Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of SI.com said the Nationals asked the Giants for LHP Jonathan Sanchez in a deal for Johnson.

Johnson is earning $5.5 million this season, after which he will be a free agent.

…the buzz from DC has long been that the Nationals will seek young pitching in any deal for johnson, who most people believe will get traded today…

According to Rodriguez, the Marlins rejected a deal from the Padres for closer Heath Bell, who would’ve cost OF Cameron Maybin and RHP Andrew Miller.

The Marlins also asked the Royals about Brian Bannister, according to Rodriguez, though Florida may need to settle for bringing back Indians RHP Carl Pavano.

Their pitching will always make me worry…

Marlins RHP Ricky Nolasco starts tonight, and is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts since returning from a demotion to Triple-A.

Josh Johnson has thrown seven straight Quality Starts, pitching in to the seventh inning six straight games.

The Dodgers, Mets and Phillies have all been linked in rumor to Penny so far this season.

Meanwhile, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, OF Jeremy Hermida is drawing a lot of interest from other teams, “but the offers haven’t been enticing.”

The 26–year-old Hermida is batting .276 with eight HR and 29 RBI in 63 games for the Marlins this season.

Hermida is arbitration eligible through 2011.

Jackson also reports that the Braves offered Jeff Francoeur to the Marlins for OF Cody Ross, but the Marlins turned it down.

This morning, on WFAN, Evan Roberts wondered if this would interest the Mets in swapping Ryan Church and a minor leaguer for  Francoeur, who is eligible to be a free agent after 2011.

Francoeur is batting .250 with four HR and 29 RBI for the Braves.

…i don’t understand why frenchy would be a better or worse option that church… i mean, all these guys are around the same caliber player…

Meanwhile, the Indians are asking more and more for infielder Mark DeRosa with every day that passes, it seems, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Indians have won seven of their last 11 games and are now six games out of first place.

The O’s will welcome the Mets this weekend in Baltimore.

According to Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com, the O’s are getting lots of interest in 1B-OF Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott.

…honestly, the sense i get is that the league is in lock down right now, with most teams waiting, watching and assessing their budgets and position in the league, and no trade is imminent… it sounds like no team is willing to take on serious money, yet few teams want to part with top prospects, except the Phillies… plus, there are only two, maybe three, teams who truly believe there is little chance they’ll make the playoffs… every one else still believes there is a chance, or, at least the chance of a run, which would keep fans interested enough to buy a few more tickets and stay tuned on TV…

…in other words, i really don’t think there will be a substantive up tick in trade rumors until after the All-Star break, which is a few weeks before the deadline…

On Saturday, during a townhall meeting with his team’s fans, Marlins team president David Samson said the Mets called MLB to ask that they not finish this season against the Marlins, according to the Palm Beach Post, “prompting loud cheers from several hundred fans.”

However, Adam Rubin of the Daily News quotes Katy Feeney, the MLB official responsible for scheduling, as saying such a call was never made.

…there seems to be some question as to whether samson was serious or joking, though i am not sure why it matters… from what i understand, the way the schedule is made is so complicated, teams have little control over who and when they play… i mean, they can make some requests for special situations, such as Opening Day for a new stadium, etc., but, other than that, it’s pretty much out of their hands…

…i don’t feel the Mets need to respond to this, or that we as fans need to argue it, though… at the end of the day, the Mets can avoid these sort of jokes by winning… it’s that simple… win, and it all goes away…

…this is a sign of the time, in terms of baseball and the economy, in that while the big-time players will get their money, it’s the mid-range guy, who can easily be replaced by a minor-leaguer, who is out of a job…

The Astros signed LHP Mike Hampton to a one-year, $2 million deal, bringing him back to Houston, reports FoxSports.com.

ESPN.com’s Peter Gammons is interviewed about the Red Sox on Fire Brand of the American League, during which he is asked, “How do you feel blogs, both as a tool for grassroots media like MVN, as a part of mainstream media.”

Lastly, according to MLB.com, citing ‘league sources,’ the Marlins have been shopping C Matt Treanor, in advance of possibly pursuing free-agent C Pudge Rodriguez.

Owens and Matt Lindstrom were traded from the Mets to the Marlins for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick after the 2006 season.

Owens missed all of 2008 following rotator cuff surgery.

His suspension will be effective at the start of next season.

Olsen was 8-11 with a 4.20 ERA in 33 starts for the Marlins, while Willingham hit .254 with 15 home runs.

Last month, in post to his blog for the Sun Sentinel, Mike Berardino listed seven players who could be traded by the Marlins, including 2B Dan Uggla and RHP Kevin Gregg, as well as Willingham and Olsen, and Mike Jacobs, who was recently traded to the Royals.

…i have been sent several e-mails from fans suggesting the Mets acquire gregg from the Marlins to be their closer…

According to the scout, “Gregg has those knee problems… He’s not a closer.  Not for me.  Maybe you stick him back in the seventh inning like he used to be for the Angels, but the arbitration number ($4 million or more) is too high for that role.”

In 72 appearances for the Marlins this season, Gregg was 7–8 with 29 saves and a 3.41 ERA.

In the Sun-Sentinel, several players recant their memories from last year, including pitcher Scott Olson, who is quoted as saying:

“Silence is golden. It’s not that good of a stadium. I remember Tom Glavine walking off the mound with his head down without getting three outs.”

Former Met Mike Jacobs:

“It was pretty amazing going from how loud that stadium could be to you could hear a pin drop. I remember hearing some of the guys saying they saw fans that were crying. You like being in a situation to be able to knock somebody out like that.”

At the Palm Beach Post, Joe Capozzi relays some notable quotes, including one from Paul LoDuca:

“It was not a good memory and I’m hoping we can make it not good memories for them again this year.”

Scott Olson chimed in again:

“It was just fun hearing 55,000 people not say a word.”

…it must have reminded olson of under 1,000 fans not saying a word in miami every night…

For more on the upcoming series, check out Adam Rubin’s blog at the Daily News, David Lennon’s article at Newsday, and the Miami Herald.

…not wanting to conjure up memories of last year, i’ve avoided acknowledgement of this series until now, but honestly, this is exactly who i want them to be playing…i’d like to think the mets don’t need any further motivation but seriously, how ironic is this, it couldn’t be scripted any better…the mets pretty much hold their fate in their hands, and what better way to redeem the results from last year’s glavine game, than to sweep the marlins and surge into the playoffs…

According to Frisaro, Lo Duca will report to the Marlins Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate on Saturday.

In 46 games for the Nationals this season, Lo Duca hit .230 with 0 HR and 12 RBI.