Carl Pavano is in the running to make a spot start for the Yankees this weekend, according to The New York Post.

The Yankees are considering both Pavano and Phil Hughes to take the role of fifth-starter.

Pavano threw six innings Sunday for Double-A Trenton, and general manager Brian Cashman admitted that "he's close to being ready."

He hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since April 2007, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. [READ]

White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin, among the candidates to win the AL MVP award, almost began the season in the minor leagues, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago wasn't sure if Quentin would even make the Opening Day roster.

"If Jerry Owens had stayed healthy, it would have been Owens in center field, Jermaine Dye in right field and [Nick] Swisher in left, and there would have been a battle for the fourth and fifth spots," Sox analyst Steve Stone said. "Brian Anderson probably would have been the fourth because he can play center field. But Quentin? Given that he's a young guy, they might have wanted him to get every-day at-bats [in the minor leagues]."

That's hard to imagine considering the 35 home runs and 96 RBIs Quentin has tallied thus far in 2008.


RealGM Note: Quentin is looking like the AL MVP with roughly one month left in the 2008 season. [READ]

Tampa Bay closer Troy Percival has decided not to have surgery and hopes to resume throwing off a mound in four or five days, according to The Associated Press.

Percival damaged cartilage in his right knee while fielding a bunt against Oakland on Thursday. He might have surgery after the season ends.

"Without it, it's very feasible it's two weeks," Percival said. "When I'm good to go, I'll be out there. I don't think it's going to get any worst, any better." [READ]

The Orioles are hopeful that outfielder Adam Jones will return to baseball activity by the end of the week as he returns from a fractured left foot, according to The Washington Post.

Jones is hitting .279 with 7 home runs and 59 RBIs in 108 games for Baltimore this season. [READ]

Catcher Paul Lo Duca has apologized multiple times for using human growth hormone earlier in his career, and claims that his success on the field has nothing to do with the drugs he took, according to The Palm Beach Post.

"It was something I did a long time ago that I wish I didn't do," he said. "I made a mistake. I owned up to that."

Lo Duca was an All-Star four times from 2003-2006, but is adamant that his talent and work ethic got him there.

"Don't tell me I can't play this game," said Lo Duca. "Don't tell me that was the reason I was good. I think a lot of people perceive that, so my job is to go out and prove them wrong." [READ]

At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effectively teams are performing. We combine the position players and pitchers' FIC scores to measure which teams have played the best so far in 2008.

In this edition we look at just the previous 20 games to gauge who is hot and cold in the MLB.

Click here for more information about the Field Impact Counter and the Reina Value.

*Through Monday’s games

Team: FIC Per Game Total (FIC Position Players/FIC Pitchers)

1. Chicago Cubs: 19.6 (9.0, 10.6)

Carlos Zambrano has a 5.15 ERA since the break, making the acquisition of Rich Harden and his 1.80 ERA since joining the Cubs all the more crucial to staving off the Brewers.

2. Boston Red Sox: 19.3 (9.1, 10.2)

Is Kevin Youkilis a legitimate MVP candidate? I think there are far superior candidates but MVPs play their best baseball down the stretch in pennant races and he is hitting .392/.456/.765 during the month of August.

3. Chicago White Sox: 18.5 (8.5, 10.1)

Javier Vazquez is the only White Sox starter with an ERA under 4.00 since the break.

4. New York Mets: 18.2 (8.3, 9.9)

Johan Santana has a 2.50 ERA since the break, but a very ordinary 6.08 K/9 rate.

5. New York Yankees: 17.8 (8.1, 9.7)

Jose Veras has been a pivotal part of the Yankees’ bullpen, posting a 2.72 ERA.

6. Tampa Bay Rays: 17.6 (6.6, 10.9)

Matt Garza has recovered from his disastrous April and has lowered his ERA to 3.63.

7. Philadelphia Phillies: 17.4 (7.6, 9.7)

Ryan Howard is hitting just .226/.308/.396 since the break.

8. St. Louis Cardinals: 17.3 (8.0, 9.3)

Journeyman Ryan Ludwick has 31 homers and a .993 OPS.

9. Los Angels Angels: 17.2 (6.7, 10.5)

The Angels are clearly lower than they deserve, but there are five other teams that have superior run differentials in 2008.

10. Minnesota Twins: 17.2 (7.6, 9.6)

Francisco Liriano has a 1.45 ERA since returning to the Twins to join Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn in a formidable rotation.

