By C. Trent Rosecrans

Cardinals infielder Ryan Theriot is serving one-game suspension today for St. Louis' game against the Mets.

Theriot was offered a reduction of his two-game suspension for bumping an ump to one game if he served it today. He agreed, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Theriot was pencilled into the lineup at shortstop and batting leadoff, but manager Tony La Russa shuffled his lineup, putting Daniel Descalso at short and moving second baseman Nick Punto to the leadoff spot.

On Sunday, Theriot made contact with second base umpire Mike Muchlinski during an argument and was ejected.

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By Matt Snyder

Cardinals shortstop Ryan Theriot has been suspended for two games by Major League Baseball for his "inappropriate actions," which include bumping umpire Mike Muchlinski. The incident happened in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Reds in Cincinnati Sunday, when Theriot failed to touch second base on a force play. He believed he did touch it and went off on umpire Muchlinski, though some replays appeared to show he did miss the bag.

Theriot's suspension was scheduled to begin Tuesday night, but he intends to appeal (St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Twitter), so it will be held in abeyance until the appeal is heard.

Theriot, 31, is hitting .282/.330/.344 in 83 games for the Cardinals this season.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

There was no shootout in Tampa Bay, but maybe it would have been better than 16 innings -- but Dustin Pedroia finally ended the marathon in Florida with a 16th-inning single to drive in the game's only run. More on that later...

Daniel Hudson, Diamondbacks: Not only did Daniel Hudson allow just one run and five hits in his second career complete game, he also homered and knocked in two more with a two-out single in the seventh inning. Hudson clubbed his first career homer in the sixth inning off of the Dodgers' Ted Lilly and is now hitting .383/.396/.511. Hudson improved to 10-5 on the season and has won his last seven decisions.

Emmanuel Burriss, Giants: Burris didn't get into Sunday's game until the ninth inning when he replaced San Francisco catcher Eli Whiteside in the top of the ninth inning against San Diego closer Heath Bell. He did exactly what Bruce Bochy had hoped -- stealing second. After moving to third on a sacrifice bunt, neither Andres Torres nor Pablo Sandoval could get him. No worries, Burriss singled off of Chad Qualls with one out in the 11th and then he stole second on a pitchout, with Kyle Phillips' throw going into center field, allowing him to move to third. He scored the winning run on Chris Stewart's perfect squeeze bunt. 

Josh Beckett, Red Sox and Jeff Niemann, Rays: These two again showed how silly the win statistic is are judging a pitching performance -- are you going to say neither pitched well just because they didn't get the win? In the Sunday night game, we saw two excellent pitchers at their best. Both went eight innings, neither factored in the decision. Beckett allowed just a first-inning infield single to Evan Longoria that deflected off of Beckett, while Niemann allowed a single in the first and another in the fourth. Neither allowed a run. Beckett didn't walk a batter and struck out six. Niemann walked two and struck out 10. It wasn't just Beckett and Niemann, though -- five more Red Sox pitchers and seven Rays combined throw up 15 more zeroes on the board, with Adam Russel allowing the only run of the night on two hits and a walk in the top of the 16th.

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Ryan Theriot, Cardinals: It's one thing to get mad about a bad call and argue with the umpires and even bump them, but it's another to do it when the umpire makes the right call, as Mike Muchlinski did when Theriot failed to touch second on a force play at second in the sixth inning. (After the game, Theriot stood his ground, saying he had position -- but hedged noting that even if he hadn't, he'd gotten that call before.) The play let Zack Cozart stay on second and he later came around to score the Reds' first run of the game, tying the game at 1. Theriot bumped Muchlinski before he was tossed and then tried to pull away first base umpire Chris Guccione who got between the two. Theriot can expect a suspension.

Joel Pineiro, Angels: Or maybe this should go Kurt Suzuki who was the only one of 10 Athletics batters to go to the plate against Pineiro and record an out, The Angels' starter walked the bases loaded to start the game before giving up a two-run single to Hideki Matsui. After another walk and an error, Conor Jackson hit a grand slam. After leadoff man Jemile Weeks hit a run-scoring single to make it 8-0, Piniero was given the hook. In all, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on four hits and four walks. His ERA went from 3.90 to 4.58 on the season.

