SI.Com: Posnanski: MARIANO RIVERA’S A TRUE YANKEE, ALMOST MYTHICAL IN HIS DOMINANCE

Not enough Mo here lately.

There is a Yankee mythology that sustains New York fans and drives everybody else crazy, and it goes something like this: To play for the New York Yankees, you need to have a certain quality—quiet dignity, maybe, that’s part of it, or valor or a sense of the moment. All of that. More. To be a Yankee, the mythos goes, you should suffer your pain in private like Mantle, and keep hitting home runs even when your hair falls out like Maris, and find your true self in October like Reggie. You can be larger than life, like the Babe, and call yourself lucky when dying like Gehrig, and see the world through your own eyes like Yogi. You can even punch out marshmallow salesmen like Billy Martin. As long as you win almost every time out, like Whitey, and make perfectly timed moves, like Casey, and are willing to dive headfirst after victory like Jeter.
. . .
Yes, if there is an expression that conveys the Yankee myth, it would be the countenance of Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning.

Chi Trib: Ask Paul Sullivan

The question:

Any idea why Hendry didn’t go after Bobby Abreu instead of Milton Bradley?

Joe Posnanski Blog: Stupid Is

Joe Posnanski risks getting banned from the K by coming out against the noble start of Gil “The Ultimate Warrior” Meche

Matt Tolbert then worked Meche for an eight-pitch at-bat which led to a walk. Meche was now up to 113 pitches with two of the best lefty hitters in the American League — Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau — coming up. Well, yes, that was a disaster, but at least now Meche would get taken out of the game and …

No. Meche stayed in to face Joe Mauer. It leads to one of the great questions of philosophy: At what point does idiotic become criminal? Jamie Quirk, who was color commentator on television, talked about how Meche wanted to stay out there. Well OF COURSE Meche wanted to stay out there, but that’s why you have a MANAGER, someone who MANAGES to walk out to the mound and say, “Great effort Gil, but you know, I had to be insane to let you pitch the sixth inning in the first place, I have to get you out of here now.”

Bloomberg: Levinson: What Does It Mean for the Jews With Youkilis, Braun, Kinsler?

Uhh...they can now completely forget Ross Baumgarten’s year with the Pirates?

Jewish fans of baseball—fascinated with Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg and Lou Boudreau—may have a new crop of athletes to dote upon at this year’s All-Star Game.

Ryan Braun, Kevin Youkilis and Ian Kinsler lead in balloting for the squads, and pitcher Jason Marquis had the most wins in his league through June 30, meaning the four Jewish players are favorites to earn invitations to Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game on July 14. It would be the first time four Jews were named to the event.

“We’re in a glory time for Jewish baseball players,” said Howard Megdal, author of “The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players.” “The fact that you have three stars in Kinsler, Braun and Youkilis all under the age of 30 and all seemingly continuing to improve is a very impressive thing.”

...“Third base is a paradox for the Jewish people,” according to Megdal’s “The Baseball Talmud.” “Given the lack of Jewish players at the position, you’d think the bag was made of pork.”

“That’s pretty funny,” Braun said in an interview when read the excerpt. Rather than Kosher considerations, he suggested that the inactivity and tendency for short hops at third base were the reasons he struggled there for a season before being moved to left field.

Rockies send Baker to Cubs for prospect

Carnac alert!..."The butcher, the baker and the trouble maker.”

The Rockies traded utility infielder Jeff Baker to the Cubs for Class A Daytona relief pitcher Alberto Alburquerque, who will be assigned to Double-A Tulsa, Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd confirmed Thursday morning.

Baker, who was at the end of a rehab stint for a right hand sprain, said he learned of the trade in a conversation with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry on Wednesday night.

“I haven’t talked with [Cubs manager] Lou Piniella, but I did talk with Jim Hendry last night,” said Baker as he headed to a flight Thursday morning so he could join the Cubs for their game against the Brewers at Wrigley Field on Thursday night. “I’m excited for the opportunity. I don’t know what their plans are for me yet, so I’m looking forward to getting there.”

Fanhouse: Cuban Pitcher Aroldis Chapman Defects

And pulling a Jose Osoria...he now ar Bob.

ESPN’s Jorge Arangure relays a report from a Cuban website that 21-year-old Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman walked out of the Cuban national team’s hotel room in Rotterdam, the Netherlands today and plans to defect to America to pitch in the major leagues in the near future. What happens next is all speculation at this point, but Arangure says Chapman is the best Cuban prospect since Jose Contreras and could command more than $30 million on the open market.

