above-average performance.?His arm appeared to be fully recovered from getting hit with a line drive in his last start, allowing him be effective and efficient. His final line: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 IBB, 3 K. Like I said, nothing to write home about, but it was a great effort for Niemann's first full start of the season. I could really get used to our starters going 7+ innings consistently.. If you were to ask me for a brief summation of Niemann, it'd probably say something along these lines: fastball pitcher that also mixes in curve and slider. Occasionally tosses a splitter and change-up as well (very rarely). Average fastball velocity (~91 MPH). Doesn't strike out many hitters (~6 K/9) or generate many swinging strikes (~8%), but also doesn't walk many hitters (~3 BB/9). Similar ground ball and fly ball rates (~40%)." The Dave Dombrowski
? Al of Bless You Boys: "Command is something we have yet to see from Willis. Not in spring training, not in his 2 regular season starts. He allows too many baserunners? period. I realize we're talking about a 5th starter, and the Tigers have won both of Willis' starts. He's been, to quote Kurt again, "adequate." But the Tigers' rotation is so young and loaded with question marks (How will Rick Porcello hold up after his rookie season workload? Is Max Scherzer ready to step up as a top of the rotation pitcher? Has Jeremy Bonderman recovered from 2 season's worth of major injuries?), they may need more from their bottom of the rotation to than most teams." The Mark Shapiro
? Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com: "It was not long ago that this Indians club was a win away from the World Series and Antonetti was the top candidate for an attractive GM position with the St. Louis Cardinals, a team with a thicker attendance base, and hence a more reliable revenue stream. Antonetti turned down that opportunity to run the Cardinals, and it's believed he's turned down similar opportunities elsewhere. He's remained in Cleveland -- his wife Sarah's hometown -- because he believes in an organizational path that, over the past two years, has become encumbered with hurdles. Some of those barriers have been self-imposed, and some of them have been imposed by the sport's economic system. The team Antonetti will inherit -- or is essentially already running, when you consider the power bestowed upon him by Shapiro -- likely won't be a win away from the World Series this year. It is a team operating with the second-youngest 40-man roster in the Majors, and at times, will play like it." The Bill Smith
? Nick Nelson of Nick's Twins Blog: "It might not be appropriate to compare J.J. Hardy and Orlando Hudson to Brett Favre and Percy Harvin, but the Twins had an immensely talented core in place already and by shoring up some holes in the lineup (and on the bench, with the addition of Jim Thome), they have seemingly taken their offensive game to the next level. Last season, the Twins ranked fourth in the American League in runs scored and ninth in home runs. Those are respectable placements, but given that they boasted the league MVP and two other hitters who gained some measure of consideration or the award (Justin Morneau probably would have garnered votes as well if not for his injury), one might have expected the '09 Twins to have been a truly elite offensive club. What held them back was the number of plate appearances that went to substandard hitters like Alexi Casilla, Carlos Gomez, Nick Punto, Joe Crede and Matt Tolbert. Each one of those players accumulated at least 200 plate appearances last year, and not one managed an OPS much over .700. The addition of players like Hardy, Hudson and Thome prevents the Twins from being forced into heaping playing time on overmatched reserves and helps supplement a lineup core that has clearly established itself as one of the most formidable in baseball." The Kenny Williams
? Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune: "Alex Rios managed to break the hearts of Toronto fans who wanted to see him fail badly and witness a significant moment of Blue Jays history Tuesday night. Rios provided the only highlight for the White Sox, as his two-run homer with no outs in the eighth inning deprived crafty left-hander Ricky Romero of a no-hitter in an otherwise helpless 4-2 loss at the Rogers Centre. "I'm not surprised by what he did," Rios said of his Romero, 25, his former Blue Jay teammate who struck out 12 in eight innings with a sharp breaking curve. "He's pretty good. He can do that any time he wants." Until Rios' homer, Romero was on his way to throwing the first no-hitter against the Sox since the Royals' Bret Saberhagen in 1991." The Dayton Moore
? Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star: "Six brilliant innings from Brian Bannister and plenty of offense ? 13 hits ? all went in the trash when the bullpen imploded in a six-run seventh inning when asked to bridge a seemingly safe lead from Bannister to closer Joakim Soria. The Royals never got close to Soria. ?I?ve never seen anything like it,? manager Trey Hillman said. ?It?s definitely the most pitchers I?ve ever used in one inning. It?s disheartening, disappointing; it?s unbelievable. You can use a lot of words for that inning.? .. This bullpen has allowed 23 earned runs in 26 innings with four blown saves in five opportunities. The Royals are 3-5 when they easily could be 6-2." The Billy Beane
? Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Seattle was hitting .212 going into the game, and (Milton)Bradley - already a figure of controversy after making an obscene gesture at fans in Texas last week - came into the game with an .045 average, with one hit in 22 at-bats. "He's not going to hit .045," A's manager Bob Geren said. "He's always hit, and he's going to get big hits." " CR: A little reversal for the A's and M's since they each wrote about the other in such a salient way. The Jack Zduriencik
? Dave Cameron of USS Mariner: "Brett Anderson is tremendous. If I had to start a franchise with any pitcher in baseball, Brett Anderson would be in the discussion for the guy I would take. I?d probably end up with Felix or Lincecum or Greinke, but I?d seriously consider Anderson. He?s that good. For all the problems the offense has had, facing him twice in the last five days hasn?t helped." The Tony Reagins
? Halos Haven: "The powerhouse New York Yankees bulldozed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the second straight game at new Yankee Stadium, albeit with a 185-day break in between the contests.. On a day when the Angels decided to take pitches from an aging Andy Pettitte, the old man looked like Lefty Ford or Whitey Grove or Yoga Koenig or any one of the hundred cartoon character segregation-era ghosts dancing on the mound at the Yankees home opener. At one point in the game the Angels looked at 52 first pitch strikes or is that just the number on the back of Jason Bulger's jersey as he nibbles at the plate against batters instead of finishing them off?" The Jon Daniels
? Josh Garoon of Baseball Time In Arlington: "The Rangers offense is sputtering, and (Michael) Young's early-season struggles with men on base have come under scrutiny. Heading into Monday's game against the Indians, Young had yet to record a hit with runners on. That changed with his fifth-inning RBI single off Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona, but several frames later, things got ugly again. Young grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth, squandering a golden opportunity to put the game away without heading to extra innings. With that at-bat, Young's WPA for the season nosedived into negative territory." National League The Brian Sabean
? Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Memo to former Bay Area radio talker Larry Krueger, who ranted about "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly": The Giant who saw the most pitches per plate appearances last season was Colombian Edgar Renteria, at 3.76. The leader over the first seven games this season also is Renteria, at 4.45, and another Latin hitter, Juan Uribe, is fourth at 3.63. Granted, the sample size is small, but the Giants started play Tuesday ranked second in the National League in on-base percentage (.368) and fifth in walks (27)." The Ned Colletti
? Eric Stephen of True Blue LA: "After hitting three home runs on their six-game season opening road trip, the Dodgers slammed four home runs at Dodger Stadium today in a rousing 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.? Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier, the Dodgers top four home run hitters last season, all went deep this afternoon.. That's not to say the offense didn't show up during the road trip; the Dodgers did average six runs per game in Pittsburgh and Miami.? But the long ball made an prominent appearance today for the Dodgers, and they needed all the offense they could get." The Dan O'Dowd
? Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post: "(Greg) Smith, before Tuesday night's 11-3 victory over the New York Mets, hadn't won in the majors since Sept. 6, 2008, when he was a member of the Oakland A's.. The latest stop on Smith's journey came on a windy night at Coors Field, when he allowed six hits and two runs and struck out eight in seven innings. As was the case throughout spring training, he had great touch on his sinker and changeup and great command of his fastball." The Josh Byrnes
? Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit: "Last time out, (Ian) Kennedy pitched five innings, but didn't even get that far this afternoon, a result which was particularly disappointing after he looked fine in the first inning, retiring the Dodgers 1-2-3. He seemed to go to pieces in the second frame, loading the bases with one out on a double, a walk, a hit batter and a wild pitch, but limited the damage to a sacrifice fly, striking out his opposing number to end the frame. He retired Los Angeles in order again in the third, but then fell apart once again, going homer, double, homer, walk to open the fourth. By the time he was pulled from the not-so grassy knoll in the fifth, he had allowed six hits and three walks, though in mitigation, the strike zone did appear to be somewhat inconsistent." The Jed Hoyer
? Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "Six games into the 2010 season, (Chase) Headley was among the major league batting leaders, and he hadn?t gone a single game without at least one hit. Two more hits in four at-bats in that 17-2 romp over the Atlanta Braves raised his average to .448, his on-base percentage to .484 and his OPS to 1.036. Extra vital to the Padres as a switch-hitter, he?s 10-for-20 batting left-handed. Of course, chances are pretty good that Headley won?t finish the season that close to .500, but the noticeable difference in him this season goes well beyond the numbers. He looks like he feels. Like he belongs." The Doug Melvin
? Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel: "(SI's Jon) Heyman cites a "person familiar with the talks" as tossing out the $200 million figure. Well, the only folks familiar with the talks are Brewers owner Mark?Attanasio, GM Doug Melvin and assistant Gord Ash, and Boras. I can guarantee you that no Brewers official tossed out that figure because they have been as buttoned down as you can be regarding the Fielder talks, for obvious reasons. That would leave the other side of the talks to put forward that figure, and why not? Might as well prime the pump of public perception by saying Fielder is worthy of that money, right? I'm going to go out on what I consider a?safe limb and say the Brewers will not be offering Fielder eight years and $200 million, which would be?more than Joe Mauer got from Minnesota and Mark Teixeira got from the Yankees. It would be almost impossible for them to make such a commitment and still field a competitive team with the revenue streams they have in Milwaukee." The Jim Hendry
? Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register: "Cubs shortstop prospect Starlin Castro is off to a hot start while playing for double-A Tennessee. He has a .364 batting average, he's 3-for-3 stealing bases and he has helped turn three double plays." The John Mozeliak
? Reid Laymance of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "For 44 years, Eddie Matthews held the record of most homers in a player?s first 10 seasons with 370. Now, just seven games into his 10th season, Pujols has 371. If he were to hit 41 homers this season, Pujols would increase the record by 10 percent. Matthews held the record a decade longer than Babe Ruth held the single-season HR mark." The Walt Jocketty
? John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The Reds led the game by scores of 3-0, 6-1 and 8-5. But Bronson Arroyo had his worst start since July, and rookie Logan Ondrusek ? pressed into duty because Nick Masset needed a day off ? gave up three runs in the eighth inning. Fortunately for the Reds, their hitters scored a season-high 10 runs on 13 hits, getting three-run homers from Jonny Gomes and Ryan Hanigan. The Reds (5-3) have won five of their past six games. All five wins came on runs scored on the club?s final at-bat." The Ed Wade
? Bernando Falls of the Houston Chronicle: "At 0-7, the (Astros) are off to their worst start since that '83 bunch went 0-9 to kick off the season.. Of the 20-plus teams in the modern era that have begun the season 0-7 or worse, none has reached the playoffs. That was the case of the '83 Astros, whose 85 wins left them third in the division, six games behind the NL West-winning Los Angeles Dodgers." The Neal Huntington
? Charlie of Bucs Dugout: "The Bucs are now at .500 despite scoring twenty fewer runs than they've allowed. That won't hold, but it's nice for now." The Frank Wren
