Kenny Williams Is Mean

Though Kenny Williams was probably somewhat upset that he wasn't able to get Adam Dunn from the Nats -- if not downright pissed off -- at least he was able to keep his sense of humor about him.

It also seems that he can be kind of a dick, toying with his players' emotions.  If you saw the first episode of The Club a few weeks ago, you saw Williams along with Ozzie Guillen and Don Cooper play a joke on Randy Williams by telling him he hadn't made the team when he had.

Randy would get the last laugh, however, by sucking.  Take that, Kenny.

Anyway, it seems Williams didn't learn his lesson there, as he apparently had some fun with Gordon Beckham on Saturday afternoon.

Cubs Trade Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to Dodgers

There hasn't been confirmation from the teams, but plenty of people are tweeting that the Cubs have agreed to send Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers for Blake DeWitt (pictured at right, thanks Panger).  Chris DeLuca is even tweeting that the deal is complete.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs will also be getting a Double-A pitcher and possibly a third player in the deal as well, though the money particulars aren't known yet.

Meanwhile, Tom Verducci just said on MLB Network that the Cubs will be sending $2.5 million to Los Angeles with Lilly and Theriot, and will be getting two minor-league pitchers back: Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.

My initial reaction to this deal is a positive one.  Lilly was going to be traded anyway, plus you get rid of Theriot!

I'm not a huge fan of Blake DeWitt, but his OPS is higher, even if his glove isn't that big of an upgrade.

Scouting report on the two pitching prospects the Cubs got after the break.

Report: Antti Niemi Gets $2.75 Million From Arbitration

Taking a break from the trade deadline for a moment here, let's turn our attention to the Blackhawks as they hold their fan convention this weekend.  While nothing official has been announced, reports are that Antti Niemi has been rewarded with $2.75 million for the 2010-11 season following his arbitration hearing with the Blackhawks this week.

If the number is right I think that would mean the Hawks will be able to fit Niemi in under the salary cap without having to trade anyone else, though it's still possible they could move Niemi.

I don't know.  All I know is that I liked the Blackhawks season a hell of a lot more than I've enjoyed the offseason.

Kenny Is After Manny

There was word on Friday afternoon that Kenny Williams and the White Sox were trying to make a huge move for somebody that hadn't been talked about.  Well, now that the team the Sox were talking to had turned them down, we know who that player was.

It was Manny Ramirez.

Los Angeles Times beat reporter Dylan Hernandez confirmed it on Saturday morning, and while the deal supposedly died on Friday afternoon, according to Ken Rosenthal it's back on again.

It's Looking Like Ted Lilly Will Be Traded Saturday

All day there seemed to be reports on Twitter that the Dodgers and Cubs were "close" to a deal that would send Lilly to Los Angeles, possibly with Ryan Theriot going with him.  Well, as close as they apparently were, Lilly was still with the Cubs on Friday night witnessing history in the eighth inning as the Rockies scored 12 runs and compiled 11 straight hits.

Then when Ryan Theriot was pulled from the game in the 5th inning as part of a double switch there was a lot of speculation that Theriot had been traded.

Well, he hasn't been.

Still, there are more reports that Lilly is likely going to be traded before Saturday's deadline.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a GM Scorned

While the White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics on Friday night -- their 12th straight home victory -- it turns out they lost a couple of battles during the afternoon.  At least, according to some reports out there.

We'll start with the trade of Lance Berkman to the Yankees.  It turns out that the Yankees weren't the first team that the Astros had struck a deal with.

The Astros and White Sox had reportedly agreed to a deal that would have brought Berkman to Chicago, but apparently Berkman used his no-trade clause to veto the deal.  Why?  Nobody knows.  Maybe he's still bitter about 2005, or he really doesn't think the White Sox have a chance to get him a ring.

Or maybe he just wanted to be reunited with his good friend Andy Pettite.

Who knows?

All we do know is that Berkman is a Yankee.

Still, Kenny Williams can deal with rejection.  What he can't deal with, apparently, is being trifled with, and according to some reports that's exactly what the Nationals did with him on Friday afternoon.

Cubs Reinstate Carlos Zambrano, Release Bob Howry

Let's hope the Gatorade coolers at Coors Field have been reinforced with steel because the Chicago Cubs announced on Friday that Carlos Zambrano has been reinstated from the restricted list, and will join the team for their series in Colorado. Zambrano had been suspended by the Cubs following the latest in a long line of outbursts, as he got into a heated argument with Derrek Lee in a game against the White Sox on June 25.