...Baseball America’s John Manuel relayed this quote from a scout in his story today about Chapman:

“There were rumors heading into Mexico that he wouldn’t be there because they were afraid he would defect, but he was there and was lights out. ... You’ve got honestly just one or two tweaks that could be made but he could go straight to the top of a big league rotation. He’s got a great body, definitely has high pockets, absolutely. He’s on top of the hitter, his release has extension, he’s got the ball coming out of there at 100 mph. He’s absolutely electric.”

Waiting for Next Year: Indians to Honor Michael Jackson, America

And in a moving tribute to the pinched Bill Bailey...the Indians will continue doing the backslide into last place.

When the product on the field has trouble drawing in crowds, shift your focus to promotions!

The Indians will do just that this weekend with a back-to-back fireworks show.  Friday nights typically have fireworks following every game, and this week will be no different.  Except for the fact that the team will attempt to take you on a voyage to Neverland Ranch as they pay tribute to the late Michael Jackson with an “expanded 15-minute pyrotechnic display.”

Expect plenty of Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean.  Perhaps a little Smooth Criminal for good measure.

With Friday’s show paying homage to the King of Pop, the Indians will follow up with a Saturday night show that is deemed an Independence Day Celebration.

Rany on the Royals: Banned!

Good to know that Dayton Moore took some time out from scouting Braves rejects to make a move.

I was, in fact, planning to show my face at the ballpark in two weeks. We had been working behind the scenes for the past several weeks to put together a Baseball Prospectus night at Kauffman Stadium – an event that we have held with much success at a number of major league parks around the country. We even had the date tentatively set for July 17th, we were lining up guests from Kansas City and around the country, and I was just a few days away from announcing the details to all of you fine readers. Unfortunately, that event is now on indefinite hiatus. I guess the Royals have no interest in selling 100+ tickets to their Hall of Fame Suites at $80 a pop.

Having already cleared the weekend on my schedule, I’m still planning to come to town that weekend, so maybe I’ll get the chance to face the heat. Or maybe not: I was just informed last night that I’ve been blacklisted by the team. That’s right: I’ve been banned by the Royals! The way this team is playing, I’m not sure if the Royals are trying to punish me or reward me.

ESPN: Leyritz Charged With Battery

Authorities say former major leaguer Jim Leyritz has been arrested and accused of battery in South Florida.

The arrest comes about two months before he faces a trial on a DUI manslaughter charge.

Personal struggle leads Snell back to Indianapolis

But Triple-A hasn’t been much of a challenge for Snell. But why is he playing at this level? Snell says he’s doing it to save his life. A month ago, he says he contemplated suicide.

“Sometimes people do stupid stuff and I had to fight it, not to do something stupid and take my life for myself and from my family and my parents,” he said.

He says, emotionally, he hit rock bottom and has been battling depression. When he had bad games with the Pirates, negative comments from the media or on the Internet bothered him, so he wanted to leave Pittsburgh.

“I just want to say sorry to all the bloggers and media people for saying they don’t know anything. But I didn’t mean anything by it,” Snell said. “I was just upset at the time.”

WEEI: Larry Lucchino Discusses Bay, A.L. East Race

Given the Yankees’ offseason spending, is there satisfaction in being ahead of them after a winter in which the Sox spent their resources on short-term contracts and extensions for homegrown players?

They are definitely two different approaches. No question about that. We don’t rule out the significant free-agent signings. Make no mistake about that. We were out there trying to sign Teixeira. We look at the best free agents to come onto the market every year. It’s just not our primary course of action. It’s not the preferred way to operate. But you should never, and we never, foreclose any options to make our team better.

I do like the fact very much that we have a different approach. The Yankees seem to do things one way. We try to do them another. They’ve built the eighth wonder of the world as a ballpark, as a grand stadium, a grand edifice. We just have a nice little ballpark here. They’re also in the largest market in the world. We are in the most avid or passionate market in the world. There are real differences between us, and I like to be reminded of those from time to time.

Would you be surprised if a team with the resources of the Yankees made a run at Jason Bay in free agency this winter?

They have a track record of doing exactly that: signing the best players to come onto the free-agent market…Jason has the kind of track record that will establish him as one of the better free agents on the market as a position player. I think that it’s quite likely that they may do that, as a general rule. But who knows? I don’t know how rich their farm system is in terms of coming outfielders, but that doesn’t seem to deter them in most years.

