Let's flash back to early May, when there were happier times for Jimmy and Sarah. At that time, of the 11 small market teams with payrolls under $70 million, four of them lead their respective divisions, two of them were in second place, and all but two were still in their division races.  That situation has changed… slightly.  Two lead their respective divisions, two are just a half game back, two are looking up at the best team in baseball, one is in the race at 14 games under .500, and the rest are essentially out of it.  However, asking prices are up.  This crop of GM's isn't giving away something for nothing.  So don't expect the fire sales of the past, as many small market teams seem to believe they're closer to competitiveness than you might expect.  Some are right, and some sadly are the Washington Nationals.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Week: 0-3          L10: 4-6          Overall: 51-47, 2nd AL West

Before the trade deadline could be seen coming around the corner, Billy Beane fired the opening salvos, trading Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubbies for minor league prospects. Never afraid to shake up his team even in the midst of a pennant race, it's the type of trade Beane is known for. He moves a known starter (even ace) to a place where he can't immediately damage Oakland and acquires more talent for the future (Note the Dan Haren deal this past off season). Beane wasn't done there. Just after the break, innings eater Joe Blanton was pushed over to the Phillies.
For Harden and Gaudin, the A's prime target was Sean Gallagher, a 22-year old hard-throwing right-hander. Gallagher didn't disappoint in his A's debut against the Angels, when he struck out seven in seven and earned the victory. Then against the Yanks Saturday he tossed five innings, striking out seven while yielding two earned runs. He didn't figure in the decision. In addition, Beane's security in the deal is bolstered by his young arms down below in the form of Gio Gonzalez and Double-A strikeout leader Trevor Cahill.

Matt Murton, also acquired in the Harden deal, becomes another viable major league bat, though he's no cure for their AL-worst team .249 batting average (Murton's batting .228 this year through 57 at-bats).  Adrian Cardenas, part of the Blanton trade, may give them the future leadoff hitter they're looking for.  The 20-year-old is batting .309 and has 16 SBs and a .374 OBP through 67 games for Single-A Clearwater.  Also acquired in their recent deals were left-handed hurler Josh Outman, who will be 23 in October, outfielder Matt Spencer, second baseman Eric Patterson, and catcher Josh Donaldson.

It's clear that Daric Barton won't be joining the Olympic diving team.  Over the break, Barton smacked his head against the bottom of his friend's pool (obviously performing his famous triple somersault with a half twist pike) and will be on the 15-day DL.  Welcome back to the big leagues Wes Bankston, who has made nine appearances thus far from July 2-10.  During that span he hit .294 with a homer and three RBI.  Bobby Crosby is due to return this week from the DL, which will most likely signify Gregorio Petit's demotion.  Ryan Sweeney also returned to the lineup, immediately relieving Kurt Suzuki of leadoff duties.

UPCOMING SERIES: @TAM (7/21-7/23), TEX (7/25-7/27)


ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Week: 1-2          L10: 5-5           Overall: 48-50, 1st NL West

The talk of Cliff Lee and John Danks for the AL Cy Young award winner has me looking toward Arizona.  Though Brandon Webb came out of the gate fast and furious, it was been Dan Haren that has been ridiculously unhittable nearly all year long.  Haren has only three starts where he's relinquished more hits than innings pitched all year.  Conversely, he has eight starts where he struck out as many or more batters than innings pitched.  He has posted a PQS in his last eight starts.  While Webb has faded into more inconsistency as of late, it seems Haren is just getting warmed up.

With Eric Byrnes relegated to watching again (and the Diamondbacks rumored to be pushing Byrnes to give up the season for hamstring surgery) Chad Tracy has stepped it up in a mean way.  For the month of July he's hitting .404 with a .415 OBP.  Considering Arizona's offensive ranking has fallen to 20th in the majors, expect Tracy to see more playing time now, even with the reacquisition of Tony Clark.  Clark will give Bob Melvin a decent switch-hitting bat off the bench, as well as the flexibility to rotate Tracy into the outfield. 

