Yankees, RedSox After Craig Breslow
Well, he is arguably the smartest man in baseball, with a BA in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemisty from Yale, so hopefully he will make the right choice, but Craig Breslow is being looked at hard by teams wanting to bolster their bullpen before the break.
The Yankees, the Sox, and the Tigers (although not really), are all looking at Breslow, and why shouldn’t they? He has a career 2.83 ERA and one of the dirtiest repertoires in the league, Fastball, Cutter, Changeup, Curveball and Slurve, all of which are above average.
A’s Keep the Ball Rolling
Well you can’t say he wasn’t due, it has been 11 weeks after all, but Dallas Braden finally notched his first win since his perfect game. Braden pitched into the 7th inning of the A’s 6-4 victory over the White Sox as they won their fourth series in a row, the first time since way back in 2007.
It was hardly a pitchers duel, even if all eyes were on Dallas, as the offense continues to keep bringing home the bacon. That’s 9 for our last 11. Click the more for some notes on the game, or click here for the box score.
Dan Haren to Angels
While Haren has not been so hot this year, it is a little disheartening to see another big arm in the division. Now I am not too scared of Cliff Lee, Arlington is a hitters park and I once the heat steps up Texas’ arms tend to wilt, but Haren is an interesting move.
As mentioned he has been struggling in the NL this yera (7-8, 4.60), and the addition of a DH only makes things harder on him. Furthermore, his career numbers are much worse in the second half of the season, meaning that if he continues the trend, he will hopefully not make too much of an impact.
The one main problem is the price, I mean Joe Saunders and a couple of mid-level prospects seems a bit cheap. The Angel’s aren’t really losing anything and they are gaining a potential star, 141 k’s over 140 innings is scary no matter who the pitcher is. But, if we do our thing and just keep winning, and if Haren does his thing and has a second half implosion, this shouldn’t be a big deal.
This One’s for the Ages
Donnie Murphy Slides into home against the Giants, back in ’08.
Suzuki Re-Elected – Four More Years
Kurt Suzuki was inked to a four year deal Friday, worth $16.25 million. It’s nice to see the A’s keeping someone around, besides Mark Ellis, and I think it’s a solid move for the ball club.
Kurt puts in his work behind the plate, is a great defensive catcher, and has power potential. While his numbers are a bit lower than expected this year, he did struggle with injury early on so expect him to pick it up in the second half.
I for one am glad to see Zook stay, bust out the Puka Shells.
