Yankees Bolster DH, Bench with veteran Bats

It was first reported on Friday that the Astros and Yankees struck a deal to send Lance Berkman to New York. The odd thing about this is that the Astros practically handed him over in exchange for two minor leaguers. This blows my mind. So this essentially means that any team in the league could have made a move for Berkman as long as there were two minor leaguers the Astros were interested in. Nevertheless, it seems Yankees manager Joe Girardi isn’t as thrilled as others are to get an everyday DH. He liked to use that spot to give guys rest and keep them in the lineup. I’m sure he’ll get over it though.

Also on Friday, the Yanks acquired Austin Kearns from the Indians. Kearns has jumped around the league since he came up as a prospect with the Reds. He is a good bench player at this point in his career and I think he will help the Yankees in the right situation.

Howdy Partner – Rangers Land a Pair of Players

The Texas Rangers made some moves this week acquiring Jorge Cantu from the Marlins and Christian Guzman from the Nationals. Cantu has not been as productive as he was earlier in the season, but he is a solid bat and an RBI producer. I like the pickup there because they didn’t go for the strictly power hitter. Another non-strictly power hitter is Christian Guzman. It’s been speculated for a couple years that Guzman would be traded, and it finally happened. I feel like this gives the Rangers an incredible amount of infielders. I wonder who the odd man out is?

No-Hit Stuff in Chicago

Hey, it might have been with a couple handfuls of walks, but Edwin Jackson and his 2010 no-hitter are heading to the Chicago White Sox. Jackson is owed a lot of money, so I don’t know why the White Sox made this deal, considering he’ll be the fourth starter. However, if he is motivated, Jackson is a very good pitcher. Only time will tell on this trade.

Tidbits:

• The Tigers were looking for help since Magglio Ordonez went down with an injury last week. They picked up Johnny Peralta from the Indians on Wednesday to help out. He already helped the team win a game in Boston on Friday night, so I’m people are feeling better in Detroit.
• The Rays are trying to be active this deadline, but not much is out there for a team unwilling to pick up too much payroll. Although, they did pick up Chad Qualls from the Diamondbacks on Friday to help their bullpen. Qualls has been so-so this year with a high ERA, but I’m sure this trade could get him going.
• Are more deals to come? Names like Adam Dunn, Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano, Brett Myers, Prince Fielder, Jake Westbrook, and even Manny Ramirez are still on the market. Stay tuned!

I’d like to wrap up this post by saying this is the 1,000 post in MLBtoday.net’s history. Thank you to our fans and everyone who has visited the site reguarly!

-Chris

I’m glad the Twins traded Ramos to give him an opportunity to catch for someone since Mauer is locked up for the next 8 years but a few weeks ago the Twins were in talks of trading Ramos for Lee and they settled for Capps.

I don’t know how this will work.  Gardenhire will likely use Capps as the closer despite Jon Rauch doing an excellent job.  Not to mention that Rauch was terrible in non-save situations so good luck for Gardenhire to make that decision.  In addition, Nathan will be back next year and the Twins will have 3 closers unless they trade one.

Grade for the Twins: B-

Photo courtesy of espn.com

The San Diego Padres are serious about the playoffs this season.  I absolutely bashed the crap out of this team in the preseason and even in April but now they sit at 60-40 and are buyers at the trade deadline this year after acquiring Miguel Tejada from the O’s for a minor league pitcher.

Miggy Pop brings veteran leadership to a fairly young team.  He will play some 3B and even shortstop.  The Padres don’t want to move Headly to the OF but Tejada will relieve him some games at 3B and will proivde a good precense at the plate for the Padres.

Philly is now the favorite to win the NL East I feel.  Their hitting was always better than the Braves but their pitching didn’t quite match up 1-5 with the Braves but now the Phillies have the best 1-2 punch in baseball.

Oswalt was just 6-12 this season with an very good 3.35 ERA.  For Oswalt’s career he has a .780+ winning percentage after August 1st so Philly fans should be excited to received Oswalt.

Note:  The Astros traded Gose to the Blue Jays for 1B Brett Wallace.

Tampa Bay Rays SP Matt Garza has thrown the first no-hitter in Rays history against the Detroit Tigers. He faced the minimum amount of batters following a walk in the second inning and a subsequent double play. Garza totaled six strikeouts, but his ability to pound the strike zone led to many easy in the 5-0 victory.

