Detroit Tigers Trade LHP Mike Maroth To The St.Louis Cardinals

By David
Kaye

Southpaw Mike Maroth has left the winning environment of Detroit to join the struggling St.Louis Cardinals who are 5 games under .500 in the lackluster NL Central.

The Cards are desperate for pitching as ace Chris Carpenter, lefty Mark Mulder and right-hander Braden Looper are all on the disabled list.

Two of their current starters, Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes are 3-19 with an E.R.A. over six through the first two and a half months of the season. Earlier this week they signed Tomo Okha who was 2-5 with a 5.79 earned run average with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Due to the return of veteran Kenny Rogers from a blood clot in his left shoulder, the Tigers had extra spots in their rotation. Maroth, who had been with Detroit for the past six seasons, said ''this is a team stacked with pitchers, which is a great situation to be in from an organizational standpoint.''

Even though Maroth is 5-2 this season with a 5.06 E.R.A., he'll provide much needed assistance to a poor pitching staff.

Former Marlins Manager Joe Girardi Rejects Orioles Offer

By David
Kaye

Former NL Manager of the Year and current YES analyst Joe Girardi has opted to stay in the broadcasting booth and not take the Orioles managerial position.

After being offered the job earlier this week, Girardi said ''I'm extremely excited the Baltimore Orioles called me. It's a great job, too, but not at this time''. New president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail had a strong relationship with Girardi during their time with the Cubs, and therefore it was expected for both men to begin to put the O's back on the map.

Baltimore is a proud organization that has experienced an abundance of success over the years, but in the past decade they have evolved into one of the laughing stocks of baseball. That partly has to do with owner Peter Angelos who has required complete control over the team and takes until the last second to make important decisions. Now, with the hire of MacPhail he will become the buffer between Angelos and the Orioles baseball guys(Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette).

Girardi has reiterated on countless occasions that he wants to return to the managerial ranks, but apparently this was not the quintessential scenario for him and his family. The former Cubs and Yankees catcher's dream jobs would be to manager either Chicago and New York, but there is no guarantee that those positions will be available in the coming years.

Currently, Dave Trembley is the interim manager and outfielder Jay Payton said '' I'm very happy with the guy we got.'' Still, the search for a permanent manager remains and names such as Dusty Baker, Jerry Manuel, Joey Cora and Don Baylor.