RealGM Wiretap
Christopher Reina/RealGM
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
? Ben Shpigel of the New York Times: "In the off-season, the Yankees moved on from (Johnny) Damon, swiftly and decisively, by acquiring two players, Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson, to help replace him. Neither made the trip here. They are on the disabled list, and they were not hitting well when they got hurt. Damon?s .412 on-base percentage might have fit snugly into the No. 2 slot in the Yankees? lineup, but he has no regrets. ?No, that?s not what I?m about,? Damon said. ?I think my career shows people who I am and what I?m about, what I do on and off the field. I don?t need a single game for that to be dictated. It?s one game, but I think my career speaks for itself.? " The Theo Epstein
? Tim Daloisio of Fire Brand of the Maerican League: "Theo Epstein, it is July 10th and you are 7 1/2 games out of the wild card and 10 games out of the division do you: (a) aggressively sell popular pieces of the current roster waving the white flag on 2010 in?lieu?of competing on the other side of the bridge? If so, turn to page 41. or (b) look to acquire the missing pieces to bring onto the 2010 roster (and beyond) to make a mid-summer run at the playoffs in 2010? If so, turn to page 178." The Alex Anthopoulos
? Robert MacLeod of the Globe and Mail: "Alex Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays general manager, has been pleasantly surprised by the solid showing his team, which is in a rebuilding mode, has exhibited so far through the first two months of the season. He said regardless of how the team fares here in Boston, it is far too early in a 162-game regular season to get too excited over the outcome of a single series. ?If it was late September and we were competing for the American League East lead or the wild card, then certainly there?d be a greater significance,? Anthopoulos said. ?But when we?re sitting here on May 10, a little more than five weeks into the season, I don?t think you can take too much from any of these games.? " The Mike Flanagan
? Weaver's Tantrum: "The Orioles are through with their tough early season schedule and the best that can be said is that they survived. With a 9-23 record the O's are again at the bottom of the standings and fan discontent is obvious. The team is actually looking a little better though. The bullpen has benefited from the additions of Koji Uehara and Alfredo Simon. The offense is still bad, but has perked up somewhat. The O's split their last series with a tough Twins team and has played .500 ball (7-7) since April 25 against some of the best clubs in baseball. Now the Orioles have an eight game home stand against Seattle, Cleveland, and Kansas City. Its big. Its one thing to lose to the Yankees or Rays. Its another to be beaten at home by three second division teams." The Andrew Friedman
? Tommy Rancel of DRaysBay: "Ben Zobrist ended any thoughts of a perfect game early on with a first inning single. It was the first time a Tampa Bay batter had reached base since the seventh inning of Saturday's game. The Rays would have plenty of base-runners early on, but were not able to "get the man in." " The Dave Dombrowski
? Lynn Henning of the Detroit News: "The offense did just enough, highlighted by rookie Brennan Boesch's three RBIs. They came on a two-run, first-inning single, and a bullet of a triple to right-center against left-hander Boone Logan in the seventh, which scored Miguel Cabrera, who had walked with two out. "Mac (hitting coach Lloyd McClendon) has been really great about getting me prepared for each at-bat," said Boesch, who now has 14 RBIs in the 13 games he has played since joining the Tigers on April 22. "He's giving me good scouting reports, and I've got a plan when I go up there for each at-bat." Leyland believes Boesch's game plan is actually quite simple. "He sees it, he swings at it," said Leyland, who believes the on-base crowd that loves to see a batter walk can have their philosophy -- and lose with it. "When he hits it, something happens. I like guys who can score runners from first base." " The Mark Shapiro
? Dennis Monoloff of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer: "The Tribe is 11-18 thanks in part to a significant power outage. It entered Monday ranked 28th in the majors with 15 homers. Only Houston (13) and Seattle (12) had fewer. The Blue Jays led with 50, followed by Boston, the White Sox and Arizona with 43. Granted, the Indians have played the fewest games, and have the fewest at-bats, of any team. But their average of .52 HRs per game still ranked 28th. The Blue Jays were averaging 1.5." The Bill Smith
? Adam Peterson of Twinkie Town: "In 2009, Twins pitchers were affected quite a bit by the porous defense and the Metrodome's tendency to generate base hits. In 2010, given what appears to be a more neutral Target Field and a much improved defensive ballclub, we can expect the team BABIP to fall quite a bit." The Kenny Williams
