Brewers GM Doug Melving might have been diplomatically non-committal when discussing Francisco Rodriguez’s role, but it’s clear to just about everyone that he will not be the team’s closer. He’s qualified, to be certain. Although his stuff has diminished a bit he still strikes out more than a batter per inning and for the second straight year is walking fewer batters than in the past. The Brewers, however, have two strong reasons to keep him in the setup role: the presence of John Axford, and the $17.5 million 2012 option that will vest if Rodriguez finishes 21 more games this season. But if something goes wrong with the former, it could lead to the latter.

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Handing out multi-year deals to relievers is a dicey proposition, but every year we see teams hand them out. This past offseason 10 teams handed out multi-year deals to 15 relief pitchers, totaling $160.5 million total and $54.7 million in 2011 salary. Yet to date they’ve produced just 3.9 WAR among them. Maybe WAR isn’t the best measure of relief pitchers, but the other stats don’t make the signings look much better. They have also combined for 162 shutdowns, but 71 meltdowns — or a meltdown every 6.5 games pitched. Here’s how they break down.

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Sometimes the idea comes to you just after the fact. Sometimes it’s so obvious that you can’t believe that it didn’t occur to you before you wrote the article. Almost immediately after pressing Publish on yesterday’s article on the Mariners putrid offense, a few friends and I started talking about the issue. That’s when one friend said it. Couldn’t Carlos Beltran help the Mariners in every conceivable way? Why, yes he could. While it’s unclear what the Mets seek for their right fielder, and it’s equally unclear what the Mariners are willing to spend, the two make a perfect match for a trade. Adding Beltran’s bat and glove could be the difference for the M’s in the AL West.

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Indians 5, Blue Jays 4

Moving the Needle: Travis Hafner walks off with a grand slam, +.807 WPA. I had this one all written up. It was bottom of the ninth, Indians down 4-0, and I wrote up some lousy Rajai Davis RBI single. Next thing I know there’s this long orange line on the scoreboard, and I’m busy hitting the delete key. The Indians got a single, double, and walk to start off the bottom of the ninth, chasing Frank Francisco from the game. Apparently John Farrell had seen that movie before, as most of us have, and got him out before he could completely blow the game. Luis Perez came in and got the first guy he faced, but then allowed a single to Asdrubal Cabrera before Hafner took him deep — way deep — for the game-ending grand slam. That was Hafner’s third hit of the night.

Notables

Carlos Villanueva: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K. He allowed an additional base runner via a hit by pitch, and threw a wild pitch — which just adds to the marvel that was his zero-run performance. That’s the fourth time in 36 career starts that he’s allowed zero runs in six or more innings, but the first time since 2007. He did it twice in 2006.

Jose Bautista: 1 for 4, 1 HR, 1 BB. Hey, it’s the old Joey Bats checklist.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, Mariners 1 | Braves 6, Rockies 3 | Red Sox 10, Orioles 4 | Marlins 5, Astros 0 | Twins 6, White Sox 2 | Dodgers 6, Mets 0 | Brewers 5, Reds 4 | Tigers 3, Royals 1 | Cubs 10, Nationals 9 | Rays 5, Yankees 1 | Diamondbacks 4, Cardinals 1 | Rangers 6, A’s 0 | Giants 2, Padres 1

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If the Mariners have gotten a lot of ink this season, it’s for good reason. After finishing with the worst record in the AL, and the second worst record in the majors, last season, they’ve surprised some people by hovering around .500 for most of the season. Since the AL West lacks a standout team, they’ve also hung around the division lead. As long as their pitching keeps rolling the way it has in the first half of the season they might never find themselves out of the race.

It’s pretty clear to anyone, even an NL fan who doesn’t delve much into the junior circuit, that the Mariners’ offense has held the club back. This has been the case for the past three seasons, during which the Mariners have been the worst hitting team in baseball to the tune of roughly four wins. But with their pitching staff they don’t even need a good offense to excel in the AL West. All they need is a mediocre one. The team with the best pitching in the league serves as an example.

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Reds 9, Cardinals 8

Moving the Needle: Jon Jay homers to tie the score at eight, +.443 WPA. This is easily the best WPA graph of the night, and it certainly indicates an enjoyable watch for those who enjoy slugfests. The Reds jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first before they recorded an out, which is why the chart dipped so precipitously. They then made it 8-0 in the fifth. In the sixth and seventh the Cardinals mounted their comeback, getting two in the sixth and then a huge five-run seventh. The tying run came in the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff shot by Jay. That sent the game deep into extra innings, and it ended only when the Ramon Hernandez doubled home a run in the 13th.

