Even LaRussa smiled at Lou's antics

If Lou Piniella took this one from a book, nobody knows where that library is.

Proving you haven't seen everything yet in baseball, the Cubs manager, with only one lefty in his bullpen, Sean Marshall, used a little razzle dazzle to escape a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the top of the ninth.

With a rightly splitting up two left-handed Cardinals in Sunday night's game, Piniella decided to bring in right-handed Aaron Hielman. Here's where it got interesting.

Piniella electrified the Wrigley crowd, sending Marshall to left field, and bringing in Alfonso Soriano. With Marshall manning left field Hielman threw a steady diet of inside pitches to the right-handed  Brendan Harris before striking him out.

"It was kind of funny to watch Heilman pitch because he was throwing so many pitches inside because if he does hit it will it will be right at me and hopefully I can make a play and throw someone out,” said Marshall.

By now, Wrigley was in a near-frenzy, with fans in the bleachers chanting: “We are Marshall.”

Marshall came back in to pitch, with Reed Johnson going to left field. Marshall struck out Jarrett Hoffpauir, Micah's younger brother, then coaxed a fly ball to Colby Rasmus, that Johnson made a stumbling, diving catch to end the rally and igniting the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball crowd.

Still, the Cubs lost 4-2, but it was baseball theatre at its best. Even Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, who tries to outstrategize everyone he comes into contact with, could appreciate Piniella's creativity.

“I stopped (Cubs first base coach Matt Sinatro) and said you tell Lou that was a classic," LaRussa said. "It was fun to be a part of it no matter how it turns out. It takes creativity and it takes guts. Lou showed both of them. That was fun actually. It was terrific."

Waiver wired: If Pirates OF Garrett Jones is still on your waiver wire, it's time to find room for him on your roster. Jones is hitting third and was a big reason the Pirates felt comfortable trading Nate McLouth and Najer Morgan. A 25-15 prospect, Jones has hit 5 HR and stole 3 bags in 42 ABs. 

After 3-HR night, is it Andruw time?

Revivals have been started in less obvious places.

But Arlington's hot summer air has been known to defribillate some of baseball's least likely suspects.

Andruw Jones is the latest hitter-left-for-dead, taken off the scrapheap, propped up at home plate and turned into a reliable fantasy player.

In 2007, Sammy Sosa was able to smack 21 HR and drive in 92 runs, albeit while hitting .252, but still finishing higher than anyone thought possible after his swift demise from Wrigley to Camden to the Dominican.

But longtime Braves slugger Andruw Jones is experiencing a stunning turnaround from a 2008 season where he .158 with 3 HR in 209 ABs.

“He’s having a terrific season for them,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s obviously much more comfortable in the batter’s box than he was last year when we saw him with the Dodgers.”

On Wednesday night, Jones matched his total in the span of 5 innings, launching 3 HR in Anaheim, giving him 14 HR and 34 RBI, along with a respectable .250 average in 160 ABs.

“Andruw put us on his back and everyone followed,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Now, the question is will you put Andruw back on your team, after secretly vowing to never trust him again?

My official advice: Be careful.

It's clear Andruw has regained some of his power stroke that led to 368 home runs with the Braves.

The real question: playing time.

Josh Hamilton is back and Nelson Cruz is a fixture in the lineup. That leaves one OF spot for David Murphy, who's been raking lately, and Marlon Byrd.

Fortunately for Jones, the Rangers have grown tired of the K machine Chris Davis and sent him to AAA despite 15 HR in the first half.

Hank Blalock has moved to 1B, opening up the DH spot for Jones, but Davis is bound to come back as soon as he regained his stroke (ala Howie Kendrick), creating a logjam, where Jones may be back to half-time status (he's only on pace for 320 ABs).

Fantasy Spin: If you're starved for power, in an NL or a shallow mixed league, I could endorse the Andruw ticket. As for mixed league pedigree, the RBI and run totals, not to mention the dragging average, should probably be left alone in 10-team leagues or smaller.

If it's any indication, it's been 24 hours since Jones' 3-HR outburst and nobody has taken a flier on Jones in our ultra-competitive 10-team Observer league.

Choo, Lee, Pujols ... and one important holiday

Fourth of July and baseball. It really doesn't get much better than this.

And in fantasy, this holiday is significant in more ways than one.

Taking a break from the sporting world, Independence Day is truly a significant mark in the history of our country. 

Think for a second where we'd be, had it not been for our foresight of our forefathers. Freedom is not cheap and we live in the greatest country there is.

OK, back off my soap box, and onto your fantasy team, which may be struggling mightily in the first half, the 4th of July is very significant.

It's time to take real inventory of where your team is, what categories are lacking, and take action. Whether it's dropping the dead weight, punting categories or trading away excess, the halfway point is your last real chance to make worthwhile change.

Time is running out.

Power surge: In case you've been off-line the past few days, two players have lit the world on fire in one game: the Cubs' Derek Lee and the Indians' Shin Soo-Choo. Both players had a 2-HR, 7-RBI game in the past 48 hours and if somehow you happened to own both, you probably saw a surge in the standings.

