This will be a short one, as I decided to have some beers and a cigar with my neighbor last evening, so I got a late start with the Roundup.

Diamondbacks pitching prospect Trevor Bauer made his first major league start last night with mixed results. He tossed just 4 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. He will have more days like this, but will also mix in some 8-10 strikeout performances as well. Like many other young starting pitchers, he will have to control the free passes as the season goes along. I remember Clayton Kershaw having the same problem when he first came up but he has learned to limit them as he gained more experience.

A.J. Burnett may not have been drafted in many leagues back in March, mainly because he started the season on the DL. His first few outing were solid, then he had probably the worst outing of his career, giving up 12 runs in 2.2 innings, and I am sure many owners dropped him after that outing. I own him in 2 leagues and I was close to dropping him as well. But that would have been a big mistake, as he has been ace-like since that start. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts in 6.2 innings yesterday to win his 9th game of the season. Since that disastrous start on May 2nd, he has given up 3 runs or less in 10 straight starts, and has gone 6 or more innings in 8 of those 10 starts. He is now 9-2 with a 3.31 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 69-29 strikeout to walk ratio in 81.2 innings. He is one of the reasons for the Pirates being just 1.5 games out of first place on June 28th.

More Roto Roundup after the jump:

Last weekend, it was reported that Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman may need another DL stint for his ailing shoulder. He received a cortisone shot (PED?) and since then has started looking like the Zimm of old. He went 1-6 with 2 RBI yesterday, and is now hitting .235-.297-.350 with 5 HR, 34 runs, 30 RBI and 3 stolen bases. Since Sunday, he is 9-23 with 5 runs scored, 2 HRs and 8 RBI. it remains to be seen how long the cortisone will provide him relief, but fantasy owners are hoping he is over his season long slump. Yes, I own him in 3 leagues.

Padres starter Andrew Cashner made his first start of the season last night, and he was better than I expected. He tossed 6.1 innings, giving up just 2 hits, a walk and striking out 9. I mentioned last week that he could be a solid source for strikeouts, and he made me look good last night. He should benefit from pitching in Petco Park going forward, but could run into control issues down the road. You have to take the good (strikeouts) with the bad (inexperience, walks) with some young pitchers.

I wrote about Albert Pujols the other day, and he is still on a hot streak. He went 4-5 with 3 runs scored, and has now raised his triple slash line to .270-.32-.461 with 12 HRs, 39 runs and 46 RBI on the season. Over his last 10 games, he is 13-35 with 3 HRs and 9 RBI and he should continue batting with runners on base, especially with Mike Trout leading off for him everyday.

Giants starter Madison Bumgarner is solidifying himself as a top 10-15 starter. He may not strike out as many batters as some, but he is awesome just the same. Last night, he tossed a complete game one hit shutout of the Reds, giving up just 2 walks and striking out 8. He is now 10-4 with a 2.85 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and a 92-22 strikeout to walk ratio in 110.2 innings. His strikeout rate is down a bit this season, but he has traded some Ks for more ground balls, as his ground ball rate sits at 50% right now. His strikeout rate of 7.48 per nine, and his walk rate of 1.70 per nine, combined with his ground ball rate puts him in the Holy Trinity of starting pitchers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of many teams to inquire on San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

The division rival Dodgers are one of many teams to inquire about acquiring Padres third baseman Chase Headley in a trade.

"The Dodgers like Headley a lot,'' one baseball executive on another team said.

Heyman reports that the Padres are willing to listen to offers on Headley, though they say they will need to be overwhelmed to trade him.

The 28-year-old has hit at a clip of .273/.373/.422 with 25 extra-base hits and 38 RBIs for the Padres this season. Headley sports a career OBP of .347 and maintained an OPS of .733 over the 2011 season.

Headley is making $3.475 million this season and isn’t set to hit the free agent market until after the 2014 season.

Heyman notes that several teams have checked in on Headley since it became clear the Padres are willing to consider offers. Beyond the Dodgers, he speculates that the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks would be logical fits.

While Los Angeles and Arizona share the National League West with the Padres, Heyman says San Diego is willing to consider making in-division trades.

Felipe Paulino and Brandon Beachy are both down for the count, so it's a bit odd that they haven't been dropped in more leagues already. People dropping Jerome Williams is questionable, since he's already thrown a simulated game and is likely to go on a rehab assignment next week. You'll be picking him back up right after you dropped him, at this rate.

That's about it for the major drops this week, as it was more of a picking up kind of time. Especially if you were a reliever recently moved to starting.