? South Side Sox: "The starting rotation appears like it will round into the group we expected to be getting out of spring training. Gavin Floyd had one of the weirdest starts on memory Sunday. At various times he had his best fastball (maybe ever in a White Sox uniform) and curveball of the season, but never in unison and their availability was tenuous at best. Still, the stuff appeared to be a step in the right direction. Jake Peavy, meanwhile, has figured things out, and John Danks should be a front of the rotation guy as long as his circulation issues don't resurface. Even Freddy Garcia has thrown surprisingly well." The Dayton Moore
? Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star: "First baseman Eric Hosmer, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, boosted his average to .415 by getting three more hits Sunday in Class A Wilmington?s 8-2 loss at Frederick. Hosmer, 20, also has a .496 on-base percentage through 30 games plus 13 extra-base hits and 20 RBIs." The Billy Beane
? John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle: "One day removed from his perfect game, (Dallas) Braden the pitcher/media darling jumped from interview to interview, sometimes with his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, and also mixed in a team flight to Dallas. According to public relations director Bob Rose, approximately 60 requests - largely radio, including NPR - were made for Braden, who talked as much as he could. It didn't stop there. Tonight, he'll be on "Late Show with David Letterman," reciting the Top 10 List, and Wednesday he and Lindsey will be on CBS's "The Early Show." " The Jack Zduriencik
? Dave Cameron of USS Mariner: "It?s not the fact that Junior was asleep on Saturday night that matters. If he was hitting .380, it would be the source of good natured jokes, and people would marvel at the greatness of a guy who could hit well while also apparently lacking the energy to watch his teammates play. If the team was winning, it would be written off as a non-story. In fact, I?d guess that if the team was winning, the two players who talked to LaRue never mention the incident, and it never sees the light of day. This is only a story because Griffey is not hitting and the team is not winning." The Tony Reagins
? Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times: "The victory improved the Angels to 14-1 at home against the Rays since 2006, the year Maddon took over in Tampa Bay. The Angels are also 35-6 in their last 41 home games against the Rays, who entered Monday with the best road record (13-3) in the big leagues." The Jon Daniels
? Ray Buck of the Star-Telegram: "First things first, Colby Lewis was never Lost in Translation. Once lights-out for the Hiroshima Carp, the 30-year-old right-hander is now mixing up his pitches, throwing strikes and becoming a leader on a very good Texas Rangers pitching staff. Lewis reinvented himself halfway around the world over the past two years before rejoining the Rangers in 2010. The transition back has been seamless. A former 38th overall draft pick by the Rangers 11 years ago, he has been able to pitch much better, sooner for his old team than the baseball experts felt he would, or even could. "I think a lot of people are surprised," Lewis said. "Actually, I was hoping this was the transition I would make." Much has been made about Colby's metamorphosis from young flame thrower to consummate control pitcher. It's reflected in his numbers through six starts: 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 16 walks, and a quality start in each of his last three outings." National League The Brian Sabean
? Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle: "It might be time for all the haters - fans, press and scouts alike - to admit all the hullabaloo over Aubrey Huff's defense at first base was wasted breath. Huff is doing fine at the position, maybe better than fine. He is picking balls out of the dirt, snaring tough grounders, throwing well and making tough catches. He had one Saturday, overcoming a swirling wind to catch a difficult pop foul by Jason Bay to end the ninth.. Huff has committed one error in 29 games. His only deficiency appears to be his range." The Ned Colletti
? Eric Stephen of True Blue LA: "On both the radio and television broadcasts of tonight's game, as (Chad) Billingsley was walking off the field his streak of not pitching into the seventh inning -- now at 21 starts and counting -- was mentioned, again.? From beat writers to bloggers to radio callers and hosts to fans in the seats, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a conversation about Billingsley's mental makeup.? Billingsley's arm can't have a bad game without thousands wanting to analyze what is going on inside his head. Billingsley's last three starts before tonight all lasted six innings, and he pitched well enough to get into the seventh each time, but he was pinch hit for in each game.? So talk of his streak of shame continues." The Dan O'Dowd
