TGI The AL Central (Buy or Sell)

TGIF. Thank goodness it’s Friday. In the case of the AL Central, thank goodness for the Cleveland Indians. Without the Indians somewhat surprising resurgence, this division would be more boring than watching grass grow (though a good paint drying session would still top watching this division). Fortunately for every baseball fan outside of the Detroit area (where there are fewer and fewer people anyways), we live in a world were the Cleveland Indians are relevant. I mean, nothing to see God. No need to smite the Cleveland Indians. They suck. You need not raise up your anger against the city of Cleveland again…

1. Detroit Tigers (52-42) BUYERS

Everyone expected the Tigers to run away with this division. Having a lineup with Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera will do that for you. And it isn’t just those two. A savvy signing of Torii Hunter in the offseason, Victor Martinez coming back from a knee injury and speedy Austin Jackson are nice pieces to put with the Bash Brothers. Throw-in a scorching Jhonny Peralta and the only thing surprising about this offense is that they are merely second in the AL in runs scored.

On the surface, the Tigers pitching looks good too. They are third in WHIP, fourth in opponents batting average and sixth in ERA. All good numbers, right? But here’s where numbers lie: the Tigers, while having the best starting rotation in the league, they have the worst bullpen of any contender (twelfth in ERA). With stars like Justin Verlander, break-out sensation Matt Scherzer (I WILL NOT REGRET TRADING HIM AND HARVEY FOR BRAUN IN MY FANTASY LEAGUE!!!) and quality arms such as Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez, it isn’t hard to understand why the Tigers starters have been so good. And because their starters have been so good, manager Jim Leyland has had his starters pitch the most innings in the league. With good reason too, since the bullpen has utterly unreliable. It started in Spring Training when rookie Bruce Rondon struggled adapting to the closers role and continued when they had to bring back Jose Valverde only to see him struggle. Luckily for the Tigers, Joaquin Benoit has brought stability to the back-end of the bullpen. This, of course, still leaves Jim Leyland relying on his starters going eight innings to get to Benoit though.

Verdict: If it isn’t obvious to you by now, I… I don’t know… Bullpen. Bullpen. BULLPEN! The Tigers may not need a closer any more, but getting a seventh inning and an eighth inning guy is imperative. If one of those guys happened to already be a closer, than all the better. Other then that obvious need, the Tigers could use a veteran outfield bat off the bench if they can find him on the cheap.

2. Cleveland Indians (51-44) BUYERS

In the lede, I said that the Indians’ resurgence was only somewhat surprising. Let me elaborate. Last season the Indians finished worse than every other team except the Twins. With no hot-shot prospect having come up, it would seem unexpected that the Indians would be within a shout of first place. Fortunately for the Indians, there is a thing called free agency. Using this mystical device, the Indians upgraded their offense, getting Michael Bourn, Matt Reynolds and Nick Swisher. Trading to get Drew Stubbs for Shin-Soo Choo in a nine-player deal has not hurt their offensive production much either. All of these moves on offense have transformed Cleveland from the second worst run-scoring offense in the AL to having the fourth most runs scored this year.

What is surprising about the Indians this year, is that their pitching sucks. Better put, their pitching sucks and they still are only 1.5 games behind the Tigers. Their pitching staff is in the bottom third of the league in ERA and WHIP. Both their starters and their relievers have an ERA over 4. Chris “This pot was delivered to my dog” Perez is their closer. On the plus side, a couple of their middle relievers have done well this year, sooooo, they have that going for them…

Verdict: Somehow, in spite of all these obstacles, the Indians are still in the thick of things. Like the Tigers, the needs on this team are quite clear, only more numerous. In addition to bullpen help, the Tribe need an ace. Not just a starter, but a Cliff Lee or a Matt Garza. Rumor has it that the Cubs are in the final stages of dealing Garza, calling in final offers from various teams. The Indians must get in on this trade. They have some top end talent, but much of it is in the lower tiers of their farm system. With the Cubs who are building slowly and surely, however, such a package just might work. Realistically, the Indians probably need a second starter as well. A guy like Ricky Nolasco would have benefited this team greatly. Maybe the Indians could get a pitcher like Bud Norris, who will be arbitration eligible this season, to help their stretch run. The Indians have a lot of pitching holes, but if they can plug up a few of them and continue their clutch play (18-9 in 1-run ball games), they just might be able to pip the heavily favored Tigers for the division.

