Chamberlain will begin to serve his suspension tonight, when the Yankees host the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Seattle Mariners announced their planned list of September call-ups today...

I haven't done a detailed analysis of this trend, but it seems to me that teams this year have been very streaky. Either they're very hot or very cold. Take for example the current set of winning and losing streaks throughout Major League Baseball...

First the winners...

Cleveland Indians - Won 6 in a row

Texas Rangers - Won 5 in a row

Philadelphia Phillies - Won 5 in a row

Los Angeles Angels - Won 4 in a row

Los Angeles Dodgers - Won 4 in a row

New York Yankees - Won 3 in a row

Tampa Bay Devil Rays - Won 3 in a row

And now the losers...

Boston Red Sox - Lost 3 in a row

Minnesota Twins - Lost 3 in a row

Chicago White Sox - Lost 3 in a row

New York Mets - Lost 5 in a row

Washington Nationals - Lost 6 in a row

Seattle Mariners - Lost 6 in a row

Baltimore Orioles - Lost 9 in a row

What's interesting is that many of these teams are in the thick of the pennant race. Tomorrow is September 1st. It will be interesting to see who separates themself from the pack.

September 1st is Saturday, and things are heating up everywhere...

- The Phillies have taken 3 straight from the Mets, cutting New York's National League East lead down to 3.

- The Red Sox have dropped 2 in a row to the Yankees. Boston leads New York by 6.

- Ben Sheets came off the DL today for the Brewers and promptly led Milwaukee to a 6-1 victory over the Cubs

- Out west, the Angels completed a sweep of the Mariners, putting some distance between the first and second place clubs

- Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels announced today the club has activated INF/OF Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the 15-day disabled list and has placed INF Travis Metcalf on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain

- The Oakland A’s today announced that right-handed pitcher Esteban Loaiza has been claimed on waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  To take his spot on the roster, the A’s have selected right-handed pitcher Colby Lewis from Triple-A Sacramento. I don't really get the Dodgers thinking on this one. Talk about bailing the A's out of a contract.

According to FoxSports.com, the Houston Astros have fired manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. More details as they become available.

Update

Cecil Cooper will take over as the interim manager of the club while Tal Smith will assume the title of interim general manager.

The rosters have been announced for the 2007 Arizona Fall League. Among the noteworthy names participating this October include:

Outfielders Trevor Crowe (Indians), Chris Lubanski (Royals), John Mayberry (Rangers), Cameron Maybin (Tigers), Colby Rasmus (Cardinals), Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), Gregory Golson (Phillies) and Travis Snider (Blue Jays); infielders Evan Longoria (Devil Rays), Blake Dewitt (Dodgers), Cliff Pennington (As) and Trevor Plouffe (Twins); catcher Jeff Clement (Mariners); and pitchers David Huff (Indians), Greg Miller (Dodgers), Max Scherzer (Diamondbacks) and Joe Savery, Philadelphia's top pick this past June out of Rice.

Complete rosters can be found here: Arizona Fall League

Due to some last minute commitments, Doug Melvin and Duane Kuiper were unable to join us this week. Don't worry though. We'll get them rescheduled. And we're already hard at work on next week's lineup! In the mean time, don't forget to check out our archives by clicking the button below:

The Chicago Cubs today acquired outfielder Craig Monroe and a cash consideration from the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named.

Monroe is expected to join the Cubs tomorrow night when the club begins a three-game set in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound native of Texarkana, TX was batting .222 (76-for-343) with 19 doubles, 11 homers and 55 RBI in 99 games for Detroit this season before being designated for assignment on August 17.