Matt Garza is a pitcher that I was extremely high on heading into the season and he certainly hasn’t disappointed. Just look at the numbers through 11 starts:

5 Wins
76.0 Innings
3.08 ERA
1.21 WHIP
60 Strikeouts (7.1 K/9)
27 Walks (3.2 BB/9)
.266 BABIP

In fact, he has exceeded just about anyone’s expectations. The question is, can he possibly maintain this type of success?

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

Do you know how many times Johan Santana has posted a zero for the Mets? There have been 14 times when he has not allowed a run. Not an earned run, but any run.

Four times he has earned a no decision in those 14 splendid games, including a ridiculous three times this season. There have been three further times where he has allowed two or fewer unearned runs in his two-and-a-half years in New York. He is 0-2 with a no decision in those contests.

While the MLB Amateur Draft doesn't get as much attention as those of the NFL and NBA, that doesn't mean that it's any less important. Cheap, young talent is the most valuable commodity in baseball and can help close the revenue gap between some teams.

The Sox own the 13th pick in the draft, which starts on Monday. While they won't get a sure-fire impact player at their pick, there are a number of players that could make a difference in a few years.

I made a couple of assumptions in cutting down to this short list.

1) The Sox will take a college player.

SAN DIEGO-- The Mets were looking for their first road series victory since July 2009. They had their ace Johan Santana on the mound, and everything was heading in the right direction seemingly.

Trying to follow up a brilliant outing from co-ace Mike Pelfrey, Santana went to the mound and didn't have his "Type A" stuff. He battled through seven innings of work, throwing over 120 pitches, and gutting out a scoreless effort for the second straight start.

In case you missed it tonight, an umpire completely missed the biggest regular season call in the history of the game.

I don't care if I'm exaggerating and don't know much about the history of blown calls, but this has to be high on the list.

Jim Joyce, respected umpire for 22 years, missed a call with two outs in the 9th inning that would have given Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers a perfect game, the third this season.

New York baseball teams opened up their new palaces last year. Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium were the new sports buildings in town.

After watching games at both stadiums, let's just say both stadiums left a lot to be desired.

They had zero charm.

There was nothing interesting about either ballpark.

I recently wrote an article comparing the Cubs' two leadoff hitters, Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome, in which I ultimately came to the conclusion that Theriot was the better option to hit atop the batting order in large part because Fukudome might find himself on the bench before too long.

Shortly thereafter, Lou Piniella decided to replace Theriot at second base with Mike Fontenot and said the move might "be more than a one day thing." Suffice it to say that I wasn't feeling too smart when that news came across the wires.

I'm not against the move.

On Monday May 31 the Chicago Cubs called up their 2008 first-round draft pick, Andrew Cashner, and designated him to the bullpen.

Cashner was a closer at Texas Christian University, but the Cubs immedaitely moved him into the rotation. In this new roll, Cashner realized a great deal of success and improved at each level.

This season in a starting roll at Triple-A Iowa he was 3-0, with a 0.95 ERA, and 0.83 WHIP (with a 14:2 strikeout to walk ratio).  

Late in May the Cubs made the decision to convert him back to a reliever.

Great news coming from the U.S. edition of Reuters.com (the latest news from around the world) for all honest, ethical, hard working, intrinsically-driven major league ball players—a new and improved test for human growth hormone (HGH) is just around the corner.