Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Cleveland Indians fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

This week, we discuss the Tribe's terrible luck with injuries, Fausto Carmona's All-Star Game nod, and the long-awaited emergence of Matt LaPorta.

The trade deadline is less than three-and-a-half weeks away, and most teams have solidly positioned themselves as either buyers or sellers to this point. As a result, the buyers are exploring the market and assessing the value in their own farm system in hopes of patching holes that exist in their roster.

Some teams, however, have something that could be even better: Good players coming off the disabled list.

It is clear that some baseball players refuse to participate in the Home Run Derby because they are afraid of the negative impact it will have on their swing during the second half of the season.

Clearly, guys like Alex Rodriguez, who are paranoid, and even players who have experienced negative results like David Wright and Bobby Abreu are off-base.

For there is no apparent correlation between participation in MLB's signature event and future results.

As we hit the 81 game mark over the Fourth of July weekend, I started thinking about the season so far. It has certainly been interesting. There are plenty of new developments in the 2010 Major Leagues: Parity is at an all-time high and pitching is more dominant than ever. Meanwhile, The Yankees have the best record in baseball and the Red Sox aren't too far behind them. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I have a few random thoughts on the current baseball season:

-Interleague is alive and well-
Some don't like it, but I love it.

What in the name of Babe Ruth is Jason Heyward doing on the National League All-Star squad? Were the voters drunk when they voted or what?

Did he make the starting team because of his stellar performance? Don't make me laugh, eh.

Let's look at his numbers for a minute. Currently, he is ranked 74th in the NL in batting with a .251 mark. That's impressive, yes?

He is 42nd in the league with 11 HR and 31st in RBI with 45.

There have been plenty of significant Most Valuable Players through the history of Major League Baseball, but which 10 are the best of the bests?

From studs in the American League like Mickey Mantle in 1956, 1957, and 1962, to duds like the AL’s Dustin Pedoria in 2008, let’s power rank the 10 most valuable MVPs to ever play America’s Pastime.

As a side note, I want to go ahead and inform readers that this is—by far—the toughest top 10 list I’ve ever had to put together, and just because some of the current talent may be towards the back end of (or not even

These rankings are based on a 300 point system, 150 for offensive production and 150 for pitching production. 30 points (one point for each team) is the highest total any team can receive in a given category. For instance, if the Rays lead the league in HR’s, they will get 30 points for that category.

The five offensive categories used:HR’s, RBI, Runs, Average, and SB’s

The five pitching categories used:

White Sox starter Jake Peavy was pulled from the game during the second inning with an apparent arm injury.

After throwing a pitch, Peavy wandered off the mound and appeared to be shaking his right arm. He was replaced by Tony Pena.

I'm not going to speculate on what the injury actually is (other than that it appeared to be in the lower arm area) or the severity of it, but this could be a major blow for the White Sox. Peavy has been their hottest starter of late, posting a 1.75 ERA in the month of June.

NEW YORK-- It has been pretty evident that the Mets have not given Johan Santana any run support this season. Knowing that, Santana promptly parked a home run off the right field foul pole in the third inning, his first career home run, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead off Reds starter Matt Maloney.

Aaron Harang, who was scratched from his Monday night start due to back problems, was placed on the disabled list before tonight's game. With the lefty Maloney starting, shortstop Jose Reyes was inserted back in the lineup, as he can only bat from the right side with his sore oblique.

Hopefully, after tonight, Johan Santana likes the National League a little bit more. While he has not found nearly as much success in the NL as he had in the AL with the Minnesota Twins, Johan tonight realized that the easiest way to win is to do it all yourself.

Santana provided the hitting and the pitching, en route to a Mets 3-0 win over the Reds.