Friday night at Chase Field. Brewers vs. Diamondbacks. The roof is closed but my mind is wide open.
I am open to being convinced that several of the players I'm concerned about will come around. Players like justin Upton and Prince Fielder. And Tex. And Grady Sizemore. We'll see, won't we?

How about Starlin Castro going yard in his first major league at-bat! He's not known as a power hitting shortstop, but his first game will be memorable. As I write this he has a jack and a triple. I admit I didn't expect to see him in Chicago this soon. I raved about what I saw in the fall and spring. He's the real deal.

Don't look for Mike Stanton to be called up by the Marlins until the club can free up some room on the roster. If the Marlins can move Dan Uggla that would allow Chris Coghlan to play second. Or, the team can try and trade one of their outfielders; Coghlan, Cameron Maybin or Cody Ross. For me, it's Ross. Stanton is clobbering the ball.

Jeremy Bonderman has little trouble getting through the batting order the first time. However, it's the second time through that the Tiger starter's trouble begins. His fastball sits in the high 80's now compared to his mid 90's of the past. Bonderman is pitching as opposed to throwing. But hitters do much better the second time around.

Carlos Lee is brutal in left field. Thank goodness for the speed of Michael Bourn. The poor guy is covering both left and right for the Astros. Bourn is turning out to be a much better player than people initially believed.

Lance Berkman has indicated he would waive his "no trade" clause if the Astros were out of the pennant race and he could land with a winner. Duh! That's news? His statement drew crowds of reporters around his locker. Why? Because he was being honest? The Astros look very bored and it's only May.

Miguel Cabrera is still on a tear. It's more of a mission. MVP candidate? Yes.

It's painful to sit and watch Dice K between pitches. Get the ball and throw it. Please. He shuts the game totally down with men on base. I don't know why, either. The Red Sox catchers can't throw anyone out on the bases. Just concede the stolen base and throw the ball to the plate.

I still feel badly for Zack Greinke. Just like I did last week and the week before that and the week before that and the ....well, you get the point.

The plan for Tanner Scheppers is to work him two innings at a time in the minor leagues and build up his arm strength. Get him ready for the second half pennant race. He'll join the pen along with Feliz and Francisco.
Then next year he can fight for a spot in the rotation. Alexi Ogando will be the next power arm developed for the bullpen by Texas. They are becoming a pitching development machine.

Hang on. Salty is starting to hit. He should be back with the Rangers soon, if he isn't there by the time you read this. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is a better hitter than we've seen so far. But he's been hurt. Better now.

A name to remember with the Indians is Jason Donald. He was part of the Cliff Lee trade with Philly. Donald was the best pure mechanical hitter I saw in the Arizona Fall League a couple seasons ago. Donald should be called up when Luis Valbuena continues to struggle. Not if.

Why bring Chris Heisey to the big leagues and not play him? 6 at-bats since he's been called up. Heisey is a darn good ballplayer. I think Dusty has the Eric Wedge syndrome. Let young guys sit on the bench and learn how to eat sunflower seeds.

I still look for Stephen Strasburg in early June. Now at AAA, Strasburg will get a few more starts, throw 5 to 6 innings in each and be in Washington next month.

Tony Abreu is a very, very under rated middle-infielder. He can start for most clubs, but because of Stephen Drew and Kelly Johnson, Abreu is the 4th infielder in Arizona. Man, I can think of so many clubs Abreu could help. He's just a solid hitter and a good defender. He'll get his chance. He's too good to sit around.

Catch this-Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher ever to throw a shutout. No pitch had a velocity greater than 83MPH. Moyer threw his first two-hit shutout in 1986. Amazing.

Tampa Bay will have decisions to make after the season. Do they keep Carl Crawford if they can? How about Carlos Pena? Crawford a Yankee? Crawford on the Red Sox? Pena on the Red Sox? Jeremy Hellickson in the rotation?

Bud Norris has a real power arm for Houston. He'd be best used as a shut down guy in the pen. But the Astros need starting pitching. Norris misses bats and gets the K's, but he's really has a limited repertoire that works better late in games.

We've just seen the beginning of Justin Smoak. Much, much more is yet to come. The Rangers better hope Chris Davis continues to hit in the minors (just like he did last year when he was demoted) so the club can trade him. Smoak is for real.

David Huff has lost command of both his fastball and his change-up. He's now all over the place. He's too good a pitcher to give up on. He needs lots of work on his mechanics.

The "cutter" is today's pitch of preference and sexy pitch of choice. Mix in the cutter with the sinking fastball and change-up and a mediocre pitcher becomes closer to average.

Justin Upton is getting the night off against the Brewers. He's really lost his mechanics at the plate. He's trying to jack every pitch out of the park. I wrote those same words last year until he caught fire. It should happen again this year.

The Red Sox have a major prospect in shortstop Jose Iglesias, a defector from Cuba. Stop by my minor league report on Rotowire next week and I'll tell you about him. Until then, be well.