? Talking Chop: "Don't panic, it's not the cover, and the associated mythical jinx that goes along with it. Sports Illustrated is not turning new Braves phenom Jason Heyward into its old phenom Jeff Francoeur. While Heyward may be more of a "natural," he did come from somewhere. The article on him in this week's Sports Illustrated focuses on where Heyward came from and a little bit about where he might be going." The Omar Minaya
? Andy Martino of the New York Daily News: "Jerry Manuel agreed that (Jose Reyes), who was 2-for-8 over the weekend before going 2-for-5 Tuesday night, was not yet totally sharp, despite a .308 batting average since returning. So despite the lineup's weak showing against Washington on Sunday, the manager resisted the temptation to move Reyes into the third spot in the batting order before Tuesday night's 11-3 loss to Colorado." The Ruben Amaro
? Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Daily News: "The Phillies have played long stretches without second baseman Chase Utley and (Jimmy) Rollins in each of the previous three seasons. Last season, the Phillies were 4-3 in games Rollins did not start, including a 2-2 mark during a four-game stretch in late June when he was benched because he was in?the midst of a?prolonged slump. In 2008, the Phillies were 16-10 during a 26-game stretch that Rollins either did not play or did not start?at shortstop because of a?severe left-ankle injury?he suffered?early in the season." The Larry Beinfest
? Joe Frisaro of MLB.com: "What Jorge Cantu did on Tuesday night was last matched 89 years ago. In the fifth inning, the Marlins slugger delivered an RBI single off Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo. The hit scored Hanley Ramirez from second base, and it gave Cantu a slice of MLB history. Cantu now has at least one hit and one RBI in all eight Marlins games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a player started a season with a hit and an RBI in every game the team has played through eight games was in 1921. That season, George "Highpockets" Kelly started the year with an RBI and a hit in eight straight games. Kelly had stood alone with this distinction for 89 years." The Mike Rizzo
? Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post: "The Nationals, however, think (Tom) Milone, a 23-year-old lefty, has a chance to make it to the majors as a back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, and from what I saw on Saturday, I agree. Milone showed extremely sharp command with four pitches -- a fastball that he calls a four-seamer but that had some two-seam tendencies (i.e., it sinks), a cut fastball, a curve and a changeup that was probably his most effective pitch. He threw all of his pitches to both sides of the plate and rarely missed spots." Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.
? Joseph Pawlikowski of River Avenue Blues: "It appeared that (Ervin) Santana and catcher Jeff Mathis had a plan (to face Nick Johnson). The first, a fastball, hit the outside corner for called strike one. They went back outside on the second pitch, but that one missed considerably, evening the count at 1-1. Again Santana went for the outside fastball, but this one caught a bit too much of the plate. Johnson laid into it, crushing it into the right field bleachers for the first home run in his return to the Yankees. It boosted the Yankees? chances of winning by 9.5 percent, a good shift for the first inning." The Theo Epstein
? Ken Lipshez of the New Britain Herald: "Formulating a scouting report on highly touted Red Sox right-hander Casey Kelly from his start on Monday was quite difficult. He threw 16 pitches in the first innings and 29 in the second before the Red Sox shut him down, five pitches short of the 50-pitch limit that?s been imposed on him in the early going. ?It?s hard with a two-inning look,? Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith said. ?He?s got a good-looking frame, the ball comes out of his hand nicely but it?s tough to tell. As the season goes on and his pitch count gets longer, I think the thing that everybody?s going to see is he throws strikes and goes after the hitters.? The first order of business was establishing his fastball, which ranges in the 89-92 range, according to Baseball America?s Prospect Handbook. ?I didn?t really get into my curveball and changeup until the second inning when I got a couple guys on base,? Kelly said. ?For the most part the first inning and pretty much the second inning I threw all fastballs. I threw a couple curveballs to (Steve) Singleton to lock the bat and I started to mix in my changeup also.? " The Alex Anthopoulos
? Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star: "Eight days after teammate Shaun Marcum no-hit the Rangers through 6 1/3 innings, and two days after Yankees? ace C.C. Sabathia carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, (Ricky) Romero followed up by shutting down Sox hitters through seven complete innings. The Sox? only hit came when former Jay Alex Rios followed Pierzynski to the plate and hit a two-run homer to left. Even with the home run, Romero delivered the kind of dominant performance most observers thought had disappeared with Roy Halladay, stifling the White Sox with off-speed pitches and the adrenaline rush his near no-hitter gave him." The Mike Flanagan
? Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun: "The night began splendidly with left-handed phenom Brian Matusz, the club's only pitcher with a win, setting the tone. Matusz didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning -- a bunt single by Ben Zobrist -- and didn't allow two base runners on at the same time through seven, throwing an incredibly efficient 85 pitches. He started the eighth by striking out Willy Aybar to tie his career high with eight strikeouts. Then, typical of the Orioles this month, everything went horribly wrong, and the Rays sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring five runs. Matusz, who had allowed two hits and a walk to that point, yielded four straight hits -- the last an RBI single to left by Sean Rodriguez that ended Matusz's shutout bid and sent him to the dugout, with the consolation prize of a standing ovation from the 13,731 fans in attendance." The Andrew Friedman
? Steve Slowinski of DRaysBay: "Jeff "The Big Nyquil" Niemann was in classic form: no tricks, no flashy pitches, no eye-opening stats - just a yawn-inspiring above-average performance.?His arm appeared to be fully recovered from getting hit with a line drive in his last start, allowing him be effective and efficient. His final line: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 IBB, 3 K. Like I said, nothing to write home about, but it was a great effort for Niemann's first full start of the season. I could really get used to our starters going 7+ innings consistently.. If you were to ask me for a brief summation of Niemann, it'd probably say something along these lines: fastball pitcher that also mixes in curve and slider. Occasionally tosses a splitter and change-up as well (very rarely). Average fastball velocity (~91 MPH). Doesn't strike out many hitters (~6 K/9) or generate many swinging strikes (~8%), but also doesn't walk many hitters (~3 BB/9). Similar ground ball and fly ball rates (~40%)." The Dave Dombrowski
? Al of Bless You Boys: "Command is something we have yet to see from Willis. Not in spring training, not in his 2 regular season starts. He allows too many baserunners? period. I realize we're talking about a 5th starter, and the Tigers have won both of Willis' starts. He's been, to quote Kurt again, "adequate." But the Tigers' rotation is so young and loaded with question marks (How will Rick Porcello hold up after his rookie season workload? Is Max Scherzer ready to step up as a top of the rotation pitcher? Has Jeremy Bonderman recovered from 2 season's worth of major injuries?), they may need more from their bottom of the rotation to than most teams." The Mark Shapiro
? Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com: "It was not long ago that this Indians club was a win away from the World Series and Antonetti was the top candidate for an attractive GM position with the St. Louis Cardinals, a team with a thicker attendance base, and hence a more reliable revenue stream. Antonetti turned down that opportunity to run the Cardinals, and it's believed he's turned down similar opportunities elsewhere. He's remained in Cleveland -- his wife Sarah's hometown -- because he believes in an organizational path that, over the past two years, has become encumbered with hurdles. Some of those barriers have been self-imposed, and some of them have been imposed by the sport's economic system. The team Antonetti will inherit -- or is essentially already running, when you consider the power bestowed upon him by Shapiro -- likely won't be a win away from the World Series this year. It is a team operating with the second-youngest 40-man roster in the Majors, and at times, will play like it." The Bill Smith