The ninth inning consisted of a dribbler to second base by Don Kelly, a Gerald Laird strikeout looking, and finally Ramon Santiago pinch hit a lazy fly ball to right fielder Ben Zobrist (who made a heck of a catch earlier in the game). It was another historic night in Tampa (Edwin Jackson no-hitter for the D’Backs on June 25 against the Rays) and Garza’s name is etched in history.

Tigers SP Max Scherzer had a no-hitter of his own into the sixth inning, but that was broken up with a grand slam of all things! Matt Joyce collected the first hit of the game with a grand salami into the right field bleachers. That left the final fireworks for Garza to provide. What a way to lose a no-hitter.

Seriously though, how bad are the Tigers? I’ve been wondering when the bottom would fall out for them – and this must be it. Or at least, they better hope this is it. I’m sure Tigers fans are hoping this wakes this team up, because at this rate they’ll be out of the race by the end of the month.

Garza’s no hitter is the fifth of the season in the majors. It is the first time since 1991 that there has been five no-hitters in a season (there were seven that season). Also, there are only two teams that still have never had a no-hitter. The Rays were the third team, but now it’s down to the Padres and the Mets. My bet is that the Padres will do it, not because I hate the Mets, but because that’s the luck the Mets have.

Anywho, congrats to Matt Garza! I just hope that at this pace the no-hitter doesn’t go out of style, haha.

-Chris

1. Yankees (62-35) – Why does Alex Rodriguez get media coverage of every at bat while he attempts to hit homerun #600? He is a self-proclaimed cheater.
2. Rays (59-38) – The Rays have done it, they’ve gotten over the hump. That hump was snapping an 18-game losing streak in Cleveland.
3. Padres (58-39) – Every time I look at the NL West standings I check to see what the lead for the Padres currently is. Well, every time I look, they have at least a three game lead.
4. Braves (57-41) – I would be surprised if the Braves make any more moves before the trade deadline. Right now I would say they are pretty set (long story short, that doesn’t mean a division title is in the bag).
5. Rangers (58-41) – Cliff Lee is in the win column, which should scare the other teams in the division. I think he is ready to rock and roll the rest of the season.
6. Reds (55-45) – The Reds will certainly look to make a move if they can. This team is a couple moves away from being one of the best in the league.
7. Giants (56-43) – Don’t look too fast, but the Giants are currently atop the NL wild card standings. I’m curious to see if this is a fluke or if their starting pitching will keep them rolling.
8. Cardinals (55-44) – If the Cardinals don’t make a move for a fourth and/or fifth starter, then they MUST get Brad Penny back soon. They won’t survive automatically losing every fourth and fifth day.
9. Red Sox (55-44) – The Red Sox do not need to make a trade; they need two things: 1) health and 2) go back to the east coast.
10. White Sox (53-44) – The ChiSox survived their west coast trip to stay in first place in the AL Central. You know they will make some sort of move before Saturday’s trade deadline.
11. Twins (53-46) – Minnesota needs to have a really good series in KC this week because the first place White Sox play the Mariners at home.
12. Dodgers (53-46) – Ready to make that move towards first place LA? Well you play the Padres starting Tuesday night.
13. Angels (52-49) – I still don’t think this Dan Haren trade will improve this team enough this season. But that could really help them next year, starting from scratch.
14. Phillies (52-46) – Now that Jimmy Rollins is back maybe the Phils can get some of their swagger back. Then again, that might not happen until Chase Utley returns – whenever that is.
15. Rockies (51-47) – The Rox are quickly dropping after a very bad road trip. Ubaldo has stopped winning too, which means they gotta start picking up his slack.
16. Tigers (51-46) – It’s a good thing they came back in the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday. They are a sinking ship, and a move is definitely going to made to help the team this week.
17. Mets (50-49) – I get the feeling Jerry Manual could be fired on Monday. This 2-9 road trip to start the second half was scary bad.
18. Athletics (50-48) – Dallas Braden won his first start since the perfect game on Mother’s Day. That’s over two months!
19. Marlins (49-49) – It’s been a wild week of walkoffs in Miami. They truly have no shot of making the playoffs, but this past week could keep them from being sellers this deadline.
20. Blue Jays (50-49) – I’ll give the Jays credit for trying this year, despite not having Roy Halladay. I wonder who they can dump at the trade deadline.
21. Brewers (47-53) – The Brewers are thinking of trading Corey Hart at the deadline, but he’s currently hurt. They may as well hold on to him, especially if his injured wrist hurts his value.
22. Cubs (45-54) – The Cubs are now doing what they should have been doing from the start of the season. I think it’s too late for them though.
23. Nationals (42-57) – The Nats have gotten worse and worse since Stephen Strasburg came up. I recall people thinking they could make a playoff push.
24. Royals (42-56) – After the series he had in New York this weekend, the Royals should trade Scott Podsednik for ultimate value. I’m sure their phones are ringing as we speak.
25. Astros (40-58) – I’ll bet you 10:1 odds that Roy Oswalt does not get traded.
26. Indians (41-57) – Who do the Indians have to trade at the deadline? Shelly Duncan? Haha.
27. Mariners (39-60) – I truly feel bad for the people of Seattle. There is not much to go to the games for other than to see Ichiro and hope that King Felix is pitching.
28. Diamondbacks (37-62) – First they trade Dan Haren, now who? I could see Adam LaRoche and Edwin Jackson leaving for prospects and/or cash.
29. Pirates (37-62) – Do the Pirates have any trade chips in 2010? Honestly, who could they trade? Octavio Dotel? They just don’t have much value in anything in Pittsburgh.
30. Orioles (31-67) – Remember back in Spring Training when people said the Orioles could be a shocking/improved team this year?

