Trade waters heating up

The Philadelphia Phillies today made a trade with the Oakland A's acquiring innin eaters Joe Blanton for 3 prospects. As of this evening the Phillies hold a slim .5 game lead over the resurgent New York Mets. This move helps the Phillies as it shores up a starting rotation that ranks 10th in baseball in E.R.A. and quality starts. The Phillies now have an adequate pitching staff that should allow them to stay in the race in the N.L. East until the end of the season.  

Will this move be the move to keep the Phillies ahead of the Mets? I doubt it -- unless Steve Carlton wants to pull a Brett Favre and unretire. The Mets will pass the Phillies and win the division by at least 5 games.


Meanwhile in Detroit, a certain reliever is being told to other teams by the Tigers that he is available in deals and his initials aren't T.J.. Fernando Rodney, yes the guy who wears a crooked hat and is injury-prone, is on the block per John Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press. Does this mean that the Tigers are going to be sellers instead of buyers in the next two weeks? I personally doubt that, but Rodney is of no use to a team with an already shaky bullpen. Since he has returned from the DL his stats are more like a rookie then a seasoned veteran whom some considered could be in line to close once Todd Jones retires or leaves via free agency or a trade. Trading F. Rodney could be the first of many moves for the paper champion Tigers, a team that was destined for a thousand runs, as Gary Sheffield and Edgar Renteria could be traded in attempt to get the teams younger players more time in the field. 

Of the Tigers remaing games before the trade deadline, 14 to be exact, 11 of these are on the road. While they are currently 7 games out, how they perform in those 14 games will determine how the teams look on August 1st and my Chicago White Sox more then likely won't be losing any ground to the Tigers as they and the Twins battle it out for the Central title and possibly the Wild Card.

Packers fans just not over Brett yet

Sports are all about rallies.

There's the rally cap. The rally monkey. The rallying cry.

Then there are the moments where teammates, fans or an organization rally around a cause. That's exactly what some hardy souls up in Green Bay did today. Video of the rally looks (Editor's Note: this would sure be a good place to link to the video) suspiciously like it was just an excuse to tailgate in Lambeau Field's parking lot.

The most interesting thing to the author is that not every Cheesehead Dick and Jane want Favre back.

"In a poll on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Web site, 47.2 percent of fans said they wanted Favre to play for the Packers next season and 46.5 percent said he should ''retire already.'' Only 6.3 percent of the 17,000-plus fans who voted in the poll as of Sunday afternoon wanted to see Favre play for another team."

Who knew Packers fans were so into fatal attraction? If they can't have Brett, then no one can!

Favre refuses to just 'Pack it in

In news that surprise no one, serial Detroit Lions killer and living legend Brett Favre isn't so sure he isn't going to play this season. Really Brett? This is earth-shattering. Who could gave predicted this?

Old No. 4 has been the most fun player the author's ever seen. He's played with unbridled passion, won games with heart and grit and racked up mind-boggling statistics along the way. But this nonsense has to stop. It just has to. Training camp is in a few weeks, and gosh darn it, the Packers sure would like to know who their quarterback is going to be.

Poor Aaron Rodgers. The highly touted quarterback (not to be confused with former Creed frontman Scott Stapp) from Cal has literally had nothing to do but watch his hair grow since coming into the league in 2005. Just when he's finally handed the symbolic reigns to arguably the most storied franchise in NFL history, Favre reaches out from his home in Mississippi and tries to tug them away.

Look, we all get it. The author has walked a mile in Favre's Wrangler jeans. He misses the game. Every player that retires probably misses the game. But not every player does this one foot in the pool, one foot out routine at the expense of a franchise that was equally as loyal to Favre as he was to it. If Favre wants to return, he should. The guy can obviously still play, as evidenced by his remarkable performance last year. If the Packers want him back, then hold a press conference tomorrow announcing his triumphant return to the game he so loves. In short: get it over with.

The irony is that one of the NFL's greatest signal callers has been sending mixed ones since the day he retired. Either call an audible and come back or stick with the play you called in the huddle and snap the ball on the retirement. The play clock's running out on this charade, Brett.

Baseball blotter

The author assumes a lot of golf was played by large, athletic men on Monday. With just five games on the Major League Baseball docket, there was lots of down time for your favorite players to wager more money than you're going to make today per hole. What the schedule lacked in quantity, it desperately tried to make up for in quality pitching match-ups.

Haren tops Beckett in Beantown

Oft-scruffy Dan Haren wove a gem in the what has to be the city at the forefront of the Titletown contest. The Snakes' strarter threw seven innings of two-hit ball to best the Red Sox' Josh Beckett in a 2-1 win. But don't feel bad for Josh. He's done alright for himself.

Braves can't hit Sheets

It's never been more exciting to be an athlete in Wisconsin. For the first time in 16 years they have a chance to be the state's favorite son. That is unless this man comes back. The Milwaukee Brewers' Ben Sheets made a strong case to have his poster on a kid's wall by retiring the final 16 Atlanta Braves hitters en route to a 4-1 victory. Sheets improved his record to 9-1.

Who needs a DH?

Felix Hernandez really taught us about the heights and depths of human emotion in less than an hour during Seattle's 5-2 win over the New York Mets. He blasted the first grand slam hit by an American League pitcher in 37 years, but then left the game with an ankle injury after a collision at home plate. Things just aren't going well out there, are they?