As crazy as it sounds, I was thinking this morning it might be time to try Pedro in the four-hole again -- and then it occurred to me it might make more sense to bat him third and drop Cutch to cleanup.

OK, I know it'll never happen because Cutch just looks like a three-hitter and Pedro looks like a four. But think about it. Cutch has more than enough power to hit cleanup, and dropping down a spot would give him more RBI opportunities. He'd still be protected by the same people batting after him -- McGehee and Jones -- so it isn't like there's any down side to it from his standpoint.

Meanwhile, it's true your No. 3 batter usually hits for a higher average that Pedro, but he's a guy who struggles with breaking pitches out of the strike zone. Batting front of Andrew, however, there's no way the pitcher is going to risk walking a man on base, and with a steady dose of fastballs to hit, I could see Pedro hitting maybe .260 with 40 to 45 bombs this year instead of the .230 with 30 to 35 he's on pace for now.

Like I said, it's just idle All-Star break talk. Unless Clint reads this forum.