Astros, Cubs, Indians all win in walk-off style

Mark Loretta, Aramis Ramirez, and Ben Francisco all led their respective teams to victory on friday with walk-off blasts. For Loretta, this was the second time in two nights his Astros had a walk-off homer to end it, the previous one being a walk-off grand slam by Carlos Lee. Ramirez's blast came after the Cubs clawed back from a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5 against the first place Brewers. It was only the second time all year the Brewers had lost after leading after 8 innings. Francisco, in his first big league start, made it a memorable one with his first career home run propelling the Indians to victory over the Devil Rays in Cleveland. Francisco described the feeling as, "Pure joy".

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Bonds only 5 away from Aaron

Barry Bonds was at it again, belting number 750 of his career in the 8th inning against the Diamondbacks on Friday night, sending the ball some 380 feet to deep right field. More and more teams are walking Bonds, though, rather than having to face him and risk being another victim of his home-run prowess. He has been walked 79 times this year, and that number figures to keep going up as he inches closer to the historic milestone ahead of him. Bonds is only on pace to hit 35 homeruns this year, well behind his averages of the last five years, but this can be attributed to a lack of protection in his lineup as well as more days off to rest his aching body. As much as Bonds is scrutinized for his actions off the field, we cannot argue that he is a hell of a player on it.

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Padres Acquire Bradley

The Padres have acquired Milton Bradley from the Oakland A's for a pitching pitching prospect, according to sources close to negotiations. The A's designated Bradley for assignment because of poor play and bad attitude and are happy to finally trade him. If he can recover from his injury in time, he could be in left field as soon as Sunday.

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Buerhle to stay in Chicago?

Is Mark Buerhle about to re-sign with the White Sox? A contract worth between 50M and 60M for 4 years is being whispered about with neither side confirming the offer. There are known to be at least a half a dozen teams interested in him.

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Phillies Slugger Howard sets record

Phillies Slugger Ryan Howard reached a milestone yesterday that set a new record. He hit his 100th home run in only 325 games played. That is faster than any player in major league history. The Phillies first baseman hit 12 of the last 18 since coming off the DL May 25th. He hit 58 last season.

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Cubs Call Back Jones Trade

The Cubs were on the verge of trading Jacque Jones to the Marlins this afternoon and nearly agreed to a deal before a "major snag" ended trade discussions, according to one source. The Marlins were planning on using him as their everyday center fielder while Alejandro De Aza is out while the Cubs were hoping to acquire a solid minor league prospect or two. Many can assume that the snag is over money. Jones is owed 4 million this season and 5 million next season and any trade where more than one million dollars is involved has to be approved by the Commissioners Office. Jones' stay in Chicago got off to a rocky start and got worse even as he improved. He complained about the rowdy fans in right field and was the subject of many trade talks in the off season. Jones is batting .234 with 2 HR and 20 RBI this season in 63 games and is drawing interest from the Padres, Rangers, and Pirates.

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Padres After Bradley

When the A's designated Milton Bradley for assignment, the Padres were immediately interested in acquiring him. However, when they contacted GM Billy Beane, their interest seemed to dwindle. In 19 games this season, Bradley is batting .292 with 2 HR and 7 RBI; but his hot head is the main reason many teams do not want him. Bradley is a native to California and although he doesn't have the choice, would welcome a trade to the Padres. Talks are not very far and would only heat up if the A's lower their asking price.

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Blue Jays Listening To Glaus Offers

The Blue Jays are willing to listen to trade offers after shunning teams away for the first few months of the season. And a greater portion of the trade talks are directed at third baseman Troy Glaus. Although he has a no trade clause, that isn't stopping the Padres, Dodgers, and Angels, who are looking to pull away in their division. Glaus is just 30, and would probably wave his clause to return home to Southern California. Glaus is batting .295 with 11 HR and 35 RBI in 54 games with the Blue Jays. Glaus is signed through 2008 with a player option through 2009.

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Contreras to Mets?

The Mets have been looking for a quality starter all season and have set their sights on the soon to be selling White Sox. For the past couple of months, Mets GM Omar Minaya has been in communication with the White Sox about Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras but are interested in Contreras because he is signed through 2009. Furthermore, Contreras has always been a personal favorite of Minaya's and that could be good for Contreras to pitch under him. This season, Contreras is 5-8 with a 4.63 ERA and 52 K. However, he is 53-35 career with a 4.32 ERA. If any trade were to happen, it would happen after the All Star Game or as soon as the fire sale begins.

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Which Cub will be the next to go?

Chicago Cub watchers are calling it a toss-up as to who will be traded next: Jacque Jones or Caesar Izturis. Both players were expected to start when the season began but have become highly expendable of late. With the success of Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot at short and second base and Mark DeRosa being a more versatile infield backup (also slated as a starter when the season began) Izturis' services are no longer needed. It is no secret that the Cubs have been shopping Jones since last winter. He is talented but the Cubs are suddenly long on right fielders, now that Pie is set in center.

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Former Pitcher Rod Beck dead at 38

Former All-Star reliever Rod Beck was found dead at his Phoenix, Az home today. Foul play is not suspected but police have not announced a cause of death.

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Buehrle Will Trigger Fire Sale

The White Sox will definitely be having a fire sale this trade deadline, and Mark Buehrle will start it off. But Buehrle will not be the only one traded. Kenny Williams knows that this is a lost season, and plans to start fresh next season. So not only will he trade Buehrle, but he will unload Garland and Contreras. By trading them, he will be able to bring in a boat load of prospects, and let an old White Sox era wash out. Then following the season they will look to hire the "Big Three" of available managers in Joe Torre, Joe Girardi, and Don Mattingly and let these young prospects ease their way into the majors. This season, the White Sox are 29-41 and their three big pitchers have combined to go 13-16. In the White Sox case, all they can hope is that this can turn positive for them like it has for the Brewers and Mets.

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