A little early, but I figured I'd bang this out while it was fresh in my mind. This week marks the week of the trading deadline, and we have real movement in the standings. The Oakland Athletics have actually tied for the lead in the AL Wild card race, along with the Minnesota Twins. The Atlanta Braves have tied the Washington Nationals for the NL East lead, while the Phillies and Mets look to make runs in the near future. The Phillies have a huge series coming up against Houston.

 

Nomar Garciaparra is beginning a rehab stint, and could return to Chicago next week. Jim Thome looks to make a rehab stint in my own backyard. Thome will have the honor of being the greatest player ever to wear a Red Barons uniform.

"I have a certain amount of time to make a decision, and I'm going to use that time," Nevin, 34, said. "I haven't had a chance to sit down with my family and kids and talk about these things face to face. This is a kind of life-changing decision."

 

Nevin said it was his understanding that he had until 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday to make the decision. He was told that he had a 72-hour window starting at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday

I would still love to see the A's take the West, since I'm not at all a fan of the Angels. It'd be nice to see a team like Cleveland snag the WC.

Kerry Wood and his scorned lover, the 15-day DL, are about to hook up once again. I can't believe we've got this guy through next season. New mechanics, same old machine.

I want the A's to make the playoffs just to see Joe Morgan completely lose it.

You mean he hasn't already?

I'm hoping for such a huge on air meltdown that ESPN would fire him. Maybe he'll take Theisman with him.

at the same time let's hope the yankees dont make the playoffs so that michael kay's large head explodes on air

My god, Felipe Alou sure knows how to slow down a game. He uses five pitchers in the eighth inning, only to see his closer give up the tying run with the bases loaded (Neifi again, btw). Unfortunately, Barrett popped up right after and so it could easily be one of those come-from-behind heartbreakers.

A play at the plate caps an exciting game for the Cubs. Cedeno led off with a hit and scored the winning run on a sac fly from Burnitz, who the Giants had to pitch to after intentionally walking Lee to load the bases. I should point out that Felipe used six pitchers to get the final four outs.

at the same time let's hope the yankees dont make the playoffs so that michael kay's large head explodes on air

I'd rather they not make it so Al Leiter can be in the booth for FOX again.

i was very impressed with al last year. very. he was spectacular. i hope they get him to do games for the upcoming mets network

 

and here i am in a sticky situation, al was a great met, who talked carlos delgado into not signing with the mets, and now hes a terrible yankee

 

to love or to hate. that is the question.

tom glavine shows his true form tonght at coors field. tomorrow theyre actually starting ishii, against francis. automatic loss, then they'll make a really stupid trade that will cripple the franchise for years to come just when theyre starting to show some promise for next year.

If there was some way the Red Sox can keep Kevin Millar on the bench for road games, I'd be MUCH happier. Take a look at these numbers:

 

At Bats: 155 (14 more than at home)

BA: .239

OBP: .305

SLG: A pathetic .284, only 6 extra base hits all year and not one homer.

OPS: Again, a pathetic .588

 

I mean, I know he's a guy built for Fenway and his road stats have always been bad, but this is just pathetic right now.

Here's some more statistics...

 

.331/.458/.644. 18 HRs, 58 RBIs, 56 BBs. Those are the numbers of Pawtucket's first baseman, Roberto Petagine. And judging by his numbers in the Japanese leagues, those are no fluke. Petagine leads the International League in OBP and Slugging, and it's time for the Red Sox to give him the opportunity he's deserved for a long time now.

Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano are both supposedly near their respective returns.

 

Bret Boone's already hanging by a string in Minnesota. If he doesn't get things going, they'll dump him. The Twins are also apparently interested in Soriano.

Seattle wants Pavano for Randy Winn.

Seattle wants Pavano for Randy Winn.

If I'm the Yankees, I make that trade.

Me too. How much is Randy Winn making?

 

We can go with Johnson, Mussina, Leiter, Wright, eh. Well, we'd still need another starter. Brown doesn't count anymore.

 

Anyway. Pavano could start as soon as Saturday, and Wright will throw in a rehab assignment on Saturday.

Apparently, according to the Providence Journal today, it is imminent that Manny Delcarmen is heading to Boston and Halama is going to be DFA.

 

But yeah, they should bench Millar (or involve him in a trade if a team is dumb enough to take him, "clubhouse leader" be damned) and platoon Petagine and Olerud for the rest of the year (Olerud being the late inning defensive replacement.

I feel bad for the O's. They just can't win with these deadline deals.

 

Winn's making 3.75 million.

Doubleheader tonight at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Game one is the continuation of a suspended (rain) game from three weeks ago, and is nine innings. Game two is seven innings. Hot dogs are 50 cents. If nothing else, it will be strange to see the visiting team on the field for the national anthem, as the game picks up with two outs in the bottom of the first.

 

And just in case anyone asks, Jim Thome is not with the team yet. And Gavin Floyd is likely to pitch tonight as well.

Seattle wants Pavano for Randy Winn.

If I'm the Yankees, I make that trade.

I'm not sure if I do. Even with Pavano injured, he's still a starting pitcher on a team that was scraping together anybody and everybody it could to put on the mound at the beginning of a game.

 

As for the Millar/Petagine saga...well, nothing's changed the whole year. Millar's sucked all year, Petagine has crushed AAA all year. Clearly, there's something that Boston knows that we don't.

The Yankees need pitching, but I'm not entirely convinced their pitching problems aren't due to the lack of a decent center fielder.

I hope the Dodgers pick up Adam Dunn. They desperately need a strong bat in their hitting line-up. I can't wait until Jose Valentin returns since he was hitting well before he got injured. Milton Bradley's finger injury could be a mess for him.