Around The Majors- Wednesday

Today on ATM, a recap of Tuesday's games, some news and notes, fantasy studs & duds, and Tuesday's best rumors.

Tuesday Recap
The Royals scored 5 in the 7th to rip the Red Sox 9-3, the White Sox blew another lead as they fell to Cleveland 6-5 in 11, and Ervin Santana's struggles continue as his Angels fell to Tampa Bay 8-3. A Jeremy Accardo balk in the 9th tied it, and a Robbie Cano single in the 10th won it, as the Yankees continue their winning ways with a 3-2 triumph over Toronto. Nate Robertson outdueled Matt Garza as Detroit shut out Minnesota 1-0. Texas rocked Oakland 11-4, and Baltimore smoked Seattle 8-3.
Houston defeated Washington 4-2, Colorado sent the Pirates to their 5th straight loss 6-2, and Rick Vanden Hurk and the Marlins shut out St Louis 4-0. The Reds edged the Braves 6-5, Milwaukee slithered past the Snakes 3-2, and Barry Zito and the Giants bested the Cubs 4-2. Orlando Hernandez beat Jake Peavy as the Mets shut out San Diego 7-0. Ryan Howard homered twice as the Phillies pounded out 26 hits as they destryoed the Dodgers 15-3.

News and Notes
- Craig Biggio needs only 3 more HBP's to break the all time record. The Long Island native will soon be the king of taking one for the team.
- The trade of Jason Kendall means that A's rookie Kurt Suzuki will take over the catching duties, with recently acquired Rob Bowen to be utilized as his understudy. With Jack Cust playing admirably at DH, it makes me wonder where that leaves room for the currently rehabbing Mike Piazza. If he shows a semi-live bat, a trade is definitely not out of the question, just from a logistical standpoint. And if Oakland can get any kind of OK prospect for him, I think that Billy Beane would be more then happy to pull the trigger. More A's rumors a bit later in the post. The minor leaguer that the A's got back was lefty setup reliever Jerry Blevins. Blevins is a 6'6 185 pound lefty who is 3-2 with 9 saves and a 1.02 ERA in 38 games at high A Daytona and AA Tennessee. He'll report to AA Midland of the Texas league.
- In a huge blow to the Brewers chances of holding on to a tightly contested NL Central race with the Cubs, ace starter Ben Sheets will be out at least 4-6 weeks with a partial tear of the tendon tissue surrounding his right middle finger. Star prospect Yovani Gallardo will take his spot in the rotation.
- As rumored on ATM, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge recieved a 3 year contract extension.
- Chad Qualls was suspended for 3 games, and Scott Olson was suspended by the team for fighting with a teammate.
- Arizona activated Jeff DaVannon from the 60 day DL, and he got the start last night for the Diamondbacks. Jeff Salazar was sent down to make room. The Cubs sent down C Geovany Soto to make room on the roster for Jason Kendall. The White Sox sent down Nick Masset and Joe Crede was transferred to the 60 day DL. Colorado brought up starter Ubaldo Jimenez from AAA, Jimenez is the team's best pitching prospect. Rick Vandedn Hurk was recalled by Florida to make last night's stellar start and Wes Obermueller was designated for assignment. As rumored last week on ATM, the Yankees signed 1B Erubiel Durazo from the Mexican League and sent him to AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre. The Mets placed Damion Easley on the bereavement list and brought up former Royal Chip Ambres. Pittsburgh signed P Daniel Moskos, their first round pick in this year's draft. Texas recalled Robinson Tejeda from AAA and sent down Wes Littleton.
- On tap for today, lots of day baseball. Westbrook faces Buehrle at 12, Snell-Francis at 12:30, and Harang-Smoltz at 1. Cain faces Zambrano in day action at Wrigley, and Billingsley faces the Phils in day action as well. Clemens faces Toronto tonight, Colon-Kazmir in Tampa, and Andrew Miller does battle with Johan Santana as the Tigers face Minnesota (8pm ESPN). Bedard faces Washburn, Maine battles Madduz, and Capuano matches up with Davis in a battle of pitchers who were traded for each other.

Fantasy Studs & Duds
Hitting Studs
1) Troy Glaus, 3B, TOR
2) Albert Pujols, 1B, STL
3) Manny Ramirez, OF, BOS
4) Carlos Pena, 1B, TB
5) Miguel Cabrera, 3B, FLA
Hitting Duds (min. 14 AB's)
1) Brandon Inge, 3B, DET
2) Juan Uribe, SS, CWS
3) Akinori Iwamura, 3B, TB
4) Gregg Zaun, C, TOR
5) Bengie Molina, C, SF
Pitching Studs
1) Kasson Gabard, SP, BOS
2) Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY
3) Ted Lilly, SP, CHC
4) Johan Santana, SP, MIN
5) JJ Putz, RP, SEA
Pitching Duds
1) John Van Benschoten, SP, PIT
2) Wandy Rodriguez, SP, HOU
3) Jaime Moyer, SP, PHI
4) Kip Wells, SP, STL
5) Adam Eaton, SP, PHI

Fantasy Baseball with Kevin Rounce
Can rookies like Pence and Hamilton keep up their solid rookie campaigns, and will Bonds still be a good option after he reaches 756?
Kevin Rounce: It's generally unlikely to happen since they have not played this many games before and the league makes adjustments. I like Hamilton slightly better since he has more experience (I mean baseball experience). But Pence won't be horrible either.

Rumors
- Carlos Zambrano said that there was a 90% chance that he was staying with the Cubs beyond this season. One scout said that the White Sox want to trade Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez and Jon Garland in that order. There may only be lukewarm interest in Jermaine Dye. (Chicago Tribune)
- The Dodgers are interested in Royals reliever Octavio Dotel, and they've been heavily scouting the White Sox, probably for Contreras. (LA Daily News)
- The Dodgers are reportedly balking at the Royals price for Dotel. (KC Star)
- The Indians are interested in Kenny Lofton. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- The Brewers have also asked Texas about Lofotn's availability, but it looks like Milwaukee will pass. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- A large rumor had the A's sending Dan Johnson to the Yankees inexchange for Scott Proctor, but an Oakland source said that the two teams haven't talked in almost a week. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- According to multiple executives, the Giants and White Sox are asking for too much for Matt Morris and Contreras. Eric Gagne, Salomon Torres, Dotel, and David Riske are some of the relievers on the trading block. Shawn Chacon would like to resign with Pittsburgh. (Denver Post)
- Elijah Dukes admitted that he smokes marijuana. (St Petersburg Times)
- The Phillies could deal for Reds starter Kyle Lohse. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Baltimore is not likely to acquire Mark Teixeira. (Baltimore Sun)
- The success of Andy Phillips at 1B has stopped talks of the Yankees getting Shea Hillenbrand and has completely rules out a deal for Teixeira. (NY Times)
- Cardinals team doctors will look at Chris Carpenter today. (St Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Homer Bailey will likely stay in AAA for a while. Josh Hamilton could remain in a cast for his wrist until at least July 27. (Cincinnati Inquirer)
- Duanar Sanchez could come back for the Mets in late August. (NY Post)
- The Indians have been talking to the Rangers about Gagne and Akinori Otsuka. (Akron Beacon Journal)
- Trade talks involving Teixeira have picked up considerably over the past few days, according to Major League sources. The Red Sox, Angels, Braves and Yankees are showing the most interest, but the Giants have also inquired. The Dodgers have Teixeira high on their list of hitters, but have turned their attention to pitching. (TR Sullivan, MLB.com)