The Arizona Diamondbacks, who entered Tuesday's action tied for the NL West lead, have snagged right-handed reliever Jon Rauch from the going-nowhere Washington Nationals. The D-Backs gave up spare infielder Emilio Bonifacio, who one assumes will take over at second base and push the under-performing Felipe Lopez out of town. Rauch, who enters a bullpen worn thin by injuries to Juan Cruz and Doug Slaten, will get some closing duty in Phoenix and probably work some eighth innings as well.

While it was an easy decision for the Nats to enter a trade (though they don't seem to have gotten equal value for Rauch), clubs on the edge of contention must tread carefully. What will the Atlanta Braves do with Mark Teixeira? Do the Colorado Rockies risk dumping Matt Holliday and/or Brian Fuentes? The Tigers, hot of late, think they're still in the race; is that a mistake, or is it sensible to add a starting pitcher like Bronson Arroyo or Erik Bedard?

Last August, the Seattle Mariners, playing over their heads, were just a game out, but lost 13 of 14 and finished well behind in the AL West stakes. Should they have folded their cards and traded some of the veterans who have struggled this year?

Teams already out of it, and considering moving into rebuilding mode, are already getting plenty of phone calls. What will it take to pry Adam Dunn or Arroyo from the Reds? Will Oakland continue their pitching staff evisceration by trading closer Huston Street? Should Baltimore flip George Sherrill now that he's at his top level of value? Can the Mariners demand anything for Kenji Johjima or Jose Vidro, or are Bedard and Raul Ibanez their only chips?

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After Monday's 10th inning winner, Bill Hall capped another Brewers rally with game-winning home run in the 9th to pass the Cardinals and narrow the gap to 1-game behind the fading Cubs who lost 9-2 to the D-Backs. The Rockies put up double-digits again at home to knock the Dodgers out of a first place tie in the NL West, 10-1 behind a complete 4-hitter by Ubaldo Jimenez and big games Ian Stewart, Brad Hawpe and Jeff Baker.

In the Junior Circuit, things are tightening up as well. The Rays were pounded at home, losing 8-1 to the A's and saw their lead in the AL East shrink to a half-game over Boston. Daisuke Matsuzaka improved to 11-1 downing the Mariners 4-2 as Red Sox who won handily as on a another big night for J.D. Drew. In the Bronx, the Yankees continued their second half push by pummeling the reeling Twins 8-2 as Bobby Abreu drove in three runs with double and towering home run to move to 3.5 games back.

A grand slam by Alexei Ramirez and 3-run shot by Nick Swisher propelled the White Sox to a 10-2 thrashing of the Rangers behind a strong outing by Mark Buehrle pitching on 3 days rest for Chicago. The Tigers kept pace downing the Royals 7-1 in an impressive outing by Kenny Rogers that was held up by a 2 hour 20 minute rain delay at Kaufman Stadium. Out west, four relievers combined for 6 spotless innings climaxed by Francisco Rodriguez picking up his 41st save of the season Angels got past the Indians 3-2, despite Grady Sizemore's league leading 24th homer.
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Lohse has won his last nine decisions and, so far, has more than earned the one-year, $4.25 million deal he signed in March. He allowed three runs in eight innings yesterday against Milwaukee in a no-decision.

But why has the erratic veteran been so successful this season after bombing out so badly from 2004-07? Lohse has been stingy with walks, for one thing. He's on par to have the lowest WHIP of his career at 1.25. And, under pitching coach Dave Duncan's guidance, Lohse is keeping the ball on the ground far more effectively by relying a lot more on his sinking fastball. In 2007, Lohse was tagged for 22 home runs in 193 innings, while this year he has a much better ground out-to-air out ratio and has allowed only nine dingers in his 134.1 innings.

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If you're a die-hard, Baseball Prospectus is for you. Some of the cool stuff to check out this week includes:

* Under the Knife: Will Carroll reports on player injuries.
* Prospectus Today: Columnist Joe Sheehan's daily tour around baseball.
* Transaction Analysis: Christina Kahrl's sharp criticism and irreverent humor on deals and rumors.
* BP Sortable Stats: Simply put - manna from seamhead heaven.
* BP's PECOTA cards: PECOTA is BP's exclusive forecasting system.
* Lies, Damned Lies: Nate Silver's insightful column on Thursday.
* Prospectus Hit List: Jay Jaffe tracks who's hot, who's not and why.
* Future Shock: Commentary on prospects and farm systems league-wide by Kevin Goldstein.

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The immensely talented Braves won the 1957 World Series and the 1958 NL pennant before losing an exceedingly winnable 1959 NL crown. Haney's mismanagement of his personnel was widely cited as the reason the Braves didn't win that season, and he was summarily fired. He never managed again.


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Cronin was a great shortstop who could hit as well as field. He played for 20 years for Pittsburgh, Washington, and Boston. He hit .301 for his career, with 170 home runs and 1,424 RBIs with an OPS 19% above league average. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia gives Cronin its Ex Post Facto MVP Award for 1930 (when their were no official MVP awards). In his first year as a player-manager in 1933, Cronin led the Senators to their first AL pennant in eight years--it was also their last in Washington. After retiring as a manager, Cronin would later serve as American League president from 1959-73.

Greenberg played "only" 13 years (12 with Detroit and one with Pittsburgh from 1930-46) due to missing three full seasons to military service in World War II. The powerful first baseman led the AL in homers four times and RBIs four timns on the way to winning two AL MVP awards (1935 and 1940; the first unanimously). He led the Tigers to their first pennant in 25 years in '34 and their first world championship ever in '35. Greenberg returned from the army in 1945 to play a key role in Detroit's 1945 world championship; The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia gives Greenberg its Ex Post Facto MVP award for the '45 Fall Classic.

The true greatness of the Tigers' slugger is obscured by the huge portion of the prime of his career that he lost between 1941-45. His 58 home runs in 1938 were the most by a right-handed hitter until 1998. His 183 runs batted in in 1937 is the third-highest single-season total ever. Overall, Greenberg hit .313 with 331 home runs and 1276 RBIs with an adjusted OPS 57% above league average.

The second big-leaguer to enlist in the military during World War II, Greenberg joined the army in early 1941 and was actually discharged two days before Pearl Harbor. He reenlisted immediately. Greenberg led the AL in homers in both 1940 and 1946, indicating that he would almost certainly have remained a dominant player through the mid-1940s. According to Pete Palmer's calculations, "Hammerin' Hank" is second only to Ted Williams among position players in projected wins lost due to wartime service.
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Gary Gillette, son of lifelong Tigers' fan Charles Gillette, is The Early Bird's Executive Editor and Co-Publisher.

Sean Forman, son of Yankees' fan Floyd Forman, is The Early Bird's technical guru and Co-Publisher.

Stuart Shea, a right-hander whose whose father John and brother John both throw left-handed, was lead writer on the Early Bird today.

Gary Gillette (Sepia) and Rod Nelson (Pick Off) also contributed to today's issue.

Feel free to send us your comments, suggestions and criticism.
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