Zambrano will not be returning to the team as a starter, however, as he once again has been placed in the team's bullpen. To make room for Zambrano the Cubs released pitcher Bob Howry...

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Miguel Batista Wants Miss Iowa to Know That She's 'Gorgeous'

When Miguel Batista had to make an emergency start on Wednesday for Stephen Strasburg, he was greeted by the Nationals faithful with boos. Even if it wasn't his fault, you could understand fans being angered about paying to see the the young phenom Strasburg and ending up with the old Batista.

Though Batista's five-inning performance was very Strasburg-ian. Unfortunately for Batista, after the game he was asked about the boos he heard and inadvertantly hurt a lovely young lady in Iowa's feelings.

Batista compared his appearance to someone going to see Miss Universe and ending up with Miss Iowa....

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Angels' Joel Pineiro Will Be Out 6-8 Weeks With Strained Oblique

The Angels pitching staff seems to be a somewhat cursed this week. First they trade for Dan Haren, and then during his Angels debut he gets hit by a line drive and has to leave the game. Now the team has learned that Joel Pineiro is going to miss six to eight weeks with a strained left oblique.

Pineiro was scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday when he hurt the muscle while warming up in the bullpen before the game. The team performed an MRI and the results weren't what the Angels had been hoping to see...

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Derrek Lee Can't Bring Himself To Leave Chicago, and That May Not Be So Terrible

As you've no doubt heard by now, Derrek Lee has told that Cubs that he's going to invoke his full no-trade rights that he's earned as a "ten and five" player for any deal that the team tries to make.  He's even blocked a proposed trade to the Angels, a team that's actually in contention for a postseason berth.

While Lee didn't speak with the media before Wednesday's game, and didn't give an actual reason for his preference to stay, it's likely because he doesn't want to leave his family.  You know, he's so used to spending his Octobers with the kids, and he wouldn't want to jeopardize that.

Of course, most Cubs fans are upset about this because since Lee won't leave, the team can't get anything in return for him.  But the fact of the matter is it's his choice.  If he doesn't want to go, he doesn't have to.

Tigers Will Be Without Magglio Ordonez For 6-8 Weeks

It suddenly looks as though the Tigers are now in the market for a bat to put in the middle of their lineup.

Not even a week after losing Brandon Inge to a broken bone in his left hand the Tigers have lost Magglio Ordonez for six to eight weeks with a fractured right ankle. During the third inning of Detroit's Saturday night game against Toronto, Ordonez tried to score from first base on a double by Miguel Cabrera. Ordonez, who has been limited to designated hitter duty because of a sore ankle all week, was out at the plate and remained on the ground after sliding into home...

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Conflicting Reports on Ted Lilly's Status

In today's issue (they still actually print newspapers right?) of the Chicago Sun-Times there's a report stating that Ted Lilly could be traded before the end of the weekend as interest in the Cubs starter has picked up due to the high asking prices of other available starters such as Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt.

Of course, that story was printed before the Cubs won their second straight against the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley and pulled within nine games of first place in the NL Central.  They can't sell off their parts now, can they?  They're right back in the race!

Actually, no, no they aren't.  Unless they win tomorrow.  Okay, not even then.

Back to the Sun-Times report, though.  While their sources are saying a deal is imminent, that's all news to the Cubs as Carrie Muskat is reporting on the team's site that there are no deals on the table right now.

A New Name Emerges In The White Sox Quest For a Left-Handed Bat

We've all heard the rumors that the White Sox are interested in bringing in a left-handed power-hitting bat to place in the middle of their lineup, but that the price tags for top targets like Prince Fielder and Adam Dunn are too high.  There have also been whispers that the Sox may have talked to the Astros about Lance Berkman, and there seems to be a growing movement amongst White Sox bloggers that the team should go after Baltimore's Luke Scott.

Well today Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman threw another name on the list.

The odds of the Sox getting Fielder are low because of the cost to trade for him and the money Scott Boras will expect once Fielder becomes a free agent after the 2011 season.  Dunn seems less likely because not only do the Nationals want to much in return, but reportedly they're now trying to work out an extension for Dunn.

According to Heyman, those are Kenny Williams' top two choices.  The next player on their list is Arizona's Adam LaRoche.