? Andrew T. Fisher of Purple Row: "Any story?about the Rockies this morning suggests the Rockies are playing bad baseball, so it's almost amazing they have managed to stay within two games of .500 and four games of the playoffs. ?It's not as if Jim Tracy needed any help tinkering with the lineup construction, but injuries have forced him to throw every in but the kitchen sink at the lineup card, so it's no wonder they are "out of sync," as Jason Giambi has said." The Josh Byrnes
? Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit: "The team ended with 12 K's: it's already the tenth time they've had more than ten this season, which is the most in the National League. True, strikeouts are not really any different from any other out. But they are a significant part of why the offense managed only four hits this evening, against a pitching-staff ranked 13th in the league by ERA. As a team, the Diamondbacks have hit a collective .216 in the past week, managing only 18 runs over those seven contests, while striking-out 63 times." The Jed Hoyer
? Nick Canepa of the Union-Tribune: "The Padres had Monday off, but going into last night?s games, only two major league clubs ? Arizona (289) and Toronto (282) ? had more strikeouts as a team than they had (266). And San Diego actually averaged more punchouts a game than the Blue Jays, 8.58 to 8.55 (the Diamondbacks stood there naked at an indecent 9.03). Toronto also led baseball with 50 home runs; the Pads ranking 21st with 26." The Doug Melvin
? Anthony Witrado of the Journal-Sentinel: "Left-hander Doug Davis, one of the weak links in the rotation for most of this season, found a small window of success against a weakened Atlanta Braves offense but the opening started to close in the fifth inning and was slammed shut in the next frame thanks to a grand slam as the Braves erupted for an 8-2 victory Monday to start the three-game set.' The Jim Hendry
? Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Three days after his dazzling debut in Cincinnati, Starlin Castro was sagging right along with his new teammates, fitting in with the rest of the underachieving Cubs, right down to the boos from the home crowd. And it took him all of one day in Chicago to pull it off. ''He learned a few things tonight,'' manager Lou Piniella said after Castro added insult to his three errors by moping long enough on the third one, in the eighth, to give Florida's Hanley Ramirez another base -- on the way to a 4-2 loss to the Marlins on Monday night. ''We just had a talk with him upstairs,'' Piniella said. ''You've got to go get that ball. If you don't catch it, you can't just let it lay there.'' " The John Mozeliak
? Viva El Birdos: "Does it surprise you like it surprised me that all the Cardinals' various pitch ratios?the number they see per plate appearance, the number they swing at and look at and foul off?are almost identical to the league average through this point in the season? Maybe it's just baseball-watching rust; it seems as though Brendan Ryan has taken more strikes through a month and a half than he did in 2009, that Albert Pujols has swung and missed more last week than he did in 2004, that the team, in general, has gone from Ichiro to Ben Grieve. But after a three-true-outcomes start the Cardinals have pushed their batting average up and their secondary average down, and right now their league average offense is not only average but ordinary. If Mark McGwire is secretly the hitting coach equivalent of Dave Duncan, exerting an extraordinary pull over team personnel and performance?the team's led the majors in groundball-to-flyball ratio four times since 2004, and has the three highest totals recorded during that period, too?it hasn't shown up yet.?" The Walt Jocketty
? John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The Reds have won three straight and 10 of their last 14 to move to a season-high equaling two games over .500 at 17-15." The Ed Wade
? Stephen Higdon of the Crawfish Boxes: "Is it early season slumps that will regress to the mean eventually? Pressing too hard? Or perhaps bad advanced scouting? The main question I am left with is whether this the straw that is stirring the Astros' dismal offense's drink? I, myself, think that it may be. The?offensive?contributions of Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence?especially in terms of power?are critical to the Astros' offense even having the faintest glow of not historically terrible. Power, or even average numbers, is not going to flow from excessive swings and contact coming on pitches outside of the zone. If I were an advanced scout, I'd tell my pitchers not to throw either them a pitch in the zone because?they're?likely to chase it." The Neal Huntington
? Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The Pirates hoped to get a boost Monday night from having right-hander Ross Ohlendorf back in their starting rotation. It worked out fine for the pitching staff, as Ohlendorf and three relievers combined to allow seven hits and one earned run. But the offense was lulled to sleep by former Pirates pitcher Bronson Arroyo in a 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds." The Frank Wren
