Today's baseball card is not an actual baseball card. After crusting about a dozen pairs of boxers watching sexy 'lexi prance and pirouette around the diamond, I decided I couldn't wait any longer to have a card of him in a (tight-fitting) Padres uniform. I based the design on the classic 1962 Topps set. I generally don't collect cards of non-Padres but I have a soft spot for vintage so I have a couple original '62 Topps which you will see if you

The title of this post is an allusion to both Alexi's prowess at many positions (on and off the field) and to a song on the Boss's latest record. Just as a warning, get used to hearing a bunch of Springsteen when you click on my nerdy card posts because I will use any excuse or just make one up to talk about him.

It doesn't seem like it would at the beginning but this song features some wailing 'Evil Empire'-era wailing on the guitar by Tom Morello.

The San Diego Padres have reinstated Huston Street from the disabled list, reports Jeff Sanders of the North County Times:

#Padres closer Huston Street reinstated from the DL.

— Jeff Sanders (@NCTPadres) September 21, 2012

Street, 29, has been out since August 11 with a left calf strain. He experienced several setbacks in recovery but is finally ready to rejoin the big-league team. Street will most likely retain his job as the team’s closer.

For the year, his first in San Diego, Street holds a miniscule 0.75 ERA and forty-five strikeouts in thirty-six innings. The right-hander also has twenty-one saves to go along with his other stellar numbers.

After Street’s injury, the closer role was designated to two pitchers, Luke Gregerson and Dale Thayer, with the former taking most of the opportunities. The Padres (72-78) currently sit in fourth place in the NL West and are out of contention for a playoff spot.

One of the better traditions around all of sports are the various awards handed out by the teams themselves. Of course, if a team overdoes it and throws out tons of awards so everybody ends up with one, it does get a little stale. The San Francisco Giants are not one of those teams, and the Willie Mac award has been around since 1980, and it's given annually to the most inspirational Giants player.

This year, the Giants named catcher Buster Posey the recipient of the award. It is voted on by players, coaches and training staff, and is named after Willie McCovey, who doesn't not need to be introduced at this point. Posey will receive a plaque acknowledging the award prior to Friday night's game at AT&T Park against the San Diego Padres, according to the Mercury News.

Posey missed four-plus months last season after a collision at home plate with Florida Marlins baserunner Scott Cousins. The collision results in a fracture of his lower left leg and it hurt the Giants as a team immensely. Since coming back from the injury, Posey is hitting .335 and has 23 home runs and 95 RBI. Posey referenced the past winners of the award, and called it very humbling and special. Some of those winners include Benito Santiago, Bob Brenly and Kurt Manwaring.

News and notes from around the Wild Card race:

• St. Louis is hoping to give some of their regulars rest as they go down the stretch. David Freese got a day off on Friday as he plays through his first full healthy season. Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs also got days off in the bullpen.
• Los Angeles may get Clayton Kershaw back soon. He threw a bullpen session on Friday, and if he is pain-free and bounces back well, he might start on Sunday.
• San Diego got a boost to their bullpen on Friday. They activated Huston Street off the DL prior to their game against San Francisco.

Looking at yesterday's results:

• Milwaukee got into a pitcher's duel with Washington. Both sides scored early, then the pitching locked down and kept it at 2-1 through eight innings. However, the Brewers rallied in the ninth inning, adding three runs on to take a late 4-2 lead, and they held on to win by that margin. Kyle has the recap if you missed it. (Box Score)
• St. Louis got Chris Carpenter back from injury yesterday. He gave them a solid start, and the Cardinals offense had a solid overall performance to give them a lead. It came down to the ninth inning, where the Cubs were down to their last out and last strike twice. However, David DeJesus and Darwin Barney came through with a single and home run to send it into extra innings. In the 11th, Welington Castillo singled to lead-off the inning, then Brett Jackson pinch-ran and went base to base to get to third with two outs. David DeJesus then hit the game-winning single to give the Cubs a 5-4 win. (Box Score)
• Philadelphia hit four home runs to account for their offense, and it was more than enough to back Kyle Kendrick, who allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings. The end result was a 6-2 win over Atlanta. (Box Score)
• Los Angeles held the party up in Cincinnati for one more night. The Reds were on the verge of clinching the NL Central after the Cardinals loss, and had a pitchers duel going through nine innings as Bronson Arroyo, Joe Blanton, and the bullpens kept it at 1-1. However, Matt Kemp came through with a two out 2-RBI single in the 10th inning to give the Dodgers a 3-1 win. (Box Score)
• Pittsburgh is playing their way out of Wild Card contention quickly. They had hoped to get back on track in Houston, but those plans were derailed early as Jed Lowrie hit a three-run home run in the first inning. That was more than enough for Houston, who tacked on four more runs on route to a 7-1 win. (Box Score)
• Arizona had its way offensively in Colorado, scoring in eight of nine innings and racking up fifteen runs and nineteen hits. Wade Miley had a rough day but gave the Diamondbacks what they needed, as every pitcher Colorado used gave up at least one run. The end result was a 15-5 win. (Box Score)
• San Diego's chances at the postseason are nearly out. Ryan Vogelsong led a strong day of pitching for San Francisco, allowing one run in six innings. Pablo Sandoval led the offense with a 3-for-3 day and a home run, and the Giants closed in on clinching the NL West with a 5-1 win. (Box Score)

Here's the updated Wild Card standings:

Pressure mounted on St. Louis a little as they lost and the four teams behind them won. Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Arizona all won to gain a game in the standings. Pittsburgh and San Diego are playing their way out of the playoffs as they both lost, putting themselves in a big hole.

