The 40-year-old slugger is nearing the end of a lengthy and very productive career. In 21 seasons, he’s compiled a .277 average and 1662 RBI. Injuries have slowed him in recent years and limited him to 64 games so far in 2011. Let the debate begin as to whether his stats are Hall of Fame worthy.

Thome has one of baseball’s best reputations. He’s a clean-cut professional who goes about his business with little fanfare. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the game with a bad word to say about him. In an era beset by steroid abuse and numerous allegations, Thome stood out for never being linked to performance enhancing drugs.

He was a consistent power hitter for two decades, having first hit 40 home runs in 1997 and most recently in 2006. Some pundits will penalize him for playing during the steroid era and never winning a World Series or MVP, but it’s hard to ignore his gaudy numbers and longevity.

He was a five-time All-Star, led the National League in homers in 2003, was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2006 and oh by the way, hit 600 dingers.

On paper, he seems like a surefire Hall of Famer. However, baseball voters can be very critical in their evaluation. Reaching 600 probably sealed his entry, although he might not be a first ballot invite.

With fellow 600 Club members Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez tangled in webs of controversy, Thome represents the antithesis. Bottom line: he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Source: MLB.com

Marquis stayed in the game for an inning before dropping to one knee in obvious discomfort.

“I thought it was just tightness from a bruise,” Marquis said. “The pain was enough I could deal with to stay out there. I just felt something pop and (team physician Dr. Michael Lee) said it completed the break.”

Marquis was brought to the Diamondbacks in a trade deadline deal with the Nationals. He was supposed to help fill out a starting rotation led by Cy Young candidate Ian Kennedy. In three starts, Marquis is 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA. Overall on the season, he is 8-6 with a 4.43 ERA.

The 32-year-old veteran has made the rounds in his 12 major league seasons. His best season came in 2004 with St. Louis when he as 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA. Two years later he was a member of the Cardinals World Series winning team. He’s played for six franchises and compiled a 104-98 career record.

Arizona has been on a tear since the All-Star break. On July 15th they were 49-44, 4.5 games behind the Giants. They now sit in first place at 68-53, winners of six straight and two games ahead of those same Giants. Tonight they begin a three-game road set with the dominant Phillies, who have won 13 of their last 15 and own the best record in baseball at 78-41.

The D-Backs will likely comb the waiver wire to replace Marquis. Bruce Chen is one possibility. Another would be Carlos Zambrano, who was last seen clearing out his Cubs locker after being ejected for throwing at the Braves Chipper Jones. Zambrano is a major headcase, but is also a proven starter and three-time All-Star.

Source: ESPN.com

On July 25th, Pittsburgh was 53-47 and tied for the National League Central lead with the Cardinals. The Brewers trailed by .5 game and the Reds were four games back. Fifteen days and one agonizing losing streak later, and the Pirates find themselves battling Cincinnati for third place in the division, 9.5 games behind Milwaukee. What happened?

Let us count the ways. A normally reliable pitching staff allowed 82 runs during the next ten losses. They faced some of the NL’s finest hurlers, including Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Carlos Zambrano and Aaron Harang. But that really doesn’t excuse being drubbed by the Cubs and Padres — the two worst teams in the league minus the Astros.

Everyone gets battered by the Phillies, The Phillies look like the best team in baseball. So getting swept by them is nothing to be embarrassed about. However, tanking a four-game set at home to the Cubs and allowing 35 runs in three games against the NL West cellar-dwelling Padres is shameful.

But hey, it’s the Pirates. They were 57-105 in 2010. From 2005-2009, they lost over 90 games each season. The last year they dropped less than 83 games was the abbreviated work-stoppage season in 1994. If any sports franchise has perfected the art of losing, it’s the Pirates.

Despite their shocking surge during the first half of 2011, most pundits and fans appeared to be bracing for the other shoe to drop. The feeling was there’s no way they can maintain their stellar play. A young roster would succumb to the mounting pressure of contending for a playoff spot.

Cue the swoon.

The optimist believes they have plenty of games left to right the ship. The pessimist believes the ship has already sailed. After all, it’s the Pirates.

Weaver will appeal the suspension and continue to pitch until his hearing in New York City next week. However, in all likelihood the ban will be upheld, which will cause him to miss two scheduled starts in a tight AL West race.

Weaver is 14-5 and leads baseball in ERA at 1.88. He might be the Angels most important player, so sitting out a pair of starts could have a negative impact on their chances to make the playoffs. They currently trail the Rangers by one game in the AL West and the Yankees by seven games in the Wildcard standings.

Scioscia sounded none too pleased about his normally calm and collected ace’s actions.

