David Ortiz's Wrist Injury, John Smoltz's Return, and More

• Today is a day full of Baseball Headlines. From Jay Bruce's rise to Dontrelle Willis' Demise, David Ortiz hitting the DL to John Smoltz coming off it.

• David Ortiz suffered a partially torn ECU (extensor carpi Ulnaris) and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks if surgery is not needed. If surgery is needed this could be the end of his season and signify big trouble for the Red Sox. Depending on the extent of the tear this could turn into a world of trouble for Big Papi. This is an injury I personally suffered playing College baseball and ended my playing days. The Red Sox will put his wrist in a soft cast and hope that it heals without need for surgery

• Joba Chamberlain has his first start for the Yankees tonight against Roy Hallady and the Blue Jays. While the Yankees hope that he will shore up their starting rotation, it seems a leak has already sprung in their bullpen. Kyle Farnsworth pitching in what used to be Joba's setup role gave the Twins the lead after a double by Michael Cuddyer and single by Delmon Young that brought Cuddyer home. Its too early to see whether the Yanks have made the right decision but keep the question in mind: what good is a starting pitcher if there is no one in the bullpen who can hold the lead?

• John Smoltz was roughed up in his first save opportunity since 2004. Due to an aging arm, Smoltz has dropped down to a 3/4 slot and he showed signs of brilliance in the blown save but ultimately left too many fastballs high in the zone and sliders that had no bite to them. Smoltz's arm slot is a work in progress and he threw a few pitches that had the hitters looking foolish as well as a mid-90's fastball. The Braves are hoping that he returns to his previous form that won him a Rolaids Reliever of the year in 2002.
  

• Jay Bruce continues to make playing in the Majors look much too easy. He had his third consecutive game with a home run and went 2-4. Altogether he is batting .577 with 6 walks, only one strikeout and two stolen bases. Of course he can't hold this indefinitely, but boy he is fun to watch. Should be a great player for the Reds for years to come.
  

• The saying is: "Manny being Manny"... maybe it should be "Ozzie being Ozzie". Another obscenity laced rant by Ozzie Guillen was directed this time at his own players and his GM. Entertaining as always, but really nothing we haven't seen from him before. Ozzie and White Sox general manager Ken Williams are expected to meet and hash out their problems. Just one more day in the drama that is Ozzie Guillen.
  

• Dontrelle Willis will pitch tonight among lingering questions about his weight. Many speculate that his miserable control can be attributed to being too heavy to perform his complicated and funky delivery. Can the D-Train get back on track?
  

• This season the Rays have finally accumulated enough pitching to match with their stellar young position players. They are leading the AL East and they get the top pick in the first year draft. If only they could get some fans to match their good, young team.
  

• Staying in the sunshine state, the Marlins are only a game and a half back from the top spot in the NL east. Can they sustain this pace with their defensive liabilities and their 4.46 era?

The best part of this season so far? The lack of PED news. Cross our fingers that we are on the brighter side of this dark time for Baseball and that in the future stories like Jon Lester's no hitter and Josh Hamilton's victory over drug addiction will be more commonplace than the Mitchell Report and HGH.