With the Brewers winning and the Cardinals losing, the Brewers playoff chances got a good jump. Here are the updated standings from CoolStandings.com:

Here is what is on tap for today:

Milwaukee vs. Washington - 12:05 PM CDT
Wily Peralta (2-0, 2.14 ERA) vs. Gio Gonzalez (19-8, 2.95 ERA)

St. Louis vs. Chi. Cubs - 12:05 PM CDT
Adam Wainwright (13-13, 3.97 ERA) vs. Travis Wood (6-12, 4.25 ERA)

Atlanta vs. Philadelphia - 3:05 PM CDT
Mike Minor (9-10, 4.31 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (10-7, 4.03 ERA)

LA Dodgers vs. Cincinnati - 3:05 PM CDT
Stephen Fife (0-1, 2.49 ERA) vs. Mat Latos (12-4, 3.76 ERA)

Pittsburgh vs. Houston - 6:05 PM CDT
Kevin Correia (11-9, 4.09 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (2-7, 4.97 ERA)

Arizona vs. Colorado - 7:10 PM CDT
Patrick Corbin (6-7, 4.02 ERA) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (2-5, 4.58 ERA)

San Diego vs. San Francisco - 8:05 PM CDT
Andrew Werner (2-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Madison Bumgarner (15-10, 3.26 ERA)

Chase Headley is one home run away from 30 home runs this season, after hitting his 29th home run of the season in San Francisco last night. I did not see this power surge from Headley this season, and I am sure I have company in saying that.

Here are his career stats, courtesy of Baseball-Reference:

Headley is having a terrific season at the plate, with career highs in BA, SLG, HRs, RBI, runs scored, and he is 4 stolen bases away from a career high in that category too. But looking back at his month to month stats, Headley was having an ordinary Headley-like season as of June 30th. Here are his first and second half splits according to Baseball-Reference:

Headley has had a breakout second half hitting .306-.381-.593 with 21 HRs, 64 RBI and 47 runs scored. His second half home runs alone is more than he has hit in any full season of his career, and the 64 RBI ties his career high RBI total coming into the 2012 season. So, this begs the question: is his power surge for real?

I will dive into that after the jump:

Looking at his ISO and SLG stats according to FanGraphs, this season look very different than any season of his career so far. Let's take a look:

Year: ISO/SLG

2008: .151/.420

2009: .131/.392

2010: .111/.375

2011: .110/.399

2012: .208/.492

As you can see, Headley has had one heck of a breakout power year in 2012. It's not like his .338 BABIP is the reason for his breakout season, as he had a .368 BABIP last season, and has consistently had .300+ BABIPs in every year of his 5 year career thus far. He just never hit for this much power.

Headley is hitting less fly balls this season than in any year of his career, but his HR/FB% is significantly higher than in any year of his career as well. Let's take a look:

Year: FB%/HR-FB%

2008: 37.0%/10.7%

2009: 38.3%/7.6%

2010: 36.0%/6.4%

2011: 32.3%/4.3%

2012: 31.2%/22.3%

Yes, his trend in fly ball rate has dropped over the years and his 2012 HR/FB rate stinks of a career year this season. Could his increase in power be the result of a change in approach this season. Sure, but I have not read anything indicating he has changed his stance or changed his approach at the plate this season.

Headley currently leads the National League in RBI with 106, and is 7th in HRs with 29. Amongst all fantasy third baseman, he ranks third in HRs behind Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Beltre, second in RBI behind Miggy, fifith in runs scored and 7th in batting average. No one saw this coming from Headley this season, but I always wondered what he could do if the Padres did actually trade him. I think this season is what we can expect from Headley, or something close to it, should he be dealt away from the confines of Petco Park.

Coming into the season, Headley had 36 career home runs spread across 4 major league seasons. In 2012, he has almost equaled his career home run total. Let that sink in for a moment. I like Chase Headley a lot, but I don't see him replicating his power surge in 2013.

Could I be wrong? Sure. If he gets traded, and there is a possibility with Jedd Gyorko almost ready to contribute at the big league level, I will change my stance on him. But until then, I don't see him putting up a 30-100 season in 2013. I ranked him as my 5th ranked third baseman in my Early Third Base rankings about a week ago. I will reconsider that ranking when I re-rank them in the offseason.

With enough talent and time, a dedicated and unscrupulous hacker can foil pretty much any security system. Apparently, one did that today to a host of MLB teams, just to be a dope.

Deadspin has the children's treasury of hacked posts from MLB teams, but here's the rundown of the rogue statuses:

• Yankees "announce" Derek Jeter will miss rest of 2012, undergo gender reassignment surgery, return as "Minnie Mantlez."
• Cubs "express displeasure" with Bill Murray.
• Giants "express displeasure" with "Chick-fil-A guy."
• White Sox "call" Sox fan Barack Obama "#MuslimPresident."
• Marlins "offer" free pitbulls to fans.
• Padres "discourage" the disabled from coming to games.
• Nationals "announce" move back to Montreal.

In order, those are: childishly transphobic; kind of funny, though mean to a very sweet baseball fan; interested in making an organization that supports gay rights look bad, so probably homophobic; childishly racist; callous, and maybe a little racist; ableist and mean; mean, but sort of funny.

I guess there's a thrill in breaking into someone's Internet home, eating food, leaving dirty dishes lying around and leaving the door and window wide open for the world to see. And the hacker and the kind of person who finds the fake statues here funny are likely not exactly all that different.

But mostly, I just feel bad for the people who were in charge of the passwords on those accounts, the ones who have been made to look awful by a jerk. (I'm going to go check my own passwords now, too.)

And I feel bad for the hacker. You don't have better jokes than ones that reveal you to be awful? Making the Yankees account say "NOMAH'S BETTAH" would have been funnier.

