With the trading deadline in Major League Baseball only one day away, let us hope that the trading continues so that the last two months of the season will filled with some classic pennant chases.
Trading Recap
The trading extravaganza began earlier this month when the Texas Rangers traded for P Cliff Lee. At the time, it was rumored that Lee would go to the Yankees. However, when Texas upped the ante by adding 1B Justin Smoak to the deal, Lee ended up with the Rangers. What this event did is give other teams hope that they to can go for players without worrying about the most expensive team in baseball hoarding all of the acquisitions.
As a result of Texas receiving Lee, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim countered by trading for Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren last Sunday to bolster their pitching staff. Haren pitched for the Angels on Monday. He was hit by a pitch on the forearm and was taken out of the game. Fortunately, the X-rays were negative and nothing was broken. Haren will pitch again on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the Angels plan to catch up with Texas was destroyed when P Joel Piniero strained his oblique muscle while warming up before his start Wednesday night against the Boston Red Sox. The team confirmed that he will be out for 6-8 weeks. The lesson learned is that overeating could lead to strained obliques.
Texas chose not to rest on their laurels and traded for 1B-3B Jorge Cantu from the Florida Marlins. Cantu will be asked to play 1B for the Rangers since starting 1B Chris Davis was optioned to the major leagues because he is batting .188. For a team that is expected to challenge for a World Series berth, there was no way this team could win a playoff series with their first baseman batting .188.
Cantu became expendable due to the rising success of 1B Gaby Sanchez (.293, 11 HR, 46 RBI). Texas was smart to swoop in to trade for Cantu, whose bat (.262, 10 HR, 54 RBI) adds even more bop to their lineup along with Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Nelson Cruz, and Ian Kinsler once he returns off of the 15-day DL. With the two trades made by the Rangers, they now have a legitimate chance to topple the Yankees in the playoffs.
Bankruptcy Hearings Take A Weird Turn
To make the bankruptcy hearing of the Rangers on August 4th even more bizarre, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez has now filed an objection against the team because he is owed $24.9 million dollars after he was traded from Texas to New York. If another owner other than the group headed by former legend Nolan Ryan obtains the team, then that person wouldn’t have to pay what is owed to A-Rod.
A-Rod needed to file the objection because of the rumor that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban could buy the team at the hearing. Cuban has been looking to buy a team for several years, but has been frozen out by baseball owners. If Cuban buys the team at the bankruptcy hearing, then he would be able to sidestep gaining the majority vote from the owners.
Now, you sort of see why Rodriguez has been stuck on 599 homers for quite some time now; he is thinking about the money. Actually, the decision to file this objection is probably one of the first good personal decisions that he has made in quite some time. Going on national TV over a year ago and making up a name of the steroid he was taking proves that he is a moron.
