The Boston Red Sox are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. Yesterday, Curt Schilling and the Red Sox dispatched the New York Mets 4-2. With that win, the Red Sox have now won 12 in a row. They are going for their longest win streak in some 58 years. As luck would have it, they travel to Florida for an Interleague series.

The Seattle Mariners, who are red hot right now, have made a move to help their DH position. In a deal hot off the presses, the Mariners have acquired Eduardo Perez from the Indians. It’s not known what the Mariners gave up for Perez, but it was most likely something very minor.

Today, Pedro Martinez returned to Boston to pitch against the Red Sox. He was greeted well—the fans still respect him. However, the Red Sox were lying in wait for the former hurler. They got to him hard and early. It was anything but a typical Pedro Martinez outing. In fact, it was really a disgusting performance. Pedro’s performance would have been terrible for any regular pitcher in the MLB, but the fact that this is Pedro Martinez makes it even worse.

Well, we are almost half way through the 2006 MLB season. I can’t believe how fast it is moving. It’s time to look at how teams are doing again. There are some surprises on this list—both good and bad. You will notice some teams are still performing very well and some are still slumping. Here we go.

Brett Myers, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, was arrested recently for hitting his wife in the face. He performed this act right out in the open on the street. The incident took place in Boston. His wife posted the whopping $200 bail. On August 4th, he will appear before a judge.

Last night game one went ten innings. The Padres scored in the bottom of the tenth to win 2-1. As a result, the Padres are one full game up on the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. The Mariners are now five games back. Last night Linebrink got the win and Mateo got the loss. The Mariners have had two low scoring games in a row now. The trend points to them scoring some runs tonight and Chan Ho Park may just be the pitcher to serve up the tasty treats. The under/over is 7.5. I had to do a double take on this figure. Are they serious? Well, let’s see how this number holds up.

Last night the Pirates and Dodgers opened up a series. It is currently the only non-Interleague series being played. As expected, the Dodgers wasted no time jumping on Pirates pitching and making a ten game loser out of Perez. The Pirates have now lost 9 straight and tonight might make it ten. Despite winning last night, the Dodgers remain one full game back of the Padres. The Padres managed to outlast the Mariners in ten innings last night.

Last night the Cardinals started a series with the Detroit Tigers in Detroit. Once again the Cardinals showed how overmatched they are when compared to solid AL teams. Speaking of solid AL teams, the Detroit Tigers must be for real. Most people around baseball are waiting for the magic curtain to go down on the Tigers, yet they keep on winning. They are not just beating the poor quality teams either, as they did in the beginning of the season, but they are beating solid ball clubs—like the Cardinals.

The Mariners are back in town for another Interleague installment of the West Coast series. The Mariners did not have far to travel. They just finished up a three game set with the Dodgers up in LA. The Mariners took two of three games in that series. They dropped the last game 4-2, but had their chance to make a game of it. The big news was the return of Adrian Beltre, who lit up his old stomping ground—must to the dismay of Dodger fans.

The Marlins were left for dead before the season started. While they won’t contend this season, they definitely have picked up the pace. The Marlins have been getting passed just about every team they have faced lately. At one point they were winning about 15% of their games. Now, they are a .449 team—a major improvement. However, all of the success lately might be coming to an abrupt halt as they are now heading to Yankee stadium in New York.

The Cardinals might be glad that they are finally done with the White Sox, if they were not heading to Detroit now. The White Sox simply manhandled the Cardinals in disgusting fashion. Putting up 20 runs on a MLB team is no small feat. When you do it against a leading team, that’s something very rare. What’s worse is the fact that the White Sox followed up that rare performance by putting up 13 runs on the Cardinals the next night.

Tonight, the Reds and Indians kick off an Interleague series. The Reds are +123 and the Indians are -133. The under/over is 9.5 with the over being -115 and the under set at -105. This game could be called the “someone needs to win” series. Both of these teams are playing horrible right now. The Indians are coming off of a series at home against the Cubs were they took just 1 of 3. Ironically, the won the game Maddux pitched in. The Reds just finished a four game set with the Mets. They split the series.

