HELLO, GOODBYE (transactions)

Alberto Callaspo 2B/SS/3B LAA was traded to the Angels for Sean O'Sullivan and minor league pitcher Will Smith.  Callaspo will mainly work at the hot corner while Sullivan moves into the KC Rotation... J.A. Happ SP PHI has been recalled. He had been assigned to triple-A Lehigh Valley after a DL stint. Happ has been mentioned as a possible piece in a Roy Oswalt trade... Scott Sizemore 2B/3B DET was recalled and moves into the Tigers starting lineup.

EVERYBODY HURTS (injury news)

Brian Roberts 2B BAL was activated this week. Roberts only value is his speed and it is far from certain he will be allowed to run. He is also scheduled to have rest days, so moderate your expectations... Magglio Ordonez OF DET broke his ankle and will be out until at least early September. Ryan Raburn is the likely beneficiary and was scheduled to bat third in Sunday's game... Carlos Guillen 2B/OF DET forgotten in the Ordonez' news is that Guillen was placed on the DL with a leg injury....Matt Wieters C BAL returns Sunday and Craig Tatum was sent out... Ryan Doumit C PIT hit the DL with concussion symptoms. It's tricky to tell when he might return. Jason Jaramillo was recalled to make up the platoon, but this is a situation to avoid... Shin-Soo Choo OF CLE returned this week and picked up where he left off. Get him in there... Josh Beckett SP BOS returned Friday and pitched well through five before being lifted on a pitch count... Victor Martinez C BOS is said to be returning Monday. If you have a good alternative, it might be best to play cautiously for weekly transaction leagues... Jacoby Ellsbury OF BOS is to start a rehab assignment perhaps Monday and could be back for the weekend... David Eckstein 2B/SS SDG hits the Dl and Everth Cabrera will no longer be eased into the lineup.... Matt Treanor C TEX hits the DL and Texas seems to be going with taylor Teagarden to back  up Bengie Molina rather than max Ramirez.

LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD (playing time issues)

Ryan Hanigan C CIN moves out of the full time role with the return of Ramon Hernandez, but will probably draw plenty of playing time... Bill Hall 2B BOS made a couple of crucial errors in an eventual Boston victory against the Mariners but the following day Eric Patterson (playing out of position in center) made a crucial error to help ruin Jon Lester's perfect start in the 6th. For now, Jed Lowrie gets the PT at the pivot and Hall/McDonald/Patterson will fight for scraps... Ross Gload 1B PHI is winning some extra playing time though   a hot bat for Philadelphia. There's not a lot of work there, but it looks like he will squeeze Greg Dobbs already limited playing time... Chris Davis 1B/3B TEX the newly anointed starter has struggled mightily at the plate and Texas is aid to be actively pursuing a right hand platoon mate for Davis (Jorge Cantu is the name most mentioned)...

ELECTRIC YOUTH (rookie/prospect watch)

Jeremy Hellickson SP TAM the Hellickson express is still delayed. Manager Joe Maddon said this week that Hellickson was likely to join the team at some point, but as a reliever... Domonic Brown OF PHI has not been called up and has recovered from a tweaked hamstring. Brown would be the presumptive starter in the event of a Jayson Werth trade unless that brought an outfielder in return... Justin Smoak 1B SEA has not improved in his change of scenery. But the Mariners, who routinely start a lineup with only three hitters above .250 have little alternative but to continue to throw him out there... Pedro Alvarez 3B PIT has been ringing the bell early and often with a couple of two home run days. 

I'M ON FIRE (hot players)

Jack Cust OF OAK  has been a hot waiver pick with four home runs for the week to go along with a .444 BA..Starlin Castro SS CHC has adjusted and a has a .481 ark for the past week to show for it along with a pair of steals... Geovany Soto C CHC joins his teammate with a four home run week... C.J. Wilson SP TEX has owners smiling with a two win week and a 0.61/0.82 line to accompany them.. Vin Mazzaro SP OAK got pressed into service for the A's and responded with a two win week of his own and a none-too-shabby 1.98/1.02 (2.12 /1.12 for the past month)... Barry Enright SP ARI is another guy that might merit a look with another good start for the beleaguered Snakes, he's now got a pair of wins with a 2.66/1.14 line and 21K's in only 23.2 innings.. 

COLD AS ICE (cold players)

Ichiro Suzuki OF SEA isn't immune to Marineri-tis, batting .185 the past week and on a month-long .250 streak... David Wright 3B NYM will be taking a mental rest day after putting up a .179 week. Wright is now hitting .405/.474/.797 vs. left handers, .269/.345/.423 vs. right handers. It's a real problem and has gotten worse each year... Brandon Phillips 2B CIN has been warming the hearts of his owners for the past week...because they have been burning him in effigy for his  three fo 28 effort... Dan Haren SP ARI may be distracted with all the trade talk, or he might be in his second half mode, but he's gone more than a month without a W and a 4.41/1.47 despit striking out 32 in 32.2 innings... Ubaldo Jimenez SP COL is probably lobbying for a post-season All Star game to replace the mid-summer classic. 7.24/1.46 for the month and 10 runs in his last two starts for a total of only 7.1 innings.