Phil Rogers' MLB whispers

6:32 PM EDT, April 26, 2008

You can't say Curt Schilling isn't an optimist. He bought a 26-acre estate in Medfield, Mass., for $4.5 million in 2003 from Drew Bledsoe and now is listing it at $8 million.

Chien-Ming Wang is the best pitcher nobody talks about. He has won 50 of his first 85 starts for the Yankees, the best start to a career since Dwight Gooden.

MVP watch as April winds to a close: AL— Manny Ramirez, Joe Crede, Nick Markakis, Josh Hamilton and Jonathan Papelbon; NL—Chase Utley, Derrek Lee, Chipper Jones, Justin Upton and Brandon Webb.

Early front-runners for the other BBWAA awards— Cy Young: Cliff Lee, AL, Webb, NL; Rookie: Greg Smith, AL, Geovany Soto, NL; and Manager: Bob Geren, AL, and Freddy Gonzalez, NL.

Jacoby Ellsbury's 17-for-17 total in stolen base attempts for the Red Sox represents the best start to a big-league career since Tim Raines succeeded in his first 27 tries for Montreal in 1981.

Evan Longoria's deal with the Rays wasn't a hit with some agents. He could wind up earning $11.5 million in 2016, less than 50 players make this season.

The next couple of starts are crucial for the Indians' C.C. Sabathia, who restored some sanity by cruising to a victory Tuesday over the Royals. He takes a 10.13 ERA into a Sunday start against the Yankees.

Miguel Cabrera's move to first base may be the best thing for the Tigers but doesn't exactly reward him for losing weight and getting himself into shape. But at the time manager Jim Leyland announced plans for the switch, Cabrera had made five errors in 14 games and had the lowest zone rating in the majors at third. The Tigers will be better with Curtis Granderson back, but can he pitch?.

The Angels and Braves could push to division leads when they start getting their injured pitchers back.

When John Smoltz got his 3,000th strikeout, the great Greg Maddux congratulated him with a text message that said Smoltz had "lost a hair for every strikeout." Perfect.

This just in: The Phillies blew it with their DL decision on Jimmy Rollins, who sprained his ankle April 8 and now must be out until May 5 because they had him pinch-hit four times before biting the bullet.

Thumbs up to Doug Mientkiewicz for making a late-career adjustment. The longtime Twins first baseman has been filling in at third for the Pirates.