“Obviously you don’t want to lose a guy like Jered at all, he’s an emotional guy and that’s part of that double-edged sword,” Scioscia said. “It makes him the great competitor he is and also there’s an element there that says, hey, enough is enough. Obviously we wish it didn’t pan out like that, it’s something Weave has never done before, and he’s probably the last guy you’d expect to do it. He pitches inside, he pitches aggressively, he’s got a great reputation around the league for just pitching good baseball, and that’s one that I think he’d like to have back, too.”

Retaliation throws are part of the game, but a part that Scioscia and others would like to see go away. What Guillen did is equally wrong, although showboating hurts nothing but the pitcher’s pride. Hurling a fastball at a batter’s head in order to send a message could result in serious injury. Weaver got whet he deserved and hopefully learned a lesson.

Source: ESPN.com

Manager Terry Francona is confident Bedard will provide the team the much-needed arm they’ve been seeking for months.

“He’s a guy who has shown he can pitch in the American League East. First half of the year before he tweaked that knee he was pretty solid,” Francona said. “His stuff was good. We’re excited.”

Bedard is 4-7 with a 3.45 ERA in 16 starts. He spent the last month on the DL after injuring his left knee in late June. The 32-year-old is 55-48 in in eight years with a career ERA of 3.69. He missed the entire 2010 season with chronic shoulder problems.

The move is magnified due to Clay Buchholz’s cloudy future. An MRI last week revealed a stress fracture in Buchholz’s lower back. He is currently on the 60-day disabled list and scheduled to see a specialist today. Whether or not he returns to the team this season remains to be seen, but it’s likely he will be shutdown completely. Prior to his back problems, Buchholz was 6-3 with a 3.48 ERA.

In addition to Bedard, the Red Sox also received outfielder Trayvon Robinson from the Dodgers for right-handers Juan Rodriguez and Stephen Fife and catcher Tim Federowicz. Boston then shipped Robinson to Seattle along with outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang.

The hope is Bedard can stay healthy and fill the void in the starting rotation. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have been dominant, combining to go 20-8. However, with Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka out, and John Lackey suffering through a miserable season, Boston is desperate for a capable third starter to send to the mound during the playoffs.

The Red Sox boast the American League’s best record at 66-40 and lead the East Division by two games over the rival Yankees.

Source: ESPN.com

Manager Ron Roenicke wasn’t clear on when Weeks will return to the lineup.

“Some guys come back in two weeks and other guys, it’s going to take six,” Roenicke said. “Part of Rickie’s game is speed on defense, speed on the base paths. Until he’s right, it’s going to be hard to put him out there because of the way he plays.”

The 28-year-old Weeks is enjoying a breakout season in 2011. In 104 games, he is hitting .272 with 19 home runs and 43 RBI and earned his first All-Star appearance in eight major league seasons. He was on pace to eclipse his career highs in homers (29) and RBI (83), which he set a year ago.

Veteran Craig Counsell will take over duties at second in Weeks’ absence for now. However, the 40-year-old utility player is batting a pathetic .150 in 73 games thus far, so Roenicke may look for other options. Infielder Eric Farris has been called up from Triple-A and Josh Wilson could slide over to second if necessary.

Another option is a trade. With Sunday’s deadline looming, the Brewers could swing a deal to give them extra infield depth, especially if Weeks is out for an extended period of time.

The Brewers are battling the Pirates, Cardinals and Reds in the compacted National League Central. They currently lead Pittsburgh and St. Louis by 1.5 games, and Cincinnati by 6.5 games.

The division will likely come down to the wire. Milwaukee has 25 games remaining versus its three rivals, including ten against the Pirates.

Source: ESPN.com

The 24-year-old Rasmus is considered a rising young talent, although he has struggled in 2011 after hitting .276 with 23 homers and 66 RBI in 2010. In 94 games this season, he is batting .246 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI. With Jon Jay’s ability to hit left-handed pitching, Rasmus became expendable. Couple that with the team’s need for another quality starter in Jackson, the deal makes perfect sense.

Jackson, who was traded earlier today from Chicago to Toronto, doesn’t have to worry about getting his Canadian passport because he won’t even suit up for the Jays. St. Louis will be the seventh team in nine years for the well-traveled Jackson, and his fourth since the beginning of 2010.

In 19 starts this season, he is 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA. His best campaign came in 2009 while a member of the Tigers; he was 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA and 161 strikeouts.

The Cardinals also acquired relief pitchers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, and outfielder Corey Patterson. Rzepczynski is 2-3 with 33 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. Dotel is 2-1 with one save in 29.1 innings. Patterson, who should take Rasmus’s spot in the outfield rotation, is hitting .252 with 6 dingers and 33 RBI in 89 games played.

