carpenter westbrook
6-4, 2.97 6-4, 4.36
if the cardinals happened to have a scout at the metrodome game today to evaluate los angeles lhp odalis perez --- and i'm not suggesting that they should have --- there wasn't much to see: odalis gave up a grand slam in the 1st and exited in the 5th with his team in a 6-0 hole. . . . . nor would any scout have liked what he saw of another los angeles pitcher who's on the block, jeff weaver --- the rockies mashed him last night . . . .
other transactions that aren't happening: the tigers called larry walker to see if he might be interested in playing a little left and doing a little dh'ing down the stretch, maybe take one last shot at a ring. he passed . . . .
here's one that i missed from a few days ago: peter gammons thinks the braves may deal andruw jones. you don't suppose . . . . . ? jones' contract has one more year to run, at $13.5m. he's hitting .282 this year with 18 hr/65 bi, and an OPS of .867. he's 29 years old. . . . . i really hesitate to bring this up, because you and i both know it prob'y ain't happening. but it makes for a more pleasant discussion topic than the manifold woes of the team, dunnn't it? i'll leave it to all of you to figure out how we pry andruw loose without giving up either reyes or wainwright. the payroll relief alone might be worth something to atlanta . . . . .
speaking of gammons, here's an update on his recovery from brain surgery. he's doing as well as can be expected. if you follow this link, you'll find another link at the destination page, which you can click to leave a get-well message for pete and family.
colby rasmus cracked the top 10 list on baseball america's latest prospect hot sheet, released two days ago. also appearing there, in the honorable-mention section --- ex-missouri state righthander (and current marlin farmhand) brett sinkbeil. . . . .
the albert pujols club is open for bizness (hat tip deadspin) . . . .
if the cardinals fail to win tonight and friday against the royals, it will be the la russa regime's first month with fewer than 10 wins. the last time st louis won fewer than 10 in a month was july 1994, when they went 8-20.