EVIL~! alkeiper

Colorado went 13-1 over their last fourteen games just to force a playoff, and it took the chased team blowing a clinching game with two strikes in the ninth to come to that. There is no "this year's Rockies." It's a one in a generation phenomenon.

What the heck was Humberto Quintero doing telling Berkman to slide?

10-20 over their last 30 games, not counting tonight. Don't count out the O's, but the A's certainly have the league's worst offense.

Hey Cub (and Cardinals) fans, Les Walrond is back in the Majors! Also, Carlos Carrasco was promoted to AAA.

Looking at Andruw Jones, how is it even possible for a player to be this bad? .161 batting average, 11 extra base hits? Neifi Perez never had a batting line that bad.

Juan Pierre in center. Let's see. 1. With Manny Ramirez in left, the Dodgers need a good defensive outfielder in center to cover. Matt Kemp may not be that good, I honestly don't know how good he is on defense. 2. If not Kemp, that leaves Pierre and Andruw Jones. Jones is beyond terrible this season. 3. It seems like Torre is acknowledging Pierre's work ethic. Given a couple limited options, pick the one who puts in maximum effort.

The Mets are trying Murphy at second, but his defense is questionable. I was hoping to get a look at him in Binghamton but he didn't stick around long enough.

The Mets have an outfielder right now with a career .284/.402/.520 line in AAA. Yet Val Pascucci never gets a shot.

Pitchers in general have a poor track record of health. Despite his decline in performance though, I don't think Barry Zito has missed a career start. Hudson's career record is 146-77, I'd be thrilled if any pitching prospect put that record up. And Dan Haren, Joe Blanton and Justin Duchscherer are still healthy. Also add that since 2000, Hudson's first full season in the Majors, the only pitcher to throw more innings than Hudson is Livan Hernandez. Is that good or bad? Two weeks from now, Maddux and Javier Vazquez will pass Hudson on the list.

Really good show, a great match in Steiners vs. Hase/Sasake, a couple other good matches, and only one stinker. And even Gonzales/Hughes was a bit of fun.

Pitchers in general have a poor track record of health. Despite his decline in performance though, I don't think Barry Zito has missed a career start. Hudson's career record is 146-77, I'd be thrilled if any pitching prospect put that record up. And Dan Haren, Joe Blanton and Justin Duchscherer are still healthy.

Does it have a restroom?

I'm really surprised to see only one minor trade, and that one extremely minor at that. Where are the relievers and role players?

Adam Eaton is pitching for the Low A Blueclaws tonight. Guess who's trailing 2-0 in the 2nd.

This is probably a good debate for the off-season, but let's just say Andruw is dead and done as a contributing major leaguer. Does he have any shot at the HOF with 370 homeruns and 10 years of amazing defense? Yes, for the reason that his defense coincided with the greatest team pitching staff of all time.

I like the Manny trade for all involved. Honestly, there is an argument that Jason Bay alone is a better player than Ramirez right now. He's a bit behind Manny at the plate, but he's a better fielder and baserunner. The Sox are not losing much at all. The Pirates get some decent guys that needed a change of scenery. Any 24 year old who can slug .500+ in the IL has a future.

Arthur Rhodes to the Marlins for Gaby Hernandez. A starting pitching prospect for a LOOGY?

I'm glad I'll be at work for the duration of the trade deadline. Trades themselves are interesting, rumors are tiresome. And there's something to be said for an event that gives a hack like Will Carroll an audience, just because people are desperate for information.

It should remain hidden until Griffey agrees to the deal. Otherwise if he blocks the trade, it makes things quite awkward.

I can just imagine Graham cutting a similar line at the returns desk at Target or something.

Phillies are back in first place!

Matt Cusick. Astros aren't exactly mortgaging their farm here.

I get the feeling Wade is acting on orders from management. He was never this delusional in Philadelphia.

Theo Epstein is working on a remake of No, No, Nanette? Heh, not quite. Besides being a slugger and pitcher, Ruth was one of the biggest clubhouse distractions in baseball. He set his own training rules, punched umpires, drank, caroused and showed up more or less when he wanted.

To put things in perspective for Red Sox fans, this was more or less the same reason the team felt they should trade Babe Ruth.