Kuzul

The Baltimore Orioles are officially buyers this summer as they acquire 1B/DH Jim Thome from the Philadelphia Phillies.  The story initially broke when Jim Salisbury of CSN tweeted that a source told him about the possible deal. The deal was officially confirmed in a tweet by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. (h/t SI.com).Thome, 41, played in 30 games for the struggling Phillies and hit .242/.338/.516 with five home runs and 15 RBI. He will serve as the Orioles' designated hitter for the rest of the season.The Phillies have been decimated by injuries throughout the season, which equates to their last-place record in the NL East. They were looking for bullpen help but decided to go in another direction.  Right-handed pitcher Kyle Simon and catcher Gabriel Lino are the two prospects heading to Philadelphia in the trade.Simon, who was a fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2011, is 3-10 with ...

There are many ways to build a winning ball club. You can be the Yankees of the last decade and shell out nine-figure contracts. You can be the Rays of the last half decade and build through intelligent coaching and brilliant drafts.Do I need to even declare which style earns greater respect among the general fan?It's just something special to raise a talented player from the day you drafted him, through the rungs of the minor league system, until stardom finally strikes in the big leagues.Like watching your own son blossom into a successful adult. The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the franchises that has always prided itself on bringing up internal talent to get to the playoffs. Matt Kemp is the latest in a long line of homegrown talent in Dodgers' lore to reach All-Star status.Here is the best homegrown player from each position in Dodger history:Begin Slideshow

The Baltimore Orioles are in need of a bat to make a playoff run, and the Philadelphia Phillies have one to spare.Jim Thome had a good showing playing designated hitter during interleague play, making him an attractive option for American League teams, and according to a tweet from the Orioles, they jumped at the chance to acquire him: The #Orioles have acquired DH Jim Thome from the Phillies in exchange for two minor leaguers. Thome is expected to be in uniform tomorrow.— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) June 30, 2012 The Phillies were able to swing catcher Gabriel Lino and RHP Kyle Simon in the trade, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. it is indeed gabriel lino, catcher, and kyle simon, rhp, going to philly for thome, who goes to #orioles.— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) June 30, 2012 Philadelphia Phillies insider Jim Salisbury first reported that the two teams were talking.At 41 years of age, Thome hasn't ...

The National League could be one of the most loaded All-Star teams in recent memory when it rolls into Kansas City for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 10.Filling out my ballot for the senior circuit was a difficult task, as there are about 15 players who could potentially start for the All-Star team. Of course, that's a good problem to have when only nine players play on the baseball field.There are some quality players who will be snubbed in the NL, but here's a look at the players who will take the field and start for the National League.Begin Slideshow

This season has been extremely frustrating for the Phillies and their fans.  The team that has won five straight National League East titles now sits in last place in the division and continues to find new ways to lose games.  The Phillies are 28th in the league in runners left in scoring position per game.  Not only can the team not drive in runs, but their pitching staff hasn't been as dominant as expected.  Roy Halladay is on the DL, but even before that he was struggling.  Cliff Lee is still winless and has struggled to locate his pitches.  The man who used to go games without walking a batter now has put too many runners on base and then has allowed them to score.The bullpen has been horrendous, ranking 25th in the league in bullpen ERA.  The team finally designated Chad Qualls for assignment, but he isn't the only ...

The Toronto Blue Jays laid into the Los Angeles Angels Saturday afternoon for an 11-2 victory.The offensive bombardment both took game three of a four game series between the teams and allowed the Jays to finish off a tough June with a much-needed W.In a month characterized by the decimation of the squad's pitching rotation, the Jays managed to muster a respectable 13-14 record over 27 games.Though a sub-.500 record in any month is somewhat unforgivable in a viciously competitive American League East, all things considered, the Jays salvaged what they could.With starters Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek on the disabled list for much of June, the Jays were forced to rely on minor leaguers and bullpen fixtures like Jesse Chavez, Aaron Laffey and Carlos Villanueva to step into starting roles. While the absence of three starters did not go unnoticed, the club was able to band together on the ...

To  the dismay of Tigers fans, David Dombrowski is taking his time in filling immediate needs at second base and designated hitter. The Tigers DH position has batted .240 thus far in 2012, and has posted an OPS of .623, 12th overall in the AL. Tigers second basemen rank dead last in all categories with a slash line of .202/.273./.271. Bringing in Jed Lowrie and putting him at second base has stalled for the time being, unless the pending Astros-Dodgers deal includes a mystery third team. Signing Prince Fielder showed that owner Mike Ilitch is serious, but unless Dombrowski does something to fill immediate needs at 2B and/or DH, Fielder's signing will be all for naught.The most recent Tigers rumors regard a possible fit in Detroit for right-handed starter Shaun Marcum. In 200 innings pitched last year, Marcum went 13-7 with an ERA of 3.54 and a WHIP of 1.15. With ...

Ian Kinsler has played some impressive ball this season, but he should be nowhere close to edging Cano in the MLB All-Star vote this year.In the latest report on the voting between the two players, the two were going at it for the starting second base position in the 2012 MLB All-Star game.Not only would it be unjust to have the Texas Rangers' 2B top the Yankees second baseman in the votes for the American League starter spot, it would also be—to use ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith's go-to word—blasphemous. Cano has the clear edge in the production between the two this season, has played much better as of late, and was the significantly better player last year as well.When it comes to overall numbers, there is no contest between the two top-notch talents. Cano has posted the 10th-best average in the AL at .308 this season, while Kinsler bats ...

Just like Jason Kipnis, pictured above, the entire Cleveland Indians roster tends to bat left-handed in their everyday lineup.Outside of Aaron Cunningham, Shelley Duncan, Lou Marson and Jose Lopez, the only other right-handed hitters on the Tribe's roster are Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera, both switch-hitters. However, in the comments section recently (and in articles), we forget that the Indians have six left-handed bats (Kipnis, Kotchman, Choo, Hannahan, Chisenhall (heading to DL) and Brantley, as well as the four right-handed bats and two switch-hitters mentioned above. The glaring issue is that the Indians are hitting .217/.302/.333 against left-handed pitching; however, the right-handed bats and switch-hitters aren't helping much against lefties in 2012:—Asdrubal Cabrera: .299/.384/.483, five doubles, one triple, three home runs, 13 RBI, 7:10 K:BB in 87 at-bats.—Carlos Santana: .200/.326/.229, two doubles, no triples or home runs, 10 RBI, 14:14 K:BB in 70 at-bats.—Jose Lopez: .255/.265/.468, four doubles, no triples, two home runs, nine RBI, ...

The 2012 MLB All-Star Game rosters will be released on Sunday. Fans are eager to see which of their favorites will make the Midsummer Classic and third base in the American League is one of the more interesting position battles.A fan poll on ESPN.com shows third base is one of the most competitive battles. Miguel Cabrera is leading, followed by Mark Trumbo. But Adrian Beltre is a distant third at third base.The fans are getting this contest wrong.I have no intention of taking anything away from Cabrera or Trumbo. Both are great players having good seasons. However, Beltre is putting up the offensive numbers he needs to pair with his Gold Glove defense to earn the starting spot.While playing with the Seattle Mariners, Beltre's offensive output suffered. His best season produced a batting average of just .276 and 26 home runs.However, his strong defense at the hot corner helped fans overlook ...