Neil Walker, one of the key players in the Pirates' 11-5 comeback victory over the San Diego Padres Sunday, has some praise for the other key player, shortstop Clint Barmes, whose grand slam in the fourth gave the Pirates the lead.

"I honestly could not have been happier for a person on this entire team. Fans want to give him crap about what the numbers are, but ... this is one of the best teammates I've ever played with and a guy who's helped me out a lot (with) his positive attitude and the way he plays the game and grinding it out."

When you're having a year as terrible as the one Barmes has had, intangibles only count for so much. The Pirates have been giving away outs all season with Barmes and his .242 on-base percentage in the lineup, even if Barmes has taken some of those back with his strong defense. But it's nice to see that there's a bond between the Bucs' two starting middle infielders.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Dan Uggla hit his second home run in as many days on Wednesday to lead his team to a 6-1 win over the San Diego Padres. After the game, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez talked about the offense he's gotten from Uggla.

"[Uggla’s] heating up. That ball that he hit today was gone in a heartbeat. He hit the ball hard and Jason got some good hits and drove in some runs and Prado had a three-hit night."

For more coverage of the Atlanta Braves, visit Talking Chop.

With their 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres Friday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks have 36 games to make up seven games in the National League West or six games in the wild cards standings. Adversity is something that this team has been used to having over the past two season. However, while in 2011 they were somehow able to overcome every obstacle in their path, 2012 has not been quite as successful.

The problem is that they are causing them more adversity than they should face. The number of games they are behind is not bad enough. The issue is that the are in third place in the division and they would have to pass three teams to be one of the two wild card teams.

It is now the end of August and the team has not yet decided, or been able, to jump on opposing teams and take control of their own destiny. They have opened five of their last six series with losses and have only scored nine runs in those games, a total of six runs in the losses.

They can't afford to that anymore.

Outfielder Chris Young talked about momentum a bit after the game Friday. He was answering a question that asked specifically about losing after the momentum of two straight wins before the off day. He downplayed the loss to start things off.

"We can still keep it going," he said. "This is just one loss, I understand that, but we can still win the series. I wouldn't say the momentum is gone just because one game is lost. You kind of take it series to series. If we win this series, then you could say we carried the momentum from before the off day, so that's all we have to focus on."

While that is the right approach to take after the loss, there is a reality he and other need to face. They haven't been rebounding. In the previous four series they opened with losses, they they have not come back to win any of them. They salvaged a split in two.

At this juncture in the season, they can;t afford anymore flat openers. You cannot expect to win every single game, but you have to come out at the start of each series better than they have. Winning the first game puts the team in control of the series. Falling in openers forces you to win the last two. And this D-backs team just has not been that good under pressure.

They have looked flat. On Friday, they were playing in front of over 32,000 fans and offensively they looked lifeless. You have to credit Padres pitcher Eric Stults in part for that, but it did not appear that the hitters had much fight in them.

The worst part? There don't seem to be any answers. Manager Kirk Gibson, when asked about the play in series openers noted, "we haven't been very good following off days either. Not sure I have the answer for that."

Urgency. The team needs to show it. They have not been doing it. It has almost been that way the whole year. They had such high hopes, such high expectations. The team is talented, no doubt about that. Maybe players felt that things would just happen again like last year, that the talent would just come through.

It hasn't, and it is soon to be a season of yet another Arizona team that has crumbled under the weight of lofty expectations.

Is it too late? Not quite. But it is getting awfully close. Young will be right if the team comes back and wins the final games of the series. But if you haven't seen it recently, can you expect it?

Sports is always a "what have you done lately" business. Lately, they haven't been doing it. Unless things change in a hurry and they get a little help, it will simply be too little, too late.

And with the talent on this team, it will be a shame.

Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.

For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.

With a combination of lefties and righties, young players and veterans, the Arizona Diamondbacks have a pitching rotation both now and for the future that many other MLB teams should covet. They have quality all around and if one of their starters gets injured, as Daniel Hudson did earlier this season, this is one of the few teams that can not only sustain the blow, but possibly bring up an even more talented arm from the minor leagues.

So now, it seems that the D-backs are set to utilize a six man rotation. They do not plan on demoting the recently called up Tyler Skaggs and everyone else is either too tenured or playing well enough themselves. The thing is, that six man rotation might not last for long and that's probably a good thing.

It just seems like a waste to me to have such talented arms only throwing once every six days. Ian Kennedy has struggled quite a bit this season, especially in his last stint against the Padres, but he still headlines the rotation. After that, it's all youth; youth that can sustain a heavy pitch load. Trevor Cahill, Hudson (who is recovering from Tommy John surgery), Patrick Corbin, Wade Miley, Skaggs and another veteran in Joe Saunders; all of them are above average pitchers.

It would seem that instead of playing all six of those players, the Diamondbacks could flip one of them into a different asset such as a corner infielder or another talented shortstop.

They might be trying to do that, as many reports suggested yesterday that the D-backs had reached an agreement with an unidentified team to ship off Joe Saunders. Saunders has been a nice veteran presence for the team this year, but with all of the young arms behind him, it's probably best that he is on his way out.

So the six man rotation, although it is implemented now, might not be there for much longer. And that's probably a good thing.

Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.

For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.

Fountain, Colo., native and San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley was named the National League Player of the Month on Tuesday for his performance in August.

Headley posted a .306 batting average, .345 on-base percentage and .611 slugging percentage in August, driving in a league-high 31 runs and hitting 10 home runs, which tied for the MLB's best mark in the month. He also scored 20 runs, tying him for sixth in the majors.

Headley became second player in Padres history to lead the majors in both home runs and RBI during a month. Ken Caminiti led the majors with 14 home runs and 38 RBI in August 1996.

