MLB Minor Leagues

Ryne Sandberg, known affectionately as "Ryno" in Wrigleyville, played 15 seasons for the Chicago Cubs in his Hall of Fame career. He went to 10 All-Star games, won nine gold gloves and brought home an MVP. At present, Sandberg manages the Tennesse Smokies -- the Cubs' Double-A affiliate. He previously managed for the Cubs in Single-A as well, so it appears the Cubs are moving him along in hopes he could one day manage the big-league club.

Current Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose contract expires at the end of 2010 -- at which point he'll likely retire from managing -- believes Ryno will be considered for the 2011 job opening.

Two weeks ago New York Mets third baseman David Wright took a fastball to the head and hasn't played since. It's a scene that was not only scary for Wright, but for anybody who saw him fall to the ground in a heap afterward. It's just one of those instances that nobody wants to see happen in a baseball game, but is bound to from time to time. Just ask Scott Rolen, Marco Scutaro and Edgar Gonzalez.

So it's no surprise that baseball is always trying to further protect its players, and their latest step in doing so involves a new helmet made by Rawlings called the S100. Every team in the majors has been sent a few for players to try out for the rest of the season, and starting in 2010 the helmet will be mandatory in the minor leagues.

When the Cleveland Indians traded Cliff Lee to the Philadelphia Phillies before the deadline it was a tough pill for Indians fans to swallow. For the second straight season a team that was supposed to contend for a division title traded the ace of their rotation. The Tribe got four players in return for Lee from Philadelphia, but the key to the deal was 18-year old right-hander Jason Knapp.

Had Knapp not been included in the package, Lee would still be in Cleveland. Well, if Indians fans thought the trades of Lee and CC Sabathia were hard to accept, then they're definitely not going to be happy with the latest news. Knapp has a shoulder problem and will be undergoing an MRI.

On the surface, it would seem like an independent minor league baseball team in Nashua, N.H., that's run by former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette and managed by ex-Sox player Brian Daubach would be a pretty popular draw.

That initial impression would be wrong, though. Tuesday, the American Defenders of New Hampshire were locked out of their own stadium by the city's mayor for failing to pay rent along with police and fire bills. In order to ensure that the team wouldn't sneak into the park and try to play, Nashua mayor Donnalee Lozeau also ordered city workers to park a tractor on home plate. Seriously.

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Now that the hands are dealt -- expect for one or two more this month -- we can examine the pennant races to come.

There wasn't much point in assessing the races until after Friday's non-waiver trade deadline, when we know what we're dealing with. Some important pieces will change hands after they clear waivers this month, but they probably won't be difference-makers.

Before we get to the predictions, though, let's talk about one trade that didn't happen.

Why do kids get to have all the fun at ballparks? Cool hats, bobbleheads, even a trip around the bases. Where's the love for pregnant women, right?

Expectant mothers, the Brooklyn Cyclones are listening to you, even if your husbands aren't.

DELAND, Fla. – Three hours before game time and the rain outside has sent manager Davey Johnson back to his combination office/locker room/shower stall, where he gets swallowed up by one of those itchy, polyester-covered couches that is so broken down it makes you feel like you're sitting in a big bean bag.

Half the bleachers outside have been closed for repair, but that's no problem because fewer than 100 people will come to watch later that night, mostly parents, girlfriends, and a handful of retirees with nowhere else to be.

Johnson grins because he knows what you're thinking, as he sinks deeper into the piece of furniture that could be as old as he is.

This is a long way – a long, long way – from Dodger Stadium.

It's been quite the whirlwind season for Mat Latos, the top pitching prospect in the San Diego Padres' system. He began all the way down in low Single-A ball with the Fort Wayne Wizards -- three full levels from the major leagues. After dominating for 25 1/3 innings (3-0, 0.36 ERA, 27 strikeouts, 3 walks), he bypassed advanced Single-A and went straight to Double-A.

In San Antonio, things weren't much different for the 21-year-old right-hander, as he compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.91 ERA and 46 strikeouts to only nine walks. It now appears the spotless inning Latos threw in the Futures Game Sunday at Busch Stadium will be his last work before taking a major league mound. According to MLB.com, Latos could get the call this Sunday against Colorado.

ST. LOUIS – Casey Kelly pitched an inning for the U.S. team in Sunday's Futures Game, an All-Star showcase for baseball's top prospects.

And, just like that, he became a shortstop.

Kelly's unique arrangement with the Red Sox called for him to spend the first half of the minor-league season as a pitcher and then move to shortstop. Eventually, he will be one or the other, and there seems to be a slight difference of opinion between team and player.

"The determining factor is just going to be what I feel most comfortable with and whatever's going to get me to the big leagues the fastest," said Kelly, 19. "That's the main goal, is to get to the big leagues as quick and fast as possible, whatever position that might be.

The Modesto Nuts found a way to stop Jamie McOwen Friday night.

McOwen, an outfielder with the Seattle Mariners' Class A affiliate High Desert Mavericks, had his California League-record 45-game hitting streak snapped in the Mavericks' 2-0 defeat at Modesto. McOwen finished his two-month journey with the eighth-longest hit streak in minor league history.

The left-handed hitting McOwen went 0-for-3 with a walk against the Nuts, but it wasn't without drama.