Or at least the Royals hope Billy Butler will do it for an anemic offense.
Kansas City recalled their top hitting prospect Tuesday night and will see regular playing time.
He shouldn't get a quick trip back to the minors like Brandon Wood did with the Angels.
Butler was hitting .337 with six home runs in 25 games with Triple-A Omaha.

There was speculation when the Phillies moved Brett Myers to the bullpen that Flash Gordon was injured.
Gordon's now on the DL and Myers has picked up his first save.
Myers owners have to be relieved that they're now getting some value back. Now we need to see how long Gordon will be on the DL.

The Associated Press reported Saturday the Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter will undergo arthroscopic surgery to trim bone spurs in his elbow.
He will be out at least three months.
Carpenter had pitched as recently as Tuesday, throwing 60 pitches in a simulated game.
The Cards seem hopeful he'll be back in 12 weeks, but you never know with elbows.

Felix Hernandez owners must wait a little longer to get the Mariners' ace back in their lineups.
Hernandez is now on target to return May 15.
As a King Felix owner in one league, this is a little frustrating. Hopefully the Mariners aren't hiding anything serious.

Everyone loves Roger Clemens, unless you're a Red Sox fan or an Astros fan.
I expect him to return against the Red Sox in the beginning of June, which would be one more reason to hype the Yankees-Red Sox series.
The bigger question is how well will he perform in New York.
If you look at what he did in Houston, there are some terrific numbers there -- 7-6, 2.30 ERA in 2006, 13-8, 1.87 ERA in 2005.
Can he duplicate those numbers?
It's unlikely in the AL, at least as far as his ERA.
He did win seven games last year with little run support, so if he starts 20 games, 12 wins would seem reasonable. I'd also expect an ERA around 3.80.
If you're stashing free-agent money for him, he's worth the shot.

This didn't happen in the majors, but it did happen in the Times-News Fantasy Challenge.
Now comes the hard part.
As commissioner, I have veto power. I hate to use it, but I have four people saying it's an unfair deal.
Any comments out there?

We read plenty of how good players are or how good they can be.
What about how bad someone is doing?
Rob at Baseball HQ posted a message about a minor league pitcher that needs to be repeated:

Jason Neighborgall of the Diamondbacks walked 46 and struck out 15 in 12 innings in 2006. This year, he's given up 12 walks to go along with 1 strikeout in 1 inning.

Now that is a pitcher who lacks command.
You can follow his stats at minorleaguebaseball.com this year to see if he finds any control.

Mariners ace Felix Hernandez played catch for 20 minutes Wednesday and will have a bullpen session Friday.
Watch and wait on him, and I'd keep him on reserves until he pitches an actual game.

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter had successful surgery Wednesday and his rehab will begin Thursday. He's expected to be out until August.
I'd hold on to him for a late summer return.

Roger Clemens will go to the Yankees complex in Tampa, Fla., Monday and will throw a bullpen session Tuesday.

The Jorge Julio experiment is over in Florida.
The Marlins traded the struggling pitcher to the Rockies on Sunday for Byung-Hyun Kim.
I can't wait to see Julio pitch in the thin air in Colorado.

In other pitching news, the Sidney Ponson era in Minnesota is over.
Ponson was released Sunday.
Now everyone is wondering, who will replace him?
Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Matt Garza are the likely candidates, with Slowey and Garza the favorites.
My favorite is Garza.

Josh Beckett has an avulsion.
A what?
You know, an avulsion. The American Heritage Dictionary calls an avulsion "the forcible tearing away of a body part by trauma or surgery."
No, he didn't lose an arm.
Beckett said the skin broke on his finger. It's the same finger, the Boston Globe reported, that had a blister problem while he was with the Marlins.
For some reason, the team doesn't want to use the term blister.
We can at least thank the Sox for adding avulsion back into the mainstream.
Meanwhile, Beckett's hot start is put on hold.

