This seems like one of the those seasons for Arizona when whatever can go wrong, does go wrong. Not only did Curt Schilling have an unexpected appendectomy, but now Randy Johnson is gone for three to five weeks due to knee surgery.

Bob Brenly has already blown up in NY, the team isn’t hitting, and rookie after rookie pitcher is getting a shot in the majors. Not a good formula to win the pennant.

So, can starter/reliever Miguel Batista hold the fort? Byung Hyun Kim is hurt too after twisting an anke and might not make his next start. Mike Myers, lefty relief specialist gets hit hard virtually every time out, and Matt Williams has seen his best day.

Baseball tells a story every day and right now even with 135 games to go, the Arizona story is very murky.

The man in the center of the diamond controls the game. Mark Mulder showed how important the pitcher is with his second complete game in a row. Who does he think he is, Catfish Hunter? Complete games are such a rarity that it is nice to see a young pitcher finish what he starts. This type of pitching bodes well for October success.

Other than the Mariners, the West continued to thrash the rest of the league Wednesday night.

Click read more for today’s thoughts

Jhon Halama pitches on four days rest for the first time as an Athletic. His opponent Jon Garland has been hit hard this season giving up 6 homers in 25 innings worked. Halama took a no hitter into the 7th inning last Saturday against the Tribe. So, looks like a mismatch today in Comiskey.

The A’s chew up pitchers like Garland for breakfast. The A’s bull pen may play a more significant role today which could equalize the game.

Mike Mussina versus Joel Pineiro. Yankees don’t want to face the A’s after losing two of three to Seattle. They will play with a purpose today behind their Cy Young candidate. Mariano Rivera is back, but clearly rusty.

Red Sox can hit and were fortunate to benefit from another Royal bull pen melt down. Casey Fossum is up and down in his starts, probably be more up than down today against KC.

Can Roy Halladay slow down the Rangers? Probably for six innings or so, but then the relievers get in the act and it is “see ya later time” for the Blue Jays. Kelvim Escobar has never lived up to his potential in Toronto and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as the first closer to go in a trade this year.

Mark Prior versus Damian Moss, this is a game worth watching. Prior won’t back down from Barry Bonds which may give the Giants offense another lift. Jason Schmidt was awesome last night, good to see.

Scott Shields, my hot pitcher of the week, goes against Cleveland today. Shields is building arm strength and will be in this rotation for awhile.

Braves have another good shot to beat the Astros today. Atlanta has a better pen and Shane Reynolds, even though he was lit up big time by Montreal, should keep Atlanta close to Houston until Bobby Cox can figure something out in the late innings. Don’t forget Atlanta has Smoltz in the pen to close the game.

More big games this weekend. We’ll look at them tomorrow.