Lee was especially disappointing, with just 6 HR and 23 RBI in the first two months of the season. But in the past month, he's racked up 8 HR and 24 RBI and hit over .300, sparking memories of the Triple-Crown-threatening 2005 season. If you gave up on him too early, as I did, shame on you. And if you own him, you might wanna sell high, if you can. Can't imagine him keeping up this pace.

Choo now has 12 HR and 53 RBI. Add in 13 SB and a .301 average and the Indians new cleanup hitter is ranked 20th in the Yahoo! game and is one of the best first-half steals not named Mark Reynolds.

And while we're talking about power surges, The Machine, aka Albert Pujols hit another one last night, this one a grand slam, giving him 31 HR and 82 RBI over the first half, begging one fundamental question:

Why are teams pitching to him?

The Twins said they play the game right and their fans deserve to see them challenge Pujols and not give him a free pass. I say bologna. An intentional walk, when used right, an be the biggest weapon in all of baseball. If managers are afraid to use it, then they deserved to be beaten by arguably the best hitter in the game (and as a Cubs fan, that pains me to say).

Barry Bonds was never pitched to this much in his prime. In 2004, he walked 232 times, most of them intentional. Pujols has just 64 free passes this year at exactly the midway point (81 games).

With no other hitter worth a salt right now in St. Louis, I would walk Pujols every single time, unless the bases were loaded. Make Ryan Ludwick or Chris Duncan beat you. And even then, I'd think about it. 

Last year, down two runs, Joe Madden walked the Rangers' Josh Hamilton with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. And guess what, the Rays retired the next batter and won by a run.

Teams will start to wise up sooner or later and if they don't, pencil the Cardinals in the playoffs.

What's wrong with Big Game James?

He was dangerously close to becoming the face of the young Rays.

As flashy as Carl Crawford? Well, no? As electric as Scott Kazmir? Not exactly?

As much hype as Evan Longoria? Not even close.

But after James Shields silenced the red-hot Phillies for Tampa Bay's only World Series win last October and finished with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP, both the Rays and fantasy nation were taking note.

His specialty, was somehow keeping runners off base in a loaded AL East, posting back-to-back whips of 1.11 and 1.15. That's what happens when you only walk 36 and 40 runners in consecutive seasons.

But it was Shields' moxie, his big-game reputation, the 1-hitter against the Angles, the beam ball to the Red Sox's Coco Crisp that has endeared him to Tampa fans.

They marketing team was even building campaigns around Big Game, who will gladly pose for a photo with fans.




And while Shields hasn't been near the disappointment of teammate Kazmir or World Series hero Cole Hamels, the WHIP has been very normal.

Shields is now 6-6 after giving up 5 runs (4 earned) against Toronto, with a WHIP of 1.27.

"Once May started, everything started clicking," Shields said after a rare gem on May 19 against the offensively-challenged A's, where he retired 17 in a row.

Shields retired the first eight batters he faced on Thursday, but lost focus as he dropped to 1-4 on the road.

And since the end of April, Big Game has given up 7 or more hits nine times in 13 appearances, including double digits on four occasions. That's more than all of 2008.

“I felt great, I thought I batted today,” said a frustrated Shields.

Fantasy spin: The walk and HR rate are about what they were last year and the K projections have crept back to the 150 neighborhood, so there's no real cause for alarm. And this might be the perfect buy-low opportunity, as Shields may get two more home starts before the break (Toronto and Oakland) and then start off the second half at Kansas City. The Rays, 5 games back of the Red Sox, need him to be the staff horse as most of their rotation has been inconsistent at best.

Smoltz back, but worth a pickup?

No, the line wasn't pretty:  5 IP, 7 hits, 1 BB, 5 K, 5 ER.

But don't discard John Smoltz's first outing of the season and debut with the Red Sox.

Sure, it came in D.C., but the Nats are a pesky-hitting bunch and when you look at the bigger picture, there were several encouraging signs for Smoltz owners (or all you wanna-be's out there who can't quite muster up the nerve).

• Rust factor: For starters, 4 of the 5 runs came in the first, as did 4 of the 7 hits and the lone walk. In anyone's first inning, there's bound to be nerves, regardless of the experience level. Giving up just one run and three singles in the next four inning is nothing to sneeze at.
• Velocity: Smoltz was in the low-to-mid 90s at times, averaging 91.7 mph, which shows the arm strength is not an issue.
• Control: Of the 92 pitches thrown, 62 were for strike (67 percent) and Smoltz's one walk shows he's still got the pin-point accuracy that he famously would paint the corner in Atlanta for a million years. 

The next start at Baltimore will be even more telling, but one look at Smoltz's pre-All-Star schedule and it's almost impossible not to pick him up on speculation: at Baltimore, vs. Oakland and vs. Kansas City.

And perhaps most telling is the what the 42-year-old Smoltz, fresh off shoulder surgery, had to say afterward.

"I feel like I can accomplish whatever I want this year," Smoltz said. "That's why I came back and the rehab went the way it did. Now it's just a matter of going out there and doing it like I did before."

And knowing how competitive Smoltz is, I wouldn't count anything impossible.