Kevin Gregg has picked up the last save for the Marlins, and looks like he is the one to get the saves in the near future.
What muddles the situation is the return of Henry Owens, who went on the DL with a shoulder injury. Owens is expected back in early June.
Gregg has pitched well this season - he has a 2.63 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 24 innings.
Gregg is worth a pickup. The problem might be the limited number of save opportunities he gets.

Fantasy owners were drooling at the prospect of Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey being called up by the Twins for Saturday's start.
Of course, they opted for someone else, Scott Baker.
And it worked.
Baker shut down the Brewers, giving up six hits, two runs and striking out five while pitching into the ninth inning.
He's worth picking up.
And here's hoping Garza and Slowey get called up soon.

Cubs manager Lou Pinella blew a gasket the other day.
Reliever Ryan Dempster gave up five runs in the ninth inning to the Mets and Pinella was upset.
So upset, he wanted to move Dempster into the starting rotation.
That meant Carlos Marmol or Angel Guzman were contenders to be the next closer for the Cubs.
Then Pinella met with Dempster on Sunday.
Dempster said he's still the closer.
At worst, Dempster is on a short leash. One more implosion -- and you know he has it in him -- and he could be gone.
If Marmol or Guzman impress in the future, either one could take over. Guzman is worth a flier right now.

The Royals are scheduled to get their closer back Tuesday.
And, if the Royals win, you can expect Dotel to reclaim the closer's role from Joakim Soria.
But, the Royals need to win to get a save.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have some talented outfielders -- Carl Crawford and Delmon Young, for starters.
Elijah Dukes, who has hit eight home runs so far, fits the bill.
He's also in trouble.
Dukes allegedly threatened his wife at school. She is trying to get a restraining order against him.
You can read more here.
It's sick, and hopefully, the Devil Rays will take a stand.

The Jason Giambi saga continues.
Giambi, who apologized in a recent USA Today article for what some people intrepreted as steroid use, now finds himself in the middle of another problem.
The New York Daily news reported Wendesday Giambi failed a test for amphetamines withing the past year.

Phillies closer Brett Myers left the ninth inning Wednesday.
From the AP:

Myers threw a wild pitch, immediately grabbed his arm above the elbow and quickly departed for the clubhouse.
"It didn't feel right," he said. "I felt weird out. It was one of those things where, `I'd better not throw another pitch. Something might happen.'"
Myers might return to Philadelphia for further examination, the Phillies said.

Roy Halladay heals fast.
The Blue Jays ace will return to the rotation next week and come off the disabled list earlier than originally expected, the Associated Press reported.
Halladay had his appendix removed about two weeks ago.
He will start at home on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox.
This is pretty amazing. Now we need to see how his arm responds.
I like Halladay, but he's not the same pitcher he once was. His strikeouts are down (132 in 220 IP last year, 38 in 57 IP this year) but he still can get batters out.

Braves starter John Smoltz left Tuesday's game in the fourth inning.
This from the Associated Press:

Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz felt fine after playing catch Wednesday before his team's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 40-year-old right-hander left Tuesday night's game in the fourth inning after aggravating a pinkie injury while batting and then feeling a tweak in his pitching shoulder while warming up on the mound.
"I was pleasantly pleased," Smoltz said after playing catch.
The next step will be for Smoltz to throw on the side Friday before the team plays the Chicago Cubs. He is scheduled to start Sunday at Chicago.

Kevin Gregg has pitched effectively for the Marlins, converting 6-of-6 save opportunities.
So, it only makes sense that the team that traded for Jorge Julio would trade for another closer with a shaky past.
Armando Benitez reportedly has been traded to the Marlins.
The thinking is Benitez, pitching in a no-pressure environment like Miami, would revert back to his glory days with the Marlins when he had 47 saves in 2004.
Brad Hennessey likely would be the closer for the Giants, depending on the player San Francisco gets in return for Benitez.
Gregg? Well, he was good for a while.
It seems the Marlins haven't learned their lesson.

