Heath Phillips, the invisible man in the White Sox’s system, is making a run at his second consecutive Pitcher of the Year Award for Charlotte in the International League. He began the weekend 6-0 with a 2.24 ERA in his last nine starts. It would be criminal for the Sox not to look at the 25-year-old lefty in September. …
Jimmy Rollins, not Chase Utley, might be the Phillies’ best MVP candidate. The shortstop has dropped from leadoff to the No. 3 spot with Utley out, keeping the Phils alive in division and wild-card races. …
Astros general manager Tim Purpura, a product of Oak Lawn High School, is on the proverbial hot seat in Houston. He made a bad trade for Jason Jennings but has generally done a good job since taking over for Gerry Hunsicker, who did an excellent job. Brian Cashman wasn’t bluffing when he said the Yankees wouldn’t sign Alex Rodriguez if he reached free agency. Their chance to keep him is to sign him to an extension before free agency, which should make the week after the World Series very interesting. …
When the White Sox won the World Series, they had no players earning $10 million a season. Now that they are a second-division team, they have seven of those guys, or at least they will when Jermaine Dye’s new contract kicks in. …
When Johan Santana struck out 17 Rangers last Sunday, 108 of his 112 pitches were either fastballs or changeups. Only four were sliders. … Mike Lowell, who has been the Red Sox’s best hitter this season, hopes to re-sign but could be headed to free agency.