Jair Jurrjens, SP (62 percent owned, +32 percent): Many owners didn't lose their faith in Jurrjens, even when he was shelled in the majors, sent to the minors, and knocked around some more. He came back to the bigs to help fill in for the injuries in the Braves rotation, though, and pitched well against a high-powered Red Sox offense. That was enough to reel owners back in.

To put it politely, Jurrjens has been terrible overall, walking more than he's struck out, giving up 1.5 homers per nine, looking extremely hittable. It's all a small sample. though, and even if he was meant to regress from his 2011, going awful in the other direction isn't how regression tends to work. I wouldn't dare start him, but if he's going to around, might as well stash him if there's room and hope there's more of the good Jair in him than the bad.

Bobby Parnell, RP (32 percent owned, +28 percent): Surges in ownership like this for a reliever can only mean one thing: Bobby Parnell is now picking up saves. Frank Francisco is on the disabled list, so it's up to Parnell to close out Mets' wins for now. He isn't likely to have the job for a lengthy time frame -- just until Francisco is back -- but if you're in need of the ole S-V, then you could do a lot worse in the short term than a dude with a K/BB of nearly four.

Andrew Cashner, RP/SP (36 percent owned, +24 percent): When he wasn't the Padres closer during Huston Street's absence, many owners lost interest in Cashner. San Diego has gone and brought him back as a starter, though, and after throwing six no-hit innings against the Astros before things unraveled a bit, he's all of a sudden getting attention again.

Cashner throws in the mid-to-high 90s, and it's never been his stuff that's been considered a barrier to his starting. His health, though, is a legitimate concern, but the Padres clearly aren't so concerned that he's going to held in the bullpen forever. This is a good thing if you're a San Diego fan, as this off-season's Anthony Rizzo swap with the Cubs makes far more sense if Cashner is a starter, rather than a reliever.

Franklin Morales, RP/SP (28 percent owned, +23 percent): Morales was even less popular than Cashner, as he had sort of fallen out of favor as a reliever in Boston, and wasn't even going to sniff a save opportunity. The Red Sox started to give him lengthier relief outings, though, and then moved him into the rotation, where he's going to stick for at least a few more weeks even now that Josh Beckett is back. With the way he's been throwing -- following Thursday's start against the Mariners, Morales finished June with 25-1/3 innings, 31 strikeouts, three walks, and a 1.42 ERA -- he won't be leaving the rotation when Clay Buchholz returns, either. Snag him now, while you can, because it's going to be one of Dice-K or Aaron Cook who gets the boot in order to keep the former elite-level starting prospect as a starter.

Cody Ross, OF (68 percent owned, +16 percent): I realize Ross missed a month with injury, but 68 percent owned? He's hitting .278/.347/.568 with 11 homers in 191 plate appearances, in the middle of a terrifying lineup, with his home games coming in a hitter-friendly division. He's eligible in not just left and right, but center field. Go! Get him!

AL-only

Jeff Keppinger, 2B/3B (7 percent owned, +4 percent): Keppinger is back from the DL, and as the Rays still aren't whole and healthy, he'll continue to rack up playing time, especially against left-handed pitching. He's not the greatest, but if he's eligible at multiple positions and actually getting playing time, that makes him useful in AL-only formats.

NL-only

Dallas Keuchel, RP/SP (8 percent owned, +7 percent): The 24-year-old has thrown three starts for Houston, one of which was a complete game, and has a 1.35 ERA for his efforts. Now, there's little chance that ERA is going to keep up: he has more walks than strikeouts, and while the walks aren't terrible, the punch outs are. However, he's been a little better than this in the minors, so if you're absolutely desperate for an arm, here's one. But I don't think I could even bring myself to do that, no matter how much I needed the pitching.

Here's the video of Luke Gregerson's hacky sack skills coming into play during last night's game. I guess you could credit Everth Cabrera for the catch, speedy transition and perfect throw too, if you're the type that favors participation ribbons.

Yonder Alonso deserves his due as well. Just think if it wasn't for Alonso letting the ball pop out of his glove we probably never would have taken notice of the fact that Cabrera caught the ball on the fly. The runner would have been called out by the umpire at first base and Fox Sports San Diego would have gone to commercial. The skills of Gregerson's feet would be lost. None of us would be the wiser, unless they showed a replay at the beginning of the next inning just so Mark Grant could make a comment about a frog with a tennis racket hiding out in Alonso's mitt.