Roy Oswalt Reportedly Has His Eyes On St. Louis

With only eight days remaining before the trade deadline, it's looking more likely that this next week could be the last one Roy Oswalt spends pitching in a Houston Astros uniform. Sources have already told FanHouse that the Phillies have engaged in talks with the Astros about trading for the pitcher, and Oswalt would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to move north to Philadelphia.

Though it seems the Phillies aren't his preferred destination.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oswalt's first choice of a new home would be within the NL Central division he's so very familiar with: St. Louis....

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Derrick Rose Is Never Leaving Chicago, Except Possibly For Road Trips

Derrick Rose is busy practicing with Team USA this week in Las Vegas, but he did find the time to give ESPNChicago's Nick Friedell an interview and in it he delivered some good news about any Bulls fans possibly worried about Rose going all LeBron and leaving Chicago when he becomes a free agent some day.

He's never leaving.  Never ever EVER.

Kenny Williams Is Getting Anxious

As I sit here watching the White Sox play the Mariners, odds are that White Sox general manager Kenny Williams is sitting somewhere trying to figure out what move to make to get the Sox back to the playoffs, and possibly, to the World Series.

The target is known.  Kenny wants a left-handed bat that he can stick in the middle of his lineup.  The problem is that there doesn't seem any other general managers out there right now who are willing to talk trade with the most aggressive GM in the sport.

"We're always in the same mode," Williams told the Tribune.  "It's just kind of waiting for other teams to get in the same mode of wanting to do things and be kind of more aggressive along those lines of moving personnel around.

"As of right now, there's nothing to report. When there's something to announce, we'll announce it."

Clayton Kershaw And Joe Torre Suspended, Confusion Still Reigns From Tuesday Night Fiasco

MLB has handed down suspensions to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer from the latest, and perhaps one of the strangest, chapter in the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. Kershaw was suspended five games -- or one turn in the rotation -- for intentionally throwing at Aaron Rowand during the seventh inning of Tuesday night's Dodgers loss.

Torre's suspension is automatic as any manager of a team who hits an opposing batter after warnings have been issued is required to sit one game, which Torre chose to serve on Wednesday night in the series finale. Kershaw is appealing his suspension, so he will continue to play until MLB makes a decision on his appeal.

Of course, with Torre sitting out Wednesday night's game, that means Don Mattingly will get another shot at running the club, and he's likely hoping this turn at the helm goes a lot smoother than his last one...

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Lou Piniella To Retire Following Season

By now I'm sure you've heard the news that comes as a shock to absolutely nobody who has been paying attention to baseball on the north side for the last few years.

Lou Piniella is going to retire as a manager at the end of the 2010 season.

Brandon Inge Will Miss 4-6 Weeks With Broken Bone in Hand

Dustin Nippert wasn't the only player who had to leave the Rangers/Tigers game thanks to a heat-seeking baseball on Monday night in Detroit. Nippert took a line drive off the bat of Austin Jackson to the right side of his head and had to leave the game in the sixth inning.

Three innings earlier Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge was hit in the left hand by a Scott Feldman fastball, and though he stayed in the game before being pulled in the fourth, the x-rays on Inge's hand showed exactly what the Tigers feared.

Inge has a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand and the team expects he'll be out for four to six weeks....


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Phil Cuzzi Plays Large Role In Mets Win Over Giants

The ninth inning between the Mets and Giants on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco was exciting enough, but thankfully Phil Cuzzi - who was once fired as a minor league umpire and is no stranger to controversial (read: bad) calls -- and the rest of the umpiring crew did their best to push things over the top. Including Cuzzi making a call that ended up costing the Giants a victory.

The Giants went into the home half of the ninth trailing the Mets 3-1 and with the daunting task of scoring two runs against Francisco Rodriguez in front of them. Luckily for the Giants, Rodriguez wasn't having his best day, and they had runners at second and third with one out for pinch hitter Travis Ishikawa.

Ishikawa singled to center to bring home both runners and tie the game, and then moved to third on a double by Andres Torres. Which is when things got really interesting...

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Scott Kazmir Placed On Disabled List

Angels pitcher Scott Kazmir is taking a trip to a place he's been quite familiar with throughout his young career, the disabled list. The official reason for Kazmir's two weeks off is being referred to as shoulder fatigue by the Angels, but you have to wonder if he just didn't pull a muscle in his neck from turning his head to watch the rockets opposing hitters have been launching.

