I love stories like this. As some you may or may not know, I have been calling for MLB to open as many of these urban facilities as possible, not unlike the one they have in Compton. I would even go so far as to say, that each MLB club should sponsor one in their own neighborhood.

But what caught my eye about this story, was Gary Matthews Jr. preaching to the kids that dreams can come true.

I would recommend picking up Hanrahan right away, even though his save totals may be limited pitching for the Nats. Hanrahan has a great K/9 this season of over 9, but the control is somewhat of a concern. Hanrahan should be valuable for his K's as well as Saves but expect the ERA to stay between 3.5 and 4.

Everyone is looking at Francisco Liriano's service time, and most believe the Minnesota Twins are keeping him in AAA due to his potential Super Two status. All of that is in debate of course.

But the issue should be innings pitched. Liriano is approaching 130 innings pitched on the season. Do they really want Liriano to come up and toss another 50 or so innings in a pennant race, in his first season back from TJ surgery?

This is where the discussion should be. Not his "Super Two" status

Here lies the problem with relying on rookies in fantasy baseball. They are always the rage in fantasy circles every season, but yet they rarely live up to the hype. For every Evan Longoria or Ryan Braun, there are numerous failures, Justin Upton, Homer Bailey and Ryan Shealy, just to name a few off the top of my head, that most team owners simply forget about, no matter how much they overpaid for them at draft.

In my money league, I got burned by two of them season. Justin Upton and now Carlos Gomez.

I don't think he has had enough time for that yet

Really? The .163 batting average through 200 plate appearance this season, is not enough? The fact that Andruw Jones hasn't produced even close to an "average" outfielder's production since 2006? His 11 RBI's and 63 strikeouts this season are not tellling? None of this is enough to cause Jones to lose his gig? I could maybe understand if he was a lifetime Dodger who was simply struggling right now, but he is not.

I am not sure if you guys have heard this story yet, but it is quite appalling. The Washington Nationals are refusing to pay rent on their stadium because a few offices weren't completed in time. The Horror. Not only that, they are demanding to be compensated for their "losses". What? John Brittain takes them to task today in his newest piece, "National Disgrace"

This really cracked me up. Andruw Jones for Tex.

Is Colletti really that out of touch with reality? Under what moon, would Atlanta even think about trading for Andruw Jones, much less giving back Tex for him? It would have to be in world with two moons I suspect, cus there is no way it is happening on this planet. There are tons of other solid tidbits in this piece from Will Carroll, so read on ..

MLBTR has the breakdown on the latest article from Ken Rosenthal, including one i wasn't really expecting to see. The Chicago White Sox are exploring the possibility of trading third baseman Josh Fields. The fools.

If you own Billy Wagner on any team this season, it is ok to exhale now

Not the league MVP, even though an argument could be made for both Josh Hamilton or Milton Bradley, but which one of the two is the MVP of the Rangers?

Is it still cheating if Human Growth Hormone has no performance enhancing capabilities?

This looks like it could turn out to be John Schuerholz's worst trade ever. If the two picks the Braves get for Mark Teixeira turn out to be superstars, maybe then he is off the snide. 8 years for 22-23 million a year? I could see the Yankees paying $20 million a year since Jason Giambi is coming off the books, but who else will really be in the bidding?

Beyond the Box Score's Peter Bendix, has an excellent look at Joe Blanton's career, and career numbers, and explains how Blanton is not even a league average pitcher.