Trader Rater 2.0

The trade deadline is only 5 days away and a couple more deals have recently gone down. Although nothing as significant as the CC Sabathia or Rich Harden deals, more often than not it is the role player type deals that help certain teams get over the hump.

The New York Yankees traded 4 prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady. According to the reports and the sources, the Pirates got back prospects who do not have much a chance to be impact players in the big leagues. I am not quite sure why the Pirates would make this deal, as I am sure a team like the Mets or Phillies could have given them a little more. For the Yankees, this was a great move, they picked up a very good situational left handed reliever and a great outfield bat who could play a lot of LF down the stretch. With this move and the Richie Sexson resigning , I am getting a sense of the of the old Yanks.

The Cleveland Indians traded Casey Blake to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a prospect. The Indians are clearly in seller mode and have plenty of young talent they would like to see develop at the big league level. Casey Blake was one of the players that had been rumored to move the most this season and it was a solid pickup for the Dodgers. Blake has 11 home runs already and can play both 3B and the OF. For the Dodgers he will help replace Blake DeWitt and Andy LaRoche at 3B. This move basically signifies that the Dodgers will not be looking for a SS before the deadline.
(Casey Blake in his LA Debut)

It is one of my favorite times of the year and stay tuned for some more trader rater as the deadline approaches!

Top 10: Sports Moments & Games from the First Half of 2008

Well it has been a while since we rolled out a new version of the Top 10. Now I know this is a bit overdue, but I have compiled a list of the top sporting moments and games from the first half of the 2008 season. I will be sure to complete this list when the end of the calendar year rolls around.

So without further hesitation, let's get to the countdown!...

10. Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 600th career Home Run against the Florida Marlins

09. LSU defeated Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game to become the champion of college football.

08. Detroit Red Wings defeated the young guns of the Pittsburgh Penguins to become the Stanley Cup Champions

07. Fresno State in one of the greatest upsets in sports wins the College Baseball World Series

06. Brett Favre retires and cries during his press conference to assure everyone he is done for good...

05. Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon Final which could possibly signify a changing of the guard in the Tennis world

04. Tiger Woods defeated Rocco in a sudden death round of golf to win the 2008 US Open championship

03. Mario Chalmers hit a 3 to send the game into overtime as the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Memphis Tigers to become college basketball champs

02. The Boston "Three" Party is able to reclaim basketball supremacy for at least a year in Beantown as the Celtics win the 2008 NBA Title.

01. The 18-0 New England Patriots were upset by the underdog New York Giants who won the 2008 Super Bowl in a game which could be symbolized by the catch of David Tyree

I'm Baaack

Well I was away for the past week on vacay in Mexico, enjoying the beautiful weather, relaxation, and activities so I do apologize for the lack of posts recently.

In a somewhat modified version of Cleaning Up the Mess... I am going to run through some of the bigger moves and newsworthy items with my 2 cents attached to each big story.






** The Philadelphia Phillies acquired SP Joe Blanton from the Oakland A's for 3 prospects -- I think this is a solid move for the Phils considering the ever disappearing act of the Starting Pitcher market. With Oswalt and Bedard hitting the DL and Harden and Sabathia already gone, Blanton seems like a reasonable acquisition for not a steep price.

**The Washington Redskins traded 2 picks to the Miami Dolphins for All-Pro DE Jason Taylor -- This was a huge move from the Redskins in what has been a relatively quiet offseason for the Redskins considering their standards. The Redskins did not give up that much considering what they get in return. A great move for the 'skins and a necessary one for the Dolphins.



** The New York Giants traded Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for 2 Picks -- Well it seems like this trade has been rumored every since the NFL Draft, but it is a necessary one for both teams. Drew Brees gets another weapon in a good pass catching Tight End in Jeremy Shockey, while the Giants get rid of their headache.


** Paddy Harrington won the British Open for the 2nd year in a row -- Yes, I was pulling for Greg Norman to pull the upset.

** Josh Hamilton stole the show in New York at the 2008 Home Run Derby, but Justin Morneau was the winner at the showcase.

** A classic All-Star game took place this season with the AL winning at about 1:30 in the morning on Wednesday.

** Some Media notes to take care of:


- The ESPYs were last night and Justin Timberlake was very entertaining as the host


- Billy Packer will not be back at CBS for the upcoming College Basketball Season.


- Doug Collins and Mike Breen will anchor the coverage of the Olympics and the US Men's Hoops Team


- Bob Papa: The New York Giants radio voice has been officially named the new play-by-play man for NFL broadcasts on the NFL Network. Papa


Those were some of the bigger stories from the past week, and I will be sure to comment some more of some of the bigger stories that I missed from the past week!