Derrek Lee has played in every game this year. It may be time to give him a day off. After his 0-for-5 performance in today's 7-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he is hitting .164/.179/.304 in the past 13 games. Prior to that, he had been hitting .352/.433/.639 over the first 30 games.

Thankfully, Alfonso Soriano has heated up significantly during Lee's slump, including 7 home runs in the past 6 games.

Prior's shoulder continues to delay Pads debut - Oft-injured pitcher Mark Prior has another shoulder problem that will delay his debut with the San Diego Padres. [ESPN.com: MLB Headlines]

It appears that the significant damage to Mark Prior's shoulder lingers on. The way things seem now, he may never pitch in the big leagues again. I hope he does.