The Baltimore Orioles have traded shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo.
Headed to Houston
Tejada is coming off a .296/.357/.442 campaign, which is low by his standards but still pretty darned good. The downside is that he turns 32 in May and, thanks to that whole consecutive-games streak thing, has a lot of wear-and-tear on his 5′10″, 170-lb frame. Also, the Astros have an otherworldly defender at short in Adam Everett, so if Tejada moves to third base, how will that affect his value? …read more

Preseason Picks Revisited
The story so far:

AL West
AL Central
AL East
NL West
NL Central

And now for our latest installment…

Mets – Only a historic collapse kept me from getting this one right. They were supposed to be the strongest team in the National League, and I had them losing to the Angels in the World Series.
Braves – You wonder what might have been if they hadn’t traded away Adam LaRoche for Mike Gonzalez and if Andruw Jones had shown up to play.
Phillies – At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think they had enough pitching. I still don’t, but it appears not to …read more

Preseason Picks Revisited
The story so far:

AL West
AL Central
AL East

First off, I’d like to thank all the spammers for their excellent suggestions. Some pretty imaginative stuff, although much of it I fear is not physically possible. But really, what are we without ambition?
To the topic at hand. Here are my preseason predictions for the NL West, annotated for your amusement:

Diamondbacks – I expected them to be on top, but I figured it would be on the strength of their talented young hitters. Instead, pitching has carried the day in Phoenix. What a bullpen…
Padres – Not a bad showing from a team …read more

I hope y’all had a good weekend. Mine would have been better if the Padres hadn’t been so busy losing a series at home to Houston, but oh well. Here are your games for Monday…
American League

Mariners at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT — How in the world can Horacio Ramirez have a 7-4 record despite a 7.38 ERA? If his performance doesn’t convince you that won-loss record is a terrible way to evaluate starting pitchers, then nothing will. Opponents are batting .341/.407/.518 against the southpaw; that’s roughly what Joe Mauer did last year. Right-hander Matt Garza (2-3, 2.05 ERA) starts for …read more

Not as catchy as “Two For Tuesday,” but it will have to do. Real quick like, here are your games for today:

Tigers at Yankees, 12:55 p.m. PT — Two teams fighting for a playoff berth, Roger Clemens pitching… Clemens’ career ERA by team: Tor, 2.33; Hou, 2.40; Bos, 3.06; NYA, 3.99.
Angels at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — Same as above, but with Curt Schilling instead of Clemens.
Cardinals at Cubs, 12:55 p.m. PT — Take the NL Central, please. Nobody wants it, and here come the Cards. Gee, I sure hope another 83-win team wins the World Series this year.
Diamondbacks …read more

Let’s see what’s on tap today, shall we…
American League

Tigers at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — A showdown between two teams tied for first in the AL Central come mid-August? Two outstanding young pitchers (Jeremy Bonderman, C.C. Sabathia)? Dude, you are so all over this one. Here’s the thing I don’t understand about Bonderman: How can he possibly have a 4.75 ERA? Ah, here it is: Since the All-Star break, opponents are batting .344/.379/.603 against him. The kid’s got great stuff, though; someone should be able to fix that.

National League

Reds at Cubs, 5:05 p.m. PT — The Reds are done, but …read more

I am watching the Atlanta Braves destroy Milwaukee’s bullpen. The Brewers took a 2-1 lead into the eighth, and it’s now 8-2, Atlanta, with two out in the inning. The NL Central is just brutal…