-Chris

The Diamondbacks higher-ups pulled Haren aside during Sunday’s game against San Francisco and actually asked him to guess where he was going. Haren said his first guess was the Yankees, noting that he really wasn’t sure what was going on. They then told him he was going to the Angels and he sounded pretty excited.

Haren has noted that he liked to stay on the west coast, as he is familiar with the area. However, Haren did not have a no-trade clause, so none of this was really in his hands. He is definitely lucky to be going to a good team, but they still are six games behind the first place Rangers going into Sunday’s game in Texas. Keep this in mind though, the Angels and Rangers still have 11 games remaining against each other. Anything can happen.

Haren will make over $12 million the next two seasons, and there is a club option for 2013 worth even more. The Angels had money to spare due to their lack of bringing in the big name this past winter. They have to be disappointed with Scott Kazimir’s lack of production this season, not to mention he is currently on the DL. Haren should give the Angels a little bit of a boost.

Haren was very frustrated in not winning many games with the D’backs. He said during his press conference that he can’t even remember the last time he won a game. He noted that he’s been with three different managers, players have shuffled in and out, and he hasn’t had the greatest experience in Arizona. Haren is 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA this season in 21 starts. Meanwhile, Saunders was 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA in 20 starts this season for LA.

Overall, I do not think the Angels have what it takes to win the AL West as of the moment. The Rangers now have Cliff Lee, which will help big time to go along with that offense. As for the D’Backs, they got a cheaper starter who has good experience. Both sides won this trade, as of now at least.

-Chris

Whitey was not your run of the mill manager. He showed the importance of managing in baseball, and surely inspired coaches in other sports as well. It was about doing exactly what it took to win, whether the team had to change their style of play or just play harder in order to live up to potential.

Herzog will join 18 other managers who have been elected into the Hall of Fame. He has a career 1,281-1,125 record (.532 winning percentage) managing with four teams over 18 years. He won a World Series in 1982 and two NL pennants with the Cardinals, but the way he turned the Royals fortunes around was something amazing. Herzog knew exactly how to be a ML manager during that period of time.

Best Season: 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. Herzog’s world championship escalated him into immortality in St. Louis. They were only a 92 win team, but he led them to a Game 7 victory in the World Series.

Most Notable Stat: 314 team stolen bases in 1985. With players like Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith, Tommy Herr and Andy Van Slyke, the Cardinals stole at least 200 bases for seven straight seasons. He knew what kind of style of play would work best playing on turf in Busch Stadium.

Remembered Most For: Whitey Ball. Herzog knew exactly what he had to do with the roster that he was given and the ball park that they played in. I couldn’t see any manager today take a team of .300 hitters and tell them they are going to stop swinging for the fences and focus on stealing bases. Not only that, but it was about pitching and defense on the other end of the inning. It was all about the fundamentals.