Or at least the Royals hope Billy Butler will do it for an anemic offense.
Kansas City recalled their top hitting prospect Tuesday night and will see regular playing time.
He shouldn't get a quick trip back to the minors like Brandon Wood did with the Angels.
Butler was hitting .337 with six home runs in 25 games with Triple-A Omaha.

There was speculation when the Phillies moved Brett Myers to the bullpen that Flash Gordon was injured.
Gordon's now on the DL and Myers has picked up his first save.
Myers owners have to be relieved that they're now getting some value back. Now we need to see how long Gordon will be on the DL.

The Associated Press reported Saturday the Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter will undergo arthroscopic surgery to trim bone spurs in his elbow.
He will be out at least three months.
Carpenter had pitched as recently as Tuesday, throwing 60 pitches in a simulated game.
The Cards seem hopeful he'll be back in 12 weeks, but you never know with elbows.

Felix Hernandez owners must wait a little longer to get the Mariners' ace back in their lineups.
Hernandez is now on target to return May 15.
As a King Felix owner in one league, this is a little frustrating. Hopefully the Mariners aren't hiding anything serious.

Everyone loves Roger Clemens, unless you're a Red Sox fan or an Astros fan.
I expect him to return against the Red Sox in the beginning of June, which would be one more reason to hype the Yankees-Red Sox series.
The bigger question is how well will he perform in New York.
If you look at what he did in Houston, there are some terrific numbers there -- 7-6, 2.30 ERA in 2006, 13-8, 1.87 ERA in 2005.
Can he duplicate those numbers?
It's unlikely in the AL, at least as far as his ERA.
He did win seven games last year with little run support, so if he starts 20 games, 12 wins would seem reasonable. I'd also expect an ERA around 3.80.
If you're stashing free-agent money for him, he's worth the shot.

This didn't happen in the majors, but it did happen in the Times-News Fantasy Challenge.
Now comes the hard part.
As commissioner, I have veto power. I hate to use it, but I have four people saying it's an unfair deal.
Any comments out there?

We read plenty of how good players are or how good they can be.
What about how bad someone is doing?
Rob at Baseball HQ posted a message about a minor league pitcher that needs to be repeated:

Jason Neighborgall of the Diamondbacks walked 46 and struck out 15 in 12 innings in 2006. This year, he's given up 12 walks to go along with 1 strikeout in 1 inning.

Now that is a pitcher who lacks command.
You can follow his stats at minorleaguebaseball.com this year to see if he finds any control.

Mariners ace Felix Hernandez played catch for 20 minutes Wednesday and will have a bullpen session Friday.
Watch and wait on him, and I'd keep him on reserves until he pitches an actual game.

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter had successful surgery Wednesday and his rehab will begin Thursday. He's expected to be out until August.
I'd hold on to him for a late summer return.

Roger Clemens will go to the Yankees complex in Tampa, Fla., Monday and will throw a bullpen session Tuesday.

The Jorge Julio experiment is over in Florida.
The Marlins traded the struggling pitcher to the Rockies on Sunday for Byung-Hyun Kim.
I can't wait to see Julio pitch in the thin air in Colorado.

In other pitching news, the Sidney Ponson era in Minnesota is over.
Ponson was released Sunday.
Now everyone is wondering, who will replace him?
Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Matt Garza are the likely candidates, with Slowey and Garza the favorites.
My favorite is Garza.

Josh Beckett has an avulsion.
A what?
You know, an avulsion. The American Heritage Dictionary calls an avulsion "the forcible tearing away of a body part by trauma or surgery."
No, he didn't lose an arm.
Beckett said the skin broke on his finger. It's the same finger, the Boston Globe reported, that had a blister problem while he was with the Marlins.
For some reason, the team doesn't want to use the term blister.
We can at least thank the Sox for adding avulsion back into the mainstream.
Meanwhile, Beckett's hot start is put on hold.