Notables

Jay Bruce: 2 for 5, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 BB. His homer in the first made it 5-0. It was his first hit since Saturday.

Daniel Descalso: 4 for 6, 1 2B. He was an unexpected contributor in this one, driving in two and scoring a pair himself.

Also in this issue: Tigers 5, Angels 4 | Braves 9, Rockies 1 | Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 3 | Marlins 7, Phillies 6 | Royals 4, White Sox 1 | Mets 5, Dodgers 3 | Indians 5, Yankees 3 | Brewers 3, Diamondbacks 1 | Rays 12, Twins 5 | Nationals 5, Cubs 4 | A’s 2, Mariners 0 | Astros 8, Pirates 2 | Rangers 13, Orioles 5 | Giants 6, Padres 5

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There is an East Coast bias in the standings this year, and it’s affecting the trade market. There are four teams in baseball with 50 or more wins, and they’re all from their respective East divisions. The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and Braves appear as dominant as their records indicate. Each either holds a division lead or a decent-sized edge in the Wild Card standings. That could complicate matters when it comes to meting out the buys and sellers later this month. If the Wild Card is unattainable, we could see fewer teams acting the part of contenders.

Another issue plays into the slow market this year: there are only 10 teams that are four or more games under .500, and only eight teams haven’t yet reached 40 wins. That doesn’t make all those close-to-.500 teams buyers, but it will certainly make them less reluctant to trade significant players.

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Rangers 4, Orioles 2

Moving the Needle: Josh Hamilton drives home one, and gets help bringing home another, +.403 WPA. Down 2-1 in the seventh, Hamilton came up with runners on the corners and two out. He smacked one into left to bring home the runner from third. The trail runner slid into third, but Mark Reynolds couldn’t hold onto Nolan Reimold’s throw, and it rolled all the way to the wall in foul territory beyond third. That allowed the second run to score, which gave the Rangers the go-ahead run.

Notables

Matt Wieters: 3 for 4, 1 HR. He and J.J. Hardy brought home the only Orioles runs with solo shots. Hardy’s led off the game.

Nelson Cruz: 2 for 4. His RBI put the Rangers on the board for the first time in the sixth.

Also in this issue: Angels 1, Tigers 0 | Braves 5, Rockies 3 | Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 2 | Phillies 14, Marlins 2 | Royals 5, White Sox 3 | Mets 6, Dodgers 0 | Yankees 9, Indians 2 | Diamondbacks 7, Brewers 3 | Twins 3, Rays 2 | Nationals 3, Cubs 2 | Mariners 4, A’s 2 | Pirates 5, Astros 1 | Cardinals 8, Reds 1 | Padres 5, Giants 3

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Even at this point in the season, just past the halfway mark and heading into the All-Star break, few teams want to admit that they’re sellers. But with a league-worst 29-57 record, the Astros are firmly sellers in this market. Of course, a team that has the worst record by 5.5 games probably doesn’t have a deep pool of talent from which to deal. Yet the Astros do have six offensive players with 1 WAR or greater, and a handful of pitchers who are either performing well, or who are talented but faltering. That could create a somewhat favorable situation come deadline time, even if it means assuring the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

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Indians 6, Yankees 3

Moving the Needle: Austin Kearns turns the game on its head with a three-run blast, +.527 WPA. The Indians and Yanks had been through a game like this before, where A.J. Burnett pitched well, but the Yankees couldn’t score. This time, however, they broke through first, going up 2-0 in the top of the seventh. Burnett came out for the bottom half and got two outs, but then the wheels fell off. Shelley Duncan singled home a run, and Kearns followed that with a huge homer, putting the Indians up 4-2.

Notables

Curtis Granderson: 1 for 3, 1 HR, 1 BB. His homer made it 4-3 in the eighth, but the Indians squelched that rally in the bottom half with a two-run homer.

Josh Tomlin: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K. The only three hits he allowed came in the seventh, but they were big ones.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, Tigers 1 | Braves 4, Rockies 1 | Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 7 | Phillies 1, Marlins 0 | White Sox 5, Royals 4 | Mets 5, Dodgers 2 | Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 6 | Twins 7, Rays 0 | Nationals 5, Cubs 4 | Mariners 2, A’s 1 | Pirates 5, Astros 3 | Rangers 13, Orioles 4 | Cardinals 1, Reds 0 | Padres 5, Giants 3

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