It's the first time Headley has won player of the month honors, and he's off to a blistering start in September. In three games, the switch-hitter is batting .538/.571/1.000 with two home runs and nine RBI.

For the season, Headley is hitting .283/.369/.477 with 24 home runs and 92 RBI.

For more on the Padres, check out Gaslamp Ball.

The Kansas City Royals were scouting at Petco during Saturday's game between the Padres and the Dodgers, according to Bill Center of U-T San Diego. Center suggests they were scouting corner outfielders and middle infielders while other teams on hand were observing Edinson Volquez.

The logic follows. The Royals, sitting at 34-38 one month away from the deadline, look like a club that is one or two decent hitters away from being a legitimate threat for a Wild Card. Their biggest need is clearly in right field, where they've juggled Jeff Francouer well past his due date (several years ago by my count). But they also need help at second base, as do most teams.

Enter Padres. Center describes potential options for the Royals:

The Padres could have a surplus at the middle infield and corner outfield positions when the likes of second baseman Jedd Gyorko (as soon as Tuesday), shortstop Everth Cabrera (July 2) and first baseman Yonder Alonso (around July 1) start returning from the disabled list.

Here's a look at potential options:

Gyorko and Alonso would make any Royals fan jump out of his or her chair, considering those lines are better than anything the Royals have on hand. Just look at those homers and consider both would be at or above the Royals' team leader (Gordon, 6)! (!!!!!). The red flag in the top three is clearly Cabrera. His 2013 line looks nice at first glance, but that's a huge jump fromhis career .254/.334/.346.

None of those are likely traded by the Padres, though. More likely one of the lesser three in the chart above -- Jesus Guzman, Carlos Quentin, Alexi Amarista -- are movable, not that any of those terrible lines are too much for GM Dayton Moore to overcome. Sorry, Royals fans.

Edit:original article reflected a complete misread of the U-T San Diego article. Corrections to include likely trade candidates added. Thanks to reader kirk.kern for his gracious tip. -jbopp

More from MLB Daily Dish:

• Edinson Volquez drawing interest from multiple clubs

• Kansas City Royals: Trade rumors, transactions, news, notes

• Yankees rumors: Robinson Cano likely headed for free agency

• White Sox trade rumors: Rios, Peavy, Beckham, basically everyone must go
  

• Orioles trade rumors: Aggressively pursuing rotation upgrades

• Join the MLBDD community and write a fanpost!

Vin Scully said "times are changing" in reference to the possibility of women navy seals, and maybe time are changing regarding the Dodgers record. Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 3-1 win over the Padres Sunday.

The consecutive home runs marked the first time the Dodgers have done so all year. Gonzalez and Ramirez blasted the solo shots off closer Huston Street.

Although, the continued theme of failing with runners in scoring position hit rock bottom, at 4-29 on the series. Both teams created few opportunities, and neither could take advantage until the Juan Uribe RBI double in the top of the seventh. Uribe went 2-for-4, and his second double of the afternoon gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Prior to Uribe driving Adrian Gonzalez in, Andre Ethier couldn't get the job done. Ethier could be the focal point of all the problems, hitting .190 with runners in scoring position. On the contrary, Ethier made up for the blown opportunity by making a pretty head first diving catch in the final moments.

The Padres wasted no time to knot the game up, as Carlos Quentin hit a solo home run to begin the bottom of the seventh. However, Bud Black's team couldn't muster up any more runs.

The starting pitching dictated the tone of the game. Chris Capuano ended up getting outlasted by Andrew Cashner, but deserves major kudos for providing five scoreless innings on three days rest. Since returning from the DL, Capuano hasn't allowed a run in 11 frames of work.

Cashner posted jaw dropping numbers yet didn't get the necessary help, with eight innings and only surrendering one run. The Dodgers hitters struggled against Cashner's devastating change up and slider, especially Yasiel Puig who went 1-for-4. The Cuban star is getting exposed by pitches on the outer half of the plate, and may need to move up closer to the plate to erase the problem.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen ended the contest with ease, tallying his fourth save of the year The boys in blue split the series and head back to Chavez Revine with some rare positive momentum.

Up next

The Dodgers return home to face the San Francisco Giants. On the year, Bruce Bochy's club leads the season series five to one. Monday's pitching matchup is featuring two of baseball's premier young starters with Hyun-Jin Ryu against Madison Bumgarner.

Sunday particulars

Home runs: Carlos Quentin (8), Adrian Gonzalez (10), Hanley Ramirez (4)

WP - Brandon League (3-3): 0.1 IP

LP - Huston Street (0-4): 1 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 strikeout

SV - Kenley Jansen (4): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts

The San Diego fire sale of 1993 was already well under way this day twenty years ago, when new GM Randy Smith sent young superstar Gary Sheffield and reliever Rich Rodriguez to the Marlins for minor league pitchers Andres Berumen and Jose Martinez, and rookie reliever Trevor Hoffman. Smith's predecessor Joe McIlvaine did his part before stepping down on June 9, trading the multimillion dollar salaries of Tony Fernandez, Darrin Jackson, and Mike Maddux before the season for guys making next to nothing. The Sheffield trade would not be the last payroll shedding move of the year; Fred McGriff would find himself headed to Atlanta, but that's an article for July 18.

Here's a look at each of the five players who were on the move 7,305 days ago. That's right; you can check my math. I didn't forget about leap days either.

The undisputed centerpiece of the deal, Gary Sheffield was coming off a monster season and in the middle of another very good one. In 1992, he became the only player in team history not named Tony Gwynn to win a batting title. Sheffield added 33 homers, good for third in the league, and an even 100 RBI. While with the Marlins, he had another huge season in 1996, hitting .314 with 42 home runs and 120 RBI while leading the league in OBP and OPS. He won a ring with Florida in '97 and was traded to the Dodgers the next year in another famous fire sale. Sheffield continued to put up All Star seasons with Los Angeles, Atlanta, and the Yankees as late as 2005. After a couple years with Detroit, Sheff finished up his career with the 2009 Mets, hitting his five hundredth home run and nine more for good measure.

