Key injuries impact playoff races

9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K, 1 BB

Karstens, in his second appearance with the Bucs, had a perfect game until Chris Young doubled with two outs in the eighth.

"Maybe 'Chief' has to go and grab somebody from his neck and throw him into the wall and something's going to change. I'm very close to doing that, so write that down."

-- Seattle pitcher Carlos "Chief" Silva, on the moribund Mariners

It's not a great week for playoff-possible showdowns. I kind of like Cardinals-Marlins (Tuesday-Thursday, in Miami) for its pennant race implications. Those two teams have hung around all year. They're just trying to do it for six more weeks or so, hoping that a hot streak puts them over the top. The Yankees travel to Minnesota early in the week in an important series for the Joba-less New Yorkers, who are coming off a sweep by the Angels. Still, I'm gonna put all my viewing loyalties into the Brewers at Dodgers next weekend (Friday-Sunday). There'll be a good bit of desperation in that one, as well. The Brewers are good (having won five in a row), but they can't make up any ground on the Cubs. And the Dodgers, now 1 1/2 games behind Arizona ... well, they need to do something. And now.

• Despite their win over Oakland on Sunday, I'm ready to call a time of death on the Tigers. I realize a lot of others put the toe tag on them weeks ago. And, yeah, they have looked relatively lifeless all season long. I guess what finally convinced me was Tuesday's game, when they blew a 6-1 lead over the White Sox, scored two in the 14th inning to take the lead, then lost it in the bottom of the inning. You just can't do that. Detroit was three games over .500 the day before the trade deadline. Now they're a game under, and 7 1/2 out of first place in the AL Central. They're just not good enough to catch either the White Sox or the Twins.

• And speaking of Oakland ... Billy Beane was right. The A's (3-19 since the All-Star break), or what's left of them, aren't good enough. Not nearly good enough.

• Pitcher Brett Myers and manager Charlie Manuel argued Saturday in the Phillies' dugout after the skipper yanked Myers from the game in a tight spot in the eighth inning. The spat didn't descend into the Prince Fielder realm, or even C.J. Wilson territory (see below). But it was fun in its own harmless way, a snapshot of two guys wanting to win and stating their arguments. And Manuel was right.

• OK, onto Fielder. His dugout shove of Brewers pitcher Manny Parra last week was inexcusable. One of the lamest, weakest, no-account excuses I hear in these altercations is the "heat of the moment" defense. You know it. "Fielder is a competitor. He wants to win. He's passionate. You want guys like that on your team, right?" Well ... no. I don't. I want passionate guys WHO ARE UNDER CONTROL. (Sorry for getting all wanky there with the caps key. I'm passionate about this.) The heat of the moment thing is a lame argument because you're saying, in effect, that any player who doesn't take a swipe at a teammate or lose it once in a while just doesn't care as much. I mean, really, it's a slap in the face -- no pun intended -- to all the players who keep those emotions under wraps, or at least out of the public eye. I now wonder how Fielder will react in the heat of a pennant race, or in a tough spot in a game. And his teammates have to be a little leery, too.

• Finally, on the subject of smackdowns, is the one that Texas manager Ron Washington put on Wilson last week. After Wilson stunk up the joint, giving up a grand slam to -- of all people -- Richie Sexson, Washington came to pull his erstwhile closer. Wilson, clearly disgusted, flipped the ball to his skipper and began to leave the mound. This is, under widely accepted baseball etiquette, akin to flipping off your manager on the JumboTron. It's very bad form. Washington, to his everlasting credit, snagged Wilson by the arm, pulled him back up on the mound, gave him the ball and told him to hand it back to him. He did. Here's the video. This is the coolest part: After Wilson finally got it right, Washington patted him on the butt on the way out. Classic. Wilson was put on the DL the next day, probably never to close for the Rangers again. And everyone learned a lesson.