Wednesday Wallpaper: Dontrelle Retires, Overseas Market Changes, Zim’s Fake Throw, Giancarlo’s HR Montage, Bucs Alone in 1st

Sorry for the one-day delay but (watching) baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and spending an hour looking for a parking space across the Potomac in Arlington took precedence. . . .

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It was not all that long ago that MLB’s marketing division was hyping Dontrelle Willis at every opportunity. The young southpaw had a funky delivery and electric stuff and was even potent with a bat in his hands. In 2003, he earned NL Rookie of the Year honors for the world-champion Marlins and two years later he finished second in the Cy Young Award voting.

Alas, his career did not pan out as expected. As Al Yellon of SB Nation reminds us, Willis, who announced his retirement this week, had not been an effective pitcher since the 2006 season.

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J. P. Breen of Fangraphs has the details on the changes to the international market that have just taken effect.

Breen reminds us that the new rules will not alter the landscape all that much:

The new budgets will not affect the vast majority of major league organizations, though. Only nine of 30 teams spent more than $2.9 million in 2010. That number jumped to eleven of 30 in 2011, but again, we’re talking about less than half the teams in the league. The majority of major league clubs will simply treat this summer as “business as usual,” rather than a fundamental shift in how they sign talent from the international market.

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Via CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry: A big inning for the Rockies likely would have been even bigger had it not been for Ryan Zimmerman’s heads-up fake throw to first.

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Anyone who kvetches about the spacious dimensions of the Marlins’ new ballpark in Little Havana needs to watch Giancarlo Stanton swing the bat. Here is a montage of the 22-year-old outfielder’s home runs hit in 2012.

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Exactly halfway through Pittsburgh’s season, the Pirates are 45–36 and alone in first place in the NL Central. CoolStandings.com gives the Buccos a 67 percent chance of reaching the postseason.