Rich Rodriguez had been a mainstay of the San Diego bullpen for three years before the trade went down. He put up an ERA under three in his 191 games with the team. He didn't do well when he went to Florida, giving up home runs and walks more often than he ever had before. Rodriguez was released by the Marlins during spring training the following season and hooked up with the Cardinals. He'd go on to pitch several more years of serviceable relief with the Giants, Mets, Indians, Rangers, and Angels through the 2003 season.

Jose Martinez was in his fifth minor league season when the Padres acquired him. Before being selected fourth by the Marlins in the expansion draft, Martinez spent four years in the Mets organization. He had three consecutive seasons with an ERA under two as a starter and even went 20-4 in A-ball in 1991. He scuffled in AAA between Edmonton and Las Vegas in 1993 and was sent to AA Wichita the following season where he didn't do much better. Martinez did manage to make his major league debut that year, pitching the only four games he ever would. He picked up two losses in those four appearances, giving up nine earned runs in 12 innings. It was back to Las Vegas in 1995. After another disappointing season, Martinez retired from organized baseball.

Like Martinez, Andres Berumen had pitched solely in the minors since being drafted in 1989, albeit not as effectively. He made it to AA for the first time in 1993 and despite being knocked around there he was promoted to AAA in '94 where he was also hit fairly hard. Defying reason, he still managed to debut with the Padres in 1995 and get into 37 games. He went 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 44.1 innings. Berumen made three appearances the following June and never returned to the majors. He had a couple more subpar seasons with Las Vegas before he was traded to the Mariners and did the same thing in Tacoma. After taking 1999 off, Berumen played one last season of organized ball in his native Mexico. When you put up an 8.22 ERA for Reynosa, that's pretty much your cue.

So, yeah, we totally won the trade. Since we all already know how it turned out- 552 saves with the team, retired number, icon status, and all that jazz- I'm going to talk about how awesome those cards are. I'm currently building the 1993 Upper Deck set from scratch because it's the greatest set ever. A few months ago I won an auction for a sealed Marlins team set. I opened it and saw that the cards had a special gold "Marlins 1st Year" stamp on them. I had to set this one aside. As for the second card, I've always been a fan of cards with kids on them but this one is the best ever.

I know I have cards of Fred McGriff, Vince Moore, and Melvin Nieves around here; now I just have to get one of Donnie Elliott before July 18.

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by NNew Belgium Brewing Lips of Faith – La Folie Sour Brown Ale.

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Now: Monday, June 24 - WV MetroNews
Mountaineers add another running back for this upcoming year and an offensive lineman for next season and Matt Wells stops by to talk about football tickets going on sale to the pubic starting today.

WVU scoreboard deals questioned in Raese lawsuit - Charleston Gazette
'Free' scoreboard wound up costing university $5M

PHOTOS: Reliving Mountaineer Moments - WVillustrated
Check out a wide array of our favorite photos from the most recent seasons in Mountaineer Athletics.

Revisiting football records -- and Woody - Charleston Gazette
The roster of Mountaineers listed in the records, though, was long.

News of Note:

Give him points for creativity - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
It simply means that the Mountaineers go into the 2013 season with an inexperienced team.

Under the radar: West Virginia Mountaineers - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
Under the radar: CB Nana Kyeremeh

Football tickets lagging at WVU - Martinsburg Journal
However, Wells noted that selling 32,150 to date is comparable to the season-ticket totals in 2010 and 2011.

Huggins says team will win games this year - Inter-Mountain
WVU basketball coach takes part in Coalton Days event

HERTZEL COLUMN: Huggins’ job never ends - Times West Virginian
"It’s hard," he admitted. "I might get away in August."

HERTZEL COLUMN: ‘Forgotten hero’ Owens comes back - Times West Virginian
Owens easily ranks among West Virginia’s best all-around players of the past 50 years.

Recruiting:

One way or another, Sims will help Mountaineers - Charleston Daily Mail
Add a running back like Sims and you shore up the passing game. This has nothing to do with his talent as a receiver, meritorious as that may be. It has to do with an offense's identity and its needs.

Recruits choose WVU - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
All indications are West Virginia University head football coach Dana Holgorsen and his staff are off to a good start in the summer recruiting battles.

WVU Assistant Seider Just Getting Started in Florida - WVillustrated
Two commitments to the West Virginia football program Tuesday had JaJuan Seider's name written all over them. The new Mountaineer running backs coach is considered one of the staff's best recruiters and one of its most important, as he is in charge of the talent-rich state of Florida.

Pro News:

Joe Alexander is almost back to full health, ready for the court - Pros Report
Hopefully, for Alexander, his frustrations will come to an end in the next 8 weeks when the talented and the athletically gifted 26-year-old can return to the court.

Pat White has "gotten better each practice" with the Redskins - Pros Report
Pat White's Relaunch Campaign is full steam ahead in Washington as the team moves into the quiet period between OTA's and training camp.

John Flowers will return to France next season with a different team - Pros Report
After leading Denain Voltaire last season, John Flowers will return to France next season after signing with JL Bourg.

Gyorko expected to return Tuesday - Pros Report
According to the Union Tribune- San Diego, Gyorko has been taking batting practice as well as fielding ground balls in anticipation for his return to the Padres' lineup.

