Red Sox placed INF Mike Lowell on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique.

Yes, it is the strained oblique for Lowell. There is no information on how bad it was. He had an MRI, but that doesn't mean that it is bad. Monitor the situation, as you don't know if this will be a quick one or a long one.

Indians recalled LHP Zach Jackson from Triple-A Buffalo.

Take a lesson from the Indians. You're trading your ace pitcher, a player you are going to loose at the end of the season. You make a deal for prospects. The deal is nearly assured, but you tell them you need one more player. This player is commonly called "the throw-in". You look down their minor league roster and find a 25-year-old lefty starter who has failed at every call-up. You figure, what is the worst that can happen? He's an organizational arm who will eat innings in Triple-A.  He joins your roster with fire in his eyes. Next thing you know, he is in your rotation. Now, this doesn't mean that I'd touch Zach Jackson with a ten-foot pole, but it does make for a good story.

Tigers placed RHP Joel Zumaya on the 15-day DL list with a sore right shoulder.

Based upon the location of the injury the assumption is that Zumaya broke up some of the scar tissue. While this means that his season is probably done, it also means that he should be healthy by spring training.

Brewers placed INF Russell Branyan on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 12, with a right oblique strain and purchased the contract of OF Laynce Nix from Triple-A Nashville.

The injury was called a sore back by the local paper, so I'm not sure exactly what the it is. Billy Hall and Craig Counsell will platoon at third. Nix was seen as the center fielder of the future for the Brewers when they first got him, but he's never been more than a Quadruple-A player. With Mike Cameron most likely leaving Milwaukee at the end of the season, there is an opportunity for Nix. The Brewers will need every penny they have to keep what they have, so center field will have to be a cheap position.

Athletics placed OF Ryan Sweeney on the 15-day DL with a sprained right thumb and recalled OF Eric Patterson from Triple-A Sacramento.

Sweeney finally delivered on the promise he had. It is hard to believe, but he is only 23, so he still has plenty of time to have a career.

Pirates optioned INF Jose Bautista to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Bautista has been passed over after the trade for Andy LaRoche. The Pirates asked him to move to second, but he says that he wasn't comfortable with the change. Maybe sitting in Triple-A will change his mind.

Giants recalled INF Travis Ishikawa from Triple-A Fresno and designated INF Jose Castillo for assignment.

The rub on Ishikawa is that his bat is too weak for first base. He is solid defensively and is willing to take a walk, so one would think that he could be a Wally Joyner or Mark Grace and hit for average, low double-digit power, and make up for the lost offense by digging out badly thrown balls from the other infielders. He hit .299 with 24 home runs in Double and Triple-A this year, so maybe he'll be adequate. Castillo didn't hit and didn't field. I knew he wouldn't hit, but if he doesn't field, he doesn't offer much. He'll sign a minor league deal and try and make a comeback.

Mariners placed DH Jose Vidro on irrevocable waivers for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release.

As a final spit in the eye, the Mariners paid half a million to buy out the rest of Vidro's contract. Vidro was once a fantasy stud, a second baseman with average and power. First the glove disappeared, so he became a DH. The power disappeared in 2006 and this year the average was gone. They Mariners tried to find a taker, but no one wanted him.

Red Sox acquired RHP Paul Byrd from the Cleveland Indians for a PTBNL or Cash and placed RHP Tim Wakefield on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 7, with tightness in the back of his right shoulder.

I always appreciate the #4 workhorse starter, a pitcher like Paul Byrd. His numbers aren't great, but he doesn't cost much and you know what you are getting. He's going to pitch about 190 innings with a 4.50-to-4.90 ERA and keep you close. Yes, you want to have a rotation of five studs, but five studs are expensive. The Red Sox needed some help with an injured Tim Wakefield, so the Indians quickly part with Byrd. Tim Wakefield is the same thing.

Reds recalled OF Chris Dickerson from Triple-A Louisville.

Dickerson has five tools, but doesn't know how to use them. He strikes out way too often. Until this year, he didn't walk much. He has 20/20 skills if you can eat the average.

Dodgers activated INF Nomar Garciaparra from the 15-day DL and placed OF Andruw Jones on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 10, with patellar tendinitis in left knee.

Garciaparra takes over at short again, where he looked pretty good before he hurt his knee. From a fantasy perspective, he potentially can put up some of the best numbers for power at short, if you can handle the risk of him getting hurt again.  Jones...what can I say? Could this be the worst deal since the Mariners traded for Vidro?

Diamondbacks acquired OF Adam Dunn and cash from the Cincinnati Reds for RHP Dallas Buck and two PTBNL.

The Reds announced that they would not have offered Dunn arbitration because they were afraid he might take it. The Reds needed to offer Dunn arbitration if they wanted compensation draft picks. Buck was a third-round pick in 2006 who missed half of the season this year after Tommy John surgery last July. He looks to be part of the rotation in the future. His value is a bit murky because his velocity isn't back yet. We will have to wait and see what the Reds got. Micah Owings and Triple-A C/3B Wilkin Castillo are rumored to be the two PTBNL.

Rays placed INF Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list with a right wrist fracture, retroactive to Aug. 8 and recalled OF Justin Ruggiano from Triple-A Durham.