Entering Friday, the Rockies are sitting 2 games ahead of the Padres in the NL West, with the Padres representing the 2nd worst record in MLB to the Chicago Cubs. Much as making light of their predicament is fun, it should be mentioned that the Padres' pitching has been simply decimated by injury. Right now, the Padres have Anthony Bass and Eric Stults on the 15-day DL, Cory Luebke, Dustin Moseley, Micah Owings, Tim Stauffer, and Joe Weiland on the 60-day DL. That's just the pitching. Add Jason Bartlett, Kyle Blanks, James Darnell, and Jeremy Hermida to that 60-day list, and that's half of an MLB roster injured.

To add insult to injury, the Padres are also the 5th worst batting team in MLB per wRC+ (86), while the Rockies are the 6th best batting team (101).

This isn't to say that NOTHING is going right for the Padres, but the glimmers of hope are few and far between.

Carlos Quentin is finally off of the DL, and he's announcing his presence with authority.

The Carlos Quentin

#18 / Left Field / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-2

Weight: 235

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 28, 1982

---

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Carlos Quentin	25	83	13	27	7	0	6	15	13	13	0	0	.325	.451	.627

---

Yeah, welcome back to the land of the living, TCQ. Quentin has been as injury prone as you'd expect a man made of balsa wood would be, but he's back with a vengeance for San Diego. In an admittedly small sample size, Quentin is posting a career-high batting average, BB%, and surprisingly, ISO (SLG-AVG), when you consider he plays for the Padres. He's also striking out at a career-low rate of 12.4%.

Frankly, those numbers surprise me. Not just because of LOLPETCO, but really just how low his career K% is when compared to his career batting average. Usually those low AVG guys walk a lot (which Quentin does) and their power numbers tend to also lead to a lot of strikeouts. Just ask Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta, and Mark Reynolds.

\While I'm not terribly excited about Carlos Quentin coming to a weekend in high and dry Coors Field and hitting baseballs, I'm also in that camp of "I like to watch good baseball players play baseball good". Nobody likes to watch a player decimated by injury, unless they're racist or something. Which I don't think Carlos Quentin is.

This is an intensely winnable series for Colorado. They put up very strong fights against the Phillies and the Nationals, and now they have 1 of the only 2 teams in the NL that Colorado can still pick on coming into our park. Given the way the bats have been swinging lately, there's no reason that Colorado can't take at LEAST 2 games from the Padres while grabbing them by their wrists and hitting them in the face with their own fists while taunting "Stop hitting yourselves, stop hitting yourselves, stop hitting yourselves". In fact, I think that's the only reason we still have Jason Giambi on the roster.

Probable Starters (or my best guess anyhow, I'm always screwing these things up)

Friday, June 29th at 6:10PM MT

Jason Marquis vs Jeff Francis

Saturday, June 30th at 5:15PM MT

Edinson Volquez vs Christian Friedrich

Sunday, July 1st at 1:10PM MT

Kip Wells vs (It's a Surprise!!!)

For the first time in what seems like forever, Colorado was the better team on paper coming into this game -- and tonight they played like it. Jeff Francis went 6 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk in the process to get Colorado's first starting pitcher win since June 4th. That's a long time, y'all. Then again, I wouldn't expect to see too many more this year with this 11 man rotation monster.

The Rockies leaped out to a 6 run advantage during Francis' dominant 6 innings, the highlights of which included RBI triples by Carlos Gonzalez and Tyler Colvin. On Gonzalez's triple, the throw went into the stands and CarGo walked home. After Tyler Chatwood allowed two runs, Michael Cuddyer smacked a two-run homer (12) in the 8th, as did Wilin Rosario -- also his 12th -- to provide the final margin of victory.

It was quite a satisfactory performance by the home nine tonight...now let's see if it will translate into their first series win in almost a month.

Graph: That is a fine shape for a Fangraph

Source: FanGraphs

We Salute: Francis (.269), Marco Scutaro (.137), Rex Brothers (.105)

We Are Disappointed In: Chatwood (-.091)

Roll Call: Sjamb, Roxman4ever, SDcat09 (most prolific), papality, butterfly, idj2, xml.jim, free7694, volduck, jrockies, Nephelimdream, RMC7511, RockyMountainWay91, 3nS, Greg Stanwood, MissR, Shoemaker, holly96, DumbAndNerdy, Mr. Rockie, Paleface Destro, Oldfoagie, The Lodo Magic Man, WanderingRoxFan, JWhite, black_knight101, TedWilliams'Head, CentralCaliRox, Junction Rox, Northsider1964
Total Users: 30
Total Posts: 754
Total Threads: 2

Panda Rating: Happy Panda

Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill wasn't in many top 10 fantasy second base lists before the season started, but he is one of the better performing second baseman thus far in 2012. Last night, he hit for the cycle for the second time this season, going 4-4 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI and a stolen base. For the season, he is hitting .303-.364-.522 with 11 HRs, 35 runs, 38 RBI and 7 stolen bases. He is on pace for 23 HRs, 75 runs, 81 RBI and 15 stolen bases.

