Opinion

Chad Billingsley happily handed his three-hit shutout in the sixth inning to reliable setup man Hong-Chih Kuo, whose lights out relief pitching allowed Jonathon Broxton to close the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2-0 victory against the San Diego Padres last night at Petco Park.

The Dodgers' pitching looked unstoppable, unflappable, and simply unbeatable Tuesday night, which has been a rarity for this ailing pitching staff.

EDIT: Scott Podsednik has since been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Chicago White Sox made a big mistake this past offseason. Needing a lead-off hitter, Kenny Williams had to decide whether or not to bring back Scott Podsednik.

Williams decided not to cede to Podsednik's request for a multi-year deal. Now, the White Sox are paying Juan Pierre almost double Podsednik's current salary to be a scrub.

Take a look at their numbers up to this point in the season:

Despite being ten games over the .500 mark, playing their best baseball in ten years, and being in the playoff race this late in the season for the first time since the Clinton Administration, the Cincinnati Reds still find time to hit the snooze bar at the wrong time.

What is it about Sunday that has this team spooked or jinxed?

It’s like their personal Bermuda Triangle.

While some members of the media are clamoring for the Giants to trade for a big bat and Brian Sabean is kicking the tires on every non-impact bat available, the Giants' best trade option is right in front of them: John Bowker.

July is an early month to give up on a team like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but Tuesday night's lackluster performance may have been the final nail in this season's coffin.

The Angels scored just two runs against John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox, the second consecutive game they failed to score less than three.

In fact, in July alone, the Angels have scored four runs or more only eight times in 23 contests, contributing to a miserable 8-15 record this month and an 8½ game deficit in the AL West.

Sure, it's Lee's right to decline any trade, something the man has earned through his  "10 & 5" rights, not to mention his no-trade clause.

However, if Lee was thinking about anyone other than himself, he would acquiesce and go to the Dodgers for another chance at the playoffs, while giving the Cubs an opportunity to land a prospect and secure some salary relief.

It's tempting for the more seasoned (really old) followers of the San Francisco Giants to sit back and enjoy what has been a fabulous start to the second half of the season.

It's become a rite of summer.  If a major league team has an available player at the trade deadline, he'll be connected to the Yankees somehow, whether he makes sense for New York or not.

So it comes as no surprise that the Yankees have been connected to just about every available player at this year's trade deadline.  They've made known offers for Cliff Lee and Dan Haren and have made inquiries about several other players they view as upgrades.

Good morning baseball fans. For those of us who are baseball enthusiasts, this is one of our favorite times of the season—the trade deadline.

This is the time of year where we want to know what our favorite teams are going to do, who they can or can't trade for, and where the biggest names are heading. Already there have been two top pitchers moved, as Cliff Lee was traded to Texas and Dan Haren was sent to the Angels.

It seems as if injuries are the storyline of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Chase Utley is still a few weeks from returning from the disabled list with his surgically repaired thumb, Jimmy Rollins was benched yesterday with a foot injury, and to top it all off, outfielder Shane Victorino was pulled in the seventh inning with a strained muscle in his left side.