Baseball

C.J. Wilson’s transition to the starting rotation has gone better than anyone could have imagined.  Who could have expected the following line through five starts:

2 Wins
32.2 Innings
1.65 ERA
1.19 WHIP
25 Strikeouts (6.9 K/9)
13 Walks (3.6 B/99)
.279 BABIP

We’ll notice right away that the BABIP is not an unrealistic number.  It is above average so a falloff is possible, but it’s not a guarantee either.  That’s something that you have to like seeing.

After snapping an eight-game losing streak on Carlos Lee's walk-off home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 4-2, the Houston Astros are now 9-18 on the season. They are comfortably nestled in last place in the N.L. Central.

Don't get too excited about the win, Astros fans. The home run was only the first of the season for Lee, who plays in a very right-handed hitter-friendly ballpark and is now dead-even with the infamous Mendoza Line at .200.

Brandon Phillips is a good player, one of the best players for the Cincinnati Reds. Yet he continually disappoints fans with his lack of hustle.

Case in point: Tuesday night against the New York Mets.

Phillips laces a pitch off the left- center field wall that ended up taking a weird bounce. Had he been hustling, Phillips would have easily cruised into third with a triple. Instead he admired his hit and managed to only make it to second.

Barry Bonds has set some remarkable records. What is notable is not the fact that he set them, but that he broke the old marks by such a wide margin.

Babe Ruth was the most feared batter in baseball history until Bonds, late in his career, discovered how he could become even more frightening to pitchers than the Ruth.

Pitchers wanted to face Barry Bonds as much as a pudgy kid wants to face a naked salad. 

The last time the New York Mets walked off the diamond at Citi Field, they'd just swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete a 9-1 homestand for the third time in franchise history. The other two times it happened: 1969 and 1988—pretty special years in Amazin' history.

One Johan Santana meltdown, one Mike Pelfrey implosion, and two walk-off home runs given up later, the Mets can't wait to get back into Flushing for their first home game since April 28.

Ivan Rodriguez continues to defy the odds. 

At the age of 38, few thought he would be a productive everyday player in the majors in 2010. However, out of the gates, Rodriguez is leading the majors in hitting and despite speculation of an upcoming fall to reality, he has kept on hitting.

Entering Friday's game he is batting .405/.432/.514. While that kind of production is likely unsustainable, the Nationals need to try and take more advantage of it while it's here.

What Rodriguez has done 2010 to help spark his resurgence is create a new approach at the plate.

Grade: A

Andrew Bailey (Athletics)

Bailey is one of only three closers (Broxton and Rivera) who have not given up a run yet.

He has just four saves on the year however, two of which came last week. Oakland’s closer gave up just one hit in 3.2 IP last week.

Heath Bell (Padres)

Bell has enjoyed the Padres success this year just as much as anyone else on the team.

Game No. 22 of 162 in the Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight summer-long journey featured one of this year’s biggest surprises and a bounce-back performance from one of Oakland’s young guns…

Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.

Fred Lewis, Toronto Blue Jays
Lewis is on fire. He went 3 for 5 with a run to raise his average to .273. He’s 13 for 42 (.310) with 9 runs in his last ten games.