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Mark Buehrle has led the AL in hits allowed three times and finished in the top five a total of six times, yet he now has two no-hitters to his credit after his perfect game Thursday against the Rays. Buehrle joined a group of 23 other pitchers with multiple no-hitters. The only two to do…

Because you can never trade for just one left-handed hitting, first baseman-type with a career OPS in the low 800s whose father was a former All-Star pitcher and whose brother is also a professional baseball player. Ever without the historical similarities, it is fascinating that the Red Sox traded for two such similar players in…

- As great as he is, Tim Lincecum has still won a mere 45 percent of his 76 career starts. However, he’s 5-for-5 against the Braves heading into another showdown tonight. He blanked the Braves for eight innings in his only start against them this year, that coming on May 26. Jair Jurrjens, who ranks…

Don Mattingly was considered the epitome of class during his Yankees career. His family, on the other hand, obviously has a ways to go: A former Central High School baseball standout and New York Yankees draft pick was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shoving his mother and then spitting in her face. Taylor Mattingly, 24, was…

- Sinkerballer Sergio Mitre, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, will make his Yankees debut against the Orioles after going 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was 10-23 with a 5.36 ERA in 52 starts and 26 relief appearances for the Cubs and Marlins from 2003-07. If he…

In all of its glory, here is the brutal call at home plate that ended Monday’s Twins-Athletics game. Cuddyer is safe in scoring the game-tying run, of course, but Mike Muchlinski, a Triple-A ump filling in for a vacationing major league counterpart, got himself in lousy position and blew the call. What makes this particularly…

Mat Gamel had to know the bad news was coming the moment he heard about Felipe Lopez’s acquisition from Arizona. While he had been pretty useful as a part-timer for the last two-plus months, the Brewers appeared to be looking for an excuse to send him back down, if only until Sept. 1. They certainly…

- Jason Schmidt will make his first major league start since June 16, 2007 tonight against the Reds. Shoulder woes have made him a complete bust since Dodgers GM Ned Colletti handed him $47 million for three years in Dec. 2006. It’s unlikely that the 36-year-old will start earning that money now — he had…

Boston’s contract talks with free-agent-to-be Jason Bay have ended, one week after the Red Sox made a new offer to their left fielder. The decision was termed mutual, and Bay still seems to want to settle in Boston: “I’d still love to get something done here,” Bay told the Boston Globe. “I like it here.…

- Tim Lincecum will make his start Friday on two days’ rest after throwing 35 pitches in the All-Star Game. He’ll be facing the Pirates for the second time in his career after losing to them when he gave up six runs in six innings on Aug. 11, 2007. He’s made 57 starts since and…

The situation hardly seemed rosy a week ago. While the standings said the NL Central title was still very much in reach, the Reds mostly sported a lineup with just two above average regulars and a rotation that seemed to be fading quickly after such a promising start. Trades for outfielders or a third baseman…

The day has been approaching for some time, and FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal is now claiming that the Red Sox are trying “desperately” to move Julio Lugo, who is in the third year of a four-year, $36 million contract. Boston’s reasoning is obvious: Jed Lowrie is ready to return from wrist surgery, and Nick Green has…

Fortunately, this one is going to be a lot easier to figure out than the AL ballot. Let’s start with the NL’s top position players according to VORP: 1. Albert Pujols – 62.62. Hanley Ramirez – 46.63. Chase Utley – 46.04. Prince Fielder – 43.45. Pablo Sandoval – 37.86. Raul Ibanez – 34.07. Ryan Braun…

I went with Zack Greinke as AL MVP one-third of the way through the season, but he’s fallen back to the pack by posting a 3.97 ERA since the beginning of June. The focus will return to the position players this time around. Here’s the top 16, according to VORP: 1. Joe Mauer – 46.22.…

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I participate in a fantasy contest over at ESPN, named Baseball Challenge. The game gets broken up into first- and second-half segments, so if you want to join in the fun, I’ve created a public group called “Circling the Bases.” You can join the group anytime, but if you…

It was the easiest call of all of the awards when we looked back one-third of the way through the year, but things have tightened up a bit since, as Zack Greinke is no longer sporting a 1.10 ERA. Here’s the top 10 in ERA: 1. Zack Greinke – 2.12 ERA in 127 1/3 IP2.…

The NL Rookie of the Year race has changed little since we checked in one-third of the way through the season. Randy Wells and J.A. Happ were neck-and-neck then, and I gave the nod to Wells, even though I expected more from Happ the rest of the way. At least a few hitters have started…

Just a quick note: I’ll be doing a live blog tonight during the game. Questions and comments will be welcome.

This was a difficult call one third of the way through the season, when I went with a top three of Dan Haren, Chad Billingsley and Johnny Cueto, and not a whole lot easier now. First, here’s the top 10 in ERA. 1. Dan Haren – 2.01 ERA in 130 IP2. Tim Lincecum – 2.33…

The AL ROY class looks a little stronger now than it did a third of the way through the season, when I had Rick Porcello edging out Elvis Andrus for the top spot, but it’s all because of the pitchers. The rookie position players have been a truly dreadful lot. According to VORP, not one…

Unfortunately, the All-Star Futures Game, while a great idea, still hasn’t really caught on as an event because of MLB’s insistence on playing it while all of the major league games are going on the Sunday afternoon before the All-Star Game. On the plus side, at least they treated it like a real game for…

Now this one was positive stunning. One-for-one trades involving established players at the same positions are unusual enough. To see division rivals making such a deal in the middle of the season when they’re separated in the standing by a half-game makes this one of the most unusual trades in memory. This seems like a…

Two and a half years later, the Royals finally got their man. It’s believed that they offered Billy Butler to the Mariners for Yuniesky Betancourt after a 2006 season in which Betancourt, then 25, hit .289/.310/.403 in his first full year as a big leaguer. The Mariners saw Betancourt as a future Gold Glover who…

- A pair of surging seven-game winners will face off with the White Sox in Minnesota tonight. John Danks has pitched seven scoreless innings in back-to-back victories and has a 1.51 ERA over his last five starts. Nick Blackburn is coming off his third complete game of the season, a 6-2 win over the Tigers.…

- Felix Hernandez will attempt to cool off the Rangers, who have won seven of their last eight games and have gone 5-0 against the Mariners this season. He’s 4-9 with a 4.35 ERA lifetime against Texas, but he did pitch seven scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Rangers back on May 14. The…