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Seventh-Inning Stretch

Ken Davidoff

June 30, 2008

THREE LIKELY EMERGING BUYERS

1. Tigers. Back in it thanks to interleague play, they could use another starting pitcher.

2. Rays. The more they thrive, will they be more willing to dip into their huge pool of prospects for a short-term upgrade?

3. Dodgers. The struggling Diamondbacks are keeping them alive. They might as well try to get a bat.

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POP QUIZ

What former player, now a television analyst, played a San Francisco Giants player named Lanz in the 1996 film "The Fan" - starring, above,

Robert De Niro, left, and Wesley Snipes?

THREE POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE RELIEVERS

1. Brian Fuentes, Colorado. The Rockies should get a decent return on the impending free agent.

2. Damaso Marte, Pittsburgh. He has an expensive ($6 million) team option for 2009, so the Bucs are more likely to deal him.

3. George Sherrill, Baltimore. Not right now, but if the O's ever falter the way they're supposed to ...

OTHER STUFF

Player of the Week: Max Ramirez, Texas. An impressive big-league debut for the highly regarded prospect.

Pitcher of the Week: C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland. His early-season struggles? A distant memory.

Meeting of the Week: Officials from ownership and the Players Association convened Tuesday to discuss the danger of maple bats that break easily.

Rededication of the Week: The Hall of Fame put up a new plaque for Jackie Robinson, right. This one, unlike its predecessor, acknowledged Robinson's role as the modern game's first African-American player.

Quote of the Week: "What I meant was, this is fertile ground. Fertile ground can have some nutrients in it to make you do what you need to do, grow. Some of those nutrients can be fertilizer. It might not smell good, you might not like it all the time, but it's a good thing." - Jerry Manuel.

Link of the Week: http://www.faniq.com/blog/Video-Jonathan-Papelbon-and-Manny- Delcarmen-Blame-It-On-The-Rain-Remix-Video-Blog-9747. You won't soon forget this.

Pop quiz answer: John Kruk. Thanks to Gary Mintz of South Huntington for the suggestion.