Hump Holiday Hot Stove

The Big Unit has found a new home to call his own. Randy Johnson agreed to a one year, $8 million deal on Friday to join the San Francisco Giants. Perhaps the Giants are hoping he can help Barry Zito suck less.

Willy Taveras has also found a new home. Taveras, who was non-tendered by the Rockies, has a new 2 year deal with the Reds.

Padres GM Kevin Towers says he'll still listen to offers for Jake Peavy, but is no longer shopping him. If so, that means the likelihood of Trevor Hoffman returning to San Diego is even less.

The Orioles have been in contact with Ivan Rodriguez and Greg Zaun as they look for a catcher to pave the way for Matt Wieters. Offers for Pudge and Jason Varitek are few and far between.

If you can believe anything Scott Boras says, the A's are interested in long time Angel Garrett Anderson. The A's have also had some preliminary discussions with former Yankee Bobby Abreu, but aren't close to a deal as of yet.

Roger Clemens' name took another blow, this time at Houston's Memorial Hermann Medical Center. The Roger Clemens Sports Institute for Medicine will no longer have the Rocket's name attached. We understand it, but at the same time Clemens donated $3 million to the hospital's pediatric wing.

UPDATE 9:07 EST

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing free agent starter Brad Penny.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/15

The Yankees open a four game series this evening with the Chicago White Sox at the Stadium tonight. The pale hose swept the Tigers in a doubleheader on Sunday to extend their AL Central lead to 1.5 games over the Twins.

Pitching match ups for the series:
Monday: Mark Buehrle (13-11, 3.88) vs. Al Aceves (1-0, 1.29)
Tuesday: Gavin Floyd (15-7, 3.77) vs. Andy Pettitte (13-13, 4.52)
Wednesday: Lance Broadway (1-0, 8.49) vs. Phil Hughes (0-4, 9.00)
Thursday: Javier Vazquez (12-13, 4.15) vs. Mike Mussina (17-9, 3.63)

Jorge Posada is a team leader in the Yankees clubhouse, but it will be interesting to see the reaction to comments he made on a taping of Centerstage, with Michael Kay. When Kay played word association and said, "Joba Chamberlain", Posada answered quite bluntly.

"Leave him in the bullpen," Posada replied flatly, before being asked to expand on his answer. "If you start him and he pitches 200 innings, he won't be able to (last).

"You're going to lose him. He's going to get hurt . . . I don't see him as a starter. I'd leave him in the bullpen."

We hadn't realized that Jorge was a pitching expert/coach. Posada expects to be ready by spring training and in not so many words, said Ivan Rodriguez has to go.

"Pudge, he's my friend, but he's going to have to go somewhere else."

There was no real likelihood of the Yankees bringing back I-Rod anyway.


The Journal Star has a profile on Joba Chamberlain's mom.

Unfortunately, Bob Sheppard will be unable to attend the Stadium finale on Sunday.

Newsday's Anthony Rieber thinks the Stadium farewell is "falling flat".

More on Derek Jeter's record tying Sunday.

Joe Girardi talked with Jack Curry about this year's disappointments.

The Scranton Yankees, winners of the International League championship, will face the Sacramento RiverCats, the A's triple-A affiliate and Pacific League champions, in a one game showdown on Tuesday. The game will be televised at 8 PM EDT on ESPN2.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/11

George King has a brief look at the Yankees final homestand and a Far East scouting trip.

Joel Sherman talks about Andy Pettitte's uncertain future.

Ivan Rodriguez sat out yesterday's game with the Angels and will do so again tomorrow against the Rays to serve his two game suspension.

Edwar Gonzalez stood out at Tampa and Trenton this year and may look to go to another organization next year.

The USA Today wonders "What happened to the National Anthem?".

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/10

Just in case you haven't heard already heard, Schitbag is at it again.

Ivan Rodriguez and Torii Hunter both received a two game suspension for their tango on Monday night.

Kat O'Brien has more on Al Aceves and Phil Coke.

Hank said Joe will be back next year. Was that ever in doubt? Dan Graziano knows that Joe Girardi has to take blame too though.

