A Royal Post...

The Royals signed Mark Grudzielanek to a contract extension on the 17th. There is something to be said of having a veteran presence to a young (and up and coming believe it or not) team. The Royals also get a very sure handed defensive player who can help anchor the middle of the infield and mentor the other young infielders.

Staying on the topic of KC, how hot has Mark Teahan been? He is giving the Royals a great problem to have - with his success and the uber-prospect Alex Gordon hitting well over .300 at AA and the possible promotion to the bigs next year. With Ryan Shealy at first base, and the aforementioned Grudzielanek at second, the Royals infield will be very good in the future. They also have Billy Butler producing at AA to upgrade their outfield...

Boston acquired Eric Hinske from the Toronto Blue Jays helping add to their depth. I like this for Hinske who was getting a very raw deal from the Jays after winning the Rookie of the Year in 2002. He is a guy who can play the corner infield and outfield spots and I like the move by Boston.

Robinson Cano has been tremendous since he came off the disabled list. In his last 13 games he has 4 homers and 17 RBI, to go with his season average of .330. He isn't exactly making the Yankee fans forget about Alfonso Soriano, but he is making them think that he is the long term answer at second base. Many scouts are thinking that he could compete for a batting title in the future...

Cincinnati just won't go away. Every time I think they are going to falter, they gain games on the division leading Cardinals. They still lead the Wild Card by a half game and are slowly inching towards the division lead. I picked them to finish last in the division this year...

Are the Tigers scuffling? In the month of August they are 9-9 and their division lead is down to 6.5 games. They still have 7 games remaining against the White Sox, 4 against the Twins, and 3 against the Yankees (who have the league's second best record. Who woulda thunk it?).

Does anyone else find it odd that Jeff Francis has a lower ERA at Coors Field than he does on the road? Going into tonight's start he had a 2.96 ERA at home, and a 3.75 ERA on the road. His WHIP and BAA are also down at home. The Rockies have a good young rotation for the future with Francis, Jason Jennings who is an innings eater, Aaron Cook, Josh Fogg and Byung-Hyun Kim. They also have Jeremy Affeldt who can start, but has been very good in a relief role.