Fantasy spin: Sure, it's a little risky to add a 42-year-old who pitches half his game at Fenway, but this is no ordinary flame-thrower. Now, that Smoltz has a little of the rust off, it could be the perfect time to add him. All it takes is one gem and he'll be flying off the shelves. Look for an ERA just under 4.00 and a nothing-to-write-home-about 1.25 WHIP, but with plenty of Ks and Ws in the second half.

Sosa steroid news barely raises eyebrows

After a few days digesting the Sammy Sosa link to PEDs, I'm still a little foggy on where I stand on the steroid issue.

Not that I'm saying it's right. But I think there's shades of grey starting to appear on the issue.

This is what happens when the biggest home run hitters of our generation (Sosa, Arod, Giambi, etc.) are being exposed for testing positive. And we know there's at least 100 more names that haven't been disclosed from the now-infamous 2003 test.

Am I ashamed, as a Cubs - and Sosa - fan that Sammy was caught? To be honest, not really. I'm trying to articulate in my own mind why that is and here's the best I can come up with:

Steroids were legal in baseball. End of story.

Sure, they are horrible for your body. They set an awful precedent to our youth. They've distorted the home run record book forever.

But, folks, they were not illegal.

I wonder if I'm making excuses for Sammy and then I remember thinking the same thing when Mark McGwire was vilified by Congress, and more importantly, public opinion for not answering the steroid question (and later dodging it again by an ESPN reporter).

It would be so much cleaner and tidier, had Sammy not played the language barrier card that day, asking for a translator.

He should've owned up and said, hey, I did it. We all did it. Look at the pictures of me 10 years ago and then today and it's not rocket science (and we all had our suspicions). Nobody gets that big, that fast. Not Barry. Not Mark. Not me.

And then he could've said something like "baseball's been bery, bery good to me."

We all would've chuckled and went about our day.

Think about it. Jason Giambi apologized for his usage (albeit indirectly). Andy Pettitte has admitted to it. Brian Roberts came clean.

What do all these guys have in common? They're forgiven. At least in my mind they are. Maybe yours, too.

We've moved on.

The talking heads this week all say that the 2003 list will eventually come out so let's just tear the Band-Aid off. I'm actually in favor of this. Every time a name is leaked, it sets baseball back a couple years.

"It's a shame baseball keeps going back to the past," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said this week, then admitted about releasing the list. "It might be the best thing."

Those names on the list will have some answering to do, certainly.

But 2009 is a different time than 2006. We're numb to the steroid news now. Once the ARod came out, all other news will just be a footnote.

The Hall of Fame will have to deal with this era at some point. And my guess is eventually McGwire and Sosa and Bonds will all be inducted. Perhaps with an asterisk.

After all. How can the Hall hold against players something that was within the rules of the game?

They can't.

Is Minute Maid hill really a good idea?

HOUSTON - For a split second, as Michael Bourn fell on his back, you could almost hear the thoughts of Astros fans whisking through Minute Maid Park.

That stupid hill.

Bourn backpedalled faster than most people can frontpedal and had a beat on a towering blast by the Cubs' Micah Hoffpauir on Thursday afternoon.

Nanoseconds before the ball return to earth, Bourn hit the inclined hill in center field and landed square on his back.

That stupid hill.

The name of that hill is Tal's Hill, named after Astros owner Tal Smith, who came up with the idea as a tribute to Cincinnati's Crosley Field. There's a flagpole in fair territory, two feet from the fence, inspired by Tigers Stadium.

A flagpole inside the outfield fence? What is this, a park rec softball field?

Ten years ago, the idea of the pole and hill was novel. In some ways it still is.

But is it really necessary?

The hill, called "The Grassy Knoll" by some players, added some needed character to what is otherwise an ordinary retractable-roof stadium (I'd rank Minute Maid in the middle of the pack of stadiums I've seen, although the brick facade outside is stunning). A Minute Maid experience feels like a night at a Bobcats game:

T-shirt giveaways. Cd-giveaways. Air-guitar cams.

Most of the summer, the roof is closed to keep out the extreme Houston heat, which have to help season-ticket sales.

A wall of windows certainly disguises the fact that you are watching it indoors. It's light years ahead of watching ball at The Trop in Tampa, but indoor baseball is like putting ketchup on a steak.

Regardless, as Bourn laid on his back, he never thought about giving up on the catch, even though he wasn't exactly sure where it was landing.

Watch the catch here.

“I never lost the flight of the ball,” Bourn told the Houston Chronicle. “I lost the sight of it at the end, but I kind of knew where it was at. I just put my glove up to where it was going to be at and I caught it.”

And as the Minute Maid crowd roared, he momentarily forgot about that hill.

That stupid hill.

"I practice going up the hill a little bit," Bourn said. "But in that instance you just have to go on instinct."

But what about the other 29 center fielders in baseball? How often do they practice such a play?

And as my brother-in-law said, "What happens when a $50 million dollar player breaks his leg on that hill?"

My guess is the hill will be leveled the next day.

Stupid or not, the hill is a bit gimmicky, but one of the most unique places in all of sports.

And maybe, just another reason to love baseball.