Today at The Fanhouse

Where none of us have been asked to talk to George Mitchell

• Mike Piazza to Don the Tools of Ignorance-When Mike Piazza left the Padres and the National League for the Oakland Athletics, it had a large part to do with the designated hitter. That's what the A's planned on, and what Piazza wanted, to keep his body from wearing down. Well, Piazza didn't keep his end of the deal, and got injured. Now as a result of his injury, the A's are asking Piazza to consider being a back-up catcher for Jason Kendall. The plan would be to have Piazza catch a couple of games a week, and then serve as DH the rest of the time.
• What's Wrong With Johan?-If you've seen Johan Santana pitch this season, you've probably noticed something different than you're used to seeing. It's hard to put your finger on exactly what it is though. He looks the same. He has the same mechanics he's always had, and his stuff is just as good. So what is it? It's that teams are actually getting hits off of him.
• Mark Buehrle Wants To Stay In Chicago-Man, the White Sox win one game and then they get to be the subject of every single post on The Fanhouse today. The latest news from the Pale Hose once again revolves around trade rumors. Everybody knows that Mark Buehrle is one of the most likely candidates to be traded by the White Sox by the July 31 deadline, including Buehrle. Mark just doesn't want to go anywhere.
• The Angels Can't Trade Shea Hillenbrand, Yet-When the Angels signed Shea Hillenbrand in the offseason, it was in hopes that he could help add power to an offense that is mostly void of the long ball. Well, they aren't getting what they wanted. As of today, Hillenbrand is hitting only .255 with three home runs and 20 RBI. On the plus side, at least he hasn't been challenged to a fight by his manager this season.
• On Deck: Sammy Goes For #600-Sammy Sosa is just one home run shy of becoming the fifth man in baseball history to hit 600 in his career. Wouldn't it be perfect if he hit it against the team he hit 545 of them for? The only thing that could make it more perfect would be if he hit the home run tonight, and then left the ballpark during the 7th inning. Sosa faces the Cubs for the first time in his career-aside from those Crosstown Classic exhibitions they played prior to interleague-as the Rangers begin a three-game series against the Cubs. The Rangers are the worst team in baseball right now, so Sosa's chase of 600 is really the only thing they've got going on down there. Sosa is only hitting .246 this season, but he's got a .354 average with runners in scoring position. Also, his 51 RBI's are more than anybody on the Cubs, who are led by Aramis Ramirez with 39.