Thanks to Bill Spanswicked This Way Comes.

D Magazine: Rangers borrowed $15M from MLB to make payroll

Amid increased internet chatter Wednesday that Tom Hicks financial woes are deepening and that the club has borrowed money from MLB’s rainy-day fund, club officials took a strange approach.

They went silent.

The chatter arose Wednesday after a local blog reported hearing on a national radio broadcast the team had borrowed $15 million from MLB to make its most recent payroll obligations and to fund ongoing operations. Asked about the reports, owner Tom Hicks referred questions to team spokesman John Blake, who said the team would have no comment on Hicks’ financial situation.

Tom Hicks needs to be the next to go in the name of financial flexibility.

Olbermann: Well, You Can Call Me Ray, Or You Can Call Me Jay… UPDATED

Update, 12:15 AM EDT 7/2: I forgot! The aforementioned Mr. Wally Jose Bryan was also a little off on his age, which invokes the greatest baseball biography ever written, on the back of the 1964 Phillies’ Rookie Card featuring Dave Bennett (the top one here). If the wonderful image of a man getting younger before your very eyes doesn’t register, read the write-up outloud.

Tom Hicks ‘streamlines’ his sports entities, folds marketing group

The marketing group’s biggest job was selling corporate advertising and sponsorship — offering package deals to big advertisers. However, with the Rangers for sale, the usefulness of the marketing group and [Jim] Lites had been reduced.

Texas Rangers bullpen adds ‘The Hammer’

Reliever Jason Grilli came across the piece of hardware — complete with a Rangers-blue shock-absorption grip — while in a cab with Josh Hamilton in Phoenix during Texas’ series with Arizona last week. A man on the street sold it to him for $5, a bargain price, according to Grilli.

...the hammer came in handy that same day. After the Diamondbacks’ mascot ran over a pin holding the bullpen door closed in a golf cart, bullpen coach Andy Hawkins used the hammer to bend it back in place and allow the door to open. The Rangers then went on to win the game.

A superstition was born.

Bruce Jenkins Blog: Hypocrites

Show me an announcer that’s not a hypocrite and I’ll show you a Ganglians recording session without a theremin-equipped sandbox.

Part of the fun of Manny Ramirez’ return to the Dodgers, scheduled for Friday night, will be the exposure of Charley Steiner as a hypocrite. Michael Kay was the first to go down, and Charley’s next.

...It seems this didn’t go over too well in other cities. Kay, who anchors the Yankees’ telecasts, ripped Krukow and Kuiper in a public forum for getting so excited over a steroid guy. Steiner, part of the Dodgers’ radio team, made some equally rude comments (off the air), establishing himself as a real high-and-mighty beacon of integrity.

Except it doesn’t work that way. Alex Rodriguez opened the season in disgrace after the steroid-related embarrassment of spring training, but that didn’t stop Kay from going nuts when A-Rod slugged his first home run. Presto—instant hypocrite! Now we get to hear Steiner when Manny rocks Dodger Stadium for the first time. What, he’s going to treat it like a funeral while the place is going crazy?

I’ve known Kay since his days as a Yankee beat writer in New York, and he’s a good guy. So is Steiner, who livened up many an ESPN “SportsCenter” before he joined the Dodgers. Ripping the Giants’ broadcasting team, to say the least, was not their finest hour.

Seamheads: El juego casi perfecto de Tom Seaver (Tom Seavers’ Almost Perfect Game)

(just in case you really, really don’t want to remember...)

Seaver también rememora que mientras calentaba el brazo sintió una rigidez en el hombro que se mantuvo los dos primeros innings. Con los dos lanzamientos iniciales de Ken Holtzman, los Mets se fueron arriba 1-0 mediante triple de Tommie Agee y doble de Bobby Pfiel. En el segundo marcaron otras 2, Seaver remolcó una con un doble. En el séptimo Cleon Jones la sacó del parque para poner el juego 4-0. Sus impresiones sobre el aislamiento que trata de realizar el pitcher para neutralizar la tensión del juego, explican como a medida que avanza un juego sin hits, la situación se dificulta cada vez. En las tribunas estaban su esposa Nancy y su padre, quién había viajado desde la costa occidental. Había 60000 personas en Shea Stadium, la primera vez que Seaver lanzaba ante tanto público.