Jayson Werth, Nationals: Werth recorded his fifth 0-for-5 performance of the season and is now hitting .213/.318/.355. Werth hit .154/.291/.286 in June and is hitting .157/.271/.157 this month. He is still searching for his first extra-base hit of the month. Werth left four Nationals runners on base in Sunday's 9-8 loss to the Braves that saw Washington blow a 6-2 lead and an 8-7 lead. Not too bad for $126 million.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

2011 All-Star Game

LIVE HOME RUN DERBY CHAT 7:45 P.M. ET LIVE ALL-STAR GAME CHAT TUESDAY Starting lineups: American | National | Full roster Futures game: Full breakdown Miller: Record 83 All-Stars | Anti All-Stars

SEE THE OTHER DIVISION ALL-STARS: AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL East | NL West

The National League Central has the most teams, some of the game's brightest stars and perhaps its best story in the Pittsburgh Pirates. How deep is the talent in the NL Central? The last two men to win the National League MVP are first basemen in the division and neither makes this NL Central All-Star team. The pitching isn't too deep, at least in terms of starters, but this lineup can absolutely mash the ball.

C Ramon Hernandez, Reds: This one is a surprise, as Yadier Molina -- perhaps the game's best defensive catcher -- is an All-Star and a deserving one at that. But the nod here goes to the guy Reds manager Dusty Baker calls "Clutch Man Monie." On opening day, his three-run homer gave the Reds a walk-off victory and he's been producing at the plate since, including a ninth-inning homer yesterday against Brewers closer John Axford and the delivered the game's winning hit in the 13th inning Wednesday night in St. Louis. Hernandez's overall line -- .316/.374/.526 -- makes up for the difference between his defense and Molina's. Molina is hitting a respectable .279/.329/.408, but Clutch Man Monie has been money, especially for a player who is still essentially splitting time with Ryan Hanigan.

1B Joey Votto, Reds: Votto was the National League MVP in 2010, but Prince Fielder's been the league's MVP for the first half of this season. Fielder is hitting .302/.418/.588 with 22 home runs and 71 RBI, tied for the most in the league. Votto's been good as well, but Fielder's power numbers put him over the top. So why is Votto listed here instead of Fielder? Because as I filled out the lineup card, I looked and had Votto as DH and Fielder at first. Anyone who has seen those two with gloves on their hand know you'd rather have Votto (especially with Starlin Castro also in the infield) playing the field. So Fielder wins the spot, but Votto gets the nod, if that makes sense.

Lineup
No.	Name	Team	Pos
1	Andrew McCutchen	PIT	CF
2	Rickie Weeks	MIL	2B
3	Joey Votto	CIN	1B
4	Prince Fielder	MIL	DH
5	Lance Berkman	STL	RF
6	Ryan Braun	MIL	LF
7	Aramis Ramirez	CHI	3B
8	Ramon Hernandez	CIN	C
9	Starlin Castro	CHI	SS

2B Rickie Weeks, Brewers: Another Brewer nips a Red. While Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips is far and away a better defensive player, Weeks is having an incredible offensive season so far. Weeks is hitting .275/.345/.476 with 15 home runs. Phillips has 10 more RBI, but that's not all that surprising considering Weeks is used as a leadoff man. 

3B Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: It's easy for Ramirez to get lost among the Cubs' mounting losses, but the 33-year-old is having a solid season, which may be his last with the Cubs. The Cubs hold a $16 million option on Ramirez for 2012, with a $2 million buyout. The Ricketts family may want to find a cheaper option, but Ramirez has produced this year, hitting .298/.346/.495 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI. He's also playing a decent third base, much better than his reputation would suggest. 

SS Starlin Castro, Cubs: Sure, he's a mess defensively, but the kid can absolutely rake. Castro is hitting .305/.334/.428 with two home runs and 38 RBI, while stealing 10 bags as well. The 21-year-old is the player the Cubs will build around in the future, and for good cause. He also doesn't have a lot of competition in this division. The Pirates' Ronny Cedeno has been good defensively, but lacking offensively. The Cardinals' Ryan Theriot is hitting well, but was a below-average defensive second baseman and now he's playing short and then there's Yuniesky Betancourt, who has been terrible offensively and defensively.

LF Ryan Braun, Brewers: Talk about a stacked offensive division -- in left field you've got Matt Holliday and Braun. Braun, though gets the nod. He's been healthy (of course, Holliday's problems may make his numbers more impressive) and produced, hitting .320/.402/559 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI. He's also stolen 19 bases to boot.

CF Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: If Bruce Bochy doesn't want him, I'll sure as heck take him as my starter in center. A Gold Glove-caliber fielder, plus a .291/.389/.491 slash line and 12 homers and 15 stolen bases. McCutchen should be in the MVP discussion with the season he's had. If it weren't for McCutchen, Michael Bourn would be the pick. Bourn's hitting .288/.350/.399 with 35 stolen bases. Between those two and Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs, you could put together a heck of a relay team.

