by John Scanlan
The Cardinals lobbed the first big shot of the trade deadline when they picked up Matt Holliday from Oakland for prospects. Holliday gives the Cardinals a hitter to provide support for Albert Pujols. The Cardinals are feeling the heat, as they have fallen half a game behind the Cubs and there are 3 other teams within 3 games of the division lead. The Cardinals, who gave up an elite prospect in 3B Brett Wallace, have also made it clear that they’d like to sign Holliday to an extension.
A ridiculous rumor came out this weekend about the Dodgers sending either Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw along with James Loney to Cleveland for SP Cliff Lee and C/1B Victor Martinez. This would be, at best, a parallel move for the Dodgers. The fact that Ned Colletti is still running things gives pause for concern about this rumor, but one has to think he even realizes there is nothing for the Dodgers to gain from this. Of course, Colletti was prepared to send Matt Kemp away for 3 months of CC Sabathia, so who knows? Dodger desperation could kick in, though, if the club struggles in St. Louis this week and Colletti could hit the panic button.
More than likely, the Dodgers and Angels won’t make any big moves, just a few tinkering ones. They’ll both probably pick up relief help of some sort along with an extra bench player or two, but nothing earth shattering. Roy Halladay, the top prize of the trade market, most likely won’t be going anywhere as teams are trying to lowball Toronto.
Bud Selig is considering reinstating Pete Rose, paving the way for his induction into the Hall of Fame. At this point, does anyone care?
I rag on Villathedevil about his sleep-inducing motor sports coverage, but the experience he had this week at Indianapolis Speedway had to have been a thrilling one. The Mid Valley was one of only 2 local papers to cover the race. His Irwindale Speedway show on Tuesdays from 9-10 is one of the most watched segments on the Mid Valley Sports Show, so there is an audience for it. It’s something you can’t really see anywhere else locally, kind of like Peterson picking up the check.
I wonder what Harold Miner is doing these days?
Quick Scans, which can be had for a low level prospect, appears Monday-Thursday at midvalleysports.com.
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