Justin Upton was placed on the 15-day DL to make room for Clark.  The Arizona Republic reports he could be activated as soon as Thursday, but with an oblique strain, there's a good chance he could take longer in his return.  Upton returned to form in the first week of July, hitting .304 with two homers, after a .123 June.

Lastly, Diamondbacks setup man Chad Qualls is apparently suffering from a strain in his back according to the Arizona Republic.  He's trying to avoid DL time, that would put further strain on a bullpen that has already blown 16 saves, good for sixth in all MLB.  With Juan Cruz on the DL already, Tony Pena will likely take over set-up duties until Cruz returns, which should be sometime in late July.

UPCOMING SERIES: CHC (7/21-7/23), @SFO (7/25-7/27)

Chris was selected by the Marlins in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2005 First Year Player Draft. Photo Credit: kla4067

FLORIDA MARLINS
Week: 2-1          L10: 7-3           Overall: 52-46, 3rd NL East

In what was an important early second-half series for the Marlins, the Fish hoped newfound ace Ricky Nolasco would continue his winning ways.  But Nolasco's slightly high HR/9 rate of 1.3 came back to bite him, as he gave up two long-balls and four runs in a loss to the Phillies.  Nolasco has logged 123 2/3 innings, putting him just 16 shy of his career high workload.  I still say sell high while you can. 

Andrew Miller makes a trip to the DL after knee tendinitis continues to hamper him.  Miller's control issues are still the big issue, and a knee problem certainly isn't going to help that.  Jesus Delgado has been recalled from Double-A Carolina to move into the bullpen after tossing a nine-pitch ninth inning to close the door on Team USA in the futures game.  His fastball, clocked at 98 MPH, definitely caught the attention of a team holding onto Kevin Gregg's high walk rate.  However, don’t crown Delgado the king of close just yet. In Triple-A Albuquerque Delgado struggled to the tune of an 11.81 ERA in just six games.

Chris Volstad landed his first victory in his first start, going 8 2/3 innings and striking out six.  The impressive part of the victory was that of the other 19 outs, 15 were by ground ball.  His GO/AO ratio in the minor leagues was just as impressive at a 2.18.  He's a guy to monitor, as well as returning starter Josh Johnson, who struck out six in five innings of work upon his return this past week.  Either Doug Waechter or Mark Hendrickson will likely fill in for Miller. 

UPCOMING SERIES: ATL (7/21-7/23), @CHC  (7/24-7/27)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Week: 2-1          L10: 4-6           Overall: 38-61, 5th NL East

It seems that every week there is a new injury.  This time it's Dmitri Young and his diabetes.  Overweight to begin with, GM Jim Bowden spoke about Young's new stint on the DL as an attempt to get him back into the kind of shape he was in when he won Comeback Player of the Year last season.  Young will head to Florida for an indefinite amount of time.

In his last six starts, Willie Harris has five multi-hit games, adding of all things, two home runs.  Harris, whose previous career best for a season was two HR, has now tripled that on the year.  At 30, perhaps Harris is in his peak year. He's garnering playing time only because of the multitude of injuries in the Nationals' ranks.  Last year, Harris had a strong year filling in for Atlanta, and eventually won a starting job.  He finished with career highs in batting average, doubles and stolen bases.  This year Harris' GB/FB ratio has also moved in his favor to 0.88.  Make no mistake about it, he's still more likely to leg out a double than to hit a deep ball to the power alleys, but the power is welcome. With his promotion to the front of the lineup and his .366 OBP, expect Harris to increase his steal numbers.  He may be worth acquiring for that alone, particularly if he's available in NL-only leagues.

While the Nationals consider unloading Tim Redding and his one million per annum, they have to be scratching their heads at the 6.2 million spent on Johnny Estrada and Paul Lo Duca.  Considering that Jesus Flores has been as good a hitter as the Nationals have had, with Will Nieves not far behind, Bowden and company are stuck contemplating how they could have better spent their money.
  
