Former Tigers and White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez will be retiring on Sunday, during "Magglio Ordonez Day" at Comerica Park when the Tigers host the Yankees.

Ordonez has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons, playing in fewer than 100 games in each after injuring his ankle. He re-fractured the ankle in the playoffs this past year, and made the decision to call it quits. Ordonez split his career between AL Central rivals Chicago and Detroit, and was the runner-up for the AL MVP in 2007 when he lead the league with a .363 batting average for the Tigers. That 2007 season was by far the best of his career, totalling 8.1 fWAR. After leaving Chicago after the 2004 season, Ordonez's power dropped significantly, as he never hit 30 homers in a season again after doing it for four straight years in Chicago.

Ordonez was also paid very well over his career, making over $133 million despite having just one superstar season. Aside from 2007, his Detroit career was largely a disappointment, with that 8.1 fWAR season having more value than all of his other seasons in Detroit combined. Ordonez was a member of the 2006 AL Champion Tigers, and hit .309 for his career.

Photo courtesy of Daylife.com

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Roy Oswalt's name is coming up more and more among clubs who are short on pitching depth. A number of teams have been linked to Oswalt, from the favorites (Rangers, Phillies, Red Sox) to the more surprising candidates (Dodgers, Orioles, Brewers). Oswalt has thrown for the three favorites as well as the Dodgers in recent weeks, and we seem to be getting close to a decision. Of the six teams involved, the prevailing logic appears to be that the Rangers are the favorite for Oswalt's services. But what about the other teams?

Rangers- 4:3 odds. The Rangers seem to make the most sense for Oswalt from a practical standpoint. Their home in Dallas is (relatively) close to Oswalt's home in Mississippi, they're a solid contender (in fact, the best team in the American League), and they have an opening in their rotation after Neftali Feliz was placed on the DL last week. Feliz's replacement in the rotation, Scott Feldman, was awful in his first turn in the Feliz's spot in the rotation last week against the Mariners (4 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K). Feldman starts tonight against the Mariners again, and if he struggles against their weak offense once again, the need for a different arm in the rotation will grow even stronger. But what throws me off would be what the Rangers would do with Feliz once he returns if they sign Oswalt. There is absolutely not a need for him in Texas's lights out bullpen, and the rest of the Rangers rotation is pitching marginally well thusfar this yaer.

Dodgers- 4:1 odds. The Dodgers pitching staff this year has been led by Clayton Kershaw, who has been his usual awesome self, and Chris Capuano, who is having a career year so far. Ted Lilly just went on the DL with shoulder inflammation, and will be replaced by rookie Nathan Eovaldi, who had a 3.09 ERA in 35 innings in AAA Chattanooga this year. During a brief stint in the majors last year, Eovaldi struck out 23 while walking 20, and the Dodgers can't have a performance like that this time around. LA's other two starters, Chad Billingsley and Aaron Harang, have been effective, but underwhelming. The Dodgers look like they should coast to a NL West title this year, and really should be focusing on tweaking their team for playoff success. The addition of Oswalt to an already veteran rotation would do nothing but help.

Phillies- 6:1 odds. Philadelphia's need for Oswalt will grow exponentially if the news that comes back on Roy Halladay's shoulder isn't good. The Phillies currently are without Vance Worley in their rotation, and Halladay could join him soon on the DL after leavnig Saturday's game without recording an out due to shoulder soreness. The Phillies can make do with Kyle Kendrick replacing Worley in the rotation, but replacing Halladay would be a much taller task. A veteran like Oswalt could be just what fits the bill for the Phillies. 

Red Sox- 12:1 odds. I'm not sure Oswalt would want to join the dysfunctional atmosphere in the Boston clubhouse, but man, they could really use him. Boston's best starter has been young Felix Doubront, and while Josh Beckett has been fine, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Daniel Bard have all been disappointments so far. Oswalt might perform very well for the Red Sox, but I don't think the front office would be too hot for bringing in another free agent starter to potentially solve the starting pitching problems for half a season. It's like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.

Orioles- 20:1 odds. I really don't think Oswalt would have any desire to go to Baltimore, a team that has pretty much been a non-contender for the last 15 years. But the Orioles are currently in a tie for first place in the AL East, and playing some really good ball. But at the same time, I don't think that owner Peter Angelos would give GM Dan Duquette the OK to open up the wallet and dedicate the necessary funds to signing Oswalt. On another note, I really don't think he fits in with their long-term plan. While Oswalt would be a massive improvement over Tommy Hunter in Baltimore's rotation, he's 34 years old. The oldest Orioles starter is 29. Baltimore is trying to build a foundation, not trying to get to the playoffs for one year, and then fall back to the bottom of the pack.