11. Baltimore Orioles: 17.0 (8.5, 8.5)

Melvin Mora has a 1.215 OPS since the break.

12. Texas Rangers: 17.0 (8.9, 8.1)

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is batting .316/.435/.395 since the All-Star break.

13. Milwaukee Brewers: 16.9 (6.6, 10.2)

Salomon Torres has added stability to the back end of the Brewers bullpen.

14. Toronto Blue Jays: 16.6 (6.3, 10.2)

Vernon Wells and Alex Rios each have an OPS under .800.

15. Detroit Tigers: 16.4 (8.0, 8.4)

The Tigers have a .776 OPS against righties and .818 against lefties.

16. Houston Astros: 15.8 (6.7, 9.2)

After a slow start, Roy Oswalt has a 3.27 ERA and 8.73 K/9 rate since the break.

17. Colorado Rockies: 15.4 (7.0, 8.4)

The Rockies have four regulars who have an OPS over 1.000 since the break including Seth Smith.

18. Atlanta Braves: 15.3 (6.6, 8.7)

Atlanta has only recorded three slaves since the break.

19. Los Angeles Dodgers: 15.2 (5.2, 10.1)

Chad Billingsley has a 9.31 K/9 rate this season.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks: 15.0 (5.2, 9.8)

Adam Dunn is slugging just .381 and is waiting to his his first homer in the D-Back shade of red, but the club is 4-2 since his arrival.

21. Cleveland Indians: 14.7 (6.2, 8.6)

Grady Sizemore is batting just .243 since the break.

22. Pittsburgh Pirates: 14.7 (6.5, 8.2)

Jeff Karstens has a 2.25 ERA but just a 3.54 K/9 rate.

23. Cincinnati Reds: 14.1 (5.4, 8.8)

Johnny Cueto, Josh Fogg, Homer Bailey and Aaron Harang each have ERAs over 5.00 since the break and Edinson Volquez’s ERA is at 4.24.

24. Florida Marlins: 13.8 (4.7, 9.1)

Dan Uggla had a .673 OPS in July and even lower .606 in August.

25. Seattle Mariners: 13.6 (5.7, 7.9)

Ichiro’s .747 OPS is currently the lowest of his eight-year MLB career.

26. Kansas City Royals: 13.0 (4.2, 8.9)

Joakim Soria has a 1.48 ERA, 9.55 K/9 rate and 33 saves.

27. San Francisco Giants: 12.8 (3.6, 9.2)

Jonathan Sanchez has crashed and burned after a promising start to the season, posting a 7.13 ERA since the break.

28. Oakland Athletics: 12.1 (2.9, 9.2)

Jack Cust has 22 homers for the season and a .990 OPS in August.

29. San Diego Padres: 11.5 (2.8, 8.7)

Adrian Gonzalez has a .972 OPS on the road and .745 at Petco Park.

30. Washington Nationals: 10.6 (2.7, 7.9)

Odalis Perez has a 2.84 ERA in August. [READ]

Carl Yastrzemski was hospitalized for tests Tuesday after experiencing what his spokesman called chest pains.

The spokesman, Dick Gordon, said Yastrzemski went to Massachusetts General Hospital in the morning.

"He had experienced some chest pains and he's in for testing," Gordon said.

When asked if it was serious, Gordon said: "Any time you are in the hospital, it's got to be pretty serious." [READ]

The Kansas City Royals have signed right-handed pitcher Kip Wells to a Major League contract for the remainder of the 2008 season. The Royals will make a corresponding 25-man roster move when Wells joins the club, which is expected later today.

Wells, 31, had spent the entire 2008 season with the Rockies organization, making the Opening Day start for Colorado before pitching out of the bullpen. He missed two and a half months after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot in his right hand before returning to the Rockies after four rehab stints in late July. He was 1-2 overall with a 5.27 ERA in 15 appearances, including two starts, but had a 1-1 record and a 3.32 ERA (21.2 IP, 18 H, 8 ER, 18 SO) in his 13 relief appearances. He posted a 2.45 ERA in 10 games (1 start) away from the mile-high air of Coors Field.

A 10-year veteran, Wells has compiled a 65-93 record and a 4.64 ERA in 246 career outings, including 205 starts, for the White Sox (1999-2001), Pirates (2002-06), Rangers (2006), Cardinals (2007) and Rockies (2008). His best season came in 2003 for Pittsburgh when he was 10-9 with a 3.28 ERA in 31 starts. [READ]

C.C. Sabathia improved to 8-0 with the Brewers on Monday night after pitching yet another complete game against the Astros, according to MLB.com.