? David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The Braves hadn't had a six-run inning since Opening Day, hit a grand slam since 2008 or been on the right side of an honest-to-goodness road rout all season. That was until Monday night, when they got a strong reminder what it felt like to take the starch out of another team and its home crowd. Martin Prado hit a grand slam during a six-run sixth inning that powered the Braves and Tommy Hanson to an 8-2 win in a series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park." The Omar Minaya
? Alex Nelson of Amazin' Avenue: "the Mets actually had a Pythagorean record that suggested they had underperformed in April. But, following Matthew Carruth's cue, I decided to estimate the number of runs you'd expect the Mets to score and allow based on BaseRuns. BaseRuns is dependent on how many baserunners a team gets on and the percentage that come around to score. And like Matthew, I found that BaseRuns suggests the Mets have been very lucky in terms of their run prevention; they've walked a staggering number of batters who haven't scored at the rate you'd expect. It's something to be cautious of." The Ruben Amaro
? The Good Phight: "Eight innings of offensive frustration, including an 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and Wilson Valdez's fifth double play in as many games, evaporated in a few short minutes in the ninth inning with a Carlos Ruiz RBI single, and capped with a pinch three-run home run for Ross Gload, that put the Phillies up 9-5.? Jose Contreras, possible closer-in-waiting, pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing just a long double to Jason Giambi." The Larry Beinfest
? Fish Stripes: "Nate Robertson was on the mound for the Fish, and naturally the Cubs scored first, because about ten days ago, the Marlins pitching staff and starting lineup decided that they should do everything within their power to ensure that the Fish are in a hole to start every single game." The Mike Rizzo
? William Yoder of the Nats Blog: "The Nationals tremendously improved their chances to make the playoffs last week as the club went 4-2. With this their projected playoff chances jumped from 10.5% to 23.8%. Disappointingly, their chance to win the division only grew 4% to 10.1% as the Phillies continue to play great baseball.. Washington is now projected for a very strong 83 win season, and they are now a legitimate Wild Card contender." Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.
? Ben Shpigel of the New York Times: "In the off-season, the Yankees moved on from (Johnny) Damon, swiftly and decisively, by acquiring two players, Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson, to help replace him. Neither made the trip here. They are on the disabled list, and they were not hitting well when they got hurt. Damon?s .412 on-base percentage might have fit snugly into the No. 2 slot in the Yankees? lineup, but he has no regrets. ?No, that?s not what I?m about,? Damon said. ?I think my career shows people who I am and what I?m about, what I do on and off the field. I don?t need a single game for that to be dictated. It?s one game, but I think my career speaks for itself.? " The Theo Epstein
? Tim Daloisio of Fire Brand of the Maerican League: "Theo Epstein, it is July 10th and you are 7 1/2 games out of the wild card and 10 games out of the division do you: (a) aggressively sell popular pieces of the current roster waving the white flag on 2010 in?lieu?of competing on the other side of the bridge? If so, turn to page 41. or (b) look to acquire the missing pieces to bring onto the 2010 roster (and beyond) to make a mid-summer run at the playoffs in 2010? If so, turn to page 178." The Alex Anthopoulos
? Robert MacLeod of the Globe and Mail: "Alex Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays general manager, has been pleasantly surprised by the solid showing his team, which is in a rebuilding mode, has exhibited so far through the first two months of the season. He said regardless of how the team fares here in Boston, it is far too early in a 162-game regular season to get too excited over the outcome of a single series. ?If it was late September and we were competing for the American League East lead or the wild card, then certainly there?d be a greater significance,? Anthopoulos said. ?But when we?re sitting here on May 10, a little more than five weeks into the season, I don?t think you can take too much from any of these games.? " The Mike Flanagan
? Weaver's Tantrum: "The Orioles are through with their tough early season schedule and the best that can be said is that they survived. With a 9-23 record the O's are again at the bottom of the standings and fan discontent is obvious. The team is actually looking a little better though. The bullpen has benefited from the additions of Koji Uehara and Alfredo Simon. The offense is still bad, but has perked up somewhat. The O's split their last series with a tough Twins team and has played .500 ball (7-7) since April 25 against some of the best clubs in baseball. Now the Orioles have an eight game home stand against Seattle, Cleveland, and Kansas City. Its big. Its one thing to lose to the Yankees or Rays. Its another to be beaten at home by three second division teams." The Andrew Friedman