Brewers- 100:1 odds. I wasn't surprised that the Brewers were interested in Oswalt...but I was surprised that they think they'd have any shot at him. The Brewers are eight games under .500 and seven games out of the NL Central lead right now, and the team continues to get ravaged with injuries. I also understand the logic of trying to make a run before Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke hit free agency. Three Opening Day starters are currently hurt, two of whom will be out for the year with torn ACLs. Surrounding Ryan Braun with a fantastic core of players is obviously the plan, but the Brewers are just having every break go against them this year, and Oswalt wouldn't help enough for Milwaukee to return to the postseason.

In summary: even if Oswalt turned down the first offer from the Rangers, expect him to end up there after all is said and done. It just makes the most sense right now.

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It is never too early to start talking about the trade deadline, especially when we can talk about would-be contenders that might unexpectedly end up being sellers rather than buyers at the deadline.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at many of these such teams, and there is a surprisingly large amount, and what exactly they might be looking to sell if they don't turn around their season in a hurry.

Losers of eight straight and playing in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball, things are starting to look bleak for the Atlanta Braves.  They are still over .500, but after last season's collapse down the stretch, a lot of negativity is starting to come to the surface in Atlanta.  That inevitably means people around the team are going to start wondering if they don't need to take give this roster and clubhouse a serious shake up.

So, what can the Braves potentially offer to the rest of the league?

Big Chips: Michael Bourn, Tim Hudson

The Braves made a big move to acquire Michael Bourn at the deadline last season, shoring up their big hole in center field and leadoff.  That should make them particularly loathe to part ways with him via trade, however, they would be even more loathe to watch Bourn get signed away from them when he hits the free agent market after this year.  So, if the season looks lost and Bourn doesn't seem receptive to a long-term deal that works for Atlanta financially, which is a virtual certainty since Bourn is represented by Scott Boras, Atlanta will have no other choice but to send him packing.  The good news is that several teams have glaring needs for a player like Bourn and would be willing to give up a handsome package of prospects despite him being just a three-month rental.

Tim Hudson still seems to be working to get back to form after off-season back surgery, but he figures to be back to his old self by the time the trade deadline draws nigh.  As a battle-tested veteran, Hudson is an ideal pick up for most any team and would surely bring back a very nice package, especially since he has a relatively team-friendly $9 million team option for 2013.  That option might be what prompts Atlanta and their notoriously budget-conscious owners, Liberty Media, to spin him off.  If a minor rebuild is in the future, then Atlanta doesn't necessarily need to tie up payroll space with his $9 million in 2013, but given how reasonable that salary is, they would be fools to pass up the option and let him walk away for nothing at all.

During yesterday's Tigers-Red Sox game, Mike Aviles appeared to strike out swinging for the third out in the second inning. But home plate umpire Jeff Nelson appealed the call to first base umpire Bill Welke, who ruled that the ball hit the dirt before landing in catcher Gerald Laird's glove. Numerous replays showed that this was the incorrect call. Aviles would later hit an RBI single that at bat, and it was followed up with an RBI double by Daniel Nava, and a run-scoring infield single by Dustin Pedroia to give the Red Sox a 4-1 lead that they wouldn't relinquish the entire game.

Post-game, Tigers manager Jim Leyland (who was ejected in the third inning for arguing the call, along with third base coach Gene Lamont) absolutely went off, mostly on the media for not holding the umpires accountable for their bad calls. Truth be told, in the ESPN recap of the game, the call is called a "mistake" as opposed to what it actually was: a complete and utter travesty. Leyland has a pretty good point with his rage, in that the umpires are rarely held accountable by the mainstream media for making rather obvious mistakes like that one. And because Leyland is criticizing the media mainly, and generally left his criticism of the umpires to "it was an awful call", he'll probably avoid punishment, too.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds yesterday, and are currently at the .500 mark with a 24-24 record. It's funny though, because the Pirates pitching staff is actually having a really good year: their team ERA is 3.20, which is led by an outstanding ERA of 2.61 from the bullpen, with nearly a strikeout per inning. Yet, despite being at .500, the Pirates run differential is -23. Why is that? Simple: their offense is awful. Their 144 runs and .624 OPS are worst in the NL. In fact, the only team within 60 points of that awful OPS is the Padres, who play in the cavernous Petco Park. Pittsburgh has a .274 team OBP. Really, .274? The team only has four players with an OPS above .700...and only two are starters (Andrew McCutchen at .943, and Pedro Alvarez at .715). 

