Akinori Iwamura, who was Tampa Bay’s everyday second baseman in 2008 when the team made a run to the World Series, was traded to the Pirates for Jesse Chavez, a relief pitcher. Iwamura will likely become Pittsburgh’s everyday second baseman.

In 2009, Iwamura’s season was cut sure due to a knee injury. The 30-year-old native of Japan hit .290 with 22 RBIs and 28 runs in 231 at-bats. In 2008, he hit .274 with six homers, 48 RBIs, 91 runs and an on-base percentage of .349.

Chavez pitched in 73 games last year for the Pirates and posted a 4.01 ERA. It was the 26-year-old’s first full season in the big leagues.

The Rays were able to trade Iwamura since Ben Zobrist emerged as a potential star at second base last year after Iwamura’s injury.

Akinori Iwamura is the new second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (Image: Zuma Press)

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Akinori Iwamura Traded to the Pirates

The 31-year-old second baseman began his career with the Boston Red Sox but made his name with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played with the Pirates from 2004 through the middle of last season. For his career, Sanchez has a .299 batting average and an on-base percentage of .334.

In 25 games with the Giants last season, Sanchez hit .284 with one homer, seven RBIs and 11 runs. In 86 games with the Pirates last season, he hit .296 with six homers, 34 RBIs and 45 runs.

The Giants were in the playoff race for much of last season but fell off near the end of the campaign. Still, their record of 88-74 beat most expectations and they have a number of solid pieces to build upon — now including Freddy Sanchez.

Freddy Sanchez - San Francisco Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

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Freddy Sanchez Signs Extension with Giants

The alleged murder took place at a bar in the Dominican Republic city of La Romana. In a shooting, 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete was killed. If convicted of murder, Villalona could spend 20 years in prison.

In Class A, Villanova hit 9 homers, finished with 42 RBIs and had a batting average of .267. Originally signed in 2006, he received more than two million dollars for his signing bonus. Many publications have listed him near the first baseman as a top prospect in the Giants’ farm system.

In a press release, the Giants said: “We will monitor the situation closely and trust that the judicial process in the Dominican Republic will resolve the matter promptly and fairly.”

Angel Villalona charged with murder (Image: Zuma Press)

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Angel Villalona Charged with Murder

In seven innings, Lincecum gave up only six hits one one earned run while striking out 11 batters. His record on the season improved to 14-5, while his ERA was lowered to 2.30. Lincecum got more than enough support as the Giants beat the Rockies by a final count of 9-1.

Most of the runs were produced by Eugenia Velez and Bengie Molina. Velez had a sacrifice fly in the second inning and a three-run triple in the eighth inning, while Molina hit a solo homer in the third and scored two other runs.

This win by the Giants was huge in the NL Wild Card race. San Francisco cut Colorado’s lead to 3.5 games. The two teams play again on Tuesday and Wednesday. Two more wins by the Gaints and the NL Wild Card race will get really exciting.

Tim Lincecum was back to business against the Rockies (Image: Zuma Press)

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Tim Lincecum Dominates in Return

In seven innings, Martinez gave up only five hits and one earned run while striking out nine and walking no one. With the win, he upped his record on the season to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 3.52.

Lincecum was hardly disappointing. In his seven innings of work, he gave up four hits, two earned runs and one walk while striking out 11. His record on the season is now 13-5 and he sports a 2.34 ERA.

The Phillies got their runs via a Jayson Werth solo homer in the second inning and a Ryan Howard RBI double in the sixth inning. With the win, Philadelphia now leads the NL East by 8.5 games. The loss kept the Giants one game back in the NL Wild Card race.

Pedro Martinez - Philadelphia Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

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Pedro Martinez Beats Tim Lincecum

The 31-year-old right-hander will step in and become the team’s number five starter. This year with the Red Sox, Penny had a 5.61 ERA and a record of 7-8. In his last start for Boston, he gave up ten hits and eight earned runs in four innings against the New York Yankees.

Despite his ugly numbers this season, Penny was very good in 2007 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In that season, he was 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA.

At the moment, the Giants are tied with the Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card race. If Penny can reclaim some of his former magic, the Giants will have a very good chance of living to see the 2009 baseball playoffs.

Brad Penny inks with the San Francisco Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

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Brad Penny Claimed by the Giants

The first trade sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Pirates received Ronny Cedeno, Jack Lement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock.

Wilson was the starting shortstop for the Pirates and will continue to start with the Mariners. On the season, he’s hitting .267 with four homers and 31 RBIs. Snell is a starting pitcher with a 5.36 ERA and a record of 2-8. Many scouts think that the 27-year-old Snell still has untapped potential.

The two big names the Pirates received in this trade were Cedeno and Clement. Both players will likely play at the big league level this season for Pittsburgh.

In the other trade of the day, the Pirates traded Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants. The second baseman, who has been an All-Star three times, is hitting .296 with six homers and 34 RBIs. For his career, the 31-year-old is a .300 hitter.

With the Giants, Sanchez will step into a big role right away. San Francisco hopes he’s the key to making a push to qualify for the 2009 baseball playoffs.

In return, the Pirates received Tim Alderson, a quality pitching prospect.

Freddy Sanchez Tradded to the Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

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Pirates Trade Sanchez, Wilson and Snell

New England Patriots
Bill Belichick is one coach who doesn’t have to worry about his job. Also consider that Belichick likes players who can play multiple positions. Could Vick have Randy Moss type success with the Patriots?

San Francisco 49ers
The Niners are arguably the most desperate team in the league when it comes to the quarterback position. If Vick is serious about playing — and playing quickly — the Niners make a lot of sense.

Oakland Raiders
Doesn’t this situation just scream Al Davis. The only reason why Davis might not want Vick is due to the presence of JaMarcus Russell — a current Al Davis favorite.

Minnesota Vikings
Now that the Vikings have officially (well, as official as anything can be with the person at hand) lost their bid to woo Brett Favre out of retirement, Vick’s name will undoubtedly come up in Minnesota.

Michael Vick Destinations (Image: Zuma Press)

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Michael Vick – Possible NFL Destinations

Sanchez pitched nine innings, gave up no hits, no walks and struck out 11 batters. His no-hitter improved his record to 3-8 and his ERA to 4.69.

If it wasn’t for Juan Uribe’s error in the eighth inning, Sanchez could have had a perfect game. As it was, Sanchez was obviously happy with his effort.

“It’s the game. It can happen,” Sanchez said of Uribe’s error. “I could have given up a hit, too. It doesn’t matter. I just want to win.”

Due to struggles, this was Sanchez’s first start since June 22nd. His last two appearances were in a relief role.

The Giants were able to beat the San Diego Padres 8-0 to improve their record to 48-38. The loss dropped the Padres to 35-51.

Jonathan Sanchez No-Hitter (Image: Zuma Press)

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Jonathan Sanchez Throws No-Hitter

Despite the end of his hitting streak, Zimmerman is still having a very good season. He’s hitting .357 with eight homers, 26 RBI and 28 runs. The 24-year-old from North Carolina is the best thing going for the last place Nationals.

On this day, the Nationals didn’t need production from Zimmerman to take home a rare win. Scoring three runs in the top of the seventh and two more in the top of the ninth, Washington was able to beat the Giants by a final count of 6-3. The Nationals are now 11-21, while the Giants are 18-15.

Zimmerman’s 30-game hitting streak was the second longest in franchise history. The longest was 31 games by Vladimir Guerrero in 1999.

Ryan Zimmerman (Image: Zuma Press)

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Ryan Zimmerman Sees Hitting Streak End