UPCOMING SERIES: @SFO (7/22-7/24), @LAD (7/25-7/27)

BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Week: 2-2          L10: 3-7          Overall: 47-50, 5th AL East

Jeremy Guthrie finally secured his sixth win of the season.  I think he's a pitcher to target as a three or four on your staff because the issues that he's had aren't due to his numbers as much as they are to his lack of run support.  In his losses, the Orioles were averaging 1.43 runs per game.  That kind of luck is going to change, and considering he's among the league's best with 14 quality starts in 20 attempts, here's a candidate you might be able to get cheap or even snag off the waiver wire.  What's appealing to me about Guthrie is a 2.6 BB/9 rating in 135 innings, added to a command ratio over 2.0.  He's also more likely to figure in on most decisions since he pitches late into most games. The one concern is that he's not a dominator and his BABIP is a bit low for the first half (.261), but he's a guy likely to turn that 6-7 record into a 13-9 record, while keeping a low WHIP and solid ERA. 

Another Oriole who is traditionally a better second half performer is Aubrey Huff, who is on pace for a career year.  If you're looking for someone flying under the radar, Huff is on pace to hit 31 home runs, and nearly 100 RBI.  The biggest problem with Huff in the past is that he's been a streaky hitter, but this year he appears to have turned a corner.  Huff's contact rate is 85 percent per his career, but his GB/FB ratio has evened out much closer to one, which explains his 19 home runs and 29 doubles in the first half (his career highs are 34 and 47).  He only faces the Twins and A's, two teams who have had his number so far this year, for one more three-game series the rest of the way.  Add to that the fact that Huff is also both 1B/3B eligible, and he'll garner you probably 12 to 13 more home runs, 30 to 40 RBI and 20 to 30 more runs. 

UPCOMING SERIES: TOR (7/21-7/23), LAA (7/25-7/27)

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Week: 0-4           L10: 3-7          Overall: 44-54, 6th NL Central

With the Rockies sweeping the Pirates, the Pirates have pretty much resigned themselves to another losing season.  Trade rumors, mostly concerning Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, continue to be top gossip amongst the pundits.  Jack Wilson's name has also been bandied about, and he may be the most likely player to be moved.  Los Angeles has shown the most interest, which may pique Wilson as well considering he's a native of the city.

The Pirates have also been auditioning many young arms, the most recent of which has been Yoslan Herrera.  However, based on two starts, six innings, 19 hits, and 13 earned runs, Herrera may not be ready. The proverbial pitching ticket dispenser is outside the Pirates locker room once again with another Triple-A starting pitcher grabbing the next number and just waiting for someone to shout "Next!" 

It appears that whomever the Pirates trade for, the aim will be to acquire more young arms.  Herrera jumped from Triple-A Altoona because the Pirates have so little to choose from, even at their Triple-A affiliate. The Pirates gave up on Brian Bullington earlier this year, and have John Van Benschoten sitting on the cusp of the same sort of exile. At 10 games under .500, the Pirates odds of a winning season are slipping away.

UPCOMING SERIES: @HOU (7/21-7/23), SDG (7/24-7/27)

TEXAS RANGERS
Week: 1-2           L10: 5-5          Overall: 51-48, 3rd AL West

The Texas Rangers have to feel a bit unlucky.  At two games over .500, and with Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley leading the way, they've surpassed expectations for the year. Yet looking up, they can see the tails of Oakland and Los Angeles threatening to exclude them from Western Division festivities.  The Rangers have ten games remaining with each team, and for both, seven of them are away.  The Rangers are 25-27 on the road, so for them, having that kind of information is akin to that of a man approaching 40 being told of his forthcoming colonoscopy.  Happy times.