? Nick Nelson of Nick's Twins Blog: "It might not be appropriate to compare J.J. Hardy and Orlando Hudson to Brett Favre and Percy Harvin, but the Twins had an immensely talented core in place already and by shoring up some holes in the lineup (and on the bench, with the addition of Jim Thome), they have seemingly taken their offensive game to the next level. Last season, the Twins ranked fourth in the American League in runs scored and ninth in home runs. Those are respectable placements, but given that they boasted the league MVP and two other hitters who gained some measure of consideration or the award (Justin Morneau probably would have garnered votes as well if not for his injury), one might have expected the '09 Twins to have been a truly elite offensive club. What held them back was the number of plate appearances that went to substandard hitters like Alexi Casilla, Carlos Gomez, Nick Punto, Joe Crede and Matt Tolbert. Each one of those players accumulated at least 200 plate appearances last year, and not one managed an OPS much over .700. The addition of players like Hardy, Hudson and Thome prevents the Twins from being forced into heaping playing time on overmatched reserves and helps supplement a lineup core that has clearly established itself as one of the most formidable in baseball." The Kenny Williams
? Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune: "Alex Rios managed to break the hearts of Toronto fans who wanted to see him fail badly and witness a significant moment of Blue Jays history Tuesday night. Rios provided the only highlight for the White Sox, as his two-run homer with no outs in the eighth inning deprived crafty left-hander Ricky Romero of a no-hitter in an otherwise helpless 4-2 loss at the Rogers Centre. "I'm not surprised by what he did," Rios said of his Romero, 25, his former Blue Jay teammate who struck out 12 in eight innings with a sharp breaking curve. "He's pretty good. He can do that any time he wants." Until Rios' homer, Romero was on his way to throwing the first no-hitter against the Sox since the Royals' Bret Saberhagen in 1991." The Dayton Moore
? Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star: "Six brilliant innings from Brian Bannister and plenty of offense ? 13 hits ? all went in the trash when the bullpen imploded in a six-run seventh inning when asked to bridge a seemingly safe lead from Bannister to closer Joakim Soria. The Royals never got close to Soria. ?I?ve never seen anything like it,? manager Trey Hillman said. ?It?s definitely the most pitchers I?ve ever used in one inning. It?s disheartening, disappointing; it?s unbelievable. You can use a lot of words for that inning.? .. This bullpen has allowed 23 earned runs in 26 innings with four blown saves in five opportunities. The Royals are 3-5 when they easily could be 6-2." The Billy Beane
? Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Seattle was hitting .212 going into the game, and (Milton)Bradley - already a figure of controversy after making an obscene gesture at fans in Texas last week - came into the game with an .045 average, with one hit in 22 at-bats. "He's not going to hit .045," A's manager Bob Geren said. "He's always hit, and he's going to get big hits." " CR: A little reversal for the A's and M's since they each wrote about the other in such a salient way. The Jack Zduriencik
? Dave Cameron of USS Mariner: "Brett Anderson is tremendous. If I had to start a franchise with any pitcher in baseball, Brett Anderson would be in the discussion for the guy I would take. I?d probably end up with Felix or Lincecum or Greinke, but I?d seriously consider Anderson. He?s that good. For all the problems the offense has had, facing him twice in the last five days hasn?t helped." The Tony Reagins
? Halos Haven: "The powerhouse New York Yankees bulldozed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the second straight game at new Yankee Stadium, albeit with a 185-day break in between the contests.. On a day when the Angels decided to take pitches from an aging Andy Pettitte, the old man looked like Lefty Ford or Whitey Grove or Yoga Koenig or any one of the hundred cartoon character segregation-era ghosts dancing on the mound at the Yankees home opener. At one point in the game the Angels looked at 52 first pitch strikes or is that just the number on the back of Jason Bulger's jersey as he nibbles at the plate against batters instead of finishing them off?" The Jon Daniels
? Josh Garoon of Baseball Time In Arlington: "The Rangers offense is sputtering, and (Michael) Young's early-season struggles with men on base have come under scrutiny. Heading into Monday's game against the Indians, Young had yet to record a hit with runners on. That changed with his fifth-inning RBI single off Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona, but several frames later, things got ugly again. Young grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth, squandering a golden opportunity to put the game away without heading to extra innings. With that at-bat, Young's WPA for the season nosedived into negative territory." National League The Brian Sabean
? Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Memo to former Bay Area radio talker Larry Krueger, who ranted about "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly": The Giant who saw the most pitches per plate appearances last season was Colombian Edgar Renteria, at 3.76. The leader over the first seven games this season also is Renteria, at 4.45, and another Latin hitter, Juan Uribe, is fourth at 3.63. Granted, the sample size is small, but the Giants started play Tuesday ranked second in the National League in on-base percentage (.368) and fifth in walks (27)." The Ned Colletti
? Eric Stephen of True Blue LA: "After hitting three home runs on their six-game season opening road trip, the Dodgers slammed four home runs at Dodger Stadium today in a rousing 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.? Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier, the Dodgers top four home run hitters last season, all went deep this afternoon.. That's not to say the offense didn't show up during the road trip; the Dodgers did average six runs per game in Pittsburgh and Miami.? But the long ball made an prominent appearance today for the Dodgers, and they needed all the offense they could get." The Dan O'Dowd
? Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post: "(Greg) Smith, before Tuesday night's 11-3 victory over the New York Mets, hadn't won in the majors since Sept. 6, 2008, when he was a member of the Oakland A's.. The latest stop on Smith's journey came on a windy night at Coors Field, when he allowed six hits and two runs and struck out eight in seven innings. As was the case throughout spring training, he had great touch on his sinker and changeup and great command of his fastball." The Josh Byrnes
? Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit: "Last time out, (Ian) Kennedy pitched five innings, but didn't even get that far this afternoon, a result which was particularly disappointing after he looked fine in the first inning, retiring the Dodgers 1-2-3. He seemed to go to pieces in the second frame, loading the bases with one out on a double, a walk, a hit batter and a wild pitch, but limited the damage to a sacrifice fly, striking out his opposing number to end the frame. He retired Los Angeles in order again in the third, but then fell apart once again, going homer, double, homer, walk to open the fourth. By the time he was pulled from the not-so grassy knoll in the fifth, he had allowed six hits and three walks, though in mitigation, the strike zone did appear to be somewhat inconsistent." The Jed Hoyer
? Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "Six games into the 2010 season, (Chase) Headley was among the major league batting leaders, and he hadn?t gone a single game without at least one hit. Two more hits in four at-bats in that 17-2 romp over the Atlanta Braves raised his average to .448, his on-base percentage to .484 and his OPS to 1.036. Extra vital to the Padres as a switch-hitter, he?s 10-for-20 batting left-handed. Of course, chances are pretty good that Headley won?t finish the season that close to .500, but the noticeable difference in him this season goes well beyond the numbers. He looks like he feels. Like he belongs." The Doug Melvin
? Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel: "(SI's Jon) Heyman cites a "person familiar with the talks" as tossing out the $200 million figure. Well, the only folks familiar with the talks are Brewers owner Mark?Attanasio, GM Doug Melvin and assistant Gord Ash, and Boras. I can guarantee you that no Brewers official tossed out that figure because they have been as buttoned down as you can be regarding the Fielder talks, for obvious reasons. That would leave the other side of the talks to put forward that figure, and why not? Might as well prime the pump of public perception by saying Fielder is worthy of that money, right? I'm going to go out on what I consider a?safe limb and say the Brewers will not be offering Fielder eight years and $200 million, which would be?more than Joe Mauer got from Minnesota and Mark Teixeira got from the Yankees. It would be almost impossible for them to make such a commitment and still field a competitive team with the revenue streams they have in Milwaukee." The Jim Hendry
? Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register: "Cubs shortstop prospect Starlin Castro is off to a hot start while playing for double-A Tennessee. He has a .364 batting average, he's 3-for-3 stealing bases and he has helped turn three double plays." The John Mozeliak
? Reid Laymance of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "For 44 years, Eddie Matthews held the record of most homers in a player?s first 10 seasons with 370. Now, just seven games into his 10th season, Pujols has 371. If he were to hit 41 homers this season, Pujols would increase the record by 10 percent. Matthews held the record a decade longer than Babe Ruth held the single-season HR mark." The Walt Jocketty
? John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The Reds led the game by scores of 3-0, 6-1 and 8-5. But Bronson Arroyo had his worst start since July, and rookie Logan Ondrusek ? pressed into duty because Nick Masset needed a day off ? gave up three runs in the eighth inning. Fortunately for the Reds, their hitters scored a season-high 10 runs on 13 hits, getting three-run homers from Jonny Gomes and Ryan Hanigan. The Reds (5-3) have won five of their past six games. All five wins came on runs scored on the club?s final at-bat." The Ed Wade
? Bernando Falls of the Houston Chronicle: "At 0-7, the (Astros) are off to their worst start since that '83 bunch went 0-9 to kick off the season.. Of the 20-plus teams in the modern era that have begun the season 0-7 or worse, none has reached the playoffs. That was the case of the '83 Astros, whose 85 wins left them third in the division, six games behind the NL West-winning Los Angeles Dodgers." The Neal Huntington
? Charlie of Bucs Dugout: "The Bucs are now at .500 despite scoring twenty fewer runs than they've allowed. That won't hold, but it's nice for now." The Frank Wren
? Talking Chop: "Don't panic, it's not the cover, and the associated mythical jinx that goes along with it. Sports Illustrated is not turning new Braves phenom Jason Heyward into its old phenom Jeff Francoeur. While Heyward may be more of a "natural," he did come from somewhere. The article on him in this week's Sports Illustrated focuses on where Heyward came from and a little bit about where he might be going." The Omar Minaya
? Andy Martino of the New York Daily News: "Jerry Manuel agreed that (Jose Reyes), who was 2-for-8 over the weekend before going 2-for-5 Tuesday night, was not yet totally sharp, despite a .308 batting average since returning. So despite the lineup's weak showing against Washington on Sunday, the manager resisted the temptation to move Reyes into the third spot in the batting order before Tuesday night's 11-3 loss to Colorado." The Ruben Amaro
? Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Daily News: "The Phillies have played long stretches without second baseman Chase Utley and (Jimmy) Rollins in each of the previous three seasons. Last season, the Phillies were 4-3 in games Rollins did not start, including a 2-2 mark during a four-game stretch in late June when he was benched because he was in?the midst of a?prolonged slump. In 2008, the Phillies were 16-10 during a 26-game stretch that Rollins either did not play or did not start?at shortstop because of a?severe left-ankle injury?he suffered?early in the season." The Larry Beinfest
? Joe Frisaro of MLB.com: "What Jorge Cantu did on Tuesday night was last matched 89 years ago. In the fifth inning, the Marlins slugger delivered an RBI single off Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo. The hit scored Hanley Ramirez from second base, and it gave Cantu a slice of MLB history. Cantu now has at least one hit and one RBI in all eight Marlins games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a player started a season with a hit and an RBI in every game the team has played through eight games was in 1921. That season, George "Highpockets" Kelly started the year with an RBI and a hit in eight straight games. Kelly had stood alone with this distinction for 89 years." The Mike Rizzo
? Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post: "The Nationals, however, think (Tom) Milone, a 23-year-old lefty, has a chance to make it to the majors as a back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, and from what I saw on Saturday, I agree. Milone showed extremely sharp command with four pitches -- a fastball that he calls a four-seamer but that had some two-seam tendencies (i.e., it sinks), a cut fastball, a curve and a changeup that was probably his most effective pitch. He threw all of his pitches to both sides of the plate and rarely missed spots." Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.