Here’s another installment of trends. The good get better and the bad get worse. Interleague play is in its second installment and teams have played one series so far. Let’s see who is doing what over the past ten days.

Interleague play is back for a second installment this season. The Dodgers are opening up a series with the As. The As have been red hot of late. They are technically in first place in the AL West by percentage points—half game ahead of Texas. They are 35-31. Tonight’s game is a match up between first place teams looking to stay a top their respective divisions. The under/over for tonight’s game is 9. The under is even and the over is -120.

Well, last night I was correct on the Royals. They were a tasty +230 against a slightly better team with both pitchers being close to equal, so I bet em. Tonight, game three of the series goes off and the Angels are a huge favorite again. The Angels are currently -280 and the Royals are +230. The under/over is 9. The over is +105 and the under is -125. I am learning towards the over here and perhaps you will see why in a moment.

It’s game four of the series and the Rangers are hoping to even it up. Yesterday the Rangers managed to pull out a win to finally take a game at home. They won 8-0, but their recent slide has cost them the lead in the West. They are now in a deadlocked battle with the Oakland As. Meanwhile, the White Sox are just 2 games out of first place. They are within striking distance and hope to cut the lead down to a single game today.

Game two of this series looks to be pretty exciting. Both teams are vying for position in the West. The As are just a half of a game out and the Mariners are just 3.5 games back. Last night the As fended off a bases loaded no out situation in the 9th inning to beat the Mariners 2-0. Let’s look at the pitchers.

Back in April, Dmitri Young was accused of choking a 21 year old woman in Toledo, Ohio. The attorney for the Detroit Tigers designated hitter filed information to allow Young to leave the state for work-related purposes. However, Judge Diane D’Agostini—48th district court—has determined that the information about Dimitri’s whereabouts is not adequate and does not meet requirements.

It’s time for an installment of trends. Today, we are going to look at each team to see who has been trending up, down or staying put over the past 10 days. There may be some surprises. Keep these trends in mind when you make your baseball selections. Let’s get started. Teams will be listed in the order of their current division standing.

The now first place Dodgers—thanks to Arizona losing 7 straight—are in San Diego to start a new series that has a lot of meaning for the division. The Padres find themselves just three games back of first place despite having a rough week. The Dodgers are sending Aaron Sele to the hill and the Padres are sending Chan Ho Park. This game is pretty much even on the boards. The Dodgers are listed at -106 and the Padres at -104. The under/over is 8 with the over listed at -120 and the under at even.

Today, the Braves and Marlins open a new series at Florida. The Braves are a -133 favorite, while the Marlins are a +123 underdog. The under/over is 7.5 with the over being -130 and the under being +110. John Smoltz will be pitching for the Braves and Josh Johnson will be pitching for the Marlins. The first pitch will be at 7:05 PM EST.

Tonight the Royals and Angels kick off a series in Anaheim. The Angels are a heavy favorite tonight at -219, while the Royals a +189 as the underdog. The over/under line is currently set at 9 with the under being -120 and the over being even. Bobby Keppel is pitching for the Royals and Ervin Santana will go for the Angels.

It’s time to look at who’s been sizzling over the past week. This past week of baseball has been great. There have been some outstanding performances around the league. Take a look at this week’s hot players list.

Hitters:

Ichiro Suzuki: .559 avg with 2 home runs and 2 swiped bases.
Carlos Beltran: .483 with 3 home runs and 5 stolen bases.
Ryan Howard: .357 with 3 home runs.
Ken Griffey Jr.: .368 with 3 home runs.
Justin Morneau: .381 with 3 home runs.
Victor Martinez: .458 with 4 home runs.
Matt Kemp: .412 with 3 home runs and 2 stolen bases.
Garrett Atkins: .500 with one home run and one stolen base.
Raul Ibanez: .357 with 3 home runs and one stolen base.

