AL Central

When the Cleveland Indians traded CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers back in the summer of 2008, the key player they received in the trade was 1B/OF prospect Matt LaPorta. LaPorta was a top-10 draft pick (No. 7 overall in 2007) and was one of the best prospects in all of baseball.

The Indians hoped LaPorta would blossom into their next young star, but it has been rough sledding for the former Florida Gator since the Sabathia trade. Through 87 games over the last two years, LaPorta hit just .236, with eight HR’s and a .299 OBP.

It was reported yesterday that the Twins made a concrete offer of 22-year-old catcher Wilson Ramos and 20-year-old outfielder Aaron Hicks for the Mariners’ Cliff Lee. If true, it’s a good starting place for negotiations. The Twins will likely have to offer at least one more prospect to get Lee.

Alexei Ramirez launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning against the Angels' Scott Kazmir, letting the Angels know that the 11-run shutout game against the Royals the night before was over.  A phenomenal warning track diving catch by White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin moments earlier brought a standing ovation to Chicago that would pull the White Sox for the early portion of Monday evening's game.

With 82 games in the book, the Twins head into their final two series before the All-Star break.

With a new ballpark and the hometown hero Joe Mauer signed to a long-term contract, everything is rosy in Twins territory—or is it?

Following are the mid-term grades for the Minnesota Nine.

Stats are based on the first 81 games.

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I was thinking back, this fine Fourth of July morning, to the beginning of the Major League season. Things weren't exactly bright for the Cleveland Indians, but there certainly were bright spots, and you know what they say, hope springs eternal.

I do some writing at the best Minor League site on the planet, Tony Lastoria's Indians Prospect Insider, where I currently write about the Kinston Indians. While I won't publish all of my stuff from IPI here, I will on occasion. Here the latest:

In this era of expansion, no pitcher is ever too old or too arm-worn not to get one more chance.  The Nationals have reportedly signed 44-year-old Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez to a minor-league contract.

El Duque has pitched all of 26.2 minor league innings the last two seasons combined, but in fairness, he’s pitched pretty well (30 Ks and great ratios).  It will interesting to see if he has enough left to work his way back up to the majors.

Every time we think the Tigers have depth in the rotation, they seem to have to dig deep into their system to find someone to plug into the mix.

The latest find has been left-handed pitcher Andrew Oliver, who made his second career start earlier this week after being drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft.

It’s been reported that the Giants will be sending about $2 million along with Bengie Molina to Texas, which means the Giants got almost nothing for him unless Chris Ray ends up surprising almost everyone.