Short Hops: Twins bracing for two-week road trip

And at least the 14 away games probably won't push any Twins to the point of former Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who once famously said that packing for a 28-day trip was easy: You just pack 28 pair of "underwears," and when you get down to your final two or three pair, you know you're about to go home.

"The impressive thing is that he had 28 pair of underwear," Nathan says. "I'd be doing laundry."

• Don't expect any miracles from new Texas pitching coach Andy Hawkins, who was brought in from Triple-A Oklahoma City after Mark Connor was fired last week. The Rangers still lack starting pitchers and need to move past the Kevin Millwood-Vicente Padilla days.

But if Hawkins has similar results with any of the Rangers' young pitchers as he did with Cincinnati ace Edinson Volquez, things could be looking up soon. Volquez calls Hawkins the most important mentor he has had as a professional. Hawkins was instrumental in keeping Volquez's mental game together last summer when the Rangers sent the right-hander to the minors with a list of rules to follow, including wearing his cap straight (rather than sideways), combing his hair and pulling up his pants. Hawkins also did wonders with Volquez's fastball command.

• The Athletics had lost nine in a row through midweek, nine of 10, 18 of 20. They traded away pitchers Joe Blanton and Rich Harden. Closer Huston Street blew three straight save chances and there are indications he's hurting. And the A's shoved third-base coach Tony DeFrancesco over to first after a couple of runners were thrown out at the plate. DeFrancesco is in his first season on Oakland's staff after managing in the A's farm system for the past 14 years, including the past five at Triple-A Sacramento.

• Oakland's second-half free-fall really puts into perspective what a miserable season it is in Seattle. Despite those aforementioned numbers pertaining to the A's losing, they remain 9½ games ahead of the Mariners in the AL West. Oakland at midweek trailed the Angels by 17½ games, Seattle was 27 back.

• Not only did Atlanta's Mike Hampton earn his first victory since 2005 this week (in his third start of the year), he looked good enough doing so that it left Braves manager Bobby Cox wanting more. "To come back after everything he's been through over the past three years ... he could easily have chucked it in," Cox said. "He didn't do it. Hopefully, he'll pitch against next year."

Hampton, who spent most of the past three years rehabbing from elbow surgery and assorted muscle strains, reaches the end of his eight-year, $121 million contract in October. He says he would like to pitch for someone next season, but "it's all going to be based on how I finish the year health-wise. I definitely don't want to go through another surgery. I'm definitely past that. If I can continue feeling stronger physically, I'd definitely like to continue."

• Against a San Francisco lineup that isn't exactly imposing, Hampton induced 13 ground ball outs over seven innings in Tuesday night's 11-4 win. Hampton said it was the best he has felt in a long, long time. "The way he carried himself on the mound, he was on the attack," Cox said.

• What do Hampton and former pitcher Dave Stieb have in common? In his July 26 start at Philadelphia, his first of the season, Hampton became only the second pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) with 250 or more career starts to start a game after sitting out two consecutive seasons. That's according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Stieb was the other pitcher to do it, going from his final start with the White Sox in 1993 until he returned to Toronto in 1998 between starts.

• It's going to be difficult -- and possibly even disingenuous -- for Dodgers manager Joe Torre to hold Manny Ramirez to his promise to cut his hair when they plan to start selling dreadlock wigs (in black and in Dodger blue) next homestand. Not only that, but the Dodgers intend to start selling batting helmets with dreadlocks attached to the backs.

• The thing not enough folks understand about Ramirez is that, despite his casual demeanor and long hair, the man works exceptionally hard. Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, relegated to backup status, was part of Ramirez's workout group at the Athletes' Performance Institute in Phoenix last winter. Well, loosely speaking. Ethier was scheduled to be part of it. "He worked out on his own because he wanted to start so early," Ethier said. "He'd get there at 6 a.m. and do a two-hour workout, then he'd hit, then he'd throw, then he'd come back and work out a second time. He worked out hard for six weeks. I never saw him skirt anything, never saw him get out of anything. He might come off as lackadaisical sometimes, but he gets the job done."

• The way they were: It might be a long time until we see anything close to the one-two punch Boston enjoyed with Ramirez and David Ortiz over the past several years. Torre certainly got his fill of them when he was with the Yankees, and Torre says Ramirez-Ortiz were as good a one-two punch as he has seen in nearly 50 years of playing, managing and broadcasting in the majors. "(Especially) when you consider one's a lefty and one's a righty," Torre said. "It makes a manager make decisions. I'm going to walk this guy and get that guy. I walked Ortiz to get to Manny, and then Manny dents the left-field wall. That happened one time."

• And, one more from Torre on Manny: "He's as confident in his ability as anybody I've ever seen."

• Milwaukee manager Ned Yost makes an excellent point when, while discussing the Prince Fielder-Manny Parra dugout dustup Monday night, he said, "I just don't want cookie-cutter players. I want guys that compete. I want guys that play with fire, and with passion."

Internal bickering sure didn't hurt the early-1970s Oakland A's. Teams can win with fire and passion, even if some of the players don't like each other. Milwaukee's problem is that memories of the Brewers' meltdown in the final two weeks of last season remains raw, and until the Brewers finish off the season strong and earn a playoff spot, any squabbling like the Fielder-Parra disagreement is going to appear as if they're melting down again.

• These 14 teams would be in first place this week if they played in the NL West: Philadelphia, Florida, the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Arizona (of course), Tampa Bay, Boston, the Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Angels and Texas.

• Manny is gone, Ortiz's wrist and knee are nagging situations threatening to get worse and third baseman Mike Lowell received a second cortisone injection in his right hip this week. The fraying around the edges is becoming more and more obvious in Boston. And maybe the Yankees would be in position to do something about it if Joba Chamberlain was healthy. Tampa Bay, this is your chance.

• Seattle has begun the process of turning setup man Brandon Morrow into a starter.

• Everyday Eddie is back: Eddie Guardado, the former Minnesota, Seattle and Cincinnati closer, has assumed closing duties in Texas with regular C.J. Wilson disabled because of bone spurs in his elbow.

• St. Louis' season is even more remarkable when you take into account the stunning number of games the Cards have blown in the late innings. It started early with closer Jason Isringhausen, continued after he went on the disabled list and all told, the Cards have lost 12 games this season in which they led after seven innings. In 2007, they lost only two of 62 games when they led after seven innings.

• Even before Mark Teixeira's arrival, the Angels were flexing. Their 36 homers in July were their most in any month since June 2003, when they walloped 42.

• Either the Padres are really, really slow, or Greg Maddux is an exceptional speedster: Over their past 38 games through midweek, San Diego had stolen only one base. And that was by Maddux.

• John Smoltz is traveling with the Braves while rehabbing following shoulder surgery. "It's going great," said Smoltz, who tools around on his laptop (decorated with a very large Michigan State sticker) and plays backgammon with teammates between rehab exercises. He's finished for the year, and it remains 50/50 whether he'll be able to come back next year.

• The Braves will have a tribute to late broadcaster Skip Caray on Tuesday when they open a seven-game homestand against the Cubs and Giants. They're still discussing how best to honor Caray and might wear patches on their uniforms for the rest of this season.