RF Lance Berkman, Cardinals: Sure he's a first baseman playing in the outfield, but who cares because he's made up for his atrocious defense with an offensive rebirth. The Cardinals gambled on Berkman this offseason and have been rewarded to the tune of .287/.399/.598 with a league-leading 23 home runs and 62 RBIs. The division also has Jay Bruce, Corey Hart and Hunter Pence, so it has right fielders to spare (not to mention Jon Jay, who played right field while Berkman was playing first for Albert Pujols.)

DH Prince Fielder, Brewers: This is a bit of a cheat, since I initially picked Fielder at first base. The decision here was between Votto and Holliday, and in a toss-up, I went with the reigning MVP, although either has a good case. Votto's hitting .319/.434/.497 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI, while Holliday is hitting .320/.417/.570 with 13 home runs and 46 RBI. Votto's seen fewer pitches to drive than he did a year ago, but is still producing. And once I was filling out the lineup card, I went with Votto at first base and Fielder as the DH.

SP Johnny Cueto, Reds: This division doesn't have a Cy Young candidate in the bunch, but does have several good young pitchers, including the 25-year-old Cueto, who started the season on the disabled list but is 5-3 with a 1.77 ERA in 11 starts this season. The Cardinals' Jaime Garcia is 8-4 with a 3.23 ERA and one of the best young left-handers in the game and Chicago's Matt Garza has been a victim of pitching for the Cubs, going 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and an xFIP of 2.86.

RP Sean Marshall, Cubs: The Cubs' left-hander is 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA, striking out 43 in 41 1/3 innings, while walking just nine. His xFIP is 2.27 and he's induced ground balls on 60.4 percent of the balls put in play, a good characteristic for a middle reliever, who will often come into the game with runners on base. Apologies to the Reds' Bill Bray and the Cardinals' Jason Motte.

CL Joel Hanrahan, Pirates: Hanrahan leads the division in saves with 25 and hasn't blown a single save this season.  Of the eight runners he's inherited this year, none of scored. He has 33 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings and eight walks. He's allowed just six earned runs (good for a 1.37 ERA). The division has several good starters, including the Reds' Francisco Cordero (17 saves, 1.69 ERA), the Brewers' John Axford (23 saves, 2.90 ERA) and the Cardinals' Fernando Salas (15 saves, 2.41 ERA).

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

Lance Berkman continues to break the hearts of Astros fans. While there hasn't been much to cheer about for the Astros this season, Bud Norris had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings before Berkman broke it up with a homer to right.

Berkman deposited Norris' 3-1 pitch into the stands in right. Norris got Colby Rasmus to pop out to Clint Barmes to end the inning.

It was Berkman's fourth homer of the season against his old team. Berkman had a 3-0 pitch that looked like it was low called a ball, immediately before launching Norris' fastball into the stands.

Norris has walked four and struck out one in seven innings.

Three times Norris walked the leadoff batter of the inning, only to get a double play each time. 

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By Matt Snyder

The St. Louis Cardinals have scored the most runs in the National League and have the sixth-best ERA in the NL (and tops in the NL Central). Yet, after getting swept by the now-first-place Reds, the Cardinals sit 1 1/2 games out of first place with a rather modest 22-19 record. There have been several games blown by the bullpen late, but the defense is also a big-time culprit, and it was on display Sunday in Cincinnati.

The Cardinals made two more errors, tying them with the Astros for the most in the NL -- only the Rangers have more in all of baseball. Tyler Greene easily could have been tagged with another and balls routinely found holes in the slow defense throughout the entire weekend. Worse yet, a five-run rally in the ninth inning Sunday only got the Cardinals to within two runs, thanks in part to how many outs the defense gave away earlier in the game.

Lance Berkman has been brilliant with the bat, but he can't get to much out there in right field. Colby Rasmus is decent in center, but he's battling a sore abdomen, and John Jay is the replacement in the meantime -- and he's better suited for the corners. Ryan Theriot and Greene are lackluster and Albert Pujols has surprisingly been sub-par at first. Sunday, he lazily tried to backhand a ball and committed an error that would eventually cost the Cardinals a run.

It does appear the two best teams in the NL Central are the Cardinals and Reds. Both can pound the baseball and have solid starting rotations with shaky back-ends in the bullpen. But the true separation point is defensively, where the Reds are stellar and the Cardinals are lacking. It was on display all weekend in Cincinnati and it could ultimately be the deciding factor in the divisional race.

