Will Anthony Rizzo Save the Chicago Cubs?

The Chicago Cubs currently have the worst record in all of baseball (24-48) and are trying to build for the future. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein has stated that nearly every player is on the trading block. Ryan Dempster, Matt Graza, Bryan LaHair, and Alfonso Soriano are all expected to be traded by the end of July. The one ray of hope occurred over the weekend, the Cubs called up their #1 prospect Anthony Rizzo.

The Cubs received Rizzo when they traded Andrew Cashner to the San Diego Padres this off-season. Epstein drafted Rizzo when he was the Boston Red Sox GM and wanted him on the Cubs.

Will Rizzo make his Chicago debut tonight against Johan Santana and the New York Mets or will they hold off his debut until they face Dillon Gee or Jonathon Niese later in the series?

Rizzo has all the tools to be a dominant hitter in the Majors. He has crushed the ball in the minors with Triple-A slash line of .337/.406/.673. In 69 games this season with Iowa (PCL) he has 23 homers, 62 RBI, and a .345 batting average.

To put his numbers into prospective and be realistic, Bryan LaHair's 2011 Triple-A numbers were 38 homers, 109 RBI, with a .331 average through 129 games. LaHair has done well this year, but could end up being a 4-A player at the end of the day.

Rizzo had more than a cup of coffee with the Padres last season. He had a slash line of .141/.281/.242 with one homer in 128 at-bats. You could factor in that PETCO Park, San Diego's home park, wasn't suited for Rizzo's skill-set, but he didn't play every game at home.

Chicago could have started out the season with Rizzo as their starting first baseman, but they were smart by having him get his confidence back. He has a hot bat and Chicago could use it at the moment.

I doubt Rizzo will start in tonight's game against Santana, but he could be used to pinch-hit later in the game. The smart money is that he will start on Tuesday and Wednesday. Chicago has been using LaHair in the outfield lately and should be in the lineup when a right-hander is on the mound.

I warn Cubs fans to lower expectations at the beginning. We don't want another Felix Pie, Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith...(I could go on and on, but I don't want to cry this morning). He will be batting near the middle of the order with Soriano and Geovany Soto sandwiching him. He will be protected to start out (well, as much as you can in an anemic batting order.

Rizzo will not save the season, but if he can show that he can hit MLB pitching and give the fans something to build on, he will do very well at the Friendly Confines.

...let the "Grease" nicknames begin. I'll start, how about Anthony "Greased Lightning" Rizzo?

Six Pitchers Combine for Seattle Mariners No-Hitter

The Seattle Mariners were victims of a perfect game earlier this season. No-hitter karma paid it forward tonight when six Seattle pitchers combined to pitch a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the franchise's third no-hitter and its first since Chris Bosio's no-hitter in 1993.

Seattle barely avoided being one of the few teams to lose while throwing a no-hitter. They squeaked out a victory and won the game 1-0.

This is the fourth no-hitter thrown this season. Has any other MLB team threw a no-hitter and used more than six pitchers? Are we going to see more no-hitters in 2012?

Kevin Millwood started the game and pitched six innings without giving up a hit. Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen combined to pitch the final three innings. Pryor received the win while Wilhelmsen earned his third save of the season by closing out the game.

This was the second time Milwood was part of a no-hitter. He threw a complete game no-hitter as a member of the Phillies in 2003.

Kyle Seager drove in the only run of the game by singling in Ichiro Suzuki. Seager is now batting .275 on the season. Ichico had three hits and a stolen base in the game.

Dodgers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi pitched six innings of shutout baseball. He now has an ERA of 1.93 on the year. Scott Elbert, who allowed Seager's RBI single in the 7th inning, was credited with the loss.

This no-hitter is not without scandal. Dee Gordon hit a slow roller to Brandan Ryan. He made a great throw to first base and was called out. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly thought Gordon beat out the throw and argued with the umpire.

This was the 10th combined no-hitter in MLB history. It's the first since six Houston Astros pitchers combined for a no-hitter against the Yankees in 2003.

Jared Weaver, Phillip Humber, and Johan Santana have already pitched no-hitters this season. Humber pitched a perfect game against the Mariners earlier this season.