Rich Harden will be making a rehab start in Sacramento on Thursday.

John Lackey is making his second rehab start for Rancho Cucamonga tonight - in Lancaster. Should be interesting...

-- MWE

Is it possible that the Tigers gave away their best center field prospect to get Edgar Renteria, rather than Cabrera and Willis?

Mike Hampton is scheduled to start Wed at Durham.

Is it possible that the Tigers gave away their best center field prospect to get Edgar Renteria, rather than Cabrera and Willis?

Could be.

Blake Beavan, the Rangers' #1 draft choice a year ago, is making his pro debut with Clinton (MWL) tonight.

-- MWE

Mike, your thoughts on Chris Coghlan? Do you think he'll be Florida's 2bman eventually, and when?

Mike, your thoughts on Chris Coghlan? Do you think he'll be Florida's 2bman eventually, and when?

Eventually, yes. When - the moment Dan Uggla becomes too expensive to keep.

Coghlan's your basic scrappy 2B type, who will hit singles, doubles, and the occasional HR, get on base at a reasonable clip, and won't make many mental mistakes on the bases or in the field. He looks like a sure hands/limited range type of defender.

-- MWE

Lackey lasted three innings, allowing one run, one hit, walking one, and fanning 2. He's supposed to make one more rehab start for the Quakes.

-- MWE

"Maybin is the guy with all of the hype, but frankly I’ve been less than impressed with what I’ve seen so far."

Where do you weigh in on Cutch v. Maybin, Mike?

Haven't seen much of McCutchen, and by the time Indy gets here in August he may not be there. McCutchen's contact rates have been much better than Maybin's, but Maybin's in-play BA and ISO have been quite a bit better. Maybin's done a better job of sustaining his rates as he's moved up the ladder, although this year's numbers are scary (contact rate of 58.4%).

Maybin's not an impatient hitter - in fact, I think he could stand to be a little more aggressive at the plate. We were commenting last night that much of the time he seems to be trying to make up his mind whether or not to swing, almost as if you can see the wheels turning.

Funny story. We have an umpire evaluator in town for this series. He sat in our section Tuesday night, right in front of me, and last night I didn't see him at the beginning. The home plate ump last night had a narrow strike zone (although it was consistent, at least; only a couple of players barked at him), and after one call I said "Where's the umpire evaluator when you need him?" Turns out he was, in fact, a few rows in back of me. Nice way to embarrass yourself in public.

-- MWE

Heh. Classic.

Aaron Thompson had his first really bad outing last night. He was constantly falling behind hitters, and then just laying the ball in there for them to jump all over. He lasted into the sixth largely because almost every strike he threw was being drilled someplace, so he wasn't throwing a lot of pitches.

Maybin drew a walk on four pitches, then had three ground ball outs, only one of which was hit solidly. He was on deck when the game ended.

West Tenn (Mariners) doesn't have anyone that I'd call a real prospect - OK, maybe Doug Fister. They have a lot of minor league veterans like Shawn Garrett, Marshall Hubbard (former UNC player, who has a local fan club that's been out every night), Mark Kiger (for those who were wondering where he went), Prentice Redman, and Mike Wilson.

-- MWE

Howie Kendrick was supposed to go to Rancho Cucamonga on a rehab assignment yesterday, but was scratched from that outing.

-- MWE