Rays outfielder Desmond Jennings went 2-4 with 2 solo HRs last night to help the Rays beat Justin Verlander and the Tigers. Jennings, who missed some time earlier this season, is hitting .241-.305-.374 with 5 HRs, 27 runs, 21 RBI, 12 stolen bases and a 47-18 strikeout to walk ratio in 203 at bats thus far. He strikes out a bit much for a leadoff hitter, and needs to work on walking more.

Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall suffered a fractured bone in his right forearm after getting hit by a pitch last night, and will mis 4-6 weeks. I wonder if they will be in the market for a third baseman now. Chisenhall was hitting .278-.297-.458 with 3 HRs, 10 runs and 9 RBI in 72 at bats since his call up.

Phillies starter Cliff Lee hasn't won a game all year, and has been getting hit around in his last 4 starts. He gave up 6 runs on 10 hits, 2 walks and just 3 strikeouts last night, and is now 0-5 with a 4.13 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 3.05 xFIP and 1.21 WHIP. In his last 4 starts, covering 24.2 innings, he has given up 35 hits, walked 8, struck out 23 and given up 20 runs. Looking at his overall K/9, BB/9, and ground ball rates, they are all in line with his 2011 performance, so he may just be going through a bad streak, and he has pitched better than his stats indicate.

More Roto Roundup after the jump:

I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of Jason Kipnis, and wish I owned him in my one AL-only keeper league. Kipnis went 3-5 with 2 RBI last night, and is now hitting .279-.335-.432 with 11 HRs, 47 runs, 45 RBI and 18 stolen bases. I am surprised he has been this productive in his first full season in the big leagues, but what is more surprising is the 18 stolen bases, on pace for 38 steals. He is on pace to hit 23 HRs, score 100 runs and drive in 93. He would be my All Star second baseman in the AL. Remember the people arguing that Dustin Ackley would be the better fantasy second baseman? Yeah, me too.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham has disappointed fantasy owners for the last few seasons, but is showing signs of putting things together this season. After going 3-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 2 RBI last night, he is hitting .246-.298-.388 with 9 HRs, 38 runs, 34 RBI and 3 stolen bases. If you knew he would hit 19 HRs and drive in 72 this season, he probably would have been drafted a few rounds higher this season, and probably will be in 2013.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is one of my favorite players in baseball, yet I traded him in one of my NL only keeper leagues this offseason. And I am regretting it big time. McCutchen went 4-5 with a double, HR, 4 runs and 3 RBI last night as the Pirates scored 12 runs in the last 5 innings to beat the Cardinals. He is hitting .344-.399-.594 with 15 HRs, 46 runs, 51 RBI and 14 stolen bases this season, putting him on pace to hit 32 HRs, score 98, drive in 109 and steal 30 bases. He will be in the MVP conversation if the Pirates can stay in the wild card race into late August.

Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin has a solid 2011 season, hitting .264-.323-.393 with 82 runs scored and 40 stolen bases. He hit better on the road than he did at home, so some expected him to build on his 2011 season. Well, that hasn't worked out too well this season, and there is talk that he might need a stint in AAA. This season, he is hitting better at home - .229 -than on the road -.161. He went 2-4 last night to raise his triple slash line to just .203-.282-.293 with 3 HRs, 36 runs, 22 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He's walking more and striking out less this season, but has been unlucky as his BABIP is just .250 vs .331 last season. Baseball is a game of making adjustments and now it is Maybin's turn to make the adjustment at the plate.

Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler is building on his solid performance in the second half of 2011, and I was surprised to see a tweet from Troy Renck, the Rockies beat writer from the Denver Post, a few nights ago that suggested the Rockies trade Fowler. After going 0-3 last night, he is hitting .288-.384-.543 with 10 HRs, 43 runs, 35 RBI and 7 stolen bases. The 26 year old is on pace to hit 21 HRs, score 92 runs, drive in 75 and steal 15 bases this season. I was arguing with another owner yesterday that maybe they should deal him as his value really hasn't been higher, and one could argue that he won't keep this up all year. The Rockies need starting pitchers, and with Tyler Colvin hitting well thus far, Fowler could bring back a decent young starting pitcher. Could the Nationals be interested in him?