Kevin Gregg has picked up the last save for the Marlins, and looks like he is the one to get the saves in the near future.
What muddles the situation is the return of Henry Owens, who went on the DL with a shoulder injury. Owens is expected back in early June.
Gregg has pitched well this season - he has a 2.63 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 24 innings.
Gregg is worth a pickup. The problem might be the limited number of save opportunities he gets.

Fantasy owners were drooling at the prospect of Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey being called up by the Twins for Saturday's start.
Of course, they opted for someone else, Scott Baker.
And it worked.
Baker shut down the Brewers, giving up six hits, two runs and striking out five while pitching into the ninth inning.
He's worth picking up.
And here's hoping Garza and Slowey get called up soon.

Cubs manager Lou Pinella blew a gasket the other day.
Reliever Ryan Dempster gave up five runs in the ninth inning to the Mets and Pinella was upset.
So upset, he wanted to move Dempster into the starting rotation.
That meant Carlos Marmol or Angel Guzman were contenders to be the next closer for the Cubs.
Then Pinella met with Dempster on Sunday.
Dempster said he's still the closer.
At worst, Dempster is on a short leash. One more implosion -- and you know he has it in him -- and he could be gone.
If Marmol or Guzman impress in the future, either one could take over. Guzman is worth a flier right now.

The Royals are scheduled to get their closer back Tuesday.
And, if the Royals win, you can expect Dotel to reclaim the closer's role from Joakim Soria.
But, the Royals need to win to get a save.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have some talented outfielders -- Carl Crawford and Delmon Young, for starters.
Elijah Dukes, who has hit eight home runs so far, fits the bill.
He's also in trouble.
Dukes allegedly threatened his wife at school. She is trying to get a restraining order against him.
You can read more here.
It's sick, and hopefully, the Devil Rays will take a stand.

The Jason Giambi saga continues.
Giambi, who apologized in a recent USA Today article for what some people intrepreted as steroid use, now finds himself in the middle of another problem.
The New York Daily news reported Wendesday Giambi failed a test for amphetamines withing the past year.

Phillies closer Brett Myers left the ninth inning Wednesday.
From the AP:

Myers threw a wild pitch, immediately grabbed his arm above the elbow and quickly departed for the clubhouse.
"It didn't feel right," he said. "I felt weird out. It was one of those things where, `I'd better not throw another pitch. Something might happen.'"
Myers might return to Philadelphia for further examination, the Phillies said.

Roy Halladay heals fast.
The Blue Jays ace will return to the rotation next week and come off the disabled list earlier than originally expected, the Associated Press reported.
Halladay had his appendix removed about two weeks ago.
He will start at home on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox.
This is pretty amazing. Now we need to see how his arm responds.
I like Halladay, but he's not the same pitcher he once was. His strikeouts are down (132 in 220 IP last year, 38 in 57 IP this year) but he still can get batters out.

Braves starter John Smoltz left Tuesday's game in the fourth inning.
This from the Associated Press:

Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz felt fine after playing catch Wednesday before his team's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 40-year-old right-hander left Tuesday night's game in the fourth inning after aggravating a pinkie injury while batting and then feeling a tweak in his pitching shoulder while warming up on the mound.
"I was pleasantly pleased," Smoltz said after playing catch.
The next step will be for Smoltz to throw on the side Friday before the team plays the Chicago Cubs. He is scheduled to start Sunday at Chicago.

Kevin Gregg has pitched effectively for the Marlins, converting 6-of-6 save opportunities.
So, it only makes sense that the team that traded for Jorge Julio would trade for another closer with a shaky past.
Armando Benitez reportedly has been traded to the Marlins.
The thinking is Benitez, pitching in a no-pressure environment like Miami, would revert back to his glory days with the Marlins when he had 47 saves in 2004.
Brad Hennessey likely would be the closer for the Giants, depending on the player San Francisco gets in return for Benitez.
Gregg? Well, he was good for a while.
It seems the Marlins haven't learned their lesson.