FOX Sports has a piece on the Iron Horse's famous farewell.

Former Yankee Mike Pagliarulo has his take on a possibly Manny Ramirez-Yankees future.

Mark Feinsand looks at Andy Pettitte's future.

Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown looks at the two Joe's, Torre and Girardi.

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Yankees Get Very Offensive

Lets just say the Yankees pitching was a good offense on Monday. Just like the Yankees season in general, the Yankees hung on by their teeth yesterday for a 13-9 win over the Tigers. The Bombers offensive lived up to its reputation, blasting Justin Verlander en route to an 8-1 lead after an inning and a half.

Sidney Ponson had the good fortune of being on the mound with a big lead early, but wasn't around long enough to figure in the decision. He was charged with seven runs, six of them earned, in three innings before giving way to Edwar Ramirez, who fared no better. K-Ram walked three, gave up a pair of hits, and two runs in just 1.1 innings pitched, before the rest of the pen finally shut the Tigers down.

Verlander has had an up and down season, with more of an emphasis on the latter. He walked Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter to start the game, and gave up a single to Bobby Abreu to load the bases with no one out. Alex Rodriguez singled to center to give the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead. A Jason Giambi sac fly and an RBI single by Hideki Matsui would build the lead to 4-0.

The Tigers picked up a run in their half of the first, but Damon homered with one out in the second to get the run back. Back to back singles by Jeter and Abreu, a Curtis Granderson error, and Abreu's stolen base, put two men in scoring position. A-Rod picked up his third RBI when first baseman Jeff Larish misplayed his grounder for an error. Verlander retired Giambi, but Xavier Nady's RBI single increased the lead to 7-1 and drove the right-hander from the game. Matsui delivered another RBI single against lefty Bobby Seay for the final run of the inning.

A Gary Sheffield second inning home run was countered by RBI singles by Abreu and A-Rod, and a sac fly by Nady built the lead to 11-2. But Ponson met his Waterloo in the fourth. A Brandon Inge 2-run home run got things started. A hit and a walk put two more men aboard, and then, for the second time in three games, Robinson Cano made a crucial error that helped make for a big inning.

Joe Girardi saw enough and sent for Ramirez, who gave up a sac fly to Magglio Ordonez, and a 2-run blast to Miguel Cabrera. A laugher had become a nail biter and Girardi was on the edge of seat when Ramirez then walked the tying runs on base. But the slight right-hander retired Larish on a pop up and struck out Inge to end the inning.

Ordonez's RBI single cut the margin to two, but Derek Jeter gave the Yankees some breathing room with a 2-run single in the sixth. The pen then finally shut the Tigers offense down. It included lefty Phil Coke's major league debut. The rookie, who was rumored to be part of the original Marte-Nady deal, struck out two in his major league debut.


News and Notes

Ivan Rodriguez got a long standing ovation, from his former home crowd, when he stepped to the plate in the second inning.

Gary Sheffield's home run was the 494th of his career, putting ahead of Fred McGriff and Lou Gehrig for 25th on the all-time list.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 8/25

Newsday's Kat O'Brien spoke to Ivan Rodriguez about his struggles since coming to New York.

Others may not want to say it, but Mike Mussina knows the wildcard is the Yankees only shot at making the post-season.

Mike Ashmore has a Q & A with up and coming pitcher, Eric Hacker. He also reports that Victor Zambrano could be the guy to replace Darrell Rasner.

Mr. Met is a Moron.

Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks it's time to stop bashing A-Rod.

Chad Jennings talks about Al Aceves' outstanding start for Scranton on Sunday.

Former bat boy and Yankees advisor Ray Negron dedicates his second children's book to King George.

The Trenton-Yankees alliance has been a profitable one.

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Yankees Win Game, Lose Pudge

It seemed like a month of Sundays rather just three days, but the Yankees "finally" won tonight, 5-3 over the Texas Rangers to snap a two game losing streak. The win was not without some cost, though. A few short hours after Joba Chamberlain was placed on the DL with rotator cuff tendinitis, Ivan Rodriguez was knocked from the game in a knee-to-knee collision with Rangers outfielder David Murphy. I-Rod is listed as day to day with a bruised knee, while Murphy may be headed to the DL with a strained PCL.