In exchange, Toronto received pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet and P.J. Walters. Tallet and Walters have combined to pitch only 17 innings, while Miller is likely headed to the White Sox as part of the compensation for the Jackson deal.

St. Louis is engaged in a fierce four-way battle in the NL Central with Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Only five games separate the four teams, with the Cards currently holding a tenuous .5 lead in the division.

Source: ESPN.com

At least five teams are rumored to be interested in acquiring the 34-year-old slugger’s services. Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco, Texas and Boston are all in the running, although according to Beltran, a National League city would be preferable.

“Right now, I feel so comfortable with the National League. I’ve been here seven years. I feel comfortable here. … It’s just seven years that I haven’t played in the American League. But let’s see. I mean, it’s going to be convenient for the organization, for sure, but it also has to be convenient for me. If it’s convenient for both, we move forward.”

He also stated he has no desire to be a DH, even on a part-time basis. If the Mets honor his demands, offensive-hungry Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Francisco will engage in a three-team Battle Royale to land his .291 average, 15 home runs and 64 RBI. Beltran has the power to veto any deal due to the no-trade clause in his contract.

A darkhorse franchise like Pittsburgh or Milwaukee could throw their hat in the ring, but it’s unlikely they would be able to offer a package on par with the big boys. The Mets want legit prospects in return for Beltran, so a team with a farm system stacked with talent has the best chance.

Of all the National League contenders, the Giants are most in need of a power surge in the lineup. They rank 14th in the NL in team batting and have smacked only 65 home runs. Beltran would immediately become their best hitter should he be brought aboard.

Source: ESPN.com

Sizemore hopes the surgery will enable him to return to the Indians lineup for the stretch drive in September.

“The injury, which resulted in today’s surgery, has been bothering me since the slide in May,” Sizemore said in a statement released by the team. “Knowing the two areas are related and also learning my knee condition is not serious gives me peace of mind going forward that I can finish the season healthy and help contribute to an exciting pennant chase.”

Sizemore has already missed 38 games this season due to knee and abdominal issues. He is hitting .237 with ten home runs and 29 RBI. His ‘go hard or go home’ attitude is admirable, although not conducive to staying healthy, as he is often leaping, sliding and diving all over the field.

The 28-year-old three-time All-Star has seen his once promising career derailed in recent years. After sitting out only nine games from 2005-2008, Sizemore has suffered elbow, abdominal and knee injuries that have caused him to be sidelined for more than 230 games from 2009 to 2011.

This latest ailment comes at a critical juncture for the Tribe, who are engaged in a fierce battle with Detroit for the AL Central title. The Tigers are a .5 game up, but the Indians hold the edge in the season series 4-2. The two rivals will face each other 12 times in August and September, including a three-game set to close out the regular season in Detroit.

Ezequiel Carrera is expected to get the majority of the work replacing Sizemore in center; he is batting .259 in 13 games thus far. Although, a trade could be swung considering the lack of depth in the Indians outfield.

Source: ESPN.com

The injury occurred when Drew attempted to score from second-base. He ignored a stop signal from third-base coach Matt Williams and slid feet-first into home, catching his foot on Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Adding insult to injury, he was ruled out on the play.

Teammate Ryan Roberts summed up the significance of the loss.

“He’s a shortstop,” infielder Ryan Roberts said. “That’s the captain of the infield right there. Look around the league and all the big-name players play shortstop, so it’s a big loss for the team and we’ll find a way to bounce back from it.”

And therein lies the problem for Arizona. Finding an adequate player to fill the vacancy at shortstop. Utility man Willie Bloomquist, who has seen time at short this season, will get the nod for now. Bloomquist is hitting .271 with a pair of home runs and 11 RBI in 166 at-bats.

Drew was batting .252 with five homers and 45 RBI, but his absence will be felt most in the field. His .980 fielding percentage ranks sixth among NL shortstops and his seven errors is tied for third fewest. The 28-year-old has been relatively durable during his career as well, playing over 150 games in three of the previous four seasons.

The good news for the D-Backs is the trading deadline has yet to pass. General manager Kevin Towers has time to construct a deal if the team feels compelled to do so.

One name assuredly at the top of Towers’ list is Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, who leads the Majors with a .349 average. However, the Mets announced yesterday that Reyes was no longer on the block. Although, anything is possible this time of year.

Arizona currently sits at 52-46 in the NL West, 4.5 games behind the Giants, and five games behind the Braves in the Wildcard standings.

Source: MLB.com