? Tommy Rancel of DRaysBay: "Ben Zobrist ended any thoughts of a perfect game early on with a first inning single. It was the first time a Tampa Bay batter had reached base since the seventh inning of Saturday's game. The Rays would have plenty of base-runners early on, but were not able to "get the man in." " The Dave Dombrowski
? Lynn Henning of the Detroit News: "The offense did just enough, highlighted by rookie Brennan Boesch's three RBIs. They came on a two-run, first-inning single, and a bullet of a triple to right-center against left-hander Boone Logan in the seventh, which scored Miguel Cabrera, who had walked with two out. "Mac (hitting coach Lloyd McClendon) has been really great about getting me prepared for each at-bat," said Boesch, who now has 14 RBIs in the 13 games he has played since joining the Tigers on April 22. "He's giving me good scouting reports, and I've got a plan when I go up there for each at-bat." Leyland believes Boesch's game plan is actually quite simple. "He sees it, he swings at it," said Leyland, who believes the on-base crowd that loves to see a batter walk can have their philosophy -- and lose with it. "When he hits it, something happens. I like guys who can score runners from first base." " The Mark Shapiro
? Dennis Monoloff of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer: "The Tribe is 11-18 thanks in part to a significant power outage. It entered Monday ranked 28th in the majors with 15 homers. Only Houston (13) and Seattle (12) had fewer. The Blue Jays led with 50, followed by Boston, the White Sox and Arizona with 43. Granted, the Indians have played the fewest games, and have the fewest at-bats, of any team. But their average of .52 HRs per game still ranked 28th. The Blue Jays were averaging 1.5." The Bill Smith
? Adam Peterson of Twinkie Town: "In 2009, Twins pitchers were affected quite a bit by the porous defense and the Metrodome's tendency to generate base hits. In 2010, given what appears to be a more neutral Target Field and a much improved defensive ballclub, we can expect the team BABIP to fall quite a bit." The Kenny Williams
? South Side Sox: "The starting rotation appears like it will round into the group we expected to be getting out of spring training. Gavin Floyd had one of the weirdest starts on memory Sunday. At various times he had his best fastball (maybe ever in a White Sox uniform) and curveball of the season, but never in unison and their availability was tenuous at best. Still, the stuff appeared to be a step in the right direction. Jake Peavy, meanwhile, has figured things out, and John Danks should be a front of the rotation guy as long as his circulation issues don't resurface. Even Freddy Garcia has thrown surprisingly well." The Dayton Moore
? Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star: "First baseman Eric Hosmer, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, boosted his average to .415 by getting three more hits Sunday in Class A Wilmington?s 8-2 loss at Frederick. Hosmer, 20, also has a .496 on-base percentage through 30 games plus 13 extra-base hits and 20 RBIs." The Billy Beane
? John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle: "One day removed from his perfect game, (Dallas) Braden the pitcher/media darling jumped from interview to interview, sometimes with his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, and also mixed in a team flight to Dallas. According to public relations director Bob Rose, approximately 60 requests - largely radio, including NPR - were made for Braden, who talked as much as he could. It didn't stop there. Tonight, he'll be on "Late Show with David Letterman," reciting the Top 10 List, and Wednesday he and Lindsey will be on CBS's "The Early Show." " The Jack Zduriencik
? Dave Cameron of USS Mariner: "It?s not the fact that Junior was asleep on Saturday night that matters. If he was hitting .380, it would be the source of good natured jokes, and people would marvel at the greatness of a guy who could hit well while also apparently lacking the energy to watch his teammates play. If the team was winning, it would be written off as a non-story. In fact, I?d guess that if the team was winning, the two players who talked to LaRue never mention the incident, and it never sees the light of day. This is only a story because Griffey is not hitting and the team is not winning." The Tony Reagins
? Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times: "The victory improved the Angels to 14-1 at home against the Rays since 2006, the year Maddon took over in Tampa Bay. The Angels are also 35-6 in their last 41 home games against the Rays, who entered Monday with the best road record (13-3) in the big leagues." The Jon Daniels