Mets starter R.A. Dickey flirted with his third one hitter last night, but finished the game tossing another 8 shutout innings, giving up 3 hits, walking one and striking out 10. Considering he was facing a AAA lineup, you almost expected this from Dickey. Dickey is now 12-1, with a 2.15 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a 116-25 strikeout to walk ratio in 113 innings pitched. He is definitely the story of the year in MLB this season.

What momentum? Cleveland Indians hammered early and often by Minnesota Twins in 11-0 loss | cleveland.com

If ever the old saw "momentum is tomorrow night's starting pitcher" applied, it was last night. Tomlin was awful (and that may be understating it), and if the Indians have any designs on still competing this season, I don't know if they can send him out again in five days.

Of course the second but equally disturbing part of last night's debacle was the offense. Diamond has been a good pitcher this season, so this wasn't a scrub shutting down the Tribe bats, but any time a pitcher shuts you out on 98 pitches, you have criticize the at-bats, which in some cases consisted of swinging at the first pitch remotely close to the strike zone. That have may have been a valid strategy against Justin Verlander, who is perhaps the best strikeout pitcher in the game today, but Diamond is a pitch-to-contact guy, and you want to deep into against those kinds of pitchers.

Indians interested in Padres third baseman Headley | indians.com: News

The key takeaway from this news is that the Indians are looking for non-rentals. In other words, players who are under contract or control through at least next season. The I believe the thinking is that Headley would play third base for the remainder of the season, then shift to left field next year, with Lonnie Chisenhall playing at third. Or vice versa, as Headley is rated in most cases as a good defender at third.

Bud Selig says baseball will expand instant replay - ESPN New York

According to Selig, the next two areas that replay would expand to would be foul line calls in play and whether or not a ball is caught. I think replay has a place in baseball, though I would rather have a replay umpire make the call rather than send the on-field umpires down the tunnel to review the play. If there's an umpire already in the press box looking at the play, the call can be reviewed and confirmed or overturned quickly, and the pace of play would not be affected.

1980s Padres mainstay Carmelo Martinez will be blowing out 52 candles today. Okay, I seriously doubt that's happening but maybe the missus or whoever bakes his cake will get a package of number candles and use the 5 and the 2. Or maybe he won't even have a cake; some people just don't like cake. I should know; I'm one of them. Or maybe he really likes cake but can't have it because he has the diabeetus and/ or Celiac's or something. I certainly hope not but it's a possibility as I do not have access to his medical records. Point is, dude's 52 now.

Another member of the Padres family who may or may not be eating cake today is Tucson shortstop Beamer Weems. The now-25 year old, born William Thomas Weems, has worked his way up San Diego's organizational ladder since being selected in the eighth round of the 2008 draft. I had no idea it was his birthday until one of my fellow Mountaineers tweeted about it.

Happy birthday to the beam dog @NOTbeamerweems

— Jedd Gyorko (@JGyorko05) July 28, 2012

Here's the latest out of the National League West:

San Francisco Giants (55-44)

The Giants acquired Marco Scutaro from the Colorado Rockies last night, shoring up their middle infield. Today, the team activated Aubrey Huff from the disabled list, placed Pablo Sandoval on the DL and designated Emmanuel Burriss for assignment. San Francisco is looking to upgrade its bullpen, and has expressed interest in Brandon League of the Seattle Mariners.

Los Angeles Dodgers (54-47, -2 in West, -2 in Wild Card)

The Dodgers already made a huge move in acquiring Hanley Ramirez from the Miami Marlins, and could have another big deal up their sleeves. Chicago Cubs starter Ryan Dempster has expressed interest in pitching on the West coast, and the team has been linked to Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Alfonso Soriano and Bryan LaHair.

Arizona Diamondbacks (50-50, -5.5 in West, -5.5 in Wild Card)

Weeks of Justin Upton trade rumors have fizzled out and it appears the star right fielder will be staying put. For all the noise GM Josh Byrnes Kevin Towers has been making through the media, the team has been awfully quite up to this point. The D-Backs traded away Ryan Roberts and Barry Enright, but haven't made a commitment either way on whether they're buyers or sellers.

San Diego Padres (43-58, -13 in West, -13 in Wild Card)

The Padres are a hard team to figure out. They're one of the worst teams in baseball, but are motivated to hang on to their veterans. They already extended Carlos Quentin, have offered Huston Street an extension and intend on keeping Edinson Volquez. With prospect Jedd Gyorko waiting in the wings, however, the team is prepared to move third baseman Chase Headley.