As for the game, Sidney Ponson gave the Yankees a second straight solid outing, allowing 3 earned runs in 6.1 innings pitched. Ponson spotted the Rangers a 2-0 lead on a second inning single by rookie Chris Davis. It could have been more, but on Ian Kinsler's single to right field, Bobby Abreu fired home a perfect two-hopper to Rodriguez at the plate. Murphy slid late and was upright as he collided with the Yankees catcher. Both players were immediately attended to by their respective trainers and I-Rod hobbled off the field. Murphy stayed in the game, but would leave an inning later.

For one game at least, the Yankees came up with some clutch hits against rookie pitcher Tommy Hunter. Robinson Cano and Jose Molina started the third with a pair of singles and the Yankees got on the board when Wilson Betemit, who started at third base to let A-Rod get some time at DH, doubled to left-center to score Cano. Johnny Damon's ground out to Kinsler scored Molina and moved Betemit to third. Derek Jeter then bounced one up the middle and through the drawn in infield for an RBI single and a 3-2 Yankees lead.

Jason Giambi took Hunter deep in the 4th for his 22nd home run of the season and a 4-2 lead. The Yankees tacked on another run an inning later when Damon stroked a one out single, stole second base, and scored on Jeter's double to right-center. Then it was up to Ponson and the pen.

Kinsler's one out single in the fifth snapped a short streak of five straight retired by Ponson, but Frank Catalanotto lined into an inning ending double play. Michael Young took Ponson deep for his 10th home run of the season to start the sixth, but Ponson retired the last four men he faced and departed with one out in the 7th.

A combination of Edwar Ramirez, Damaso Marte, and Jose Veras build the bridge to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. Pitching without back pain, Rivera struck out the first two batters of the 9th before a single by Davis gave the Rangers one more chance. But Rivera got Ramon Vazquez on a game-ending force out for his 27th save in as many chances.

News and Notes
Brian Cashman, Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Joe Girardi, Ken Singleton, Michael Kay (who is not working the series in Texas), and David Cone were among the Yankees contingent that flew to Oklahoma City for Bobby Murcer's memorial. Ironically it came 29 years after the Thurman Munson funeral game in which Bobby was the hero.

Ian Kennedy will take Joba Chamberlain's turn in the rotation versus the Angels this Friday.

Chad Moeller cleared waivers and was assigned to Scranton. He could be back already with the injury to Ivan Rodriguez.

Former Yankee Jeff Karstens came within 5 outs of a perfect game for the Pirates today. Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young finally broke it up and Karstens settled for a 2-hit complete game. Karstens, who beat Randy Johnson today, has not been scored on in 15 National League innings.

August 6, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	0		5	12	0
Texas	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		3	9	2

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF-LF	5	1	2	1	0	0	1	.317
Jeter, SS	4	0	2	2	1	2	0	.281
Abreu, RF	5	0	2	0	0	0	4	.291
Rodriguez, A, DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.315
Giambi, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.256
Sexson, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.226
Nady, LF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.334
Cabrera, CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.242
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	.261
Rodriguez, I, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.291
a-Molina, PH-C	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.240
Betemit, 3B	4	1	1	1	0	1	1	.250
Totals	38	5	12	5	1	8	14
a-Singled for Rodriguez, I in the 3rd.
BATTING 2B: Betemit (8, Hunter), Jeter (24, Hunter), Nady (30, Madrigal). HR: Giambi (22, 4th inning off Hunter, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon 2; Jeter 3; Abreu 2; Giambi 4; Nady 2; Cano; Molina 2; Betemit 2. RBI: Betemit (19), Damon (48), Jeter 2 (53), Giambi (65). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, A; Molina; Nady; Abreu 2. GIDP: Rodriguez, A. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Damon (17, 2nd base off Hunter/Laird). CS: Jeter (3, 2nd base by Hunter/Laird). PO: Jeter (1st base by Hunter). FIELDING Outfield assists: Abreu (Murphy at home). DP: (Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ponson (W, 7-2)	6.1	6	3	3	1	4	1	4.23
Ramirez (H, 4)	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	3.02
Marte (H, 17)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.18
Veras (H, 7)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.54
Rivera (S, 27)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1.46