A bad break for the Rays. First they loose Crawford and now Longoria. Willy Aybar takes over at third. If the Rays can hang on, Longoria should be back before the playoffs.

Blue Jays reinstated OF Shannon Stewart from the DL and released him outright.

The veteran will sign a minor league deal this spring and see if he can get one more year in the big leagues.

White Sox placed RHP Jose Contreras on the 15-day DL with a ruptured left Achilles tendon and recalled LHP Lance Broadway from Triple-A Charlotte.

Contreras suffered the injury covering first base. He had surgery that fixed the problem, but healing and rehab may take as long as nine months. As Contreras is 36, he may not heal as fast. Lance Broadway looked like the real deal when he went 8-8 with a 2.74 ERA in Double-A as a 22 year-old back in 2006. Since he advanced to Triple-A, he hasn't been able to get his ERA below 4.50.

Reds returned RHP Aaron Harang from a rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the 15-day DL; optioned RHP Homer Bailey to Triple-A Louisville; designated C David Ross for assignment; and recalled C Ryan Hanigan from Louisville.

Harang was just plain terrible in his first start back. Sadly, Bailey wasn't any better with an 0-6 record and a 7.93 ERA. The Reds aren't going anywhere. Hanigan is interesting. Yes, he is a 27 year-old, but he is the top Reds' catcher. He started to hit last year and really turned it on this year. He has no power, so don't think that the home run he hit in his first game is an indication of things to come, but he can hit for average.

Rockies added RHP Livan Hernandez to the active roster.

Oh boy, this should be good...

Yankees optioned RHP Ian Kennedy to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

I really thought that Kennedy would be better than this. I think that there is a good chance that they keep him in Triple-A until that season ends and send him to the AFL to work on his secondary pitches. I still think that he'll be a solid contributor.

Rays placed OF Carl Crawford on the 15-day DL with a right middle finger tendon subluxation and activated OF Rocco Baldelli from the 60-day DL.

Crawford decided to have surgery, so he will miss as much as eight weeks. Either way, he season is probably done. Baldelli is suffering from fatigue disorder, so we'll have to see how it goes. I don't expect much, and I wouldn't risk my season on him.

White Sox optioned INF Josh Fields to Triple-A Charlotte.

Not a good sign for Fields owners. Fields has not hit well in Triple-A (.248/9/5) and didn't do much better when he was called up to replace the injured Joe Crede. Juan Uribe will take over at third.

Astros placed OF Carlos Lee on the 15-day DL with a fractured distal left fifth finger and purchased the contract of OF Reggie Abercrombie from Triple-A Round Rock.

That is a punch in the gut for fantasy owners. Lee had immediate surgery and they found that his pinky was broken in six places. The surgery put everything back in order and he should be fine by spring training next year.

Padres placed C Josh Bard on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 7, with a strained right triceps and recalled C Luke Carlin from Triple-A Portland.

Bard is expected to miss just the minimum. Carlin is just an organizational catcher with little fantasy value.

Mariners recalled LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith from Triple-A Tacoma.

Rowland-Smith has converted back to a starter and wasn't terrible in his first start. While he gave up four earned runs, it was the bullpen that gave up three of them.

Indians recalled RHP Anthony Reyes from Triple-A Buffalo.

The Indians are trying out some options for next year. Reyes has no problem in Triple-A but struggles at the Major League level. Reyes has had two starts for the Indians since being recalled, but he has struck out only 4 hitters in 12.3 innings.

Marlins signed C Paul Lo Duca to a Minor League contract.

He's a backup now if Matt Treanor gets hurt. If that doesn't tell you how much his value has dropped, I don't know what will.

Angels recalled C Mike Napoli from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 15-day disabled list.

He's a source of power in a power-short position if you can handle the risk of injury and low batting average.

Tout Wars Update

I find myself in a tight pack between fourth and eighth and I'm hoping that I have a couple more #1 weeks left in me. The last week I was #1 for the period was Week 17.  I was #8 for Week 18, but #5 and #3 for Weeks 19 and 20 respectively.

If you have followed me all season, you know that my strategy was to carry three closers for the season and increase to four when Joel Zumaya was healthy. I figured that Todd Jones would fail just when Zumaya was healthy (correct) and that Zumaya would take over (incorrect). I picked up Zumaya with my last pick in the reserve draft and I could DL him so he didn't take a roster spot. My three-man closer didn't work according to plan. One got hurt (Chad Cordero) and one lost his job (Manny Corpas). I bid heavily on Brian Fuentes and he worked out well. Now I have Francisco Rodriguez, and Adam Wainwright will come back and close. I will get my four-man closer after all, but not with the players I expected.

I have a four-win lead in Wins and an eight-win advantage over #3. I think I'll be okay. While others scramble for Wins, I'm scrambling for ERA and Saves. I think I have a reasonable shot at moving up four spots in ERA and four spots in Saves while loosing nothing in strikeouts and maybe one or two spots in Wins.

Hitting-wise, I'm not looking so good. With a hot week I can move up three spots in Average. I can move up two spots in home runs and maybe a spot in runs. I have to get nearly 30 additional RBI to move up one spot.  Just not much I can do there.

Even if everything works according to plan and I gain 12 points, that still puts me short. I need Alex Cushing of MLB.com to choke, and I know that isn't likely. Still, a Top-5 finish in the standings would signal continued improvement.