Game of the Night: Angels 9, Yankees 8. Jered Weaver left in the first inning with a back injury, and the Yankees put three runs on the board. The Angels responded with four of their own. The Yankees tied it up on a Curtis Granderson homer in the second, and the Angels came right back with two more in the fourth. The Yankees made it a one run game on a Mark Teixeira homer, but a two-run double by Kendrys Morales made it an 8-5 game. But then in the seventh, the Yankees plated three to tie it. It remained that way into the bottom of the ninth, and on the third pitch of the inning from Yankees reliever Cory Wade, Mark Trumbo hit a long solo homer to walk-off for the Angels in a fantastic win.

Pitching Lines of the Night: Chris Sale obliterated the Rays, allowing one run over 7 1/3 innings on three hits, two walks, and an eye-popping 15 strikeouts. Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchison shut out the Orioles over seven, allowing three hits, three walks, and striking out nine. And James McDonald of the Pirates was masterful against a strong Reds offense, shutting them out over eight innings on five hits and one walk, striking out five in the process.

Hitting Lines of the Night: Over a doubleheader against the Astros, Dexter Fowler did a lot of stat-padding for the Rockies. Fowler went 7/9 with five runs scored, a triple, a homer, three RBI, a walk, and a stolen base. Not too shabby, Dexter. The day raised his batting average 39 points from Sunday. Chase Headley of the Padres went 4/5 with two runs, three RBI, a double, and two homers. Ty Wigginton was a one man wrecking crew against the Mets, going 3/3 with two runs, two walks, six RBI, a double, and a homer.

Spotlight Series: The White Sox beat the Rays 2-1 behind the aforementioned dominant pitching from Sale, but Matt Moore had probably his finest start of the year opposing Sale. Moore went seven and allowed only two runs on four hits, walking one and striking out ten. The one black mark on Moore's day: a monstrous two-run homer by Adam Dunn, providing the only offense that the Sox would need over the game. The teams combined for just eight hits, and the only multi-hit game was from Ben Zobrist of the Rays, who also didn't have an extra base hit all game. Three Rays players also struck out three times each, and more alarmingly for the Rays, those three batters were in the top half of their lineup. 

Other Games: The Red Sox beat the Tigers 7-4, but Dustin Pedroia left early with an injury. The Cardinals waxed Tommy Hanson and the Braves 8-2. The Twins edged the A's 5-4. The Phillies used a late rally to beat the Mets 8-4. The Marlins used a late rally to beat the Nationals 5-3. The Indians beat up the Royals 8-5. The Pirates beat the Reds 4-1. The Blue Jays stymied the Orioles in a 6-2 win. The Cubs broke their losing streak with an 11-7 win over the Padres. The Rangers beat the Mariners 4-2. The Rockies swept a doubleheader against the Astros, winning 9-7 and 7-6. Barry Zito shut down the Diamondbacks in a 4-2 Giants win. The Brewers edged the Dodgers 3-2.

Today's Games: Justin Verlander starts in Boston against Daniel Bard. Jeff Samardzija starts for the Cubs against the Padres. Jake Arrieta will take on Ricky Romero in Toronto. Edwin Jackson and Anibal Sanchez will duel in Miami. Andy Pettite takes on Dan Haren in Los Angeles.

Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.

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Heading into Monday's Memorial Day game against the LA Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers received some bad news regarding their red-hot starting catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Here's what happened: 

More bad lack for the Brewers on the injury front. Lucroy told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that he was reaching under his hotel room bed for a lost sock on Sunday night when his wife shifted a suitcase, which fell on his hand. Seriously. He tried to take some swings Monday, but shut things down after he couldn't properly grip the bat. We should have more clarity on the situation in the next few hours. George Kottaras will handle starting catcher duties for now.

That's a pretty funny injury, until the x-rays came back showing a break that will require Lucroy to miss anywhere from 4-6 weeks. 

That lost sock is going to cost the 20-28 Brewers a .345/.387/.969 hitter that was hitting .388/.409/1.068 with 22 RBI in the month of May.

George Kottaras (.233/.459/.924 in 62 plate appearances) will be the new Brewers catcher, and the Brewers will call up Martin Maldonado from Triple-A Nashville to back him up. 

