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Bedard is currently on the DL with a sore shoulder, after having dealt with a sore back all season. He's not well-liked in Seattle, he won't talk to the media, etc. For what it would cost to get him, I'd rather not.

This contains great information for those who don't understand how comp picks work, or for those with an eye on a possible deal with San Diego. I'll put this in the trade rumors forum, but I almost think it should be pinned at the top of several forums, given the number of questions we get on these topics. Great stuff, from an insider. http://itmightbedangerous.blogspot.com/2008/07/verdict-is-in.html At the conclusion of the season every free agent will be ranked, and only the Type A and Type B free agents carry any kind of compensation with them. This is roughly the top 30% of players (overall, not just free agents) in terms of performance both on a one-year and multi-year look. For the Club to receive any compensation a few things have to happen: 1) The Club must offer the player arbitration (sometimes a risky proposition) 2) The Player must reject the offer of arbitration 3) The Player must sign a Major League contract with another organization I love this one... The Volume Myth I have to address this one, because we always joke about it internally. Overwhelming teams with volume is not a recipe for bringing back quality players. Every team out there is smart enough to know that four times zero is still zero: "But what if we add this 4A guy AND this marginal prospect? No? Well then... what if we were to add this long reliever as well?" :-) It takes quality, not quantity, to get quality.

I'll dig deeper into this over the weekend, (maybe I'll write an article on this), but as of this moment, here's what faces each of the playoff contenders after the All-Star Break. Games remaining vs teams with winning records as of tonight's games: Florida 38-26-3 (AZ is at .500) Chicago 34-30-3 Philadelphia 30-35 New York 30-37 St Louis 28-31-7 Milwaukee 23-44 Los Angeles 14-40-13 Arizona 13-54 OK, the Dodgers are one game under .500, while AZ is right at .500, and they play each other 13 times - it's basically the same strength of schedule, (which is to say "garbage", because most of it is against their own weak division). My bet is, one of those teams goes 7-6 in the head-to-head games, and neither team really gets into the wild card race. Marlins - good luck, you not only have the Phillies and Mets to deal with - you have the toughest schedule in the lot. Cubbies - you're next, don't relax just yet! Mets and Phillies - basically even, both teams have an edge on the Marlins the rest of the way, but no edge over one another. The loser here in the division race should absolutely be a factor in the wild card chase. Cardinals - very similar to the Phillies and Mets, if they can maintain the pace they've set, they might be able to get in there. Brewers - well, well - the most favorable remaining schedule outside of the NL West. Very nice. Folks, look that over, among leading contenders for the NL Central, and the wild card, the Brewers have the fewest remaining games vs teams that have winning records to this point ( I did not count anyone's remaining series prior to the break). Even if you give the Cubs a slight break, and change AZ's record to below .500, that would leave the Cubs at 34-33, eleven fewer games remaining vs teams with losing records.

The Cubs have two stretches after that break that could derail them: They come out of the break with six on the road, followed by four vs the Marlins, and then four in Milwaukee - if they come through that in good shape, I think August, and the first week of September are generally favorable for them. Take a look at the Cubs' schedule after Sept. 7. Of their final 19 games, only a 3-game set at Houston is not against the Brewers, Mets or Cardinals. They could end up crawling to the finish, rather than sprinting through it. http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=chc&m=9&y=2008 The Cardinals start with four vs San Diego, but then it's four vs Milwaukee, three at NY, and four at Atlanta to close July - and then Philly and the Dodgers at home for their first six games in August - that's a tough stretch. St Louis has a lot of games left with the Reds, and if they're close at the end, they finish with seven home games, including the final three with Cincy. The Marlins and Cardinals could trip each other up, they still play each other seven times - four in FL. I think the Brewers have it the best of the three teams, but there are two danger spots. The first is right away to finish July, a stretch which includes four at St Louis, and four vs the Cubs. If the Brewers make it through that stretch in good shape, August certainly looks favorable, unless they pull the traditional west coast flop. The Brewers open Sept. with nine at home, (the first three with the Mets), and then comes the one other really ugly spot on the schedule - ten on the road, starting with four in Philly, then three in Chicago. As with St Louis, the Brewers finish up with two home series', including the final three with the Cubs. Chicago certainly has the toughest finish of the three, and I think Milwaukee has the most favorable schedule of the three, with St Louis facing a test over the first 3-4 weeks after the break. This should be a wild finish!

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(Harang as well but he hasn't looked as good lately and he faces Sabathia) Harang has been scratched from that start.