3. Kansas City Royals (43-49) HOLDERS

I cheated once with the Phillies, so I can cheat again with the Royals. The Royals, however, should hold for a different reason than the Phillies. While the Phillies ability to make a run at the playoffs was (and is) genuinely up in the air, the Kansas City Royals should hold no such delusions. They are eight games out of first in their division and even further back in the Wild Card. Without a miracle run (never a good thing to bet on at the trade deadline), they don’t have a prayer of making the playoffs this year.

Verdict: Normally, not having a shot at the playoffs means you should sell some of your aging veterans for future help. In the case of the Royals, however, they were betting that this would be the year that their exciting young core (Billy Butler, Alex Gorden, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas) would put it all together and compete for a playoff spot. It was with that plan in mind that they traded stud prospect Wil Myers to Tampa for James Shields. The merits of that trade aside, it would be much too early to do any heavy rebuilding. Unlike Toronto, most of KC’s pieces are young and should only get better. Perhaps selling off one or two older, lower quality starters like Bruce Chen or Jeremy Guthrie would be wise (since those kinds of arms always seem to be available in free agency), but beyond that, it would be a major mistake for the Royals to overreact to what has, in all honesty, been another disappointing season for them.

4. Minnesota Twins (39-53) SELLERS

This designation should probably come with an asterisk. The Twins don’t have much to sell. This is a bad team. A very bad team. They do have one thing going for them, however: a quality farm system. Calling up a few of these exciting prospects will at least give fans a reason to come out to Target Field for the rest of the summer.

Verdict: But back to looking at how the Twins should approach the trade deadline. Unlike with most teams in rebuilding mode, the Twins should not trade their closer. This counter-intuitive approach is necessary for the Twins because closer Glenn Perkins is young and has a very team-friendly contract. Now, if the Twins are overwhelmed by an offer, ok, trade him. Otherwise, there is no need to let go of Perkins. Another veteran that the Twins shouldn’t move is Joe Mauer. Looking at his age and his contract (a 30-year-old being paid $23 million through the year 2018), Mauer should be traded (assuming his contract doesn’t scare teams off). There are extenuating circumstances with Mauer, however. He is a Twin Cities kid born and raised. That means that from a marketing perspective, Joe Mauer is worth a lot more to the Twins than he is to other teams. Additionally, Mauer has a no trade clause, making it very difficult to deal him and probably not worth the PR hassle of actively shopping a native-hero. This leaves the Twins with two areas to sell. First, Justin Morneau. He is finally having a decent year after spending the last two seasons battling injuries. He could be especially valuable to an AL contender looking for a reasonably priced bat (free agent after this year) for the stretch run. Second, the pitching staff. I’m not sure there is anyone on this staff (other than Perkins) who generates a lot of interest, but no one (other than Perkins and recently promoted prospect Kyle Gibons) should be off-limits either.

5. Chicago White Sox (37-55) SELLERS

When I saw the Twins were only the second worst team in this division, I asked myself how that could possibly be the case. When I saw that the White Sox were the worst team in the division, it all made sense. How bad are the White Sox? I think one play sums it up best:

Verdict: Unlike the Twins, who do not have much to sell but have a very good farm system, the White Sox have plenty of guys to unload, but a really bad farm system. Baseball Prospectus ranks zero of their prospects in their list of the 101 best prospects. The White Sox should look unload veteran bats like Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, Jeff Keppinger and even Alexei Ramirez if they can. Each one of those bats have value (though Keppinger’s isn’t much) and can provide some boost to a flagging farm system. Pitchers that should be shopped are bullpen arms like Jesse Crain (assuming his arm troubles are minor) and Matt Lindstrom and starters like Jake Peavy (though with his current injury status, it might be easier to move him in the August waiver period). Plenty of parts to move means plenty of work to do for the White Sox GM. He better do it well or his tenure as GM will be done. But for now, TGID. Thank goodness I’m Done.