Luego que Seaver dominara a Hundley con rolling al montículo. Me senté en la cama y estiré el oído hacia el radio, toda la tensión se desdibujó cuando el narrador dijo”… es una línea de hit de Jimmy Qualls hacia el centerfield, se acabó el perfecto, se acabó el juego sin hits. Tom Seaver mira hacia el cielo, se va detrás del montículo….” Aún sentado en la cama escuché como terminó el juego dominando a Willie Smith y Don Kessinger con elevados inofensivos.

Seaver regresa al dugout y nota que Nancy tiene lágrimas en los ojos. “¿Por qué estás llorando? Ganamos 4-0”.

NYT: Jack Clark Takes Jabs at Mets of Mid-’80s (RR)

More like a Carlos Monzon crushing jab to the face…

As it turns out, the old feuds continue to simmer. Jack Clark, the cleanup hitter on those St. Louis teams, called those Mets a bunch of cheats and showboats Tuesday in an interview on KTRS-AM radio, which broadcasts Cardinals games.

Clark told McGraw Milhaven, the morning host at the station, that the mutual hatred ran so deep that he purposely snubbed the Mets when they played together in All-Star Games.

“I wanted to let them know I wasn’t glad to be there with them and their teammate, didn’t want to be on any team or be a teammate with them, and we were going to battle,” said Clark, who provides commentary on some Cardinals games and manages the Springfield Sliders, a summer collegiate league team in Illinois.

Clark took particular aim at Gary Carter, the Mets’ catcher in those years, saying that he “talked his way more into the Hall of Fame than deserving it.” Carter, he said, craved the spotlight, which was “pretty sickening and disgusting to everybody else.”

Thanks to Can’t Stop the Bleeding.

The Niagara Falls Dugout

RIP Ed Delahanty.

S.I.: Freedman: With Manny coming back, red-hot Pierre forced to grin and bear it

“Stats are stats” handle going once, twice…

But if you’ve got a beating heart and any modicum of pride in what you do for a living, it’s hard to believe that Pierre is not at all perturbed that he’s heading back to the dugout despite putting up fantastic numbers in Ramirez’s absence. Pierre declined numerous requests to comment for this story, and tries to deflect as much attention from himself as he can in interviews with beat writers. But ask his best friend, Los Angeles Angels third baseman Chone Figgins, and it isn’t hard to read through the lines.

“I do feel badly for him because he’s my best friend and he’s not getting to play [regularly],” said Figgins, who came up with Pierre in the Colorado Rockies farm system. “But we’ve seen what happened with the Manny Ramirez situation and the fact that he did do something that was illegal. In retrospect, [the Dodgers] should see that a player that hasn’t done things like that is putting up numbers that are natural. It should be shown that we deserve more respect than what we get.”

..."Now he’s a so-called bench player, which isn’t accurate,” said Figgins. “Bench players don’t get a five-year contract or get 200 hits over the last couple years, [only] behind Ichiro [Suzuki]. Stats are stats.”

Basement Dwellers: What’s wrong with Bronson Arroyo?

NOTHING! He has one bad start out of every six or seven which screws up his ERA! Bronson Arroyo is the solution to all the Yankees’ proble...(sudden dismissive hand wave - Diet Coke ascites retention alert)

What I’m seeing here is a steady decline in his k/9 rates from mid-last season until now. His k/9 rate this year is its lowest since 2005 when with the Red Sox, and to me is looking pretty scary. I’ve long believed that Bronson’s bellweather stat is his strikeout rate, so color me concerned.

I’m no scout, so I can’t give you a precise cause. But let’s play a bit: his fastball run value has taken a huge hit this year, and appears to be where the problem lies among his major pitches from the pitch value data. But his fastball velocity, as he said, is essentially unchanged vs last year. And his fastball pitchf/x movement looks similar (maybe a slight drop in vertical movement, but not as large as 2007 vs 2008). Run values on his curve ball and change are actually improved this year, and are mostly unchanged on his slider, so those pitches look fine.

His walk rate is up this year. So, here’s a hypothesis: Arroyo’s not spotting his fastball this season, and so he can’t use it to properly set up his breaking slop as he usually does. And he’s behind in the count more than usual, causing him to give better pitches to hit. I can’t do my own pitchf/x at this point, but would someone like to test this who can assess strike zones? Maybe compare balls vs strikes on all 3-1 and 3-2 counts in 2009 vs. 2008 in which he threw a fastball? I’ve gone as far as I can go.