Kazmir hasn't pitched since July 10, and it was quite the record-setting performance. He gave up 13 runs in five innings against the Athletics. Turns out that the 13 runs tallied against the lefty are the most against any pitcher in Angels franchise history...

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Derrick Rose Hurt LeBron's Feelings

So as we know, LeBron James did not come to Chicago to join the Bulls this summer.  Instead he went and took his talents to South Beach along with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade.  Still, according to reports that we heard in the weeks leading up to "The Decision" Chicago was one of LeBron's top choices as to where he'd play this season.

We've also heard a lot of reasons as to why James didn't choose Chicago since he went to Miami, whether it was because he didn't like the team's presentation, or the fact they wouldn't meet his demands, etc.

The fact is the only reason LeBron didn't come to Chicago was because the Bulls didn't have enough cap space to sign him, Wade and Bosh.  We now know that the plan amongst that trio was to play together all along.

We know this thanks to people like Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, who in my opinion, and many others, has been fantastic and invaluable during this whole process.  In Adrian's latest article on LeBron, and the whole backstory behind this summer, he also drops an interesting tidbit about something that cooled LeBron towards the Bulls.

It wasn't the team's presentation, or being unwilling to meet his personal demands.  No, it was that Derrick Rose didn't call him to recruit him to Chicago.

Dan Duquette Thinks We'll Know The Truth About Clemens And Steroids Soon

Do you remember steroids?

They were all the rage in baseball for the last few years, and may have contributed to some of the record feats were all witnessed over the last decade and a half or so. They're largely forgotten about now as the game and fans seem to have both moved on, whether it's due to short attention spans or just being completely worn down by all the talk about it during those glory days of HGH and bathroom stall injections...

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Russell Branyan's Toe Attacked By Hotel Room Table

It seems that every season in baseball there are a couple of injuries to players that when you hear how they happened, you either don't believe the story, or you just laugh at the sheer idiocy. I mean, it's always nice to find out that athletes do some of the same idiotic things you find yourself doing once in a while.

Russell Branyan had a moment like that early Thursday morning. Branyan, who was just re-acquired by the Seattle Mariners in a trade a few weeks ago, was left out of the Mariners' lineup on Thursday night because of a bad toe. A toe that was allegedly the victim of a vicious attack from a hotel room table...

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Justin Morneau Still Out of Twins Lineup, Thinks He's Headed for the DL

After missing the final weekend before the All Star break thanks to a concussion, Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins were hoping that a few days off would help Morneau and he would be back with the team in the second half.

Well, the chances of that happening aren't looking too good.

Morneau tried working out Friday before the Twins start a big four-game series at home against the division leading White Sox, but still felt woozy and said afterward that he thinks there's a stint on the disabled list in his near future...

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The White Sox Are In First Place At The All-Star Break

It was the night of June 9 and everyone in Chicago was watching the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate their first Stanley Cup in 49 years after Patrick Kane scored the winning goal in overtime during game six of the Stanley Cup Final in Philadelphia.  It was a wonderful moment in the city, but it was also somewhat sad.

For Chicago sports fans knew they had to endure a summer of watching two pretty futile baseball teams.

On that same day the Chicago White Sox were 25-33 and in third place in the AL Central, 9.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins.  Well, it's July 11 now, and we've reached the All-Star break.

And the White Sox are in first place.

Mark Cuban Part Of Newest Group Bidding On The Rangers

They may have Cliff Lee now, but the Texas Rangers still don't have an owner. Now that a judge has ruled the Rangers basically be auctioned off to the highest bidder, putting Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg at risk of falling out of contention, it's basically anybody's game.

And that anybody could include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

According to a report in the New York Post, Cuban will be joining a group including Dallas businessman Jeff Beck and former agent Dennis Gilbert to put in a bid on the Rangers. Cuban declined comment on his involvement saying only that he'd been contacted and "can't say anything else."..

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Misses Aside, I'm Liking Where This Bulls Roster Is Going

The NBA free agency period has been crazy.  Perhaps no example showing the insanity of it all better than the fact that not one, but two teams were willing to give Tyrus Thomas $8 million a year.  First the Nets, with crazy Russian mobster owner spurned by the big three, made an offer to Thomas for five years and $40 million, and then crazy gambling owner Michael Jordan and the Bobcats matched the offer.

So Thomas is staying in Charlotte where he'll be making $8 million a year.  That's a million dollars a year for every point per game that Tyrus has averaged during his career.