I used to think that managers and coaches in all sports were extremely overrated. I never really thought that players didn’t control the game, but once I realized that managers really do matter, I came to appreciate what they do. They can control the mood of a team and prevent situations that can prevent winning. Whitey exemplified the importance of managing in baseball, and now he will be immortalized in the Hall of Fame.

-Chris

Much to Ryan Sandberg’s anticipation, based on his own Hall of Fame speech in 2005, The Hawk is now a Hall of Famer too. Dawson played for a lot of pretty bad teams, but he had a knack for playing the game hard regardless. Starting in 1977, Dawson won the NL Rookie of the Year with the Montreal Expos. He won eight gold gloves over his career and an MVP award in 1987.

Best Season: 1987. Dawson won his only MVP this season in his first season with the Cubs. He hit 49 homers and had 137 RBIs to lead the league. He did come in second place in the MVP voting twice with Montreal, but the 1987 season easily trumps the others. It’s as if the wind was blowing out of Wrigley Field every day!

Most Notable Stat: 49 homeruns in 1987. Why is this most notable? It’s one of the top HR totals in history and 17 more than his previous career high. What a year.

Remembered Most For: Winning the MVP in 1987 despite playing for the last place Cubs. It was one heck of a season, but where do you draw the line? Would the Cubs really have been any worse off without Dawson in the lineup?

I’ll be completely honest, I do not think Andre Dawson is a Hall of Famer. He never reached any of the elusive stats like 3,000 hits or 500 homers, and he is only a .279 lifetime hitter with a .323 on-base percentage. Nevertheless, he never did steroids and his knees were in horrendous shape due to playing on the Olympic Stadium turf for so long. Congrats Hawk.

-Chris

Roy on the Block

The hottest player on the market right now has got to be Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros. However, he recently hurt his odds of being traded based on his wish for his $16 million option to be picked up for 2012. I don’t see any team willing to take that on for a pitcher that is past his prime. Don’t get me wrong though, Oswalt is still good, and he can still win big games. He just needs an offense better than Houston’s.

So who is in the market for Oswalt? It came out on Thursday through some insider sources that Oswalt would most like to play in Philadelphia and St. Louis. Although, that edge lies with the Cardinals – the only team Oswalt is rumored to waive his option required for. I don’t see the Astros trading Oswalt within the division, let alone to the Cards. Also, what are the Astros looking for and what can the Cardinals give up? So many questions… The Astros certainly would like a young pitcher in return. The Cardinals don’t have much to give up, since they made those moves to clear out their depleted farm system last year. However, they do have Shelby Miller, a young pitcher from Texas. I just don’t see Oswalt being traded though.

Sweet Lou, Sweet Job?

Even with the trade deadline approaching, I can’t ignore some managerial rumors too. Lou Piniella has decided to call it a career after this season as he plans on leaving the Chicago Cubs. For some reason this is being called such an incredible job. I can’t understand why anyone would want to manage the Cubs. They are a cursed franchise and have an overpriced, underachieving roster. But I digress…

Names that have been thrown into the mix include Ryan Sandberg, Fredi Gonzalez, Bobby Valentine, Tony LaRussa, and even Joe Girardi. Then again, these are mostly rumors, right? I could see Ryan Sandberg being hired, but the Cubs will definitely go for the big name here if they can get it. Sandberg will be their backup choice for sure.

Tidbits:

• Could the Boston Red Sox be sellers at the trade deadline? Things are fading fast in Beantown on their recent trip to the west coast trip. I don’t see them being able to catch the Rays, and certainly not the Yankees – so maybe they’ll try to save some dough. Eh, they’ll trade for someone instead.
• The second best pitcher on the market as of the moment is D’backs SP Dan Haren, but how about a no-hitter throwing pitcher? Edwin Jackson has a back heavy contract that could be hard to deal, but I’m sure Arizona would prefer to trade him than Haren.
• Pedro, Pedro, Pedro. Looks like Pedro Martinez will not be pitching in 2010 – so is there any chance of him pitching ever again?
• The White Sox are looking to make a move, and that move could be for Prince Fielder. The Brewers wouldn’t want to trade him in a perfect world, but in a perfect world he would only weight 210 pounds.

-Chris