Does it surprise anyone else that the Yankees and Red Sox didn’t put a waiver claim in on Scott Kazmir to block his trade to the Angels.  Kazmir may not be the pitcher he used to be, but he is still a young hard throwing lefthander that can get people out.  He also does very well against the Yankees and Red Sox.  Neither team should’ve been worried about the Rays just dumping the contract on them as there is little to no reason to think the Rays were just going to hand over Kazmir to either team, and it’s not like they couldn’t afford the $20 million coming to him even if the Rays did just decide to unload his contract.  If the Yankees or Red Sox were to lose to the Angels in the playoffs, and Kazmir does well, then this could very well come back and haunt them.

The Yankees and Twin also wanted to sign Brad Penny, but Penny had informed the Twins that he only wanted to pitch in the National League.  The Giants make a lot of sense for Penny, back in a league where the pitcher hits and the lineups aren’t as stacked as the American League.  Getting a chance to pitch against the Dodgers can’t hurt either.

If you have Joba Chamberlain in a re-draft league, it’s time to cut bait.  He is on an innings count, but instead of missing starts, he is going to make his start every five days, but be removed from the game after a certain amount of innings.  On Sunday he was removed after three innings.  He can no longer help your team.  In a keeper league however, he might still have some value depending upon where you drafted him, or how much you spent on him.  He is not a top flight starter, not yet, and until he stops fooling around with his breaking pitches and starts to trust his fastball, he won’t be.

David Wright is set to join the Mets on Tuesday.  Wright was beaned in the head and forced to the disabled list.  He has not suffered and post-concussion symptoms and has been ready to play for about a week.  Problem is the Mets current plan is for Wright to play every other game for a little while.  This will not help fantasy owners, who may have to bench him this week until he becomes an everyday player again.  More good news for the Mets is that Carlos Beltran looks like he will return to the team shortly.  He has been running the bases and as long as his MRI comes up clean he should be good to go shortly.

Braves outfielder Nate McLouth however suffered what is being described as a strain of his hamstring in his rehab attempt and won’t come back this week.  It’s starting to look like mid-September at best for McLouth.

Jeremy Bonderman is set to rejoin the Tigers, but as part of the bullpen, not the rotation.

What has happened to BJ Upton?  He has to be one of the top five fantasy busts this season.  Is his shoulder still bothering him?  With the return of Akinori Iwamura, Upton may not be able to stay in the lineup everyday to try and breakout of his slump.

Andy Sonnanstine will take the place of Scott Kazmir in the Rays rotation, but the player to watch is Wade Davis who will make his first start in the doubleheader the Rays play against the Yankees next week.  If he pitches well, look for him to get more opportunities down the stretch.

Randy Johnson says he wants to pitch for the Giants again this season, if not in the rotation, than in the bullpen.  Could you imagine Johnson coming out of the bullpen as a situational lefty?

It’s starting to look more and more like Jake Peavy won’t make his debut for the White Sox until 2010.  First he took a line drive off his pitching elbow last week, than felt tightness in the same region.  With the Sox losing six of seven to the Red Sox and Yankees there may be very little reason to get him on the mound this season.

Remember back in March when we thought Boston had the best rotation in baseball?  Well that depth is being put to the test.  Daisuke Matsuzaka has been out of action for a couple of months now and was just roughed up in his latest rehab start.  Tim Wakefield needed a cortisone shot for his aching back.  Clay Buchholz has been up and down as a starter, one good start, one bad, and Brad Penny was released last week.  Paul Byrd was moved up to start last Sunday so he could be added to the post-season roster.  Who would’ve thought that there was a chance Byrd could start a game for Boston in the playoffs?

Tim Hudson will pitch for the Braves on Tuesday.

Chad Qualls suffered a dislocated knee cap on Sunday.  How long he will be out for is still unknown at this time.  The most obvious choice to pick up saves in his absence is Juan Gutierrez with Daniel Schlereth also being a possibility.

Alfonso Soriano also had a cortisone shot over the weekend and one has to think he is really close to being shut down for the year.

Here’s something to chew on this winter.  Boston traded for Billy Wagner and is in essence being given a one month try out the rest of this season.  If he passes the try out and proves he can close again, who’s to say Boston won’t trade Jonathan Papelbon over the winter and let Wagner close for a year or two until Daniel Bard is ready to take over the job full-time.