At long last, Alex Rodriguez has hit home run #600, and we’ll finally get to stop having our television coverage cut to Yankees games every time he freakin’ comes up to bat. At least, for a couple weeks, until he gets to 608 and on the precipice of surpassing Sammy Sosa.

Which, of course, brings to mind the ultimate record he’ll need to beat, and the tool who holds it. It rankles that Barry Bonds is the owner of that record, what with his steroids and his general tool-ery.

But, you know, the guy who holds the second place record is still around, and only eight home runs out of first.

So, here’s my plan: someone signs Hank Aaron for this season and the rest of next season to give him the chance to get those eight homers. It would have to be an AL team–at age 76, Aaron isn’t going to have much range–and probably one that loses a lot anyway, so that the other team can get up early and then be willing to serve up BP to Aaron in the late innings.

I think this is a great plan. Not only does everyone feel great about the record and the equal opportunity extended to the elderly, but ESPN gets tons of stuff to break into their regular coverage for.

Kansas City Royals, let’s make this happen.

Boxscore

Brand new St. Louis Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook opened the series against the Houston Astros tonight and pitched good enough for the win. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, but fortunately for the Reds, the relievers didn’t get the memo.

Westbrook was good, allowing just 2 runs over 6 innings. He allowed 4 hits, but struck out 7. Once the game was turned over to the bullpen, the win Westbrook was in line for was stolen away.

Jason Motte pitched a scoreless 7th, but was taken out after he couldn’t get a batter out in the 8th. The 2 batters he did face both reached and later scored. Coming in to add gasoline to the fire were Mike MacDougal (1 run, 1 inning), Trever Miller (3 runs, 1/3 inning), and Blake Hawksworth (1 run, 2/3 inning).

Every Cardinals pitcher allowed runs, but only one of them pitched more innings than runs allowed. It was an ugly night for the bullpen, and the implosion knocked them out of first place, thanks to a Reds win. Cincinnati is now 1/2 game ahead, and at 13 games over .500, has the best record they’ve had since 1999.

Boxscore

RHM and I found ourselves vacationing in Toronto, Canada this week, birthplace of one Joey Votto, and decided to take in a Toronto Blue Jays game.

The Bue Jays on the field at Rogers Centre.

We had originally hoped to see former Red Austin Kearns in right field because the Blue Jays were finishing up a series against the Cleveland Indians. Unfortunatey, or fortunately if you’re Kearns, he was traded to the Yankees just before we arrived in Toronto.

Despite the trade, we were treated to a former Red in right. Dewayne Wise was patrolling right for Toronto. After a couple years with the White Sox, he’s having a solid year as a back-up for the Blue Jays.

Rogers Centre was nice for a donut-shaped stadium. The fully circular ones always make for a more convincing, uninterrupted wave. And one did break out. The food choices were outstanding, with everything from the regular ball park food such as popcorn, peanuts, and hot dogs, to some pretty sweet BBQ chicken nachos. The specialty nachos had fresh–not pickled–jalapeños!

The dugouts had no rails, with just steps leading to the bench. I’d hate to be running to catch a foul ball close to that. Ouch!

The beer selection on the concourse level was weak, with Budweiser providing the majority of beers on tap. Where was the Molson? Or LaBlatt? Or any of the craft breweries local to the area. Heck, Steam Whistle is kitty-corner to the stadium and wasn’t to be found. Overall, the beers sucked.

Vernon Wells had a solid game for the Jays, going 2 for 4. Above, he’s scoring the tying run in the bottom of the 3rd.

Unfortunately, when Wells came up later in the game, he missed out on a chance to turn his good day into a game-changing one. He had a bad swing and grounded out to third.

The what-was-left-of-the-Indians had some shaky relief, but weathered 2 solo shots from the Jays to hang on to a 5-4 win.

Rogers Centre was a nice place to catch the game, and just about the cleanest stadium I’ve ever watched a game at. Just make sure you order your tickets early and are ready for a day filled with American domestic beer.

MLB NETWORK TO AIR MORE THAN FIVE HOURS OF LIVE TRADE DEADLINE COVERAGE ON SATURDAY, JULY 31

Gammons, Hart, Heyman, Reynolds, Verducci & Others Part of Coverage Starting at 11:00 a.m. ET

MLB Network to Countdown the 40 Most Memorable Trades in MLB History at 6:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, N.J., July 28, 2010 – MLB Network will provide more than five hours of live coverage of the MLB Trade Deadline on Saturday, July 31 from 11:00 a.m. ET until 4:30 p.m. ET. Greg Amsinger, Matt Vasgersian, Peter Gammons, John Hart, Jon Heyman, Joe Magrane, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci will cover every move leading up to the 4:00 p.m. ET deadline. MLB.com senior writer Jonathan Mayo and MLB Network Insiders and sportswriters Phil Rogers, Richard Justice and Tracy Ringolsby will contribute analysis on-air throughout the day. Saturday’s coverage follows MLB Network’s hour-long Path to the Trade Deadline specials airing daily this week before MLB Tonight.

MLB Network will air MLB Network Countdown: The 40 Most Memorable Trades in MLB History, an hour-long show recapping the most influential trades that led to Hall of Fame careers, pennants, World Series titles and other significant franchise moments. Narrated by Vasgersian, the countdown includes: John Smoltz being traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Atlanta Braves in 1987, the New York Mets trading Hall of Famer Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds in 1977, the Texas Rangers trading Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano in 2004, Hall of Famer Nellie Fox’s trade to the Chicago White Sox from the Philadelphia Athletics in 1949, and the Cincinnati Reds trading Hall of Famer and pitching great Christy Mathewson to the New York Giants in 1900.

Saturday Night Baseball at 7:00 p.m. ET will feature the AL first-place New York Yankees at division rival Tampa Bay Rays, with select television markets seeing the Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox at 7:00 p.m. ET. Immediately following the game, MLB Tonight will return live for one hour, while MLB Network’s Hazel Mae will recap the day’s game action on Quick Pitch at 11:00 p.m. ET.

For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to:

• www.MLBNetwork.com
• www.Facebook.com/MLBNetwork
• www.Twitter.com/MLBNetwork

After months of speculation, Roy Oswalt has finally been traded.

The winners of the disgruntled player sweepstakes were the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies, not the Cardinals, as had been rumored. As an aside, I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad about that for reasons Amanda stated here. It kind of would’ve been nice seeing the Cardinals raid an already weak farm system for this year. It sure would have set up the Reds nicely for the next few years.

But back to the trade. The Houston Astros sent Roy Oswalt, who waived his no-trade clause, to the Phillies for lefthander J.A. Happ, shortstop Jonathan Villar, and Anthony Gose, who was flipped to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league first baseman Brett Wallace.

J. A. Happ was a runner-up in the rookie of the year voting last year, and looks to be a solid 3 or 4 starter in the Houston rotation. He’s no Oswalt, but he’ll be serviceable. According to the Crawfish Boxes, Jonathan Villar “has plus-plus speed coupled with a great arm. He has all of the tools to stick at shortstop and be a plus defender there, but needs to work on the skills aspect of his defense.” And Brett Wallace is one of the top first base prospects in the league. Which will be good for the NL Central, which is known for its shortage of awesome first basemen.

For the Reds, this trade means they will not face Roy Oswalt during the regular season again this year. The only way they would face him is if they made the playoffs. And with a first place lead 2 days shy of August, I’m feeling optimistic about the Reds’ chances.