Hyde: Bonifacio often confounding, but he can be electrifying

Or as Robothal told Bic-quick Harold Reynolds the other day...“HE CAN’T HIT!...HE CAN’T HIT!”

(BTW...Rosenthal has been a saber-godsend on the MLBobfeller network)

Like it or not, Bonifacio is the exact kind of player this franchise has to mold from clay to succeed. He’s young at 24. He’s cheap at the major league minimum. He’s raw, obviously, and a liability at third base, though that’s the most irrelevant part of the conversation moving ahead. He’s a second baseman.

“Tremendous skills there,” said Washington General Manager Mike Rizzo, who signed Bonifacio out of the Dominican Republic while in Arizona, traded for him with Washington and then watched him shipped to the Marlins this offseason before becoming the GM.

Rizzo says what all baseball people do. “If Emilio can get a .360 on-base percentage, he’d be a terror.”

OK, if you can leap tall buildings, you’d be Superman. But let’s note a couple of numbers. Bonifacio’s on-base percentage is an awful .297. But through May, his on-base percentage was .291; in June it was .319.

Through May, he struck out nearly once every four at-bats (24.4 percent). In June, it was about once every 5.5 at-bats (18.6 percent). Yes, that’s still bad for a speed guy. But still.

“The numbers are moving in the right direction,” Gonzalez said.

GRANEY: Lee Smith’s exclusion from Hall of Fame puzzling

Same with The Canadian Beadles...but that’s just me.

Smith pitched 18 seasons and retired in 1997 with 478 saves, then the most in history. He was among the top five in Cy Young Award voting three times and owned the major league career saves record for a 13-year span. He also has been on the Hall of Fame ballot since 2003 and annually receives between 35 percent and 45 percent of the necessary votes for inclusion.

The guy is Peter O’Toole nominated for an Academy Award, up to this point a sure bet not to hear his name called.

“I think one thing that hurts Smith is that he is not associated with any one club,” said Tim Sullivan, a sports columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune and Hall of Fame voter from 1991 to 2005. “He played for eight teams. To some extent, he is a victim of not being identified with one club like Rivera with the Yankees and Hoffman when with the Padres. I think that helps you gain a base of support from people in those towns and works to your advantage.”

Hard to believe: Smith spent his first eight seasons with the Cubs but pitched in St. Louis only for four. It seemed twice that long. It also seemed Farrah Fawcett was on “Charlie’s Angels” for a decade instead of one season. Go figure.

But not being recognized as wearing one uniform for most of his career shouldn’t exclude a player with otherwise deserving numbers. Jeff Reardon is another closer not in the Hall of Fame. The subjective joke continues.

Detroit News: Rays rise on speed, strength

the Rays’ Detroit coverage is more interesting than anything on the Tampa/St. Pete sites…

The expectations are greater, and so is the competition. But the Rays finally are starting to prove last year was far from a fluke.

After a sluggish start, which fairly can be blamed on injuries—among those placed on the disabled list in May alone, Pat Burrell (neck), Scott Kazmir (quad), Troy Percival (shoulder), Jason Bartlett (ankle), Akinori Iwamura (ACL) and Brian Shouse (elbow)—the Rays had won nine of 10 and were a season-best nine above .500 before losing Wednesday to drop back to five games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.

They’ve revived their season with equal parts speed and strength. Entering Wednesday, they had 121 stolen bases—the Angels (76) are second—and 105 homers, making them the fifth team in history with 100 of each before the All-Star break.

That puts the Rays on pace for 248 stolen bases and 215 homers, which would make them the second member of the 200-200 club (1996 Rockies, 221 homers, 201 steals).

plus, Tigers Notebook: Homers offset June swoon

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A bare market for Melvin

It is no secret Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin is exploring his options to add a player via trade before the July 31 deadline.

There just aren’t many options.

Based on what the Brewers are looking for (probably established pitching) and what potential sellers would want in return (probably younger pitching), Melvin said there are fewer than 10 teams that could potentially “match up” with the Brewers.

That is what happened when Melvin inquired about Mark DeRosa, then with the Cleveland Indians. Melvin was told by Indians GM Mark Shapiro the Brewers didn’t have what his club was looking for and shipped DeRosa to St. Louis.

Translation: It could be difficult to make any kind of significant move, even if the Brewers’ desire is a position player.

“I don’t know,” Melvin said. “Things can change overnight. You prefer not to give up players on your current club.”

