And for those who were wondering, there is currently no timeline for Oswalt’s return from his bulging d*ck problem.

Hat Tip – [Crossing Board]

I can see it already!  Philadelphia Phillies fans lining up at the concession stands inside Citizens Bank Park waiting to get their hands on a can of Four Loko with one of their team’s four aces featured on it.  And for those who are having trouble deciding which flavor to choose, why not go with the one donning an image of that night’s starting pitcher on the front?  Grape when Roy Oswalt starts, Fruit Punch for Cole Hamels, Watermelon on Cliff Lee’s days and Orange when Roy Halladay gets the nod.

Following their terrific pitching performances, both Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels have been garnering much of the attention around the Philadelphia Phillies dugout.  However, the Phils’ other ace, Roy Oswalt, wasn’t about to let one tough outing leave him out of the spotlight.

So if the cameras weren’t going to give him the attention he deserves, Oswalt figured he would simply have to take matters into his own hands.  And what better way to do so than by photobombing your pitching coach during a live interview?

The Astros were taking on the Pirates in Houston, a battle of two of the worst teams in baseball this year. Oswalt allowed a first-inning single to Pirates 2nd baseman Neil Walker. And that was it for the rest of the game — Oswalt did not allow another hit all game. He went the distance and needed only 117 pitches to dispose of the Bucs. Oswalt got his 6th win of the season and it broke a career-long, six-game home losing streak for him. He struck out eight and allowed only 2 walks for his first victory at Minute Maid Park since late April. He dropped his ERA to 3.08.

The White Sox are down a starter with the recent injury to Jake Peavy. Oswalt would be the perfect replacement for him and White Sox GM Kenny Williams loves to make big moves. Maybe that’s Oswalt’s next destination. Until then, he has The Stat Line of the Night for 7/8/10.

“The ones that have come out and admitted it, and are proven guilty, [their numbers] should not count. I’ve been cheated out of the game.”

He refers to the recent admission of Alex Rodriguez using PED’s during the 2001-2003 season with the Texas Rangers as “cheating”. He is not happy with the fact that these players may be costing him wins and in turn dollars because they are enhancing their God given ability with anabolic steroids. He says,

“I’m going out there with the ability God gave me. They have that ability, too, and they’re putting something on top of it.” [MLB.com]

This story ties in to the home run record that Barry Bonds set years ago, Oswalt feels in his heart that Henry Aaron is the home run king. The MLB is considering removing Bonds’ name from the title book. Oswalt said it best when he stated that there is a cloud over baseball players, both those that have used the PED’s as well as those that have not. There will be a “blanket of suspicion” over the players the from the modern era as well as the previous generation of ball players.

For this reason it is not right to strike these records from the game, there is no way to establish a time frame as to when anabolic steroids seeped into the game. Although I feel for guys like Oswalt who have put in the time and effort to naturally improve their ability, it is not 100% the fault of the players, the MLB should take accountability for their mistakes. Their inability to conduct proper testing has hurt the game to the ability it may never recover.

What is this world coming to we will never know.

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The Atlanta Journal Constitution Reports – The Braves had to pay high to get Lowe, but finally got an ace for their rebuilt rotation.

Free agent Derek Lowe agreed to terms on a four-year, $60 million contract with the Braves, a person familiar with negotiations said. The deal will be finalized after he takes a physical this week.

In terms of dollars and magnitude, it’s the biggest free-agent pitching acquisition for the Braves since Greg Maddux signed a five-year, $28 million contract with Atlanta after the 1992 season.

There is always risk in signing a 35-year-old pitcher to a four-year contract, but Lowe has been one of baseball’s most durable starters since moving from Boston’s bullpen to its rotation in 2002.

The sinkerballer averaged 15 wins, 208 innings and nearly 34 starts over the past seven seasons, and with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season he was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings.

In his final 10 starts, he was 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA. Since 2002, Lowe’s 106 wins tie him with Johan Santana for third-most in the majors behind Roy Oswalt (115) and Roy Halladay (113).