Colorado Rockies (37-61, -17.5 in West, -17.5 in Wild Card)

The Rockies have already gotten rid of Marco Scutaro and Jeremy Guthrie, but figure to unload a few more players before the deadline. The team still holds out hope they can turn things around for next season, but other trade candidates include Rafael Bentancourt, Jason Giambi, Matt Reynolds and Jonathan Herrera.

While the San Diego Padres don't need to trade third baseman Chase Headley, Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports write the market is heating up and has increased to the point Padres GM Josh Byrnes may receive an offer too good to pass up.

The Orioles, Indians, Pirates and Athletics are among the teams that have spoken with the Padres about Headley, and now the Yankees are lurking after the injury to third baseman Alex Rodriguez, major-league sources say.

The Pirates are searching for a corner outfield bat and could dangle prospect Starling Marte in trade talks. Ironically enough, Marte is an outfielder but the Pirates are looking to use their farm system to bolster their team at the big league level.

While the Yankees may be in the mix, I'm not sure if they should be considered a serious suitor. I don't believe the Yankees would be willing to pay the steep price in terms of prospects for Headley and end up moving him to right field once Rodriguez returns. He's one of the best defenders at the hot corner and has struggled to play the outfield in the past.

Huston "The Avenue" Street

#16 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 02, 1983

Talks: All gentlemanly cowboy-like

I'm gonna buy a Huston Street jersey.

Once again, the Padres, in the middle of an ownership change, in the middle of a lost season, in the middle of rebuilding, have granted an extension, this time to Huston Street.

Huston Street will be a Padre for the next couple of years along with several familiar faces. What does this mean? It means, if you're optimistic like me, that the front office thinks that the current roster healthy is competitive for the next couple of years, and I'd tend to agree, assuming they stay healthy.

What else does it mean?

It means that I'm more and more confident in my thought that the new ownership group is all but determined and that they're sending messages out that the Padres are going to hang onto talent and compete in the near future. I know there are doubters, but being able to say stuff like, "Carlos Quentin is a home town guy and will crush home runs in Petco and he's here for the next three years, and look we also will have our All-Star closer for the next two years"... That goes a long way to season ticket holders and fans.

You couple that with the Yasmani Grandals of the world and we're doing pretty good.

The San Diego Padres and closer Huston Street have come to terms on a two-year, $14 million extension with a club option for a third season, as first reported by Corey Brock of MLB.com. The deal will replace Street's $9 million mutual option for next year, instead running through 2014 and possibly 2015.

#Padres and Huston Street agree on a 2-year deal for $14m with club option for 2015 worth $7m. Details soon at Padres.com

— Follow The Padres (@FollowThePadres) July 29, 2012

Huston Street's new deal with the Padres. 2013 -- $7 million. $7 million for 2014. A club option at $7 million for 2015, with no buyout.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 29, 2012

Like outfielder Carlos Quentin, Street goes from a trade deadline candidate to receiving a contract extension. The two sides began talks last Sunday, giving the Padres enough time to move their closer if they couldn't work out a deal.

The 28-year-old Street is currently posting a 0.91 ERA across 29 2/3 innings of work along with a career-high 11.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

In his latest column, 10 Degrees: Red Sox want to trade Josh Beckett, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports dishes on the Boston Red Sox looking to move starting pitcher Josh Beckett, the Miami Marlins desire to cut payroll, the chances of the San Diego Padres moving third baseman Chase Headley and much more. Let's take a look...

• The Marlins aren't in "full-on dump mode," so they may keep Josh Johnson. But the team does plan on cutting payroll next year and have focused their efforts in acquiring young, cheap players.
• Contenders and non-contenders have created a competitive market for Padres third baseman Chase Headley, but San Diego has yet to decide whether they will move the 28-year-old before the trade deadline. We looked at a few additional Headley rumors this morning.

Padres Might Wait for Winter to Deal Headley

In spite of heightened interest, the San Diego Padres may wait to trade third baseman Chase Headley until the off-season, reports Buster Olney of ESPN:

To this moment,Padres aren't far down the road in their Headley trade talks. Might table it to the winter,when more teams would be involved.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 29, 2012

While it was rumored earlier this week that San Diego was "all but sure" to trade the coveted third baseman, and discussions were "heating up" as recently as yesterday morning, it is not certain the Padres will move Headley before tomorrow's 3pm deadline.

At least five teams -- the Orioles, Indians, Pirates, Athletics and Yankees -- have been in discussions for the third baseman, but it is possible that more teams would join the fray during the off-season. A source has told Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports the team will decide today whether or not to deal Headley.

