My new favorite GM, Neal Huntington of the Pirates, admitted that his big signing of Ian Snell was in fact a mistake. It happens, he took a risk on a kid with a pretty high upside and it’s pretty clear it’s not panning out. I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it Neal.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune is sick and tired of Big Z, and thinks the Cubs should put him on waivers. I probably disagree, but its really not that bad an idea, especially if they wait until after July 31, and trade him to a desperate team that missed out in the first trade deadline (assuming he wasn’t picked up off waivers). At this point, you start to wonder if the Cubs could do better if they can get rid of Zambrano’s salary and go after some big name free agents in the offseason like Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, John Lackey or Cliff Lee.

This is just an awesome article on guys who’s curveballs have already won them the equivalent of one game already. What was more interesting was the analysis on whether the more movement a curveball has, means the better it is (Basically, yes). It highlights Roy Halladay and Adam Wainwright as two guys with very different curveballs, though both are effective, and also that Brad Penny has one of the flattest breaking pitches in the majors (Whether you are a fantasy owner or Theo Epstein I say this: deal him now!)

It appears that Daisuke Matsuzaka refused to participate in the Red Sox shoulder conditioning program. Wrong move my man.

This is like the seventh article I have read since the beginning of the French Open questioning women grunting in tennis. I don’t really think this is a serious problem that warrants so much attention, so I’m guessing tennis writers are just running out of ideas (I know this story happened because a former player said something, but still).

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox are going to try and work out a deal with Jason Bay during the All-Star Break. Fat chance. Bay is going to finish this season in Boston in style and then is going to cash in. I’m not saying he won’t be back in Boston, I think he probably will, but he’s going to get some other good offers and then make bank to stay at Fenway.

I loved watching the Confederations Cup Final yesterday, where the US bravely fought against a skillful Brazilian squad before falling 3-2. What I liked the most was that being in the US, I found that most people I talked to seemed to know that the US was at least involved in something important in terms of soccer, which is a big step forward. I don’t know if many people realize what the Confederations Cup is or what it means (no, it’s not a world cup qualifier) but the enthusiasm is nonetheless appreciated.

Of course the downside to the US doing so well is that we’re going to have to put up with thousands of articles predicting the USA’s reign over world soccer in 2010. Let me tell you now, the United States will not win the World Cup in 2010. It’s just not gonna happen.

Also, the American commentators have really got to get their act together. All they raved about after the first goal was Dempsey’s “fantastic finish” etc. No. Spector had an absolutely lovely ball in, and if you fast forward to the 36 second-mark in the video below, you’ll see that Dempsey almost missed the ball completely in tapping it in. Sure he did his job, but give credit to the real man who did his job, Spector.

Also, a new podcast is up!

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In the first half, the US, who had less time off between matches than the Spanish, came out energized and focused on paying attention to all of Spain’s superstars. Fernando Torres, David Villa and Cesc Fabregas all looked out of ideas from the beginning, because of constant American pressure. After a slew of attacking creativity and positive passing, 19 year-old striker, Jozy Altidore, found himself one-on-one with the Spanish keeper. He coolly slotted it past the goalie, and the US found itself 1-0 up after just 27 minutes. Throughout the first half, the Americans were first to every ball, and the much overlooked American midfield were just stronger than their counterparts. The United States were actually a better team than the European Champions for the first 45 minutes. The second half was what astonished me, though…

At this point, I still felt a Spanish goal would open up the American defense and ultimately lead to a comfortable victory. I didn’t give them enough credit. Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit were flawless in their central-defense roles. In spite of this, the Spanish onslaught continued for 30 minutes. From the 50th minute on, the United States were parked in front of their own goal, dealing with every cross and through-ball as it came. It is always troubling when a team settles on a one-goal lead and parks up in front of goal, it always seems ominous that they are sealing their own fate to play for the final whistle, not for the extension of their lead. Then, in the 73rd minute, a Jonathan Spector throw-in saw a move develop wherein Landon Donovan found himself alone wide on the right, he settled for a slide back, when he easily could have shot, then after a mistake from right-back Sergio Ramos, Clint Dempsey fired it home. Going 2-0 up with 17 minutes left, was a little too much for Spain to overcome. Had the Americans not scored, would Spain have equalized? I believe so. But giving up a goal after implementing so much pressure, must have been hard to swallow.

Now the USA have sauntered into the Confederations Cup Final, with the second semi-final to be played tomorrow between Brazil and South Africa. Assuming Brazil dispatches the African host nation, the US will have a chance to avenge their 3-0 defeat to the mighty yellows in the group stage. America could pull it off. When it comes to momentum, they’ve got it all. I’ll be happy to see Spain playing in the embarassingly irrelevant 3rd place game; along with the rest of the world witnessing the United States defeating a team that no one in Europe could just last summer. The World Cup beckons…

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An Italian defeat to Brazil and a victory over Egypt would bring the Americans level on points, but as you can see from above, catching up on goal difference would be a different proposition altogether. The U.S. had to beat Egypt by three goals, then count on Brazil to do the same to the world champs. No easy feat. Well, as you know, the U.S.A beat Egypt 3-0 and Brazil dominated a lackluster Italy, winning 3-0, leading to the final table to look like this:As you can see the American’s scored one more goal than the Italians which is why they are now in the Semi-Finals. The Confederations Cup is not a very important Cup, however, it can be a measuring stick with which the United States can evaluate their squad. Needless to say, playing against Honduras and El Salvador doesn’t exactly give Bob Bradley, the U.S. Coach, an adequate challenge. As Bradley heads into his first major tournament one year from now, he needs all of the experience he can get, especially in a tournament which carries the exact same format as the World Cup will.

Therefore, don’t look at this astonishing comeback as a sign of things to come for, what some consider, a highly overrated American team (as they are ranked a generous 14th in the world). But consider it one more rung on the latter, towards America becoming a more established team in the world. The more performances like the one on Sunday, the more confidence this team will have in itself, thus relaying into more positive results.