Around the League (and Beyond):

Baylor bandwagon loaded with 19 prospects already aboard - Waco Tribune

Collin Bevins leaves Iowa State - Cyclone Fanatic

KU mailbag: Year two of Charlie Weis, Andrew Wiggins and more - Kansas City Star

Kansas State adapts to quickly-changing football recruiting timeline - Kansas City Star

OU Football | Are The Recent Wide Receiver Commits A Sign Of Changes To Come? - Crimson And Cream Machine

2013 Oklahoma State football's 10 things to know: The plug-and-play 'Pokes - SBNation.com

2013 Texas Football: The Most Experienced Team in FBS - Barking Carnival

TCU's Casey Pachall has something to prove entering the 2013 season | Campus Union - SI.com

Tech running back lineup runs deep - Lubbock Avalanche Journal

What's On Tap:

Football Season Tickets on Sale Monday - WVU Athletics
Remaining 2013 season tickets go on sale Monday, June 24, at 9 a.m.

Video of Interest:

"At Your Service" shows new West Virginia University students and families the vital new resources that become daily parts of student life.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

R.I.P. Tone

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is . CLICK HERE for today's gallery of Lisalla Montenegro.

The Miami Marlins are likely to be somewhat active during the 2013 MLB trade deadline, and one of the names that will floated around constantly is that of Ricky Nolasco's. Last week, we discussed the possibility of a Nolasco trade to the San Francisco Giants, as Nolasco is a California native.

The Giants would be a nice fit, but according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, other NL West teams would be interested as well. The Marlins apparently already discussed a Nolasco trade to the Colorado Rockies (H/T MLBTR). But the Rockies had a problem with the financial aspect of the trade, as Nolasco is still owed about $6 million in salary for his final contract year. As mentioned in the Giants article, Nolasco is only about a one-win pitcher for the rest of the season, making his on-field value worth less than his salary at the moment.

Nolasco may also garner some trade interest from the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres, all of whom are involved in a tight race with the Giants for supremacy in the NL West. As ridiculous as it is to consider this, Nolasco owns a 2.09 career ERA versus the Giants in nine starts, which for some reason might entice a professional Major League team to hop on the Ricky bandwagon.

For the Marlins, these are all good things, as the team is trying to trade away Nolasco. Each of these teams might have some interest in fitting a decent back-end starter into their rotation. The Rockies, in particular, could use another warm body as they continue to work on a pitching staff. While Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge de la Rosa have been effective, they also have minuscule home run rates while working in the most hitter-friendly park in baseball, so those performances might trend downward as the season progresses. Their remaining starters are struggling badly with the home run, as Juan Nicasio (1.1 homers per nine innings), Jon Garland (1.2), and Jeff Francis (1.9) have all been giving up long balls. The Rockies were desperate enough to turn to the broken-down Roy Oswalt for help.

Unfortunately for them, Nolasco would be a poor fit with that cast. Despite his solid start in 2013, he still should be considered a "homer-prone" pitcher, especially with his 2013 decrease in ground ball rate. His repertoire and approach of pounding the strike zone works better in a spacious stadium like Marlins Park than it would in the thin air of Coors Field. Even with the nice work he has done so far, it is difficult to see him working out in a such hitter-friendly atmosphere.

The other teams listed have varying needs at starting pitcher. The Diamondbacks suffered recent injuries but all of their starters have either done well or have at least a decent track record. The Padres, on the other hand, have been one of the worst pitching teams in baseball when you consider where they play their home games. Aside from Eric Stults and Andrew Cashner, the Padres' staff has been horrific. The team as a whole is dead last is FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement from their staff, as they are almost two winsbelow replacement level.

Of the three locations listed, Nolasco's best fit would be in San Diego, where he can place pitches in the strike zone and not nearly be as concerned about the long ball. But his contract remains a serious issue. If the Marlins want to get any value in return, they will have to pay most, if not all, of Nolasco's remaining salary. Currently, he has negative trade value because he is paid more than his worth, but if the Fish swallow his salary, they can get a B-ranked prospect much like the ones I listed in the Giants article. On the Rockies, such a prospect could include players like Tyler Anderson or Eddie Butler. On the Padres' top-notch system, that would be someone like Donn Roach or Joe Ross.

If the Marlins do not offer to eat any of Nolasco's salary, do not expect a significant name in return. Even with the desperation of the trade deadline and a weak pitching class, teams are wary enough about the inconsistency of Nolsaco to not hitch themselves to him for much. In this case, the Marlins would be wise to break out the checkbook in order to get some talent back.

There are only four games tonight and none of them include the Yankees. If you want to watch baseball, feel free to talk about it here. You have:

Cleveland Indians @ Baltimore Orioles at 7:05 pm
Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Zach Britton

The Orioles are just two games out of first place in the AL East and hold a half game lead over the Yankees in the Wild Card. The Indians are four games back from the first place Tigers and three games out of a Wild Card spot. Nick Swisher is back in the lineup after missing time with a shoulder injury and any game with Manny Machado and Chris Davis in it is going to be exciting, but you should be rooting for the Indians tonight.

Toronto Blue Jays @ Tampa Bay Rays at 7:10 pm
Esmil Rogers vs. Jeremy Hellickson

Root for the asteroid. The Jays have won eleven in a row to bring them back into relevancy and tie the Rays for last place in the division. You might not know who to root for if you want Toronto's hot streak to end, but also want to see Tampa Bay in last place.

Philadelphia Phillies @ San Diego Padres at 10:10 pm
Cliff Lee vs. Eric Stults

The Phillies are under .500, 7.5 games behind the Braves, and 8.5 games outside of a Wild Card spot. The Padres, on the other hand, are at .500 and 3.5 games out of first place in the NL West. The Padres being successful sounds like fun and no one wants to root for Philly.