With five starting pitchers and three relievers on the DL, it's a tribute to this offense that they're even in the race.  Both Vicente Padilla and Eric Hurley return this week, cutting that number by a quarter.  Padilla has been fair, posting a 10-5 record with 4.70 ERA.  His problem is that he walks way too many batters. For the year he has a 3.52 BB/9 (Control) ratio.  The good news is that although he's not a WHIP lover, Padilla may be a guy to consider if you need wins.  Unless the Rangers offense falls into a canyon, they'll bail him out from some of his sub-par outings.  I see 5-7 more Ws coming in the second half.

The Rangers added yet another catcher to their roster, further fueling speculation that if Gerald Laird ever gets healthy, he could be traded.  That or they over-budgeted this year on catcher's mitts and are holding a summer clearance sale.  Taylor Teagarden (if he isn't British, he should be made a citizen of the U. K. on the name alone) was called up Saturday, and single-handedly beat the Twins with a solo shot off Scott Baker in the sixth.  Regardless of the reason, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is not impressing the Rangers' owners, and even though it's more likely Max Ramirez will be optioned back to Double-A, Saltalamacchia's stock has dropped.

Lastly, as the deadline approaches, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting the Rangers may look to move Hank Blalock and/or Frank Catalanotto.  Blalock was expected to return and play first base, which certainly would have likely kept him healthier.  But it appears Chris Davis is going to stay put there, leaving both possibly expendable.  Though his average is .239, Davis has powered seven home runs in just 64 at-bats.

UPCOMING SERIES: @CHW (7/21-7/23), @OAK (7/25-7/27)

TAMPA BAY RAYS
Week: 2-1           L10: 2-8           Overall: 57-40, 1st AL East

Add Troy Percival to the head of the committee that is the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen.  Shift your relief pitchers one slot back, with Dan Wheeler likely to reprise his role as setup man, moving Grant Balfour and J. P. Howell behind him.  Balfour has been lights out – four saves in four tries, with 36 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings but is stuck in the midst of too many relievers.  If the Rays want a bat, I think he or Dan Wheeler is a possible carrot here.  Both are 30, and either could close for a team in need.

Percival turns 39 this August, and hamstrings are the muscles that show the aging process most.  Expecting Troy's hamstrings to hold up the rest of the year without aggravation may be expecting a bit too much.  It's safe to expect save opportunities will be given to some other pitchers in an effort to retain Percival's health for the playoff run. 

James Shields owners might want to note, that much like Paul Maholm of the Pirates, Shields enjoys the confines of his home turf a little too much.  At Tropicana Field he's 6-1 with a measly 2.05 ERA.  Away from home, Shields posts a sickly 6.26 ERA with a 2-5 record.  You may want to plan his starts accordingly. 

The Rays first round pick of 2007, David Price, has been simply dominant down in Double-A Montgomery.  In four starts, Price has posted a 2.03 ERA, striking out 25 in 31 innings pitched.   His 25:10 K/BB ratio isn't astounding, but he's given up only 26 hits and seven earned runs.  His promotion from Single-A Vero came after he posted 1.82 ERA and 37 strikeouts in just 34 2/3 innings. 

UPCOMING SERIES: OAK (7/21-7/23), @KC (7/24-7/27)

COLORADO ROCKIES
Week: 4-0          L10: 5-5          Overall: 43-57, 3rd NL West

Matt Holliday is rumored to essentially be off the trading block, mainly because the kind of value the Rockies want in return would require playoff race teams to part with too much to make it worthwhile. 

In his second full year, Chris Iannetta may finally be arriving at the major league level.  Though he's been a streaky hitter (.324 April, .231 May, .308 June, .365 July), there's no doubt this year that he's become more of the hitter they were expecting.  He's hitting a home run every 17.9 at-bats, has increased his GB/FB ratio to 0.83, and has a .378 OBP.  Defensively, he's allowed too many stolen bases, but as a catcher, Iannetta is moving up.