? Ray Buck of the Star-Telegram: "First things first, Colby Lewis was never Lost in Translation. Once lights-out for the Hiroshima Carp, the 30-year-old right-hander is now mixing up his pitches, throwing strikes and becoming a leader on a very good Texas Rangers pitching staff. Lewis reinvented himself halfway around the world over the past two years before rejoining the Rangers in 2010. The transition back has been seamless. A former 38th overall draft pick by the Rangers 11 years ago, he has been able to pitch much better, sooner for his old team than the baseball experts felt he would, or even could. "I think a lot of people are surprised," Lewis said. "Actually, I was hoping this was the transition I would make." Much has been made about Colby's metamorphosis from young flame thrower to consummate control pitcher. It's reflected in his numbers through six starts: 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 16 walks, and a quality start in each of his last three outings." National League The Brian Sabean
? Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle: "It might be time for all the haters - fans, press and scouts alike - to admit all the hullabaloo over Aubrey Huff's defense at first base was wasted breath. Huff is doing fine at the position, maybe better than fine. He is picking balls out of the dirt, snaring tough grounders, throwing well and making tough catches. He had one Saturday, overcoming a swirling wind to catch a difficult pop foul by Jason Bay to end the ninth.. Huff has committed one error in 29 games. His only deficiency appears to be his range." The Ned Colletti
? Eric Stephen of True Blue LA: "On both the radio and television broadcasts of tonight's game, as (Chad) Billingsley was walking off the field his streak of not pitching into the seventh inning -- now at 21 starts and counting -- was mentioned, again.? From beat writers to bloggers to radio callers and hosts to fans in the seats, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a conversation about Billingsley's mental makeup.? Billingsley's arm can't have a bad game without thousands wanting to analyze what is going on inside his head. Billingsley's last three starts before tonight all lasted six innings, and he pitched well enough to get into the seventh each time, but he was pinch hit for in each game.? So talk of his streak of shame continues." The Dan O'Dowd
? Andrew T. Fisher of Purple Row: "Any story?about the Rockies this morning suggests the Rockies are playing bad baseball, so it's almost amazing they have managed to stay within two games of .500 and four games of the playoffs. ?It's not as if Jim Tracy needed any help tinkering with the lineup construction, but injuries have forced him to throw every in but the kitchen sink at the lineup card, so it's no wonder they are "out of sync," as Jason Giambi has said." The Josh Byrnes
? Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit: "The team ended with 12 K's: it's already the tenth time they've had more than ten this season, which is the most in the National League. True, strikeouts are not really any different from any other out. But they are a significant part of why the offense managed only four hits this evening, against a pitching-staff ranked 13th in the league by ERA. As a team, the Diamondbacks have hit a collective .216 in the past week, managing only 18 runs over those seven contests, while striking-out 63 times." The Jed Hoyer
? Nick Canepa of the Union-Tribune: "The Padres had Monday off, but going into last night?s games, only two major league clubs ? Arizona (289) and Toronto (282) ? had more strikeouts as a team than they had (266). And San Diego actually averaged more punchouts a game than the Blue Jays, 8.58 to 8.55 (the Diamondbacks stood there naked at an indecent 9.03). Toronto also led baseball with 50 home runs; the Pads ranking 21st with 26." The Doug Melvin
? Anthony Witrado of the Journal-Sentinel: "Left-hander Doug Davis, one of the weak links in the rotation for most of this season, found a small window of success against a weakened Atlanta Braves offense but the opening started to close in the fifth inning and was slammed shut in the next frame thanks to a grand slam as the Braves erupted for an 8-2 victory Monday to start the three-game set.' The Jim Hendry
? Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Three days after his dazzling debut in Cincinnati, Starlin Castro was sagging right along with his new teammates, fitting in with the rest of the underachieving Cubs, right down to the boos from the home crowd. And it took him all of one day in Chicago to pull it off. ''He learned a few things tonight,'' manager Lou Piniella said after Castro added insult to his three errors by moping long enough on the third one, in the eighth, to give Florida's Hanley Ramirez another base -- on the way to a 4-2 loss to the Marlins on Monday night. ''We just had a talk with him upstairs,'' Piniella said. ''You've got to go get that ball. If you don't catch it, you can't just let it lay there.'' " The John Mozeliak