Sabathia threw 130 pitches in his latest start.

"When you're out there, you don't really feel like you're tired or anything like that," Sabathia said. "I felt pretty good, and I was getting ground balls, so I had a feeling he was going to let me keep going."

C.C. is just the third pitcher in Major League history to switch teams mid-season and win his first eight starts. [READ]

Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler could be out for the season if he needs surgery to repair a sports hernia, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Kinsler will see a specialist as early as Tuesday and could have season-ending surgery this week.

The Rangers placed him on the disabled list, and he admitted that he has prepared himself mentally for "season-ending" surgery.

"There is a lot of stuff I still wanted to accomplish," Kinsler said. "You prepare to play the whole season, and when it's cut short, well, it's not what you expect to have happen at all. I'm having a great season. I wanted to steal the MVP from [Josh] Hamilton. I guess I'll just have to do it again next year." [READ]

The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday night that the team had completed a deal with the Padres for veteran right-hander Greg Maddux. Citing an anonymous person close to the deal, the newspaper did not know who San Diego would receive in return.

Maddux has a 3.99 ERA this season but is only 6-9 for a Padres team that has languished in last place in the weak NL West. [READ]

The Marlins aren't likely to offer second baseman Dan Uggla a long-term deal after his poor second-half, according to The Miami Herald.

Florida could offer Uggla up to teams this winter, especially with prospect Chris Coghlan hitting well (.302 with 65 RBIs) in Double-A.

RealGM Note: Uggla is currently 232nd in season FIC and 'deserves' to be making $4 million, giving him a Reina Value of +859%. [READ]

Tropical Storm Fay, which was expected to continue gaining momentum on Monday afternoon, could reach hurricane force when it reaches Florida's Golf Coast on Tuesday, according to The Associated.

"We're in communication with the Angels," Rays' President Matt Silverman said on Sunday. "We hope to get at least two games in this week."

The Rays and Angels were scheduled to begin a three-game series in Tampa Bay on Monday night. [READ]

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling hinted about retirement in a recent blog post on his website, according to ESPN.com.

"My first thoughts a few weeks ago were that maybe I'd work to get healthy and shoot to try and make the WBC team, but I just don't think that's in the cards," Schilling wrote. "Next I started thinking about the original plan of pitching the second half of next season."

Schilling claims that his right biceps tendon and labrum, which were operated on in June, are getting better, though.

"Thing is, that urgency just is not there," he continued. "I miss some things I didn't think I would and don't miss many things I expected too.

"As I stated yesterday [Thursday] the pendulum is swinging very heavily in the direction of it just being over. I've never sat around and not gotten ready to head to Florida, well not in 23 or so years anyway, so to me that will likely be the last real test for me and whether or not I want to put the time and effort into getting after it one more time." [READ]

At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effective players are performing and then use the Reina Value to evaluate their financial worth.

The player with the highest FIC for the season, therefore, ‘deserves’ the highest salary, which is Alex Rodriguez’s $28 million contract for 2008. Because Ben Sheets is currently the leader, he ‘deserves’ $28 million, and since he is ‘actually’ making $12.125 million, the difference is 131%, and that becomes his Reina Value.

Click here for more information about the Field Impact Counter and the Reina Value.

*Through Sunday's games

Player, Team: FIC (Reina Value)

1. Albert Pujols, STL: 269 (+102%)

After Spring Training injury concerns, Pujols leads the MLB in OPS with a 1.076 mark and is on pace to win his second MVP.

2. Lance Berkman, HOU: 251 (+62%)

Berkman has finally cracked out of his homerun drought with three in his past eight games.

3. CC Sabathia, MIL: 246 (+96%)

Sabathia has yielded 11 earned runs in 64 innings with the Brewers while striking out 60.

4. Roy Halladay, TOR: 236 (+89%)

Halladay pitched another complete game on Saturday in Toronto’s 4-1 victory over Boston.

5. Brandon Webb, ARI: 232 (+239%)

Webb became the first pitcher to win 18 games this season.

6. Carlos Quentin, CWS: 229 (+4,176%)

The AL MVP frontrunner was acquired in exchange for Chris Carter, who has a .945 OPS in Class A ball for the A’s system (Arizona flipped him in the Dan Haren trade and eventually looked for power in the form of Adam Dunn).

7. Cliff Lee, CLE: 229 (+325%)

Lee has only fanned nine batters in 24 August innings, but he’s posting a 1.50 ERA.