Pitchers:

Alay Soler: 2-0 0.56 ERA over 16 innings.
Carlos Zambrano: 2-0 0.57 ERA over 15.2 innings.
Felix Hernandez: 2-0 1.69 ERSA over 16 innings.
Ian Snell: 2-0 1.35 ERA over 13.1 innings.
James Shields: 2-0 0.00 ERA over 12 innings.
Jason Schmidt: 1-0 1.20 ERA over 15 innings.

Keep these players in mind when you go to bet (or play your fantasy league teams). Some of these players were on the last hot players list as well. They are having great years. Stay tuned for next week’s hot players list.

Minutes from now the Pirates will take on the Giants in San Francisco. Tonight is game two in the series. The Giants took game one yesterday 5-4. Benitez got the win and Marte the loss. The Pirates are sending Victor Santos to the hill and they are a +123 underdog. The Giants are a -133 favorite and Matt Morris will be going for them tonight. The under/over is set at 9 with the under being -130 and the over being +110.

The Marlins are in San Diego to open up a new series with the Padres. They are coming off a series at San Francisco where they took one of three—the last game 8-1. The Padres just finished a disaster of a series in Milwaukee where they took one of four games. Tonight Ricky Nolasco is pitching for the Marlins and Chris Young for the Padres. The Marlins are the underdog at +150 and the Padres are a -170 favorite. The under/over for this game is 7.5 with the under being -120 and the over being +130.

Tonight, the Mets and D-backs go at it for the second time in this series. The Mets are sending veteran Steven Trachsel to the mound to face Miguel Batista of the D-backs. The D-backs are a very slight favorite in this one and the under/over is 10. Last night the game was all about the Mets who scored 7 runs. The D-backs scored one lone run and were nowhere to be found. Hernandez was the winner for the Mets and Vargas got the loss for the D-backs.

The other night Gagne proclaimed his triumphant return by recording his first save. Fans were in a frenzy as their superstar closer was finally back. His save was not simply a ho-hum close, but a Gagne close. He struck out 2 of the 3 batters and had a perfect inning. Yesterday night, it was announced that Gagne is going to rest for at least a few days. Gagne said, “I had an MRI today and everything looked good, but the nerve’s inflamed a little bit.”

Jose Contreras is a workhorse and he just won his 14th straight regular season decision (2005 and 2006). He is now 6-0 this year and has quickly become Mr. Dependable. He had a recent stint on the DL, but everything looks like it’s back to normal now. He is giving up less than one hit per inning, striking out one per 2 innings and has won each game he’s been a factor in the decision on. Furthermore, he has a 2.54 ERA and is destroying right-handed batters. They are only hitting a paltry .184 against him with a .212 OBP.

Last night Tom Glavine’s performance was anything but acceptable. Still, it was enough to get him the victory thanks in large part to the Mets’ offense, which rattled off 9 runs in a 9-7 victory over the LA Dodgers. Glavine was expected to go about 7 innings and give up 3 runs like normal, but last night the Dodgers had other plans. He ended up pitching 5 innings and giving up 6 runs including 3 walks and 7 hits.

Wondering who’s hot right now? Today, we are going to look at who’s been hot over the past week. If you are a fantasy owner or sports bettor, keep these names in mind. These guys are tearing the cover off of the ball.

Today, the Mets and Dodgers go at it for the third time in the series. The series is tied 1-1 after yesterday’s impressive win by the Dodgers, which included a save be Eric Gagne. The Mets are a slight favorite today at -112 as they send Tom Glavine to the mound. The Dodgers, +102, counter with Odalis Perez. It should be a great match up.

On Tuesday, the house of Jason Grimsley, a reliever for the Arizona Diamondbacks, was raided by thirteen federal agents. The federal agents searched through Grimsley’s house for approximately six hours, but details of the search appear to be under wraps. The raid is in connection with the on-going BALCO steroids case. Apparently Jason Grimsley was participating in the case, but withdrew his participating in April.