But that could be a challenge since Melvin has already deemed Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar as untouchable. So to pull off a deal and keep the organization’s two best prospects, a big-league player would probably have to be involved.

plus, Waste treatment

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Braves’ Kelly Johnson reacts to benching

offered as a break from the upcoming holiday Jeff Francoeur Marathon:

What’s good for Martin Prado is not so good for Kelly Johnson, after manager Bobby Cox said Tuesday night that it was time to give Prado a shot at the everyday second base job.

But the numbers stacked up against Johnson, who has hit only .168 with no home runs and five RBIs in his past 28 games. His season average was down to .216 entering Wednesday night’s game.

...

“It’s just been a tough year,” Johnson said. “It’s certainly uncharacteristic to hit so poorly for two months. It’s just the way the game goes. It can humble everybody.”

Johnson hit .203 in April, .297 in May and .125 in June, but he’s hopeful he can turn himself around the last three months of the season.

two months, three month… who’s counting?

Washington Times: Dukes sent to Class AAA [updated]

...submitted specifically for the quoted segment

“He’s not a finished product,” Acta said. “Obviously, he was in a little bit of a slump the last month here. He needs to get down there and get his swing back. But for the most part, just work on his overall game. He’s still very young and talented, and that’s basically it. I don’t think we were going to be doing him any help by just sitting him here.”

There is one other angle to all this, of course, and that is Dukes’ non-playing issues. There are still plenty of people in the organization that don’t believe he has the right attitude to succeed up here. And that feeling was only strengthened when Dukes reported late to the ballpark this morning. Yep, players were supposed to be dressed by 10 a.m. Dukes didn’t arrive until after that, at which point he was told of his demotion.

Dukes, as is usually the case, would not speak to reporters today.

plus, Chris Needham’s variation on the theme

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Collier: Pirates outfield lacking offensively

No matter which way Pirates management cranks its curious kaleidoscope, there is still only one element clearly evident at the center of every conceivable picture of this star-crossed franchise.

Andrew McCutchen was in center field last night, leading off in manager John Russell’s so-called lineup, just as he has for every game since arriving in Pittsburgh June 4, ending nearly four years of snowballing promise if not persistently tantalizing empirical evidence.

From the moment Bob Nutting took over the chairman’s seat from Kevin McClatchy in January 2007, to the moment he hired Frank Coonelly as team president that September, to the moment Coonelly brought in Neal Huntington as its general manager 12 days later, to the moment of the next inexplicable spasm of Management Vision, McCutchen is the center fielder and the leadoff hitter of the Pirates of the future.

Should that ever get here.

plus, Bob Smizik says the Pirates’ New look not such a good look

Plain Dealer/Livingston: Cleveland Indians baseball: Where change is never in the air

Nearly midseason, and Cleveland is held hostage.

Down and down the Tribe goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.

Given the expectations for the season, manager Eric Wedge would not make it to the All-Star break in some organizations. But he will with the Indians, who think stagnation is the same as stability.

Given that Wedge has guided the team to only one playoff berth in seven years, he might not last the season in most organizations. But after all the beat-downs lately, all the games when it gets late early, all the other games when the bullpen implodes, he will probably last the season.

Given the stubbornness and loyalty of his boss, partner and apologist, Mark Shapiro, he might be here when Progressive Field becomes Chico’s Bail Bonds Park and Chief Wahoo finally goes to the happy hunting ground.

Wedge and Shapiro are bound to each other, like the mission statement plaques are to the elevator walls at the ballpark. You know, the one about sustaining a contending team.

It is true it is not all Wedge’s fault, which means much of it is Shapiro’s. The bullpen, to cite one particularly lurid example, is his baby.

plus, from the PD’s Bud Shaw: Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro says fan base is ‘traumatized?’ Then what’s the bullpen?

Baseball America: Indians Prospect Faked Age, Identity

Major League Baseball has caught another high-profile prospect from the Dominican Republic misrepresenting his age and identity.

MLB’s latest catch is Indians shortstop Jose Osoria, who signed for $575,000 last year on July 2. Indians assistant general manager John Mirabelli confirmed that Osoria’s real name is Wally Bryan and that Bryan is 20 years old, three years older than he had presented himself. Bryan ranked as Cleveland’s No. 30 prospect entering the season.

“We still like his ability,” Mirabelli said. “We still like his talent. I’m not going to try to pretend there’s not a difference between 17 and 20. There certainly is in terms of projection, but the fact of the matter is he isn’t who he said he was.”

Bryan does look a lot older…