Around Major League Baseball
By  Search EzineArticles.com 

San Francisco: Pitcher Kirk Reuter was upset that he was placed on the DL because of a case odf gout in his big toe. Reuter claimed he'd be ready to pitch this week, but GM Brian Sabean felt otherwise. It's no secret Reuter has been wanting out of SF for awhile, in hopes he can help a contender. But, his $6 Million contract made it hard for the Giants to move him.

Houston: Is Roger Clemens amazing or what? He picked up another win on Sunday, while once again lowering his road ERA to 0.37. The only run he yielded was an unearned run. Chris Carpenter and Dontrelle Willis have had great seasons, but why is anyone even questioning if Clemens will win the NL Cy Young Award. He's a lock for it if I've ever seen one.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs have gotten injured stars Kerry Wood and Nomar Garciaparra back in time for the Wild Card race, but the Cubbies are once again struggling to score runs. Manager Dusty Baker's job security will once again become an issue if they don't recover quickly. If Baker doesn't return for the final year of his four-year deal, he may be "the hot manager" during the off-season, and chances are he will be in the LA Dodgers dugout in 2006.

Atlanta Braves: The Braves went on a nice run in

July to take control of the NL East, but by watching their bullpen continue to struggle, it looks to early to coronate them as division champions. Chris Reitsma gave up a grand slam to 5-foot-7 David Eckstein as the Cards came from behind to beat the Braves on Sunday. Newly acquired Kyle Farnsworth may soon be closing out games soon for the Braves.

AL West: I may be a mid-west guy when it comes to baseball, but I'll be up late keeping tabs on the Oakland/ LA Angels series that begins tomorrow night in Oakland. A's have been red-hot led by their new big 3 (Zito, Haren, Harden), while the Angels have been up and down the past couple weeks. These two teams are deadlocked atop the AL West, and this one may not be sorted out till the end of the season. If both these teams finish the year strong, the NY Yankees could miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

John Onan is sports writer/moderator at the online players union http://www.theopu.com and football contributor at http://www.realfootball365.com

He also does various freelance work.He can be reached at nay7201@mail.com