Brian Fuentes is drawing interest from around the league, and there's nothing like the Pirates offense to help boost value.  Back-to-back saves in back-to-back 1-2-3 innings for Fuentes, and word is he won't make it past the trade deadline.  The bad news is that he's unlikely to close for whoever picks him up.  If you don't have Manuel Corpas on your roster to back up Fuentes, you need to add him. Corpas' fantasy value has just doubled because the Rockies management has strong faith he can do the job.  After all, they're only six games back in the woeful west and actually have a shot at another division title.  Me personally, I gambled on Fuentes winning the role in Colorado and it has panned out beautifully.  So for the next week or so I'm milking it for every save I can and then I'm going to do what all fantasy players do when they can't trade a closer-turned-set-up-man...Cry.

UPCOMING SERIES: LAD (7/21-7/23), @CIN (7/25-7/27)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Week: 2-1          L10: 6-4         Overall: 45-54, 4th AL Central

With the call-up of Billy Butler came questions again about whether the 22-year-old could raise his .233 average.  Recently, Butler has worked on changing his stance and where he was in proximity to the plate.  The result was a 4-for-9, one homer, seven RBI series against the White Sox.  Though he has raised his season average over 20 points, Butler is still struggling with a .178 average for the month of July and a 0.86 contact rate, so it's not time to drink the Kool Aid just yet.

General Manager Dayton Moore moved 10 players during a two-week span last year.  This year, rumor has it that the Royals are not as interested in giving up players so easily.  Jose Guillen would be the most likely to be moved even though the Royals signed him to a three-year, $36 million deal this past off-season.  He's one of the few bats out there that could be acquired without a team sacrificing its whole future.  And several teams could really use one -- Diamondbacks, Dodgers, we're thinking of you.  Or maybe the worst pinch-hitting team in the league, the Cubs at .157. 

UPCOMING SERIES: DET (7/21-7/23), TAM (7/25-7/27)

MINNESOTA TWINS
Week: 2-1           L10: 5-5           Overall: 55-43, 2nd AL Central

Rumors have been swirling that Minnesota might acquire Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre.  This would almost certainly spell a trade of Brian Buscher, who since his promotion from Triple-A on June 14, has hit .333 with two home runs and 21 RBI in just 27 games.  At 27 years old, there are many in Minneapolis who are pondering if this recent wunderkind isn't already hitting his peak, and thus is expendable.  I'd keep him on your fantasy team right now, as Buscher is an RBI machine, hitting .407 with RISP.

Meanwhile, in the soap opera that has become Francisco Liriano's life, Liriano's agent has accused Ron Gardenhire and the Twins of holding his client back for financial reasons.  Liriano's last three starts reminded Minnesota fans what the future of the franchise looks like: three victories, 21 IP, 13 H, 1 ER, 2 BB and 21 K.  With just one-half game separating the White Sox and Twins, one has to wonder where they're going to put Liriano.  The Twins staff is ranked 19th in the majors, yet they've been getting better each month.  In the months of June and July the Twins staff ranked seventh and fourth respectively in the bigs.

Obviously, there's chemistry and the starting rotation has gelled with Livan Hernandez, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Glenn Perkins.  They could choose to bring Liriano up when the rosters expand as Gardenhire seems to be in no hurry to rush him into the majors and suffer any sort of setback.  If I was Boof Bonser though, I might be a little concerned.  There's only so long a pitcher with Liriano's stuff can stay down, especially in the midst of a tight race.  Bonser has logged just four appearances in July and he's yielded five earned runs in only 4 2/3 innings.  Who would you rather have in your bullpen?

UPCOMING SERIES: @NYY (7/21-7/23), @CLE (7/25-7/27)

All statistics used in this week's article are through Sunday, July 20.

Jonathan Phillips is certainly willing to help Sarah Silverman with her grief therapy.  Or he'll gladly be the player to be named sooner in a trade with her management.  Or maybe he'll help her put together the first all-comics fantasy team.  Or maybe he'll just take your comments, advice and notes at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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