As embarrassing as it might be, Lucroy's not the first suitcase related DL stint. Kaz Sasaki landed on the DL for a couple months back in the day after straining his ribs from a fall while hauling his heavy suitcase up the stairs at his home.

After the jump, we have some of the more memorable bizarre baseball injuries that Lucroy's is now apart of: 

Juan Carlos Oviedo, the Miami Marlins reliever formerly known as Leo Nunez, has been suspended for eight weeks by MLB after falsifying his age and committing identity fraud.

This offseason, it was revealed that Nunez was actually Oviedo, and was a year older than his listed age. He hasn't thrown a pitch this year, and has spent the offseason attempting to secure a visa and clear up his immigration status, which was finalized last week.

With his suspension, Oviedo cannot participate in any major league activities, but can participate in extended spring training for the Marlins to get into game shape. He'll be eligible to return on July 23rd, which will make Oviedo a de facto trade deadline acquisition for the Marlins.

My major gripe with this suspension is that Oviedo has already missed seven weeks of the regular season, plus the entirety of Spring Training. He wasn't getting paid for that. Isn't that massive chunk of time away from the game enough of a suspension? Now, he's getting another eight weeks off. Oviedo has a $6 million salary this year, and by the time he comes back, he'll have forfeited nearly 2/3 of that...or what a two-time steroid abuser not named Manny Ramirez is forced to give up. That just doesn't seem fair at the end of the day. People will point to Nunez and his identity fraud as something that also wasn't fair, but before this year, there were very rarely additional penalties from the league when this situation happened, aside from the initial time on the restricted list.

ESPN's Pedro Gomez initially reported in April that Oviedo and Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez, formerly Fausto Carmona, would likely be suspended for six weeks once they received their visas. This is apparently due to an agreement between MLB and the US State Department, and in my mind, it's just an attempt by both to cover their asses after years of counterfeit paperwork bringing young prospects from Latin America into major league organizations. My point is that it's unfair to suddenly start penalizing guys for something that has been going on for years, and only happened as frequently as it did because MLB and the US State Department were lazy and sloppy with their work.

Photo courtesy of Daylife.com

[h/t: ESPN]

As we approach June 1st, a certain few major league teams have taken it upon themselves to not go quietly into the basement of their respective divisions as was expected.  Year in and year out, there's a surprise team that just refuses to go down without a fight, and we as fans respect them all the more for it.  At the same time, there are other teams that are dominant on paper and do not break the .500 mark until shortly before the all star break.  But being a game of intense statistical, strategic and historical analysis, the baseball world has no choice but to make sense of itself.  When the 2011 Diamondbacks won the NL West it wasn't because of some random fluke.  We as fans found ways to justify such a fantastic team making the playoffs and in pure hypocritical fashion we wonder why no one else was able to read the writing that was so clearly on the wall.  The same thing happened with the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays and the same thing will happen again soon.  But will 2012 be the year?

The Chicago White Sox are one of the more surprising teams in baseball, as they current sit a half game out of first place in the AL Central, and their +30 run differential is second best in the American League behind just the Texas Rangers. The White Sox have used a good blend of both hitting and pitching to contend a year after losing 83 games, a season that cost manager Ozzie Guillen and hitting coach Greg Walker their jobs. This year, it seems to be White Sox baseball of old. Their .750 OPS is fifth in the AL, and their 3.97 ERA is eighth in the league. Both of those marks are far and away best in the weak AL Central. The numbers are also a little misleading, as Chicago has some players having really great seasons on both sides of the ball. Paul Konerko is having an unreal year, hitting .399 with a 1.157 OPS and 11 homers. Adam Dunn is back from a disastrous 2011 season, and has a .953 OPS with 15 homers (second-most in baseball), but also 75 strikeouts...yep, typical Dunn. They've also gotten acceptable play from all three outfielders: Alejandro De Aza, Dayan Viciedo, and the perennially disappointing Alex Rios. Even catcher AJ Pierzynski is killing the ball, homering eight times, which matches his total from all of last year.

