Opinion

With only a week left until the July 31 MLB trade deadline, two All-Star aces have emerged as the biggest prizes to be had: Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt.

But which pitcher is better?

Is it the the hard-throwing Astro, or the deceptive Diamondback?

Most casual fans might instantly say Oswalt due to the recent struggles of Haren in 2010; however, just last season, the Astros right-hander finished the year with an ERA well above 4.00.

Here is the breakdown.

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Josh Johnson makes history each time he takes the mound.

Since he plays for the Florida Marlins, however, media outlets fail to mention him in the NL Cy Young race as often as Ubaldo Jimenez and Adam Wainwright.

Jimenez, whose 15-2 record comes thanks to a hot start in April and May, fares much better with his team's run support.

Over his first 17 starts, the Colorado Rockies pitcher went 13-1 with a 1.15 ERA. In Jimenez's last six starts, he is 2-1 with a 7.64 ERA.

Eugenio Velez is "doing OK," according to the San Francisco Giants medical staff after he was hit in the head by a foul line drive off the bat of Pat Burrell on Saturday night in Arizona.

The 28-year-old utilityman went through tests at a Phoenix hospital where he spent the night. The Giants finish a four-game series in Arizona on Sunday.

Reports indicate that Velez suffered a concussion. Manager Bruce Bochy confirmed after the game that the player did not suffer a fractured skull and that he, initially, "wasn't really responsive."

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, the St. Louis Cardinals are in need of some help if they want to stave off the upstart Cincinnati Reds. The following players could be great fits and propel them to the playoffs. 

Roy Oswalt

Let's start with the obvious. Every Cardinal fan, and many baseball fans as well, have heard the rumors.

When the Minnesota Twins completed a six-player deal for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie for Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan, many questioned whether the Twins made the right move.

In his two seasons with the Rays, Young accumulated 16 home runs, 103 RBI, 226 hits, and 12 stolen bases.

To be honest, some players have better seasons than that in just one year.

LOS ANGELES—During the Mets' current road trip, their hitting has been as bad as it's ever been.

The Mets are now 2-8 on their current 11-game road trip that concludes tomorrow afternoon and have gone through three prolonged hitting funks during the stretch.

Their first prolonged slump occured at the beginning of the trip. The Mets didn't score for the first 24 innings while in San Francisco; it took them until the seventh inning of their third game to score.

After a season that disappointed most Mariners fans, it seems as if more disappointment is coming.

Yesterday during the game against the Boston Red Sox, Mike Cameron hit a line-drive against the left field wall. Michael Saunders picked it up threw it in to second where second baseman Chone Figgins didn't even attempt to pick it up and let it roll by, having Cameron make the double into a triple.

The play seemed like a lackadaisical attempt at anything baseball, so when Figgins came into the dugout manager Don Wakamatsu had a word with him.

Sure, it's always nice to beat the Cardinals, and any win is a good win when you're a long-suffering Cubs fan as I am. That said, it may surprise you that I am not happy about the Cubs recent "surge", for lack of a better term.

By starting to win now, it may lead Jim Hendry and the Cubs brass into the false assumption that they actually are a contender.

That would also mean that they would hold off on trying to trade their movable pieces — a mistake that could prove costly for the Cubs in the long run.

Coming into the 2010 season, I was sure of three things:

1. The Milwaukee Brewers would improve their record from last season.
2. Trevor Hoffman would reach 600 saves.
3. Ken Macha would eventually be fired as manager.

This season, I'm 0-3, but I've got a shot at No. 3 still going down.

Trevor Hoffman, who totaled 34 saves against just three blown last season, has five blown already. He's been replaced by rookie John Axford, who's really come on strong for the Brewers.

The San Francisco Giants really need another left-hander out of the bullpen now that Jeremy Affeldt's sidelined with a torn oblique muscle.

The club also needs minor league talent to attract a proven big league run-producer in trade.

Todd Wellemeyer's pitching well for the Fresno Grizzlies in the Pacific Coast League, but that doesn't mean that fans calling for the club to trade Jonathan Sanchez for a hitter have any idea how difficult it would be to fill the No. 4 spot in the rotation.