Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations:

- I was a fan of the trade that sent Paul Lo Duca, Juan Encarnacion and Guillermo Mota to Florida and Hee Seop Choi and Brad Penny to the Dodgers. When the trade was made - I thought the Dodgers got the best of the deal because they needed a solid starter for the playoffs and Lo Duca was getting too old to give a big contract to. Now I think the Marlins got the best of the deal. Encarnacion has 3 HR and 19 RBI, Lo Duca is hitting .353 and Mota has 2 saves and a 1.86 ERA. Meanwhile Choi is hitting .220 and Penny comes off the DL today.

- The Yankees's starters suck and the cupboards are bare as far as prospects are concerned. If Wright is hurt for any length of time then the Yankees will have to pick up a starter. One player who may be available is the pitcher who beat them yesterday - Chan Ho Park. He wouldn't cost much (as far as prospects are concerned) and the Rangers would be happy to be free of his contract. Just sayin' - it is something I bet the two teams discuss.

- Mark Mulder went 10 shutout innings for the win yesterday in St. Louis. Mulder is now 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA for the season. Meanwhile, Danny Haren is 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA and Kiko Calero is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 7 innings of relief. Too soon to call on this trade (especially when you consider that Calero may have elbow issues) but I think Oakland wins in the end (especially when you consider that they probably couldn't have afforded to re-sign Mulder).

- Mike Piazza is done. Stick a fork in him. This year he's hitting an even .200 with 2 HR and since last All-Star game he's hitting just an even .200 with only 6 HR total. The Mets can't afford him clogging up the line-up in the number 4 hole. Moving Piazza in the order may be Willie Randolph's first big test as a manager.

- I say that catcher David Ross will out-homer Piazza this season even though Ross is only part time with the Pirates. Right now Ross leads 3-2. Any takers?

- Zack Greinke is 0-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 4 starts for the Royals. He will be a stud but will anyone notice outside of Kansas City?

- The reason the Indians are struggling offensively is because they miss Framingham's Lou Merloni. I will not argue this point.

- If the NL Cy Young voting were held today I think it might be 1. Pedro Martinez, 2. Josh Beckett, 3. Roger Clemens, 4. Tim Hudson, and 5. Jake Peavy