San Francisco Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers at 10:10 pm
Madison Bumgarner vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu

Dodgers vs. Giants is always exciting, but one is in last place and the other is clinging to three games out of first place in the NL West and is in danger of being overtaken by the Rockies and Padres. Enjoy some Yasiel Puig and wish that the Yankees could get talent like that.

More From Pinstriped Bible

Hot Stove: Should the Yankees trade Robinson Cano?

Austin Romine and the Negative OPS+ Club

Mark Teixeira injury update: Wrist pain not responding to cortisone shot; surgery possible

I was listening to Marty Caswell's interview with Padres GM Josh Byrnes earlier and he was referencing the fact that the Padres were doing quite well over the last 12 months. If you remember the 2012 team just started improving around this time and finished strong after a despicable start. This years team has started off relatively well considering their poor play in the first 20 games.

I looked up the Padres record over the past 162 games and tweeted it out to the enjoyment of about 5 people.

#Padres are 87-75 over their last 162 games.

— Gaslamp Ball (@gaslampball) June 24, 2013

That got me thinking.

I wondered what the Padres best record was over 162 consecutive games. Hours later I had my results. I limited my list to 100 wins and above. As you might have guessed all had a piece of the 98 wins in 1998.

Padres best record over 162 consecutive games

To be somewhat symmetrical I also figured out the Padres worst record over 162 consecutive games. I limited this result set to a list of 110 losses or more. Most had a piece of the dreadful 1969 and 1970 seasons. Only one took place in the 90's.

Padres worst record over 162 consecutive games

As you probably know by now, Kyle Blankshad an amazing game last night. He drove in three of the Padres' four runs and scored the other one on a wild pitch, but the most exciting part was his walk-off single. No sooner than the game had ended, everybody was tweeting that it was the second walk-off hit of Kyle's career. I was kind of surprised because it seems like he's done this a few times, but I immediately remembered the first one.

It was August 17, 2009, nearly two months after the rookie Blanks made his debut. He came up with Chase Headley and Kevin Kouzmanoff on base in the ninth inning of a 1-1 home game against the Cubs and hit one out to left-center. I remember watching the game on my laptop while sitting on my front porch; I had only recently moved there and the whole neighborhood was way sketchy. I wrote about the experience on my old, long-neglected blog a day after it happened:

My favorite moment of this season so far is still Li'l Tony's pinch-hit walk and subsequent winning run on the day we acquired him, but each of the past two games are definitely in the top-five. I watched Blanksy's walkoff job Monday night on the front porch since I was out there smoking when the rally started and I wasn't about to get out of my seat and eff it up. When KB parked that ball out in left, I went friggin' nuts; there's a good possibility I may have woke a neighbor or two up. One neighbor who was still awake without my assistance shouted across the street "What you wilin' out about, n****?" so I tossed my computer inside and went over there to explain myself and do a little socializing. This, my friends, is where it gets really bizarre. A few neighbors and some skanktastic girl I'd never seen before were holding it down, doing pretty much the same thing as me at that point which was drinking crappy beer. So far, not weird at all. Then he starts telling me how he's gonna start a strip club/ brothel out of his house"but only on the weekends" to which another neighbor responded that "nah, you neeed to have them h**s up in here on a Sunday cuz that's when my old lady's out of town". He then asked the skanky girl to "let me see how you do" and she queried "You got any bills?" His response was "No, but I got some pills" and without even asking what kind of pills they were, she immediately began walking inside. I was speechless and disgusted although not one bit surprised. I remained outside, talking to my next-door neighbor who is surprisingly a semi-decent human being- surprisingly because of the company he keeps- and getting hammered. And by hammered, I mean full-on Drama goes to DC hammered. Not too much later- or hell, maybe a lot later for all I know- pimp guy calls up another skankariffic girl with the intent of her and the other one "putting on a show". As soon as she got there and it was clear that everyone was going inside to participate in the degrading of women, I excused myself. I was then asked "What, you gay, n****?" Since there's no point in explaining my stance to someone who's enthusiastic about exploiting human beings and treating women like a combination of product and garbage, I just said I was tired. All in all, it was pretty effed up and I know where I'm not gonna be hanging out ever again.

The Padres' official site has video of Blanks's first walk-off. This was also the time that Heath Bell did the robot when everybody was celebrating at home plate. Ah, all these years later and Heath Bell is still making Padres fans happy in the ninth inning of games.

Once again, we'll look at the upcoming trade market to see how other teams might see Houston's roster and which players are likely to get dealt. Tim kicked things off this year with a great article on Jose Veras and the Astros closer's market.

Next up is another 2012 winter signee, first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Pena. Let's break down his value, his market and which teams might be a trading fit for him.

The Player

At 35, Carlos Pena has been traded twice in his career. Both came in the same year (2002) and both happened four years after Pena was drafted. Since then? He's been granted free agency many times, but never changed hands midseason.

The funny thing is, when I approached this article, I immediately made a connection between Pena and former instant offense bench first baseman Tony Clark. In my head, Clark had been traded half a dozen times at the deadline as teams searched for a veteran pinch hitter off the bench.

Turns out, Clark and Pena are pretty comparable, as they have a similarity score of 904 on Baseball Reference, the third-highest for Clark of any player. They also both rarely got traded, especially late in their careers.

Clark was signed as a free agent in Arizona and made his reputation as a pinch-hitter extraordinaire there. He did get traded once, but it was back to the D'Backs after signing with the Padres in the winter of 2007.

Still, the two players profile pretty neatly. Pena has lost more of his power over the last three seasons (according to his isolated power averages) than Clark did. Clark was still posting ISO averages over .200 until he retired. Pena gets on base at a higher clip than Clark did, though and plays slightly better defense.