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By Evan Brunell

On Tuesday, the return of Ryan Theriot is sure to spark some unkind words from Cubs fans.

Theriot came up with the Cubs and played parts of six seasons with the club, including as the starting shortstop from 2007 to partway through 2010, when he was traded to the Dodgers and began the process of converting to shortstop. Theriot was a fan favorite while in Chicago as a gritty, David Eckstein-esque player who hit .287/.350/.362.

The Dodgers didn't have much use for Theriot after the season, so he was dealt to the Cardinals who immediately inserted Theriot as starting shortstop, hoping that his clubhouse presence would spark a fire along with Lance Berkman with a team that was fractured and not intense enough in 2010. While Theriot has an underwhelming .287/.341/.320 line and doesn't offer much with the glove, he has been instrumental in turning the clubhouse around and won many new fans in St. Louis for saying he was "on the right side of the [Cubs-Cardinals] rivalry" after being traded. Those comments rankled his former team, with catcher Koyie Hill saying his former teammate can expect to be knocked down with a pitch.

Now that doomsday has arrived, does Theriot expect to be knocked down?

"I wouldn't think that they would hit me for the simple fact that you've got Albert [Pujols] and Matt [Holliday] and Lance [Berkman] coming up right behind me," Theriot told ESPN 1000 on Monday. "Even with that being said, no , I wouldn't think [getting hit by a pitch] would happen."

"Obviously the comments that I made were kind of taken out of context," Theriot continued. "[People] know the way I feel about Chicago and the way that city has embraced me. What a wonderful time I had when I was there. I talked to Koyie afterwards, and it is what it is. Whatever. What are you going to do?"

Even though Theriot appears to have tried to make amends, he still can expect some boos when he takes the field simply by virtue of wearing a Cardinals uniform and uttering these comments, even if taken out of context. It will be a strange day for Theriot, who hasn't returned to Chicago since being traded.

"It's definitely going to be different, I would expect. I've never done this," Theriot said. "I went back to L.A., but I don't really count L.A. Going back to a city that I have been to and been a part of for so long it will definitely be emotional for me. I'm really looking forward to it. It's kind of one of those trips that ... a lot of road trips fall together, mesh together. This is one you look forward to.

"I can go to some of the restaurants I went to when I was in Chicago. It starts from the top from the front office guys to the people that do promotions at Wrigley, the ushers, everybody. You make friends with those people and you get to know them and they are part of your life for a long time so I am excited to see all those guys again."

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By Evan Brunell

As Lance Berkman continues to rip apart baseball pitchers, many are searching for answers as to what made the Cardinals take the risk and sign Berkman.

It's paid off handsomely so far, as the former first baseman has handled right field to the point where he is not an outright liability and litters the offensive leaderboards with his name by hitting .388/.467/.767 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI, while striking out less than he walks (14/17 K/BB ratio).

"Obviously when you look at his career, his overall production, we thought he could be a good player for us," GM John Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, looking back at the Dec. 5 signing. "But he's played at an exceptional level to this point. We embraced him. And he's embraced this opportunity."

Obviously, Mozeliak couldn't have anticipated Berkman's performance to date, but clearly he felt the 35-year-old had something left in the tank. How did he know that after a season in which Berkman looked like he was quickly being ushered into an early retirement?

"We did a lot of due diligence," Mozeliak said. "We truly believed he could have a bounce-back year. When we looked at it, we knew he was working extremely hard on his conditioning, was getting the knee healthy, was getting himself in tremendous shape, and that he'd be a lot stronger. That was a big thing. We knew that he still had an eye for hitting, and he would work the count and take walks. The question was, how would he be physically. And once we knew how much he was putting into his training, it gave us confidence."

One other thing Berkman did was change the culture of the clubhouse. Berkman's known to have a personality that is conducive to a positive clubhouse atmosphere, and the Cardinals made clubhouse impact a priority after struggling to get everyone on the same page and happy last season. That was a major reason why the Cardinals made the (at the time) head-scratching move of bringing Berkman in to play right field along with signing Ryan Theriot to play short. Theriot hasn't exactly worked out so far, but he's had the impact on the clubhouse the club was hoping for along with Berkman.

"The team has changed its look," Mozeliak said. "Last season if we were down 4-2 in the seventh inning, the game was over. This year, even if we're down, you don't want to leave. We'll battle. We thought Berkman and Theriot could help us change the culture."

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