Oh, and then there's the fact that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will all be playing in Miami next season.  Perhaps you've heard that news somewhere in the last few days.

Report: Dodgers Belisario Undergoing Substance Abuse Treatment

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed reliever Ronald Belisario on the restricted list earlier this week without giving a reason as to why they were placing him on the list. Now, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Bellsario has left the team so he can begin treatment in a substance abuse program.

The paper's source spoke on the condition of anonymity, and would not comment on what substance it was that Belisario is reportedly receiving treatment for. Dodger general manager Ned Coletti declined to comment on the situation, and manager Joe Torre said that he knew nothing about Belisario's situation...

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Jake Peavy To Have Surgery Wednesday, Will Miss Rest of Season

While the Chicago White Sox breathed a sigh of relief on Friday afternoon upon hearing the news Cliff Lee was heading to Texas instead of Minnesota, they also found out they lost of pitcher of their own. Jake Peavy, who had to leave his start during the second inning on Tuesday after detaching his latissimus dorsi muscle, will have to undergo surgery next week and miss the rest of the season.

Peavy will have the surgery performed at Chicago's Rush Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday and hopes to be healthy enough to begin throwing again next spring...

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In Which Joe Cowley Illustrates Jake Peavy's Injury

We got an update on Jake Peavy's injury during Tuesday night's game, and it turns out to be somewhat good news, actually.  Preliminary tests show that Peavy doesn't have a problem in his elbow or shoulder, but a strained latissimus dorsi muscle.  Of course, I have no idea what the hell a latissimus dorsi muscle is, but thankfully we have the Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley.

As he said himself, he's not a doctor but he does watch a lot of House.  He also is one of this generations greatest artists, as can be seen in his depiction of what Peavy's injury is.

So Peavy's basically got a strained muscle in his back.  I'd expect a trip to the disabled list for him, but considering the alternatives -- I thought his year was over when I first saw him jump off the mound in pain -- that's not a bad outcome.

Vinny Del Negro Got A Job

Since I'm trying to distract myself from seeing Jake Peavy walking off the field in pain during the White Sox game tonight, and I don't want to talk about LeBron James announcing he'll have a press conference on Thursday night at 8pm Central -- which will be televised by ESPN, natch -- to announce his decision on where he'll play next year, I thought I'd turn my attention to this.

Vinny Del Negro got a job!

It seems that the finely-coiffed, and first name mispronouncing, former head coach of the Bulls has landed himself the new gig as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Because, really, where has there ever been a better fit for Vinny than the Clipper?  I can't wait until his press conference in which he talks about how excited he is to coach a point guard like Brian Davis.

Seriously, though, Vinny did a pretty decent job while in Chicago.  So he has no clue how to draw up a play, that's what assistant coaches are for.  The man took a team that was doing nothing but setting itself up to fail miserably in free agency this summer for the last two years, and got them to the playoffs in both seasons.

He deserves another shot somewhere, and I'm glad he's getting it.  Even if it is the Clippers.

Rangers Fan Falls Thirty Feet From Second Deck

There was a very scary moment during Tuesday night's Rangers/Indians game in Arlington, as a fan fell from the second deck club level of the stadium to the seats below during the bottom of the fifth inning. He had been reaching for a foul ball off the bat of Nelson Cruz when it caromed off the facade of the stadium. The fan then, with his back to the field, reached up and over his head when he lost balance and tumbled over the railing....

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Dmitri Young Arrested For Drug Possession In Illinois

If Dmitri Young was planning on going online to toss a few votes his brother Delmon's way to help him get on the American League All-Star team this morning, odds are that his attempts were delayed a while.

That's because they don't have the internet in jail, and that's precisely where Dmitri Young was on Monday morning after being arrested in Bloomington, Illinois for possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana....

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B.J. Upton Not Happy About Sitting On Monday Night

It's been a pretty bad week or so for Rays outfielder B.J. Upton, and on Monday times didn't get any easier for Upton. The week started when he got into an argument with Evan Longoria in the Rays dugout last Sunday when Longoria felt Upton didn't hustle after a ball in the outfield. The two had to be separated by teammates.

Upton was then out of the lineup on Tuesday, and missed the next three games due to a sore right quad. So maybe Upton had a reason for not going all out after that ball. Still, he was back in the lineup over the weekend, but then saw he was on the bench again for Tampa's game against Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox.

Which confused Upton a great deal...

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