AL Notes: Minnesota enjoys bumper crop of pitchers thanks to 2003 trade

Here's the kind of trade that builds pitching staffs: After the 2003 season, the Twins dealt catcher A.J. Pierzynski to San Francisco for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser.

Nathan developed into a two-time All-Star closer and is having another dominant season. Liriano went 9-2 with a 1.78 earned-run average last year at Class AAA and is one of baseball's top pitching prospects. He allowed two hits and a run in five innings in his 2006 starting debut on Friday as the Twins beat Milwaukee 7-1.

And now Bonser has just been promoted from Rochester to take the rotation spot of Kyle Lohse, optioned to AAA on Wednesday with an 8.92 ERA.

Pierzynski, by the way, played just one season in San Francisco and was released by the Giants. He signed last year with the White Sox, helping the Sox unseat Minnesota as American League Central champions.

• Here's another trade to reflect upon: In late July of 2004, the Mets somehow decided that Tampa Bay's Victor Zambrano was so essential to their faint hopes of catching Atlanta in the National League East race that they would give up top pitching prospect Scott Kazmir.

Now the left-handed Kazmir is emerging, at age 22, as the first true ace for the Devil Rays. He struggled on opening day but is 6-1 with a 1.90 ERA since, and stands among the league leaders in strikeouts. Kazmir is the youngest pitcher to six wins at this point in the season since John Smoltz in 1989, and the youngest in the American League since Vida Blue in 1971.

"He has the ability to be one of the unique pitchers in the game," Tampa Bay pitching coach Mike Butcher said. "He's got that charisma. He's got all the things you look for in a superstar type."

As for Zambrano, he's out for the season, and possibly forever, after undergoing his second Tommy John operation.

• Cleveland gets deserved credit for its rebuilding plan, but the Indians have struggled this season. After opening by winning six of their first seven games, they went 11-20 over the next month. General manager Mark Shapiro recently tried to take some pressure off manager Eric Wedge.

"No one here is working to keep his job. I can definitively say that," said Shapiro. "Job security is the last thing on anyone's mind."

Cleveland's record after 38 games, 17-21, was identical to last year, when the Indians went 93-69 and finished two games behind Boston for the AL wild card.

"The talent is there, and we will win a lot of games," said Shapiro. "Whether it's enough to win the division or make it to the postseason, we'll see. But this is a team that is capable of winning a lot of games. We're just not doing it now."

• Manager Ozzie Guillen insists the Cubs still rule Chicago, despite the World Series title last year by his White Sox, and the Cubs' struggles this season.

"If we played the way the Cubs have played, there would be 2,000 people in the ballpark, believe me," Guillen told reporters. "Maybe some fans are going to hate me for [saying this, but] it's a Cubs town."

But Guillen added that the White Sox's current success could change the dynamic down the road.

"With the kids right now who are growing up in the city, it might turn around in 10 years," he said.