The Sox also have a pitching staff that is contributing in levels that no one could have imagined. Reliever turned starter Chris Sale has struck out 46 while walking out just 12 in 50 1/3 innings, and has a 2.50 ERA. Even more surprising than his season thusfar is that of former NL Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, who hasn't made 20 starts in a season since 2008. Peavy has a 3.07 ERA in ten starts, striking out 64 while walking just 12, a K:BB rate of 5.33, topped by just Colby Lewis in the AL. Chicago's other three starters have struggled, as Gavin Floyd, Phil Humber, and John Danks all have ERAs over 5.00 this year. Floyd's 54:17 strikeout to walk ratio in 61 innings is a glimmer of hope, but the trio has combined to allow 21 homers this year. No bueno. The White Sox bullpen has also had its moments, with Jesse Crain and Nate Jones keeping their ERAs quite low, and rookie Addison Reed striking out a batter per inning and currently serving as the team's closer. Former closer Hector Santiago has also struck out a batter per inning, but lost his job after a shellacking by the A's at the end of April.

It is never too early to start talking about the trade deadline, especially when we can talk about would-be contenders that might unexpectedly end up being sellers rather than buyers at the deadline.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at many of these such teams, and there is a surprisingly large amount, and what exactly they might be looking to sell if they don't turn around their season in a hurry.

With the way they started the season, the Red Sox looked like they were destined to be sellers come late-July, but they've managed to claw their way back to hovering around the .500 mark.  That is progress, but they aren't out of the woods yet, especially in the ultra-competitive AL East.  Despite being 5.5 games out of the division lead right now, Boston knows they are two bad weeks from being out of the playoff race altogether.  If that happens, they are going to have to take a long hard look at blowing things up.

So, what can the Red Sox potentially offer to the rest of the league?

Big Chips: Kevin Youkilis

The emergence of rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks has created a logjam at the corners in Boston that has forced them to shift Gold Glove first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to right field just to accomodate everyone.  Youkilis may not be putting up the kind of numbers he used, thanks to a variety of health problems, but he still has enough big name appeal for another team to gamble that he can recapture his old form, if he hasn't already done so by the time the trading deadline rolls around.  Youk has club option for next season that the team is unlikely to pick up, so they would be wise to divest themselves of him now.

Money Moves: Josh Beckett

Beckett hasn't been horrible this season, but he hasn't been worth the $17 million salary he'll earn this year and the next two seasons.  Considering that financial commitment and that Josh has become the poster boy for the maligned  "beer and fried chicken" Sox.  That's too much money and too much distraction even for a team like Boston to want to hold on to.  If some contender came calling with few modest prospects and a willingness to take on Beckett's remaining contract in hopes that he can channel some of his post-season magic again, it is hard to imagine Ben Cherington saying no.

Solid Pieces: Cody Ross

The Red Sox have had to dig deep just to be able to find three starting outfielders at times this season, one reason for that is the recent injury to Cody Ross.  Seen as a platoon addition when first signed, Ross got off to a red-hot start and has to have some GMs out there remembering the tear that he went on in the 2010 World Series run with the Giants.  If he can get healthy before the trade deadline, Boston stands a chance to be able to flip the impending free agent for a modest return.

X-Factor: Clay Buchholz

One thing that Boston really can't afford to give up it is starting pitching, but they might want to seriously consider moving Clay Buchholz.  He still possesses a world of potential, but his performance this year is in the toilet.  His velocity has declined for the second straight season and his walk rate has ballooned to nearly 5 per nine innings.  The thing though is that he is still only 27 years old, so one bomb of a season likely won't scare many teams off, assuming his medicals check out OK.  From Boston's perspective, they could consider moving Buchholz now in case this season is a sign of things to come for Clay.  They would be trading him at a point where his value is at its lowest, but they would also be getting out from under the next three years and $26.2 million of his contract should he never bounceback.

Warm Bodies: Kelly Shoppach

Starting catchers are dropping like flies all over the league, which actually makes it a minor miracle that Shoppach hasn't been traded already.  He's a quality back-up and fringe starter, but the Red Sox don't need him with emerging as a quality backstop and Ryan Lavarnway available to come up from the minors and take over the back-up role.  Moving the veteran Shoppach seems like an easy and painless way for the Red Sox to add a middle-of-the-road prospect or two.

But what they'll probably do is... trade hitting but hold on to pitching, or nothing at all.  With a new GM, it is hard to predict what his modus operandi will be, so there is a chance that if Boston goes in the tank again that Ben Cherington decides to be too proud and trades nobody.  However, if he is as smart as we were all led to believer, he'll at least move out some of his surplus hitting, specifically Youkilis since it just seems like both sides seem re-signed to him leaving soon anyway.  Maybe they will move Shoppach too, but it could be a hard sell to get Boston to deal away any pitchign since their utter lack of starting or relief pitching depth is what has held the team back in recent seasons.

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