Texas	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Kinsler, 2B	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.316
Catalanotto, DH	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.287
Young, SS	4	1	1	1	0	1	1	.289
Hamilton, CF	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	.305
Byrd, RF	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	.260
Murphy, LF	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.275
Boggs, LF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.244
Laird, C	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.300
Davis, C, 1B	4	0	2	2	0	1	0	.295
Vazquez, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.321
Totals	34	3	9	3	1	7	12
BATTING HR: Young (10, 6th inning off Ponson, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Kinsler 2; Catalanotto; Young 4; Hamilton; Murphy; Davis, C 2; Vazquez. RBI: Davis, C 2 (28), Young (64). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Byrd. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING E: Young (9, missed catch), Byrd (4, fielding). DP: (Davis, C-Young-Madrigal). Pickoffs: Hunter (Jeter at 1st base).

Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Hunter (L, 0-1) 4.1 8 5 5 0 4 1 10.61 Madrigal 3.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 6.00 Benoit 1.0 2 0 0 1 2 0 5.45

WP: Benoit. HBP: Byrd (by Ponson). Pitches-strikes: Ponson 95-60, Ramirez 20-14, Marte 4-3, Veras 6-4, Rivera 15-11, Hunter 77-53, Madrigal 46-32, Benoit 21-14. Ground outs-fly outs: Ponson 8-5, Ramirez 1-1, Marte 1-0, Veras 0-1, Rivera 1-0, Hunter 2-7, Madrigal 5-4, Benoit 1-0. Batters faced: Ponson 25, Ramirez 5, Marte 1, Veras 1, Rivera 4, Hunter 21, Madrigal 12, Benoit 6. Inherited runners-scored: Marte 1-0, Veras 1-0, Madrigal 2-0. Umpires: HP: Bob Davidson. 1B: Rob Drake. 2B: Andy Fletcher. 3B: Alfonso Marquez. Weather: 92 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, R to L. T: 3:04.

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Disgusting Display in the Bronx

That's the best way to describe last night's game between the Los Angeles and the Yankees. The Yankees had Pudge Rodriguez in their lineup. Manny Ramirez was out of the American League. It should have been a day to celebrate. But instead Andy Pettitte got rocked, the defense looked shoddy, and the bats were asleep. Don't let the final score of 12-6 fool you. This game wasn't close after the 2nd inning.

Pettitte had come into the contest on a tremendous roll, having allowed 6 earned runs in his last 28 innings. But the nemesis Angels put that many runs on the board in the 3rd inning alone. Both Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera took Pettitte deep with two men aboard. In the blink of an eye, Pettitte, who struggled with his command all night, and the Yankees were in a huge 6-0 hole.

The Yankees teased the crowd a bit with a couple of runs off of Jon Garland. Bobby Abreu hit his third home run in two days and Johnny Damon added an RBI single. But up 6-2 in the 6th, the Angels blew the game open. A Jeff Mathis double was followed by an RBI single by Chone Figgins. A walk to Erik Aybar finally ended Pettitte's night to forget, but things only got worse. Chris Britton came on and surrendered yet another 3-run home run, this time to Vlad Guerrero.

The Angels would sprinkle a few runs on and the Yankees would tease the crowd, what was left of it, some more with 3 runs in the 9th before an out was recorded. But it was clear early on that this game was over barely after it had started.


News and Notes

Phil Hughes was activated from the DL and optioned to Charleston, where he will pitch tonight. Ian Kennedy continued to impress of late, allowing 3 hits over 6 innings on Tuesday night. He could be the quickest option to replace Ponson or Rasner in the starting rotation.

Chris Britton was recalled last night, because the Yankees aren't happy with Brian Bruney's command thus far.

Including the 2003 playoffs, the Angels have won 30 of the last 48 meetings between the two meetings. It won't get any easier tonight when Sidney Ponson goes up against Ervin Santana.