My primary concern would be the Mets and the Marlins. I don't count Philly, because they're currently in first place, and somebody has to win each division, I'm most concerned about competition for the wild card. I'm not worried about anyone in the NL West, because two teams there would have to get hot for one of them to enter into the wild card mix. I could imagine somebody having a great month over there, but I wouldn't expect two teams to pull it off - they just aren't that good. St Louis deserves huge credit for what they've done, but if they don't improve themselves via trades, I just don't think they can hang in there for another 2 1/2 months. Mulder wasn't able to help, and I'd bet against Carpenter too, you just can't expect immediate impact from a guy who's been out that long. It's going to be a race, for sure, very possibly into that final series with the Cubs, but I absolutely think the Brewers are the favorites to win the NL wild card. We'll see what happens with trades over the next few weeks, but I think the Mets are a little too old, and the Marlins are a little too young. They'll stay close, and the Cardinals might too, but the Sabathia deal does look like it sets Milwaukee apart.

I do not wish to be considered, just writing to thank Pedro.

I might be bothered by it if the Brewers hadn't drafted about 300 pitchers last month. I think Anundsen is a fine prospect, as is Jeffress, and here come the rookie leaguers!

I had hoped for two of three vs the Pirates, three of four vs the Rockies, and two of three vs the Reds. I took the wrong route, but I could still get there. Go Brewers! Watch out for the Mets.

Congratulations to Corey Hart, and to Milwaukee Brewers fans everywhere, who are just blowing the world away right now.

I'll take Evan Anundsen. His ERA is .65 below the league average, his WHIP is .10 below the league average, and his BB/K rate is better than 3 to 1.

I believe they were saying 19 of the first 20 picks had signed, not rounds 1-20.

Tom H had this response to several emailers who thought Ned would stick with Mota: "I don't think Ned has any intention of using Mota again. If you saw him squirm after the game when asked about him, you'd agree." Good.

Yep, you can't make a huge move like the Sabathia trade, and then stop with work left to be done - it makes no sense. Mota has to go, and the team also needs to be ready to fix the leadoff spot - if so many fans, and now the beat writer can see the obvious, I have no doubt that Melvin, Ash and Co are on it.

Several sources have reported a drop in velocity for Harden, and a bit less command, over his last two starts. I'm not trying to suggest an injury, but the velocity absolutely was down about 5 MPH over the last two starts.

I hadn't noticed that until this season, but I certainly have this year. I usually see it when he's sitting in the dugout, after running the bases.

I think AZ could do almost anything this month, they're certainly in the race, but they're also an average team that may not score enough runs to get full benefit out of their pitching staff. Steve Phillips says they've been discussing Mark Reynolds in trade talks. I have no idea if that's accurate, but just the mention of it surprised me, he's young, and he's got power - which is something they need more of.

OOPS! Fixed mine.

8 runs 17 pitches

I read an interesting article today, which reviewed the Cubs' trade for Rich Harden, and its impact on the NL Central race. The author, Rick Morrisey, was very fair - openly admitting that the Brewers got the best man available when they dealt for Sabathia, and acknowledging the possibilities for the Brewers. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080708-morrissey-rich-harden-chicago-cubs,1,7633176.column Near the end of the piece, he made a statement which I found very interesting: The Cubs-Brewers showdown could end up being a battle of attrition. Milwaukee's other star pitcher, Ben Sheets, has a history of injuries that makes Harden's look like amateur hour. Sheets' injury history makes Harden's look like amateur hour? OK, any Brewers fan will tell you Ben has missed too much time, that's not a news story, but is it fair to say Ben has been less durable than Rich Harden? My first reaction was, NO WAY, so I looked into it. Sheets broke into the major leagues in 2001, pitching 151 1/3 innings. Over the next three seasons, Ben started 102 games (34 each year), for a total of 674 1/3 innings pitched (IP). During this three-year run, Sheets averaged 34 starts, 225 IP per season. Harden broke into the major leagues in 2003, pitching 74 2/3 innings. The next season, he threw 189.2 IP, in 31 starts. This is the only time in his career that Harden has topped 128 IP in a season. From 2005 through 2007, Sheets did suffer one significant injury, also an inner ear disorder, and a series of unrelated maladies, which caused him to miss significant time. Over these three seasons, Sheets averaged 21 starts per season, with an average of 134.2 IP. There is no doubt, Ben missed a lot of time during these seasons. From 2005 through 2007, Harden was a 200 IP horse - if you're willing to combine all three seasons. In this three year period, when Sheets provided 404 IP, Rich Harden gave the A's a total of 200.1 IP. So far in 2008, Sheets has started 17 games, missing only one start, while covering 117 IP. So far in 2008, Harden has started 13 games, covering 77 IP, and was on the disabled list for a month. Sheets has 16 career complete games, including three this season - Harden has 2 complete games in his career - none since 2005. Mr Morrissey, thank you for a fair article, with an accurate assessment of both trades, but you are wrong, it seems that Mr Harden's injury history does, in fact, make Mr Sheets' injury history look like amateur hour.

Rickie hit the ball very well last night, and fielded well too. (Oh please, oh please, oh please) I'd welcome Durham as a platoon-mate and bench player, and if things broke that way, he could man second base down the stretch. Given his age, and the hamstring issues he's had at times, I think using him in a part-time role, and then having him fresh later on, is the best way to go.

Let's get this thread back on topic - Damaso Marte.