While wondering how Rotoworld's resident Jay Mariotti hater, Pat Dahl, is handling this amusing news, here are some notes from around baseball .
* As expected, the Red Sox made the trade for Mark Kotsay official Wednesday by sending 20-year-old outfield prospect Luis Sumoza to the Braves. My analysis of the deal from Boston's point of view can be found in yesterday's column, so let's focus briefly on Sumoza. A corner outfielder who didn't do much in his first two pro seasons, he's hit .301/.366/.549 in 51 games at low Single-A this year. While far from a top prospect, he's intriguing enough to be a nice haul for Kotsay.
* Meanwhile, Boston's blockbuster deal last month continues to pay off for the Red Sox, as Jason Bay drove in four runs Wednesday versus the Yankees and is now hitting .347/.387/.558 with four homers and 24 RBIs in 23 post-trade games. Of course, Manny Ramirez has been even better for the Dodgers, batting .380/.473/.620 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 24 games. In fact, only the Pirates have failed to get good value from the trade thus far.
Andy LaRoche was the centerpiece of the trade for Pittsburgh, but he's in a brutal 0-for-27 slump and has hit .119 in 21 games overall. Craig Hansen was demoted to the minors Wednesday after going 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in nine outings with the Pirates and 21-year-old pitching prospect Bryan Morris has been shut down for the remainder of the year at Single-A with biceps soreness. Only Brandon Moss has had any kind of success, and even he missed time with an ankle injury.
* Josh Johnson continues to look stronger and stronger in his return from Tommy John surgery, tossing his first career complete game Wednesday night while holding the Braves to one run on four hits. Johnson is now 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 48-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 57.2 innings spread over nine starts since coming off the disabled list, and as discussed previously in this space has actually increased both his fastball and slider velocity since going under the knife.
* Remember the criticism Aubrey Huff took following an offseason appearance on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show? Huffsaid some negative things about Baltimore and interacted with a naked woman, which got him in all kinds of heat with fans and the local media. Oddly enough, that seems to have been forgotten now that he's having the best season of his career. Perhaps hanging out with BTLS, Spice Boy, Brent Hatley, and Melissa Midwest isn't so bad after all.
Huff went 3-for-4 with a homer in Wednesday night's victory over the White Sox and is now hitting .307/.366/.566 with 28 homers, 71 total extra-base hits, 84 runs, and 94 RBIs in 129 games. He ranks among the AL's top 10 in homers, runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, and OPS after posting a modest .280/.337/.442 mark with just 15 homers and 72 RBIs in 151 games last season. In his last 81 games-exactly half a season-Huff has hit .344 with 23 homers and 70 RBIs.
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* David Purcey was talked up in this space as a worthwhile pickup in AL-only leagues when the Blue Jays called him up from Triple-A, which looked pretty silly after he went 2-4 with a 6.55 ERA through his first seven big-league starts. However, Purcey finally showed some of his potential in a losing effort Wednesday, tossing eight innings of one-run ball against the Rays while racking up 11 strikeouts versus zero walks.
His overall numbers remain ugly, but with a strong 176-to-50 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 179 innings between Double-A and Triple-A over the past two years Purcey strikes me as an underrated long-term bet. The former first-round pick is still relatively young at 26 and has above-average stuff for a left-hander, working with a low-90s fastball and mid-80s slider. He could have some value down the stretch in AL-only leagues and makes a nice stash-away candidate for keeper leaguers.
* Manager Jerry Manuel laid out his plans for the Mets outfield Tuesday, saying that Ryan Church will play every day in right field while Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy, and Nick Evans split time in left field. Manuel indicated that Murphy will get most of the starts against right-handers, with Tatis and Evans sharing time against left-handers, but that could change if Murphy comes back down to earth a bit. It's tough to keep Tatis out of the lineup when he's hit .300/.365/.494 in 78 games.
AL Quick Hits:Evan Longoria's fractured wrist hasn't healed enough for him to swing a bat yet, suggesting that he may not be ready to return next week . Josh Hamilton was scratched from Wednesday's lineup with an abscessed tooth and may need a root canal . Dustin Pedroia's first career grand slam Wednesday put an exclamation point on the Red Sox's blowout win over the Yankees . With Victor Martinez (elbow) on the verge of returning, Kelly Shoppach went 3-for-5 with a homer Wednesday to lead the Indians to their 10th straight win . Troy Percival (knee) threw a bullpen session Tuesday and remains on track to come off the disabled list when eligible Saturday . George Sherrill (shoulder) played catch Tuesday and said afterward that he's hoping to return next week . It took 14 tries, but Ryan Feierabend finally turned in his first Quality Start in a no-decision Wednesday . David Murphy (knee) said Wednesday that he's hoping to return once rosters expand next week . Ivan Rodriguez has just one RBI through 18 games with the Yankees after going hitless Wednesday and the team fell to 5-9 when he starts.
NL Quick Hits:Carlos Delgado hit just .229/.306/.396 through June 25, but after going deep twice Wednesday he's batting .310 with 19 homers and 58 RBIs in 56 games since . Mike Hampton lost Wednesday, but tossed eight innings of three-run ball for his fourth Quality Start in five tries this month . Ryan Zimmerman homered Wednesday for the first time in 31 games since coming off the shelf . Manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday that Colby Rasmus won't be called up next month because "he hasn't earned it" while being injured for much of the season . Khalil Greene will have the cast removed from his fractured hand Friday, but remains unlikely to play again this season . Zach Duke lost Wednesday, but allowed just two runs and completed eight innings for the first time in 47 starts dating back to September of 2006 . Andrew Miller (knee) is expected to come off the disabled list when rosters expand next week, but may do so as a reliever . Hitting .278/.374/.465 with 13 homers and 20 steals at Double-A, 21-year-old outfield prospect Cameron Maybin has been sidelined for the past week after being bit on the face by a spider.
