Braves Activate LHP Mike Gonzalez from the 15-day disabled list.

And in his first outing he earns a save.  Sometimes it is hard to remember that Gonzalez earned 24 saves for the Pirates in 2006.  It seems like so long ago, but that is what one-and-a-half wasted seasons of injuries can do to a career.  Rafael Soriano hasn't thrown off a mound yet, so his is not likely to return from the DL when he is eligible on Saturday.  As long as Gonzalez stays healthy, he's the closer.

Reds Activate OF Norris Hopper from the 15-day disabled list and Option RHP Homer Bailey to Triple-A Louisville.

Bailey still can't control his secondary pitches and now his fastball has lost a tick or two.  Ouch.  He's still only 22, but it looks like he's not going to be part of the rotation in 2008.

Red Sox Place RHP Bartolo Colon on the 15-day disabled list with back stiffness and Recall RHP Chris Smith from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Smith will work out of the bullpen and is likely to be optioned back when Daisuke Matsuzaka comes off the DL on Friday.

Cubs Recall OF Matt Murton from Triple-A Iowa.

Murton will be the #4 outfielder, but is likely to receive some real playing time.

White Sox Place 1B Paul Konerko on the 15-day DL (retroactive to June 15) with a Grade 1 strain of his left oblique muscle and Purchase the contract of OF DeWayne Wise from Triple-A Charlotte.

It is the infamous oblique strain.  As a Grade 1 strain, there is minimal swelling but there will be noticeable discomfort -- a pull with no tearing of muscle tissue.  Hopefully this means minimal time out, but oblique muscles do not heal well.

Angels Recall INF Erick Aybar from Class A Rancho Cucamonga.

Maicer Izturis was on a tear while Aybar was hurt so it is likely that the two will have to share playing time for now.

Dodgers Place RHP Brad Penny on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 15, with right shoulder tendinitis and Recall LHP Eric Stults from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Penny has been pitching through pain in his shoulder all season and it shows.  An MRI indicated no structural damage, so there is some hope that just some rest will be enough.  I have a sneaky suspicion, that he's likely to miss more than just the minimum fifteen days.

Yankees Place RHP Chien-Ming Wang on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 16, with a partial tear of a tendon in his right foot.

I had a game on Monday, and we went to the bar afterwards.  It was a slow news day on ESPN's Baseball Tonight.  There were only five games, and three of them were on the west coast, so they played and replayed Wang's injury over and over ad nauseam.  He might be back in September, but it is likely that he is done for the year.

Padres Recalled OF Chase Headley from Triple-A Portland and outrighted OF Justin Huber to Portland.

Headley's numbers confirm what San Diego already knew, Headley is ready for the show.  The 24-year-old was hitting .305 with 13 home runs in 259 at-bats and he already adjusted to playing the outfield.  I would like to remind our viewer to temper their bidding a bit.  He is playing in San Diego and that is going to chip into his HR a little bit.  I think .280-12 for the rest of the season is likely.

Nationals Activate C Paul Lo Duca from the 15-day DL.

Jesus Flores is the #1 catcher despite the activation of Lo Duca.  That means the 36 year-old will play first and outfield as well as getting two days a week behind the plate.

Tigers Activate RHP Fernando Rodney from the 15-day DL.

He becomes the primary setup man behind Todd Jones until Joel Zumaya returns.

Mariners Recall C Jeff Clement from Triple-A Tacoma and Option OF Wladimir Balentien to Triple-A Tacoma.

Clement will get a second chance to show that he can hit at the Major League level.  He was hitting .337 with 14 home runs in 172 at-bats in Triple-A, so we know he can hit there.  He'll start behind the plate when playing NL teams and be the DH / #2 catcher against AL teams.  The 23 year-old Balentien will go back down to Triple-A and regain his confidence.

Mets Purchase the contract of OF Trot Nixon and Designate OF Chris Aguila for assignment.

Nixon will get some starts for now with all the injuries in the Mets outfield.  His numbers in Triple-A (.309, 10 HR) says that he has a little left in the tank.

Giants Activate RHP Kevin Correia from the 15-day DL.

He looked just a bit rusty in his first start.

Blue Jays Activate C Gregg Zaun from the 15-day DL and Option C Curtis Thigpen to Triple-A Syracuse.

Zaun hit back-to-back homeruns in his first two games.  He'll need to do well if he wants playing time as Rod Barajas is hitting .285 with some power as well.

Braves Place RHP Rafael Soriano on the 15-day DL.

