The Sports Monitor

Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez is an All-Star. Of course, someone from the Pirates has to be an All-Star, baseball's rules demand it. Go beyond the mandatory selection, and Sanchez still is a darn good player. A former batting champ, Sanchez has proved this year that the title was legit and last year's season was an aberration. Sanchez is hitting at a .316 clip entering the All-Star break. He provides offense at a position where anything you get above .250 is a bonus. In addition, with Sanchez, there's not much sacrifice on defense. So, why would the Pirates want to trade him? There are about 8 million of them and it's all about the money. Since Sanchez is an All-Star, he needs just 600 plate appearances to make $8 million next season, which is a Cardinal sin on the penny-pinching Pirates. I can't blame general manager Neal Huntington for trying to trade Sanchez. You need to sell at the highest point to gain a profit, and Sanchez might not get any higher. So...

The have been some rumors of a Freddy Sanchez trade to the San Francisco Giants. In return, the Bucs would get pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. As luck would have it, Sanchez tossed a no-hitter Friday night for the Giants. My guess is Sanchez heard the rumors and decided the only way to stay away from the Pirates was to pitch the game of his career.