With top prospect Jedd Gyorko waiting in the wings to take over third base duties, it seems likely San Diego will move Headley sooner rather than later. The 28-year-old Headley is hitting .265/.359/.422 in 101 games this year and is under team control through the 2014 season.

The Reds' tour of the worst teams in the National League continues today as the Reds return to Cincinnati to host the Padres. The Reds have been doing what good teams are supposed to do against bad teams--save for the 0.500 Diamondbacks, all 10 of these games have been against below-average--if not atrocious--teams. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been impressive, or a lot of fun to watch. The Reds have won by one run twice, two runs four times, and by three or more runs three times during the 10--game winning streak. Going back to July 6th, the Reds are 17-2, only losing those two games against the Diamondbacks. They've outscored opposing teams 90-53 in that span (4.7 R/G vs. 2.8 R/G--they're definitely winning with pitching and defense), which makes for a .742 Pythagorean winning percentage. They've been cruising.

And which team was the one that set off the Reds' current run? That would be the San Diego Padres, who the Reds beat in their final three games at PETCO. The Padres have had a bad season. Their offense has been poor, as seems typical, even after park adjustments. But their starting pitching, which most years seems strong, has been uncharacteristically shaky all year, and their bullpen is a far cry from what we're used to seeing in San Diego. Add to that approximately average (I think?) fielding and you have a bad team.

That said, there's some intriguing talent on this team. That's especially true for Reds fans, because three of the four players the Reds sent in the Mat Latos deal are currently playing and performing for the Padres. I'm sure those three--Volquez, Grandal, and Alonso--are all itching to show their former club what they can do.

Waiting in the wings is a big series this weekend against the Pirates. The Reds don't get a day off before facing them. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. Let's hope for no extra-innings games against the Padres.

Position Players

Todd Frazier is tied for first among NL Rookie Hitters at 1.8 WAR. I have him at 2.0 WAR because I'm using different fielding data (more sources), but the point is that he's right there with Bryce Harper and Andrelton Simmons. All are behind Wade Miley, Michael Fiers, and Lance Lynn among all rookies, but Todd is haivng a very nice season.

Ryan Ludwick continues to surge, and now features a .323 OBP to go with his already excellent power numbers.

Since getting called up for good, Yasmani Grandal has been on fire. He is easily winning the "which former Reds catching farmhand will have more value in 2012" race, despite having half the PA's of Devin Mesoraco. The question with Grandal is his fielding, but those who compared him to Mickey Tettleton when he was drafted are looking smart right now. I'm sure he'll cool down--note his 4% walk rate--but I've always liked the guy and it's nice to see him performing. Yonder Alonso is doing what his critics warned might happen--he's hitting ok and getting on base, but has shown very little power for a 1B, even by PETCO standards.

Carlos Quentin is back in the lineup after missing time with an injury, and he's been hitting well. Chase Headley is also a quality player, though his name has been hot in trade discussions since the past offseason--it's not impossible that he might disappear before the end of our series. His replacement is probably Jedd Gyorko, who is hitting .333/.381/.586 in AAA. This entire lineup, sans the disaster that Cameron Maybin has been post-extension, seems surprisingly good at getting on base, and they have some power threats. This is not a fall-over-dead lineup, despite what their season line would indicate.

Probable Starters

Edinson Volquez is having a nice little bounce-back season. He's still walking way too many, though, and his peripherals are pretty much exactly where they were last year when he was with the REds. I will always love his combination of strikeouts and ground balls, but he has to find that plate.

Jason Marquis was picked up off the scrap heap after the Twins cut him loose, and San Diego may be the only place he can really be expected to pitch well. I think he can pitch in San Diego, though, and like him better than his ERA. Kip Wells is the opposite--he's got a 1:1 K/BB ratio, and that's not going to cut it no matter what you do with your ground balls. Between Wells and Ohlendorf, the Reds have a great chance to gain some momentum before the Pirates come to town.

Bullpens

Huston Street missed time with injury, but has been phenomenal since returning. And Luke Gregerson seems to have figured out how to get strikeouts again after a big drop-off last year. They make a formidable 1-2 at the back of the pen. Aside from that, this pen has been pretty ordinary. Not bad, but not good either.

Last night Andrew Werner became the first pitcher to throw a complete game shutout for the Tucson Padres. He did so in his second start with the team after being promoted from AA San Antonio. Far from an overnight success, Werner's story is one of perseverance and other things I don't really understand.

