Nothing too exciting on the baseball front this weekend. Miguel Tejada’s streak came to an end as he was placed on the disabled list. One has to feel for Tejada because now he’s just another big name on a losing team. Before that fastball that fractured his wrist, he probably  looked forward to playing everyday…literally and figuratively.  Now that the streak is over, what does he have to look forward to?

I think his streak is slightly more interesting than Cal Ripkin Jr.’s streak. The main reason for that is because Tejada switched teams during the streak and that still did not deter him from playing everyday. Also,  Tejada really must have thought he could have reversed the Orioles’ misfortunes. Leaving a perreniel winner in Oakland to go to an unproven team in Baltimore must have been a hard decision even with the 6-year, $72 million contract that the Orioles offered.

So who is the next Ironman? Will it be a player from the current crop of Major Leaguers? Possibly. But it will take a very long time. Also, there are more obstacles today than in the past that make breaking Ripkin’s record almost impossible. But we’re talking about sports so “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings”.

The obstacles are collective bargaining disputes ( which make strikes more probable), budget constraints and injuries are just some of the more obvious ones. I think a respectable streak would be accomplished by a versatile player like a utility guy but in terms of offense and defense, with the AL adding another dimension via the DH. By that definition it would probably be Grady Sizemore, Juan Pierre and Jeff Francoeur. Their streaks are 269, 345, and about 300 respectively (no official check of Francoeur’s yet).

I think if anyone does it from this group it’ll be Grady Sizemore. He has the AL advantage of being able to DH or lead-off and then come out of the game. All three are interesting players.

In a true test of the name ‘Ironman’, Miguel Tejada faces playing with a “distal fracture of the left wrist” to keep his streak of consecutive games intact. Unfortunately for Tejada and the Orioles’, batting as the DH is not an option as they open a series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.

Tejada has the longest active streak in Major League Baseball with 1,152 consecutive games played.  When Cal Ripkin Jr. broke the record for consecutive games played, many of Ripkin’s baseball contemporaries felt he did the team more harm than good by playing everyday.

How strange is it though that the interim manager of the Orioles,  Dave Trembley faces a tough decision on letting Tejada play. If he allows Tejada to play, does that mean that one player is bigger than the game and the team? If he doesn’t let him play, could this mean that a new era in Orioles baseball has been ushered in? After 9 losing seasons, and fast becoming 10 seasons, change is inevitable and maybe it really starts with the Ironman streak.

UPDATE: It’s a done deal: Maroth to the Cardinals. Tigers get a PTBNL (Player to be named later).

It’s not yet official, but in a move to “bolster” but really “re-vamp” their starting rotation, the Cardinals appear to have traded for Mike Maroth. The player going to the Tigers is not yet known. When the Braves traded Macay McBride earlier this week, many speculated that Maroth was their target. That proved to be incorrect. The Tigers appear to be active traders this year.

Maroth is an inconsistent starter, but working with Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan could help him. His record this year all as a starter is 5-2 with a 5.06 ERA and a .319 BAA. Yikes! He’s not as bad as Jeff Weaver and Duncan sure helped him last year. Some of you may remember Maroth’s abysmal record in 2003 of 9-21. Since 2003 though, Maroth is 35-31. He makes about $2.95 million this year. A move to the NL should do him some good.

A look around the Majors would show the high price for pitching…particularly starting pitching. My issue, is with starters who seem capable of getting the work done but fail to live up to our expectations and scouting reports. Could it be that these individuals are just the result of poor managing? Maybe. The particular pitcher a lot of people expected better from is Kyle Davies.

Sadly, I’ve coined a nickname for Davies- five in five- and it means that he either gives up 5 Runs or lasts only 5 IP or both. If guys like John Smoltz think you’re a good pitcher, then the baseball public would tend to agree, after all a future HOFer speaking highly of you? But the evidence is there. I think something is wrong with Kyle Davies that his pitching coach can’t fix.

Don’t get me wrong, Davies is a good pitcher. Maybe, just maybe he needs a new environment. Not necessarily of the Major League kind.

• In 13 starts this year, he’s pitched 7 innings or more only 3 times. Guess which starts he won. All 3 of the starts in which he’s gone at least 7 innings, resulted in wins in not only for the team, but for Davies as well
• When he goes at least 7 IP, Davies has given up 3 Runs. One run in each start. Needless to say, his 3 W’s were quality starts.
• In 8 starts, Davies has failed to pass 5.1 IP. In those 8 starts, he’s given up 5 Runs…6 times. In the other two starts, he’s given up 4 Runs each. Granted it’s 5 Runs and not 5 Earned Runs. But he’s only been on the mound for bad Braves’ defense for 2 starts.

What am I getting at? Kyle Davies is still in the Braves starting rotation. It shows that teams simply can’t do better these days when it comes to starting pitching. A lot of teams are still in the hunt in their respective division and are hesitant to give up pitching of any kind. It’s highly unlikely that the Braves are simply waiting for Davies to “come around”. They are trying to win a division. It’s happening all around baseball. Livan Hernandez, Ervin Santana, Dontrelle, Zito and Dave Bush all of ERA’s of 4.5 and higher. But unless teams drop like flies in the various division races, for now starters who give up 5 Runs seem like the norm.

