• Me, yesterday: "If the Astros trade even one promising young player for Randy Wolf, it'll rank among the worst deals of the year."
Well, they've done it. And it might wind up looking like one of the worst deals of the year. Yes, Chad Reineke is 26 and still pitching in Triple-A. He's also struck out a batter per inning throughout his minor league career and is exactly the sort of pitcher the Padres like. The odds are against Reineke becoming a good major league starter, but he might be yet another of the organization's bullpen gems (here's DePo on the deal). Meanwhile, apparently Astros management sees their team as a legitimate contender. Glory be.
• I'm a little surprised that the Nationals couldn't get more for Jon Rauch than just Emilio Bonifacio (in this deal). Bonifacio's a decent enough prospect, but it's hard to get real excited about him. He's 23 and he's got a .735 OPS in the Pacific Coast League, and if he were in the majors right now he'd be one of the National League's two or three worst-hitting second basemen. Which is what he'll probably be next season when the Nationals give him the everyday job.
• MLB Trade Rumors offers the latest word -- as of late last night -- on the supposed deal that might send Jarrod Washburn to the Yankees. This is the classic Yankees deal: fill a small hole by taking on some other team's bad contract. And, of course, they can afford it. But what happens next season, when they don't need Washburn, but he's still owed $10.35 million? Do they eat his contract? Or do they actually give him the No. 5 slot and worry about the other four? Because Washburn is, for all his faults, an accomplished innings-eater.
• Yeah, that was a really bad loss for the Mets (and a great win for the Phillies). It's both easy and appropriate to blame the bullpen for giving up six runs in the ninth. But why didn't Johan Santana finish what he started? He'd thrown only 105 pitches through eight innings. Yes, it was the manager's decision. One thing I noticed, though: I've been as high on Santana as anyone over the last few seasons. Another six or seven good seasons and he'll have a case for the Coop. Isn't it jarring, though, to see a pitcher as great as Santana so rarely last nine innings? Or even eight? This was only the second time this season that Santana went eight innings. He hasn't thrown a complete game for the Mets yet. He has six complete games in his career, and that includes three in 2005, and one apiece in 2006 and '07. Roy Halladay has seven complete games this season, and 38 in his career. C.C. Sabathia has five this season, and 21 in his career. Ben Sheets -- not exactly the second coming of Cy Young -- has three complete games this season.
For whatever reason, Santana's managers have kept him on a short leash. He's been so good that he's rarely been pulled from games early, but he's usually yanked after throwing somewhere between 95 and 110 pitches; he hasn't thrown 120 pitches in a game since April 21, 2006. In fact, that's the only game in his entire career in which he's thrown that many pitches.
• If Lynn Henning is wondering why Edgar Renteria is still in the Tiger lineup, so should we. Oddly, while so many of his teammates were struggling in April, Renteria got off to a fine start: .337/.371/.489 in his (and the Tigers') first 23 games. Since then, though? Renteria's been almost impossibly bad: .217/.280/.257 in 63 games, with only four extra-base hits. And according to Henning, he's not been much good with the glove, either.
• Mike Hampton says he's going to pitch for the Braves next week. Seriously.
• You know, I expect this sort of idiocy from our elected officials. But the Yankees, those supposed exemplars of capitalism, can't do any better?
Oh, and a truly classic Yankee Stadium moment last night, as Melky Cabrera was so busy waving to the Bleacher Creatures that he made an error on a routine single (video here, at least until it's taken down).
(H/T: BallHype and BTF's Newsstand.)
• Congratulations to Florida's Rick VandenHurk for his first win of the season. And what a win it was! VandenHurk entered Tuesday night's start against the Braves with a 7.14 ERA in 87 major league innings. So all he did last night -- in his first start since returning from a Double-A demotion -- was toss five no-hit innings before turning things over to the bullpen (which allowed just one hit). Prediction: If the Marlins are still in the hunt a month from now, they'll have gotten more good outings from VandenHurk.
Rob Neyer