A standout in high school, Andrew Werner was nonetheless undrafted and unrecruited by anyone of note. Instead of taking what seems like the logical route of giving up, drinking heavily and resigning himself to a life of menial labor; Werner headed off to tiny Illinois Central College and continued pitching. He did well enough to catch the eyes of the staff at University of Indianapolis and transferred there after a couple of seasons. He was undrafted out of UIndy and received no attention from any Major League organizations as an undrafted free agent. Once again, instead of beating his head against a wall, thinking of how much he disappointed those who believed in him, and going back home in shame; Andrew still didn't quit.

After college, it was off to the independent Frontier League. He had a somewhat rocky first year with Evansville in 2009 but, Andrew being Andrew, laced 'em up again the next year and put together a solid sophomore season split between Evansville and Windy City. After the season he was signed as a free agent with the Padres and reported to Fort Wayne to begin the 2011 season. Werner posted a 3.44 ERA in 12 starts for the Tin Caps and finished the season in Lake Elsinore, where he improved to 3.03 over 13 starts. Another season brought another pair of promotions as Andrew put up a 3.23 in 18 starts for San Antonio before getting the bump up to Tucson.

Andrew Werner isn't likely to take the Majors by storm any time soon but with him it's hard to say. He has shown that some cliches exist for a reason and that hard work and believing in one's self really can pay off. Of course that lesson is lost on those of us who are already effed for life but maybe, just maybe, some kid can look to Werner for inspiration and avoid becoming another me.

The San Diego Padres have designated right-handed pitcher Kip Wells for assignment, as reported by Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The move opens up a roster spot for right-handed reliever Cory Burns, who will be called up from Class Triple-A Tucson to take Wells' spot on the roster.

#Padres designate Kip Wells for assignment. Call up Cory Burns from Tucson

— U-T Padres (@UTPadres) August 3, 2012

San Diego will now have a ten-day window to find a taker for the 35-year-old Wells, release him or see if he would consent to a minor league assignment. In 37 1/3 innings of work (7 starts), Wells posted a 4.58 ERA and walked (20) more batters than he struck out (19).

On the other hand, Burns has been dominant in the minor leagues this year. The 24-year-old has posted a 2.63 ERA across 65 complete innings of work, complimented with a 10.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.

For any Padres fans that got used to Kip Wells taking the mound every 5th day, their hearts are now broken. This also means the end of the Kip The Faith meme and #KipTheFaith twitter hashtag. That's sad. Wells started 7 games for the Padres this season, which was only surpassed by Clayton Richard, Edinson Volquez, Anthony Bass and Jason Marquis. The 35 year old right hander had his moments this year after a 2 year absence from the big leagues, but I think most would agree that he was pretty expendable as far as Major League starting pitchers go.

Taking Wells' place on the roster is relief pitcher Cory Burns. The Padres acquired Burns in the offseason when they dealt Aaron Cunningham to the Cleveland Indians. Burns had a 2.63 ERA in Tucson over 53 games. His 10.9 K/9 stands out as showing that he has some promise as a high leverage reliever. At 24 years old, he joins Brad Brach and Brad Boxberger as a third promising young reliever in the current Padres 'pen.

Since Burns is a reliever and Wells was a starter, it is expected that Eric Stults will rejoin the rotation.

Kip Wells

#60 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-3

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 21, 1977

Faith: No Longer Kipped

Clocking in at 2 hours, 15 minutes, this was one of the quicker games of the season. Unfortunately, the Mets came out on the losing end despite out-hitting the Padres 9 to 4.

R.A. Dickey pitched well -- 7 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 9 strikeouts -- but was not helped out by his defense. With the Padres batting in the sixth inning and the Mets leading 1-0, Everth Cabrera executed a delayed steal of third base when he caught Josh Thole and David Wright napping. He scored one pitch later on a Chris Denorfia sacrifice fly to tie the game.

An inning later, the Padres took the lead when Thole dropped the ball during a home-plate collision with Carlos Quentin. Thole was rightfully charged with an error, as Quentin was out by about 40 feet after a strong relay throw from Ronny Cedeno. John Baker added an RBI single in the frame to give the Padres a 3-1 lead.

The Mets had no extra-base hits on the night and couldn't sustain a rally against Clayton Richard, Luke Gregerson, and Huston Street. Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada led off the eighth inning with back-to-back singles, but Andres Torres and Wright both struck out against Gregerson, and Jordany Valdespin grounded out to second base against Street. Cedeno's RBI infield single in the fourth inning produced the Mets' only run.

We knew it was over when...

Street struck out Daniel Murphy looking to end the game.

What else?

• Cedeno continued to rake, going 2-for-3 with two singles. He raised his season slash line to .291/.361/.427.
• Jon Rauch pitched a perfect eighth inning.

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by Steve Sypa; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.