I came across and interesting article from Kevin Hench of Fox Sports. It’s about Roger Clemens’ success in his mid-40’s as a pitcher. I don’t think Hench is trying to rile anyone up. But he makes an interesting case. It’s one thing to say Clemens used steroids, and it’s a completely different thing to say it how Hench did.

He constructed the article very carefully making sure not to say that he thinks Roger used steriods. All Hench is saying, is that if the baseball public thinks that a baseball player is better in his late 30’s and early 40’s than he was say, in his 20’s and early 30’s, there is something wrong with that picture. We all know who the first poster-child was for that.

Joe Girardi declined the Orioles managerial job today. It’s unclear whether he was offered the job and declined it, or withdrew his name from being considered. In any event, this does not bode well for Girardi’s future as a manager.

Why would he decline the job after being interviewed? Remember Girardi withdrew his name from the Nationals’ list in the offseason. Girardi said, “It’s not like I’m sitting around waiting for a particular job.”

Really Joe? You’re not waiting for a particular job? Or are you waiting for THE job: Manager of the New York Yankees. One must admit that it does have a nice ring to it. But now, with Girardi turning down the Orioles and the Nationals, in the whole bust-up with his former employers from the Marlins, whose side should we have taken?

Girardi gave a reason for declining the job when he said, “At this point in time, it’s not right for me and my family.”

That further establishes that he was offered the job and then withdrew his name.  That doesn’t sound fair to me.

Milton Bradley was designated fo assignment today. His home for the last two years was not Oakland, but the Disabled List. A surprise move…but not really. The guy has been on the DL for the Athletics 5 times in 2 seasons. That’s worse than Chipper Jones. He was recalled from minors rehab and played last night against Cincinnati going 0-3 with a walk and SO.

Bradley is famous for his bust-up with former teammate Jeff Kent on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Also, Bradley is famous for possibly being named after the board game pioneer.

In any event, while this may be no fault of Bradley’s it’s a justified move for the tight-pocket A’s. For some reason this just reeks of a Braves pickup.

In designating Bradley, the A’s called up Kevin Melillo from Triple-A Sacramento. The A’s may be hoping that Melillo is slightly younger version of Jack Cust with his high OBP.

If voting ended today, the All-Star game starters for the American League would be as follows:

1B David Ortiz

2B Placido Polanco

SS Derek Jeter

3B Alex Rodriguez

C Ivan Rodriguez

OFIchiro Suzuki OF Manny Ramirez OF Vladimir Guerrerro

That’s a good list…a quality list. But some guys should be there…and some guys shouldn’t . As I said yesterday, MLB needs to do something about the way the starters are chosen. Even more, since they changed to the whole ” Winner gets homefield” concept, they need to change the way the players are chosen. It makes sense. It’s like upgrading your PC with a lot of cutting edge stuff, and using a “surge protector” from the $1 store. It doesn’t make sense.

My choices for the AL Starters based on performance:

1B David Ortiz

2B Placido Polanco

SS Derek Jeter

3B Alex Rodriguez

C Victor Martinez

OFMagglio Ordonez OF Torii Hunter OF Vladimir Guerrerro

The guys in bold are my changes to the list. I would have argued for Jorge Posada at Catcher, but 3 starting Yankees seems a little unfair don’t you think? And Victor Martinez is having the best year for Catchers in all of baseball.

Magglio Ordonez…where would the Tigers be without him. After Sheffield’s really slow start, Maggs has been raking the ball. He is a legit candidate to hit .400 and an early  MVP candidate.

Manny doesn’t deserve to start this year. He’s having an average-Manny year. Don’t get me wrong, an average-Manny year is a super year for regular outfielders, but Manny shouldn’t start this year. Torii Hunter needs to go to that game and start. I believe he started in the past when he robbed Barry Bonds with a sick catch. But Hunter’s having a career year and deserves to start. There seems to be no room for Ichiro…hmmm…

I would hate to say I told you so…Jason Schmidt had season-ending surgery on Wednesday. Apparently, the surgery was supposed to repair his right shoulder: torn labrum, inflamed bursa and a frayed biceps tendon. I’m no doctor, but if these 3 things need to be done on one shoulder…that’s bad news for you Jason Schmidt.

To begin with, Schmidt was 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA. I don’t even know what to call him because he was no ace nor was he intended to be, especially with his history of arm trouble and with Brad Penny and Derek Lowe in the rotation. The contract was absolutely stupid: $47 million/3 years. Teams like the Dodgers are supposed to be smarter than this. Schmidt has been on the decline since around 2004, when he went 18-7. Things don’t look good for the Dodgers now, especially if Brad Penny has the second-half he had last year, they may need to find two starting pitchers. (After the All-Star Game, Penny went 6-7 with a 6.25 ERA.

Randy Wolf is proving to be a much better signing than Schmidt. This recent development may have the Dodgers being more active in the trade market. Good luck to them on that.

Sammy Sosa hit his 600th Home Run against his former club, the Chicago Cubs. He becomes only the 5th player to do so of which, 2 players are suspected of using steriods (Just thought I’d throw that in).

Is it just me or is it symbolic that he did it with Texas:where Canseco, Juan-Gone, Rafael Palmeiro and Pudge played…I can feel the steroid love.