Monday's first pitch

Leading Off
Jason Schmidt returns to the Dodgers tonight. In the culture of right now, it might seem like a distant memory, but this tough right-hander was pretty good for a long time.
From 1998 to 2006, he went 110-73 with a 3.70 ERA, winning an ERA title and earning three All-Star nods.
Now, will he return to that form. It's doubtful, but he could be a consistent starter for the Dodgers and give them one more weapon as they dominate the National League.

Regional Roundup

• J.A. Happ pitched another gem. At this point, one has to ask if Halladay would be an upgrade. One still has to say, YES. Rollins is heating up. Funny thing, so are the Phillies. Jimmy Watch: 3-for-5, run scored, strike out, triple, double, run batted in. The dizzying heights of .236.


• Jeremy Guthrie looked like an ace. Turned the game on in the 7th and almost fell over when he was still on the mound. Speaking of pitching, the O's picked up Cla Meredith while shipping Oscar Salazar to San Diego.


• The Nats lost, then sent Julian Tavarez packing.


• Another Pittsburgh loss. For Pirates news, check out The Closer.

Best of Rest

• Bobby Abreu broke up a no-hitter. Then he gave his team the win. Not lost in his heroics were dominant pitching performances by John Lackey and Brett Anderson.


• The Moose is not returning, writes Bill Madden.


• Watching Roy Halladay through his catcher's eyes.


• The D-Backs and Brewers made a trade.


• So Ichiro, are you saying you dogged it?


• Edgar Gonzalez is out of the hospital.


• You won't believe this: A New York Met got injured in a loss. Yep, hard to believe.

Batter's Eye

• Bill Conlin talks about letting writers vote for Pete's sake.

Today in history
1925 -- Brooklyn's Dazzy Vance struck out 17 batters as the Dodgers tripped the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings.

1933 -- Babe Herman hit three home runs, including a grand slam, to pace the Chicago Cubs in a 10-1 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.

1941 -- New York's Joe DiMaggio had three doubles and a homer in the Yankees' 12-6, 17-inning victory over the Tigers in Detroit.

1958 -- Jim Bunning of the Detroit Tigers threw a no-hitter, beating the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Closer
Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson have turned up their noses at the Pirates, who offered the duo extensions.
We say ... Great job boys. Send a message. Neither of these guys should stay in The Burg. Normally we complain when players gripe about their teams. Pittsburgh, however, is a different story. If the players themselves went on strike, we would support them fully.
What management is doing there is an absolute joke. If fans and players walked out of that stadium for a week, we'd be proud of them.