Season Preview: Carlos Pena

Our own CRPerry talked about what to expect from Pena during spring training

Teams probably don't view Pena as a sure-fire answer as a starter at first base right now. He's hitting just .219/.327/.376 this season with eight home runs. He's got to make better contact if he wants to start for a contender, which is why most teams looking to trade for him probably view him as a bench bat who could fill in in case of an injury.

So far this season, Pena has been worth 0.1 fWAR, earning 3.1 Fielding Runs and posting a weighted Runs Created total of 95, meaning he's been slightly below league average as a hitter this season.

Pena is making $2.9 million on a one-year deal signed with Houston, but he also has up to $1.4 million in incentives he can earn. That's not a huge price to pay, especially if Houston picks up some of it in a trade.

The Market

It seems like there is always a market for power-hitting bats off the bench. Teams looking to get into the playoffs or make a run at the pennant can definitely use someone to make spot starts and give managers options off the bench, right?

Except there haven't been a ton of trades like that in the past three years. In June and July of the past three seasons, only 16 players got moved who played either first base, left field or designated hitter. If we cut out the outfielders (since Pena isn't pulling a Chris Carter at this point), that number drops to seven. In the past two years, only three first basemen and one DH got traded.

What's more, these types of players don't generally net big-time returns. Of those 16 players, only three of them netted a former top 100 prospect and another one netted a proven big leaguer. Outside those, the rest were organizational prospects, cash or players to be named later.

The good news? One of those trades for a top 100 guy was made by Jeff Luhnow last year and included another Carlos (Lee).

There will be teams that need a bat off the bench or a fill-in at first base. The return, though, might be muted.

The Teams

5) Oakland Athletics, 44-34 (2nd in division)

Houston and Oakland laid the groundwork for future trades by dealing for Jed Lowrie in February. Jeff Luhnow isn't afraid to deal with Billy Beane, so the two could be a match if Oakland needs hitting.

Right now, that could be the case. The A's are ninth in the league in run scoring right now, but fell behind the Rangers in the standings recently. By adding Pena, they'd get to revel in the Moneyball jokes while also following a formula from the past, where Beane acquires older, cheap sluggers to bolster the roster.

A's first basemen have hit .238/.316/.433 this season with 17 home runs and average defense. Pena could help with that spot, as Oakland's first basemen are 17th in the league in wOBA vs. right-handers. For more information on the A's, check out Athletics Nation.

4) San Diego Padres, 38-38 (4th in division)

According to Danny Knobler, the Padres are unexpected buyers as the trade deadline nears.

San Diego is also slightly below average at first base. While they've gotten decent production out of Kyle Blanks, and Yonder Alonso is the future at the position, the Friars might want to upgrade the bench behind those guys.

Still, Pena isn't a great fit here, since he should probably go to a team with a designated hitter spot open for him on occasion. His defensive prowess would benefit the Padres if they need a spot start here or there.

The other problem with San Diego as a destination is that their first basemen have murdered right-handed pitching this season, so that eliminates possible platoon advantages for Pena. The Padres do need offense, though, as they are tied with the Braves for 16th in the league in runs per game. For a team trying to make a run at the playoffs, that's not good enough. For more on the Padres, check out Gaslamp Ball.

3) Atlanta Braves, 44-33 (1st in division)

Even though Justin Upton has been off-the-charts good for the Braves this season, their offense has struggled at times. The thing that has kept Atlanta in contention is the pitching staff, but they are certainly going to look to add offense at the deadline.

To that end, the Braves haven't been very good at first base this season. Well, scratch that. They've been decent, as Freddie Freeman has a great batting average and okay power numbers with a 20 percent strikeout rate. He's still young and the future of the team at that spot.

But, no other first baseman has gotten time there this season. So, if Pena were to head to Atlanta, he could eat up the at-bats of a guy like Reed Johnson (hitting .232/.302/.348 with one home run). Plus, Freeman probably could use some time off down the stretch, and Pena would make a nice addition there.

Still, it's not a perfect fit, as the Braves have some other candidates who can play at first, including seeing if Evan Gattis works out there when Brian McCann is behind the plate. If they do decide to add a powerful bench bat, though, Pena might make some sense. For more on the Braves, check out Talking Chop.

2) Pittsburgh Pirates, 46-30 (2nd in division)

Once again, the Pirates are making a run at a winning record. They're also a game behind the best team in the league in St. Louis, so there's a good chance Pittsburgh makes it back to the playoffs for the first time since the early 90's.

Two different first basemen have clocked time for Pittsburgh this season, including Garrett Jones and Gaby Sanchez. Sanchez has hit better than Pena this season, with slightly less home run power but a better ISO average and a higher walk rate. Jones hasn't hit as well and also hasn't played very well at all defensively.

For a team that has playoff designs, the offense is a big question mark. Pittsburgh has the lowest runs per game total of any team with a winning record. They need to find offense in some place, and Pena might make sense. For more about the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

1) New York Yankees, 41-34 (3rd in division)

Aren't they always a buyer here? The Yankees have money to burn (usually) and an older roster, which makes them a perfect spot for aging bench players.

New York also needs offense in the worst way. Only one team with a record over .500 has scored fewer runs than the Yankees, and we just discussed the Pirates. The Yanks are scoring less than four runs per game and have holes at both first base and designated hitter.

First base has also been a disaster for the Yankees this season. Mark Teixeira is hurt and Lyle Overbay has been worse than Chris Carter. That's why Pena and the Yankees have been linked for a solid month.

Add in the lack of production from the DH spots on the roster and New York makes a ton of sense for a Pena trade. For more on the Yankees, check out Pinstriped Bible.

Read more TCB:

• Jose Veras trade destinations
• Hangin' with TCB: Ryan Dunsmore
• Sabermetrics: BABiP and Astros pitchers
• Crawfish Fantasy: Astros stellar rotation