Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Webb draws raves because of his heavy sinker, but he might have competition within his own division from Aaron Cook, a righthander for the Rockies. "Cook has a great sinker--absolutely great," a rival scout says. "He is kind of at the stage where Webb was a couple of years ago. He's just finding enough consistency and command with it, but he can really just pound you with that sinker." . . .

Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis never has piled up strikeouts, but he recently went through a curious stretch in which he produced just 11 swing-and-miss strikes in a span of two-plus starts. Those came on 98 total swings, for a Paul Byrdian whiff percentage of just 11.2. Those 11 misses came from Mark Mulder (three times), Hector Luna (twice), So Taguchi (twice), Todd Pratt, David Bell, Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds. . . .

A rival scout says he hears so much speculation about Willis' being traded, "It makes me think if someone bowls them over with a great package, they'd do it." And where would that leave the Marlins in the short term? "I don't know," the scout said. "I thought they would be a little better than this. It's just a question of how embarrassing are they willing to let it get? Are they willing to go to (2003) Tiger proportions and win 40 games?" . . .

Reds manager Jerry Narron can't seem to stop himself from using setup man Todd Coffey, and Narron admits he doesn't know the best way to handle the high-energy righthander. Considering Coffey has a reconstructed throwing elbow, this could be a situation to monitor--he racked up 22 appearances in the Reds' first 43 games. . . .

With Orlando Hudson struggling badly at the plate--his .608 OPS ranks fourth-worst among National League regulars--one option for the Diamondbacks is to move versatile Craig Counsell back to second and promote Stephen Drew as his replacement at shortstop. One scout who has seen Drew this season thinks J.D.'s younger brother could be in the big leagues soon. "He's pretty polished," the scout said. "Before I thought that was not an option for them, but Drew is a fallback that can be trusted. He's shown me he's closer than I thought. Each day that goes by, he gets better and better." . . .

Astros reliever Brad Lidge isn't the only pitcher with concerns about tipping his pitches. The White Sox were convinced the Twins had something on LHP Mark Buehrle when he recently allowed seven runs in the first inning. Said one major league scout: "Those keys are very easy to pick up. I guarantee more than a handful of guys are tipping changeup, slider, split or something else right now." . . .

Some in the industry expect Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy to put the floundering team up for sale sometime after Pittsburgh is host for the All-Star Game this July. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, a Pittsburgh-area native, has made noises about buying the club, but would Bud Selig allow such a free-spending wild card into the ownership circle? . . .

Twins pending free-agent CF Torii Hunter can block trades to five teams: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Cubs, Devil Rays and Tigers. He can't block a trade to the Yankees, who continue to prowl for outfield help with Hideki Matsui (wrist) possibly out for the rest of the season.

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