Some sports bettors believe that, in baseball, pitchers are the key element to factor in when placing a wager. Many of these bettors use pitchers as the sole factor in coming up with a selection. Even if you look more at the team, the pitcher is still a key position. How does one handicap a pitcher’s performance? The simple way is to view ERA, but that does not tell the real story. Today, we are going to look at the top pitchers from a baserunner perspective.

In today’s draft, the Kansas City Royals have taken Luck Hochevar as the number one selection. This is the second time he has been drafted. Last year, he was taken as the 40th pick over all, but the Dodgers failed to sign him—thanks to evil agent Scott Boras. Hockevar is hard-throwing right-handed pitcher. However, if the Dodgers failed to sign him, it’s hard to see the Royals doing so.

Today, we are going to look at what teams are trending up and what teams are trending down. This is very simple to do. Rather than simply looking at the win-loss record for the season, we will look at how teams are playing right now. More specifically, how they are playing over the past week or so. Following is a break down of every team in MLB baseball.

The last thing the Cardinals need right now (or any day) is their big guy, Albert Pujols, going down, but that’s what just happened. Albert Pujols strained a muscle on his right side. Initially he was placed on the 15-day DL, but now there is concern that he may be out for much longer.

When all the glitz and glamour of hitting a second place home run ball dies out, the current Barry Bonds is nothing more than an average player—perhaps even slightly below average. Is Bonds worth $22,000,000 per year? This season he is hitting .262 with 21 RBI and 7 home runs. Ok, yes, he has not played in every single game. However, he has played in 45 of the 56 games though. In fact, not playing further deteriorates his worth.

Tonight the Royals are at the Mariners for game 2 of the series. Last night Jaime Moyer absolutely owned the Royals and the Mariners won 4-0. The Royals are just what the doctor ordered for the struggling Mariners. While the Royals are pretty much gone this season, the Mariners play in the ugly American League West. They still have a shot at getting to the playoffs—if they can get their act together.

It must be a nightmare for Dontrelle Willis. He is a solid pitcher playing on the second worst team in the major leagues. Last night, despite having a string of great outings, Dontrelee Willis won for just the first time since April 14th—his second win of the season. Willis’ ERA is up this year at 4.72 due to a couple of bad outings, but overall he has pitched very well. Things could be looking up for Florida as they are playing better. No, they won’t be going to the playoffs, but they might not end up losing 110 games as expected.

As expected, the Philadelphia Phillies won tonight. J. Seo only pitched 4 innings for the Dodgers. He gave up three run and five hits. O. Perez pitched in relief for an inning and gave up nothing. He was followed by Broxton who also gave up nothing. At this point in the game the Dodgers had rallied and taken the lead 5-3. However, in the 7th inning, the wheels came off. D. Baez entered the game and got rocked. Before getting even 1 out, Baez gave up 2 walks, 3 hits and five earned runs.

Tonight the Phillies are at the Dodgers for the second game in this series. Yesterday, the Dodgers started the series with a 7-2 win. Lowe for the Dodgers got the win, while Floyd for the Phillies got the loss. Tonight’s pitching match up features Ryan Madson for the Phillies pitching against Jae Seo.

You know it is a weird year when the Yankees at Tigers is a marquee game. Detroit started out the season on fire and quickly rocketed to a first place lead in the Central Division. However, this week has shown us that perhaps the Tigers are not for real after all—shocker. Sure, the Tigers quickly dispatched sub-par teams like Kansas City, Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland and so forth, but against top caliber, they still have a lot ot prove.

The Oakland A’s are coming off of a horrific series where they dropped two of three games at home to the worst teams in the majors—Kansas City. In fact, the Royals are so bad that some sports books are now taking wagers on them ending up as the worst team of all time. Oakland bettors were murdered in that series as the A’s were over $2.00 favorites for each game. In game three, the A’s avoided the sweep by winning 7-0.