The players to watch and what to watch for this weekend:
Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees (7/3-7/6)
The series started on Thursday and second baseman Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 11 games in the first inning then later scored the first run of the Red Sox 7-0 rout of the Yankees. Pedroia caught fire in Philadelphia in the middle of June and in those 15 games since then, he is hitting .523 with 16 runs scored in 15 games. Pedroia has 13 games of three hits or more -- tied with Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon for the league lead -- this season. His hot streak has brought his season average up to .309 with nine homers, 39 RBI and 57 steals and might mean an All-Star nod whether the power of Red Sox Nation keeps him ahead of Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler in the voting or not. Sure, Josh Beckett, Mike Mussina and Joba Chamberlain take the hill this weekend and A-Rod is a hot topic on and off the field but Pedroia's recent explosion is something to watch for in this battle for second place in the AL East.
Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets (7/4-7/7)
In nine seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Pat Burrell has been called a lot of things but never All-Star. While the votes aren't there, Burrell is having a big contract year in the shadow of Chase Utley. This season, Burrell is on pace to have career highs in doubles, home runs, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Late in close games, Burrell is 14-for-44 with five home runs, 15 RBI, 16 walks and a 1.304 OPS. Against the Mets especially, Pat the Bat loves to go yard. He has more home runs (41) against the Mets than any other team (the next closest is the Marlins with 24). There is no love lost between Burrell and former teammate and current Mets closer Billy Wagner who said that Burrell called him a "rat" during a team meeting while with the team. In his career, Burrell homered twice in 16 at bats against Wagner and is responsible for two of Wagner's blown saves. The way this season is going, a Burrell-Wagner match-up this series could end with the fireworks Philadelphia will be looking for this weekend since the Phillies moved their usual Fourth of July fireworks display to next Wednesday and Friday against the Cardinals and Diamondbacks.
Xavier Nady, Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers (7/4-7/6)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are the owners of three outfielders with possible All-Star credentials -- Xavier Nady, Jason Bay and Nate McLouth. Of the three, Nady owns the highest batting average and slugging percentage heading into their weekend series with the Brewers. Against Milwaukee this season, Nady is 6-for-11 with two homers and in his career, Nady is 9-for-17 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI against Milwaukee's ace Ben Sheets. Someone from the Pirates has to go to the All-Star game, Nady's recent six game hitting streak could be enough to put him ahead of Bay and McLouth for that spot. With the team just four games under .500, the Pirates need Nady, Bay and McLouth to continue performing like they have all season. If they do, Pittsburgh has a shot at finishing above .500 for the first time since 1992.
Nomar Garciaparra, Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants (7/4-7/6)
When is the last time Nomar Garciaparra played shortstop? Answer: August 21, 2005. On Friday, Garciaparra returns to the Dodgers from the DL and into the only position he played from his second game in the Majors in 1996 until that date when he "temporarily" moved to third base as a Cub to fill in due to an injury. Maybe Garciaparra can stay healthy this time around -- he has only played nine games this season -- and the Dodgers need that with four position players including shortstop Rafael Furcal still on the DL. The last two seasons with the Dodgers, Garciaparra has put up decent numbers but in his limited playing time this season, Nomar is 7-for-31 with one homer and five RBI. Outfielder Andruw Jones also returns on Friday and the two will try to jump start the Dodgers who are fortunate enough to be in the worst division in baseball and just one and a half games out of first place despite being three games below .500.
Emil Brown, Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox (7/3-7/6)
One name that will not be thrown around during the All-Star selection show on Sunday is Athletics outfielder Emil Brown. Too bad Brown does not play against the White Sox every day or else he might be All-Star material. This season, Brown went 3-for-7 in their first two games against the Sox and has a .301 average with six homers (the most he has against any Major League team) and 20 RBI in 166 at-bats against Chicago. He is also a perfect 11-for-11 on steal attempts against the White Sox. Brown was not in the lineup against the White Sox on Thursday but should be against them on Friday with Mark Buehrle on the hill. Against Buehrle, Brown is 16-for-36 with three home runs and nine RBI and has hit safely in 12 of 13 games against him. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Brown was born and raised in Chicago.
Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs at Saint Louis Cardinals (Friday 7/4)
The Cubs have not been the same team recently dropping six of their last eight. Now, they face a weekend series against their division rivals holding on to a two and a half game lead over the Cardinals. On Friday, they begin their quest to keep their shrinking lead from getting smaller with the return of their ace Carlos Zambrano who has owned the Cardinals in recent history. Since 2005, Zambrano is 7-0 with a sub-2.00 ERA in 10 starts against the Cardinals and the Cubs are 9-1 in those starts. It looked like Zambrano was headed to an All-Star roster spot before he suffered an injury on June 18. Now, Zambrano tries to improve on his 8-3 record and 3.13 ERA and keep the Cubs two steps ahead of the Cardinals and possibly pitching his way back into All-Star contention. Zambrano faces Braden Looper who is 2-1 in four starts against the Cubs.
Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Saturday 7/5)
Even if he was not on the worst team in the AL East, Roy Halladay would be an All-Star contender this season. He is 9-6 with a 2.90 ERA, leads the Majors in complete games with six and is coming off his first shutout of the season over the Mariners. Halladay faces John Lackey who is 6-1 with a 1.44 ERA in nine starts. The two pitchers faced each other once in 2006 but neither were around when the game was decided. The Jays have already dropped four of six to the Angels and Halladay will be trying to keep his team from dropping their first season series to the Angels since 2002 -- the year the Angels won the World Series. Over the past two seasons, Halladay and Lackey are an impressive 50-23 combined and both have played their entire career with the same clubs. The Angels are one of the few teams Halladay has not done particularly well against. He is 5-5 with a 4.80 ERA in 13 starts against the AL West leaders. In 239 career starts, Halladay has given up 11 or more hits 15 times with three of those games coming against the Angels.
Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins (Sunday 7/6)
On Sunday at 2 PM, the All-Star teams will be announced on TBS. It will be shocking if Cliff Lee does not occupy one of those spots on the American League roster. With an 11-1 record and a 2.26 ERA, Lee could find out he was named the starter for the American League team by the time he takes the mound in the bottom of the first inning of their game on Sunday against the Twins scheduled to start at 2:10. Compare Lee's 11-1 record with the rest of the Indians pitching staff who are 26-47 -- 21 games below .500! In the his four no decision, Lee left the game tied or with the lead only to see his team blow the lead and lose three of four of those games with all three losses coming in extra innings. A case could be made that Lee is actually better than his 11-1 record indicates. Lee already pitched a gem against the Twins earlier this season. On April 18, the Indians beat the Twins 4-0 behind eight innings of two-hit ball from Lee.
Georger Sherrill, Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers (7/4-7/6)
Somehow the Orioles are two games above .500 going into their weekend series against the most potent offense in baseball. The Orioles have mustered up 43 wins so far this season and George Sherrill has won or saved 29 of them. Second in saves behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels, Sherrill has stepped up for the Orioles in a big way since joining the team in 2008 after playing with the Mariners last season. Unfortunately, Sherrill has blown two of his last three save opportunities including last Sunday against the Nationals which led to their 12th consecutive Sunday loss and prompted the club to create a unique fan promotion this Sunday called "We Win, You Win." If the Orioles beat the Rangers on Sunday, every fan in attendance wins a free ticket to a future Orioles game. It is likely that Sherrill will be involved should the Orioles be in position for a win on Sunday. Not only will his 24 teammates be counting on him, the tens of thousands of Orioles fans that turn out will be counting on Sherrill with a little more invested in the outcome than normal. The good news for Sherrill is the Rangers are 1-37 when behind at the start of the ninth inning.
After making the final out of Thursday's loss to the Phillies, Jeff Francoeur was sent down to Double-A Mississippi. According to Bill Shanks of TheBravesShow.com, the Atlanta Braves sent down Francoeur to the Minors following Thursday's game. Shanks, host of The Braves Show on 680 the Fan in Atlanta and The Bill Shanks Show on 105.5 the Fan in Macon, reported the story on