It was a tough first game for Ivan Rodriguez, who went 1-3 and was 0-3 throwing out would be base stealers. He was also called out at the plate on a play that he was clearly safe on.

Chone Figgins had 4 hits and is batting .331 lifetime against the Bombers.


July 31, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
LA Angels	0	0	6	0	0	4	0	2	0		12	18	2
NY Yankees	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	3		6	12	0

LA Angels	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Figgins, 3B	5	3	4	1	0	0	0	.285
Aybar, SS	4	2	1	1	1	1	2	.284
Teixeira, 1B	4	1	2	1	1	0	3	.283
Guerrero, RF	4	1	1	3	1	1	4	.285
Willits, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.185
Hunter, CF	5	1	1	3	0	2	2	.281
Quinlan, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Anderson, DH	5	1	4	0	0	0	0	.285
1-Budde, PR-DH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Kendrick, 2B	5	1	3	0	0	0	1	.335
Rivera, LF	4	1	1	3	0	0	2	.244
a-Matthews, PH-CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.229
Mathis, C	5	1	1	0	0	1	3	.224
Totals	42	12	18	12	3	5	19
a-Hit into a double play for Rivera in the 9th. 1-Ran for Anderson in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Mathis (7, Pettitte), Anderson (17, Britton). 3B: Aybar (4, Britton). HR: Hunter (18, 3rd inning off Pettitte, 2 on, 2 out), Rivera (6, 3rd inning off Pettitte, 2 on, 2 out), Guerrero (18, 6th inning off Britton, 2 on, 2 out). TB: Figgins 4; Aybar 3; Teixeira 2; Guerrero 4; Hunter 4; Anderson 5; Kendrick 3; Rivera 4; Mathis 2. RBI: Hunter 3 (58), Rivera 3 (19), Figgins (13), Guerrero 3 (58), Aybar (26), Teixeira (79). 2-out RBI: Hunter 3; Rivera 3; Guerrero 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hunter; Mathis 3. GIDP: Guerrero. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Kendrick (8, 2nd base off Pettitte/Rodriguez), Teixeira (1, 2nd base off Pettitte/Rodriguez), Figgins (21, 2nd base off Pettitte/Rodriguez). CS: Anderson (3, 3rd base by Pettitte/Rodriguez). PO: Anderson (2nd base by Pettitte). FIELDING E: Garland (1, throw), Guerrero (3, fielding). DP: 2 (Aybar-Kendrick-Teixeira, Oliver-Aybar-Mathis).

LA Angels	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Garland (W, 10-6)	6.0	7	3	3	1	3	2	4.30
Oliver	2.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	3.14
O'Day	0.0	3	3	3	1	0	0	4.54
Arredondo	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.16

Garland pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
O'Day pitched to 4 batters in the 9th.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	4	0	1	2	1	0	3	.315
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	1	0	0	4	.280
Abreu, RF	5	1	1	2	0	0	1	.287
Rodriguez, A, 3B	5	0	1	0	0	1	1	.326
Giambi, 1B	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.257
a-Sexson, PH-1B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.225
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.263
Nady, LF	3	2	2	1	1	0	0	.328
Rodriguez, C	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.295
b-Betemit, PH	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.248
Cabrera, CF	4	2	3	0	0	0	0	.251
Totals	38	6	12	6	2	4	14
a-Singled for Giambi in the 8th. b-Singled for Rodriguez in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez, A (23, Garland). 3B: Cabrera (1, Garland). HR: Abreu (14, 4th inning off Garland, 0 on, 1 out), Nady (15, 7th inning off Garland, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Abreu 4; Rodriguez, A 2; Giambi; Sexson; Nady 5; Rodriguez; Betemit; Cabrera 5. RBI: Abreu 2 (73), Damon 2 (46), Nady (61), Jeter (49). 2-out RBI: Damon. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Jeter. GIDP: Rodriguez. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING DP: 2 (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi, Cano-Sexson). Pickoffs: Pettitte (Anderson at 2nd base).

NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Pettitte (L, 12-8) 5.1 11 9 9 3 4 2 4.18 Britton 3.2 7 3 3 0 1 1 3.38

Garland pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. O'Day pitched to 4 batters in the 9th. WP: Britton. Pitches-strikes: Garland 105-67, Oliver 20-14, O'Day 15-10, Arredondo 6-3, Pettitte 110-62, Britton 53-32. Ground outs-fly outs: Garland 8-7, Oliver 2-2, O'Day 0-0, Arredondo 3-0, Pettitte 3-8, Britton 2-7. Batters faced: Garland 26, Oliver 7, O'Day 4, Arredondo 3, Pettitte 29, Britton 16. Inherited runners-scored: Oliver 1-0, Arredondo 3-2, Britton 2-2. Umpires: HP: Ed Hickox. 1B: CB Bucknor. 2B: Joe West. 3B: Ed Rapuano. Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, R to L. T: 3:16. Att: 53,405.

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Trade Deadline Recap

This was one of the most active trade periods in recent memory. Not only were a number of deals that got done, but a number of high profile players exchanged places. Let's take a look at today's big deals and a couple of ones that had already taken place.

3 Hall of Fame Players - Manny Ramirez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Ken Griffey Jr. were all dealt today. There have been rumors of Jr. to the White Sox on and and off for a couple of months. He finally went today, after waving his no-trade clause, for infielder Danny Richar and pitcher Nick Masset. Richar was thought to be the starting 2nd baseman for the White Sox this season before injury stalled his year. Eventually Alexi Ramirez made Richar expendable. Masset is a mediocre reliever who will just add some depth to the Reds pen.

Ivan Rodriguez gives the Yankees much needed punch at catcher while the Tigers got some much needed help in their bullpen with the acquisition of Kyle Farnsworth.

By adding Manny Ramirez to their lineup, the Dodgers have an excellent shot at overtaking the Diamondbacks for the NL West crown. Who ever would have thought Joe Torre would be managing the Man-child, and for that matter, Nomar.

The Red Sox get back a very solid player in Jason Bay. He's not Manny, but he's still a good addition. The biggest difference will be no protection for David Ortiz.

The poor fans in Pittsburgh, those who actually pay attention to baseball, get back 4 prospects. Reliever Craig Hansen, who was once thought to be closer material, and outfielder Brandon Moss, who has tremendous upside. He's a good outfielder with a decent bat, and will be just 25 in September.

From LA, the Pirates got Andy LaRoche, who joins his brother Adam, and pitcher Bryan Morris. The younger LaRoche will see time at 3rd base and eventually could supplant his brother on the other side of the diamond. He's got good power and will finally get the chance to see if he can live up to his hype. Morris is in just his second minor league season after missing 2007 due to Tommy John surgery. The 21-yr old's best pitch is his curveball.

The Reigning AL Cy Young Winner - CC Sabathia has been outstanding since his trade to the Brewers, going 4-0, 1.82 in 5 starts. The Indians have the chance for an outstanding bat in Matt LaPorta who was hitting .288-20-66 in 84 games in Double-A. He's made a slow transition to the Indians team in Akron, hitting just .212-1-7 in 14 games. Last year he drove in 31 runs in 30 games.

The Stud - Rich Harden finally won his first game as a Cub today. And yes, we are being sarcastic. Harden hasn't given as many innings as Sabathia, but his arm has to be cared for a lot more. Nonetheless, he's been outstanding, putting together a 1.11 ERA in 4 starts. He's also struck out 39 batters in 24.1 innings. Sean Gallagher is in the A's rotation and projects to be a number 3 or 4 starter. The reports on outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson are mixed. Murton, soon to be 27, did well in 2006, hitting .297-13-62 with an .809 OPS. But he's tailed off since. Patterson is getting a shot now after tearing the cover off the ball in 14 minor league games after the trade, and has the bigger upside.

The Big Bat - Mark Teixeira is playing in his second game in an Angels uniform tonight. After going 0-4 against Boston, he's 2-4 against the Yankees and drove in his first run in for the Halos. This was a great deal for the Angels. Casey Kotchman will be a very solid defender for the Braves, but the jury is still out on his bat. Pitcher Steve Marek is a hard thrower, but is pretty much a crap shoot.

So there you have it. Big names, big deals, big difference makers.

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