Soriano has soreness in the elbow that he had TJ surgery on in 2004.  He saw Dr. Lewis Yocum, the physician who performed the surgery and he recommended rest.  Soriano has not thrown since, so it is not likely that he'll return when he is eligible.

Cardinals Activate RHP Jason Isringhausen from 15-day DL

Isringhausen is not likely to return to the closer role for a couple of weeks.

Mariners Place RHP J.J. Putz on the 15-day DL with a hyper-extended right elbow.

It has been a rough year for Putz owners.  An MRI indicated no damage.  Basically, what happened was that Putz came back too early from his rib injury.  The pain in his ribs caused him to change the way he was throwing which led to this.  This injury is a good thing in the sense that he is now going to take it easy, rest and come back healthy.  The hope is that he'll come back right after the All Star break.

Rays Place RHP Al Reyes on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis and Activate RHP Troy Percival from the 15-day DL.

Reyes missed time already with the same injury.  He's 38, that will to happen.  Percival returned and has taken over as closer.

Nationals Place LHP Odalis Perez on 15-day DL, retroactive to June 4, with left shoulder tendinitis; and Recall RHP Tyler Clippard.  Nationals change the retroactive date to June 11th.

The Nationals made a mistake when they made this move.  Originally, they placed Perez injury retroactive to June 4th making him available on June 19th.  Tyler Clippard was called up to replace him.  However, Clippard started for the Nationals on June 9th and was sent down.  Therefore, Perez could not have been injured until at least the 9th.  What it means is that Perez will not be eligible to come off the DL until June 26th.

Tout Wars

There is a distinct pattern to my previous two Tout Wars seasons.  I quickly fall into the basement in April.  I spend the months of May and June building myself back up.  I peak just before the All-Star break.  In 2006 my peak was third.  In 2007 my peak was fourth.  Then I crash.

Last year was the worst.  I fell from fourth to dead last in three weeks.

It is the middle of June and guess what?  I'm moving up again.

It looks like despite some bad luck, I'm safely out of last place and there is hope that I can move up in the standings.  I've been as high as 8th this week.

Batting Average

I have moved from 11th to 8th in batting average.  In the last 21 days, I've hit .287, so I am trending up.  If I continue to do well, I can move up two additional spots fairly quickly.  There is a large space between 5th and 6th.  My .287 is good enough to be #1 in overall batting average.

Home Runs

I've really struggled here.  I'm dead last, four behind 11th. Connor Jackson has become eligible for the outfield, so that may open up the opportunity to pick up another corner infielder for some homeruns.  Bottom line is that I need like Delmon Young, Ramon Hernandez and Khalil Greene to pick it up and give me those 15 home runs I bid on.  That would go a long way towards getting me out of last place in this category.

Runs and RBI

I'm 11th in runs and 10th in RBI.  What I don't know is the status of the RotoJunkie team as he is dead last in both categories thanks to an illegal roster.  For all I know, I'm 12th and 11th.  Clearly my HR, R, and RBI situation is related.

Stolen Bases

I'm currently 3rd in stolen bases, five behind #2.  I have put Willy Taveras on the bench to try and catch up in Runs, HR, and RBI.  My plan is to bring him back up along with Rafael Furcal once he comes off the DL to move quickly up in this category.

ERA

I have made some great headway in ERA despite loosing Adam Wainwright.  I know it is gutsy to have a rotation of Aaron Cook, Gavin Floyd and Kevin Slowey, but it is working for now.  I'm hoping that the return of Chad Cordero and Joel Zumaya will help lower my ERA more.  That way I hope I'll avoid the great July crash.  Today I'm still dead last in ERA, but I've caught up to #11 and I'm only 0.03 points behind.

Strike Outs

I have been neck and neck for the #1 spot for strikeouts.  Today I'm four behind for second place.

Saves

I hoped to be in a better spot for saves, but alas, I'm not.  I'm 7th, one behind for 6th.  My strategy was to go with three closers and bet on Joel Zumaya to take over in Detroit for the last two months of the season.  I'm still waiting for Chad Cordero to return, but I have to worry that Brian Fuentes will be traded and no longer be a closer.

Wins

I'm currently first in wins with 48, one ahead of second place.  I have some to burn once I go to a four closer strategy.

WHIP

While I have the worst ERA.  My WHIP is a solid 5th, and I'm catching up to 4th.  There is a good tight pack there, so I could move as high as 2nd.

Analysis

I'm not out of this yet.  I'm going to have a heck of time trying to catch up when I'm so far behind in HR, RBI and R, but I can at least move up out of the basement.  My path is Batting Average, ERA and Saves while holding the categories I'm doing well.