8. Matt Holliday, COL: 223 (+75%)

If the Rockies do trade Holliday this winter, the acquiring team must take note of his .799 career road OPS, which compares poorly to his 1.092 mark at Coors Field. Even during his runner-up MVP season a year ago his road mark was just .860.

9. Tim Lincecum, SFG: 221 (+3,974%)

Lincecum leads the MLB in strikeouts with 192 and has exactly 96 against both lefties and righties.

10. Ian Kisler, TEX: 217 (+2,186%)

Kinsler’s .892 OPS is a huge improvement over the .796 he posted last season with the huge gain being made in his slugging percentage.

11. Josh Hamilton, TEX: 216 (+3,932%)

Hamilton is slugging .658 at home and .454 on the road.

12. Cole Hamels, PHI: 213 (+3,100%)

Hamels got his first win since July 3rd on Sunday despite a month and a half of throwing well.

13. Carlos Lee, HOU: 209 (+28%)

The Astros are 6-2 since losing Carlos Lee for the season.

14. David Wright, NYM: 207 (+204%)

Wright has an 11-game hitting streak.

15. Chase Utley, PHI: 206 (+103%)

Utley has hit just five of his 30 homers since the break.

16. Nate McLouth, PIT: 206 (+3,597%)

McLouth is slugging just .352 in August as he continues to have inconsistent power numbers.

17. Johan Santana, NYM: 206 (-8%)

The Mets are 15-11 in Santana’s starts, and he is striking out two fewer batters per nine innings than he did last season.

18. Francisco Rodriguez, LAA: 205 (+55%)

Rodriguez has two blown saves in five chances during the month of August.

19. Dan Haren, ARI: 205 (+283%)

Haren has a 5.40 ERA over his past two starts.

20. Ervin Santana, LAA: 204 (+3,590%)

Santana had a 5.76 ERA in 2007, and thus his 3.49 mark represents a 2.27 improvement.

21. Justin Morneau, MIN: 201 (+81%)

The Twins are just 11-8 when Morneau homers this season.

22. Ryan Dempster, CHC: 201 (+106%)

Dempster has a 3.09 in 11.2 innings in August.

23. Mark Teixeira, LAA: 201 (+20%)

The Angels are 11-6 since acquiring Teixeria, and he has a 1.157 OPS in August.

24. Aubrey Huff, BAL: 199 (+85%)

Huff’s OPS (.917) is 138 points higher than it was last season.

25. Ben Sheets, MIL: 197 (+21%)

For the first time since 2004, Sheets should make at least 30 starts. [READ]

Although his health has not been a problem, Luis Ayala has dealt with personal issues. He mentioned a divorce, and was shot in his left arm while hunting during the offseason.

"I feel healthy all year," Ayala said. "When you don't have the . . . focus on your job, it's not like an excuse, but if you don't feel comfortable, something happens to you where you can't do your job." [READ]

The Dodgers are known to have interest in San Diego's Greg Maddux.

The Dodgers don't need a fifth starter until Saturday at Philadelphia, and for now, mMnager Joe Torre plans to use either left-hander Eric Stults or right-hander Jason Johnson for that game. [READ]

Buster Posey, the fifth overall pick in this June's draft by the Giants, can't wait to make a splash in the Major Leagues, according to The Albany Herald.

"It’s been a long summer," Posey said during his introductory press conference. "Obviously being 21-years old, this is the first of this type of experience for me. It was different. I’m extremely excited to be a Giant and I can’t wait to get started."

His contract includes a $6.2 million signing bonus, making it the largest signing bonus in MLB Draft history. [READ]

The White Sox could promote last year's first-round pick, Aaron Poreda, from Double-A Birmingham to pitch Tuesday against the Mariners, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Manager Ozzie Guillen said Chicago would wait until after Monday night's game to name a starter.

Poreda has a combined 3.38 ERA with 102 strikeouts and 37 walks in 144 innings at Class A Winston-Salem and at Birmingham. [READ]

Yankees manager Joe Girardi admitted on Sunday that Hideki Matsui is on track to return to the club on Tuesday in their series-opener against the Blue Jays, according to The New York Post.

Matsui was placed on the disabled list on June 27 with inflammation in his left knee.

"It's a possibility," said Girardi of Matsui being activated for Tuesday's game. "So far the knee has been good so he'll be evaluated [Monday] and we'll make a decision."

Matsui will likely DH for the remainder of the season upon his return to the Yankees. [READ]