? Viva El Birdos: "Does it surprise you like it surprised me that all the Cardinals' various pitch ratios?the number they see per plate appearance, the number they swing at and look at and foul off?are almost identical to the league average through this point in the season? Maybe it's just baseball-watching rust; it seems as though Brendan Ryan has taken more strikes through a month and a half than he did in 2009, that Albert Pujols has swung and missed more last week than he did in 2004, that the team, in general, has gone from Ichiro to Ben Grieve. But after a three-true-outcomes start the Cardinals have pushed their batting average up and their secondary average down, and right now their league average offense is not only average but ordinary. If Mark McGwire is secretly the hitting coach equivalent of Dave Duncan, exerting an extraordinary pull over team personnel and performance?the team's led the majors in groundball-to-flyball ratio four times since 2004, and has the three highest totals recorded during that period, too?it hasn't shown up yet.?" The Walt Jocketty
? John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The Reds have won three straight and 10 of their last 14 to move to a season-high equaling two games over .500 at 17-15." The Ed Wade
? Stephen Higdon of the Crawfish Boxes: "Is it early season slumps that will regress to the mean eventually? Pressing too hard? Or perhaps bad advanced scouting? The main question I am left with is whether this the straw that is stirring the Astros' dismal offense's drink? I, myself, think that it may be. The?offensive?contributions of Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence?especially in terms of power?are critical to the Astros' offense even having the faintest glow of not historically terrible. Power, or even average numbers, is not going to flow from excessive swings and contact coming on pitches outside of the zone. If I were an advanced scout, I'd tell my pitchers not to throw either them a pitch in the zone because?they're?likely to chase it." The Neal Huntington
? Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The Pirates hoped to get a boost Monday night from having right-hander Ross Ohlendorf back in their starting rotation. It worked out fine for the pitching staff, as Ohlendorf and three relievers combined to allow seven hits and one earned run. But the offense was lulled to sleep by former Pirates pitcher Bronson Arroyo in a 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds." The Frank Wren
? David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The Braves hadn't had a six-run inning since Opening Day, hit a grand slam since 2008 or been on the right side of an honest-to-goodness road rout all season. That was until Monday night, when they got a strong reminder what it felt like to take the starch out of another team and its home crowd. Martin Prado hit a grand slam during a six-run sixth inning that powered the Braves and Tommy Hanson to an 8-2 win in a series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park." The Omar Minaya
? Alex Nelson of Amazin' Avenue: "the Mets actually had a Pythagorean record that suggested they had underperformed in April. But, following Matthew Carruth's cue, I decided to estimate the number of runs you'd expect the Mets to score and allow based on BaseRuns. BaseRuns is dependent on how many baserunners a team gets on and the percentage that come around to score. And like Matthew, I found that BaseRuns suggests the Mets have been very lucky in terms of their run prevention; they've walked a staggering number of batters who haven't scored at the rate you'd expect. It's something to be cautious of." The Ruben Amaro
? The Good Phight: "Eight innings of offensive frustration, including an 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and Wilson Valdez's fifth double play in as many games, evaporated in a few short minutes in the ninth inning with a Carlos Ruiz RBI single, and capped with a pinch three-run home run for Ross Gload, that put the Phillies up 9-5.? Jose Contreras, possible closer-in-waiting, pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing just a long double to Jason Giambi." The Larry Beinfest
? Fish Stripes: "Nate Robertson was on the mound for the Fish, and naturally the Cubs scored first, because about ten days ago, the Marlins pitching staff and starting lineup decided that they should do everything within their power to ensure that the Fish are in a hole to start every single game." The Mike Rizzo
? William Yoder of the Nats Blog: "The Nationals tremendously improved their chances to make the playoffs last week as the club went 4-2. With this their projected playoff chances jumped from 10.5% to 23.8%. Disappointingly, their chance to win the division only grew 4% to 10.1% as the Phillies continue to play great baseball.. Washington is now projected for a very strong 83 win season, and they are now a legitimate Wild Card contender." Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.