A Midsummer Night’s Playoff Dream (AL East Buy or Sell)

At the beginning of the season, each team in this division had dreams of making the playoffs (though pundits did not). With the arrival of the Midsummer Classic, four of the five teams still harbor legitimate playoff hopes. (Spoiler Alert: Sorry Blue Jays.) But not all playoff hopes are created equal. So let’s see who’s a Bottom and who’s not.

1. Boston Red Sox (58-39) BUYERS

“Lord, what fools these [analysts] be!” And well should the Red Sox feel this way. After enduring a miserable 2012 season which found the Red Sox jettisoning talent left and right, no one expected the Red Sox to be first in the AL East at the All-Star break let alone have the best record in the majors. Yet, here they are, prognosticators be damned. They have gotten to this position with one of baseball’s simplest truths: health and pitching win games.

This year Boston’s starters have had the second best ERA (3.82) in the majors. That is more than a 1.25 improvement from last year’s debacle (5.19). Last year, players like Clay Bucholz, John Lester, and John Lackey all found ways for their careers to hit new lows. This season, however, all three have been much better. Lackey has returned to the form that enticed the Red Sox into giving him a five-year $82 million deal. Bucholz, though hurt recently, was lights out for the first couple months of the season. And Lester, though not back to his peak performances, has had a good rebound year.

The other key with this team is health. Yes, the bullpen has been decimated by injuries again and Bucholz is not healing as fast as the team would like, but beyond that it has been smooth sailing. Having David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury healthy all year has helped spark an offense that leads the AL in runs scored. Even with Will Middlebrooks injuries at third, the Red Sox have had good cover in the person of Jose Iglesias. As for their bullpen, the injuries haven’t crippled them. Management avoided making the same mistake as last year when they did not have cover for the ever-injured Andrew Bailey.

Verdict: It’s hard to say that the best team in the majors needs much, but this Red Sox team needs cover. They need cover in the bullpen for when more arms go down. A back of the rotation starter would be a valuable add in case Bucholz continues to stay on the DL or comes back as the 2012 version of himself. They need a bat or two because David Ortiz is really, really old, and Daniel Nava shouldn’t beat the odds to continue to hit well. Picking up a veteran outfield bat like Carlos Quentin should do the trick.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (55-41) BUYERS

“Merry and tragical! Tedious and brief! That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow.” How better to describe the Rays? In an age where teams can spend surreal dollar amounts, the Rays somehow manage to field a contender year after year. Trade away James Shields? Have former prospects Chris Archer and Alex Cobb come up and excel. The Rays should patent this move; after all, they have done this before when they traded away Matt Garza. Even though the bullpen has regressed from stellar to average, the starters have picked up the slack, pitching the fourth most innings in the AL.

But it isn’t all pitching this year. The Rays are fifth in the AL in runs scored. Desmond Jennings is transforming into the player that scouts thought he would be as a prospect. Wil Myers (gotten in the James Shields trade) has come up and performed well too. Oh, and a healthy Evan Longoria is merely doing his thing hitting 18 homers with an OPS of .863 (merely the 13th best in the AL). If this team’s young players can stay consistent, look for this team to do some damage in October.

Verdict: The Rays don’t need much either, which is good because the Rays can’t afford to blow prospects on high-end rental players. As strange as it seems, this team needs less than the division leaders. Adding a solid bullpen arm is exactly the low-cost type of addition that the Rays need. Fortunately, this is exactly the type of deal that their management excels at making.

3. Baltimore Orioles (53-43) BUYERS

“The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen… nor his heart to report” the blasts that Chris Davis hits. And how prescient was that Shakespeare dude anyways. He nailed that Chris Davis prediction much better than Nolan Ryan (Texas Rangers GM). That trade (Davis for Koji Uehara) might turn into the next Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson trade. Yes Davis has a long way to go before achieving a Hall of Fame level career (#LETBAGWELLIN), but with power like this, he certainly has a chance.

An easy analysis of the Orioles season would say that Davis and his fellow mashers (132 homers to lead the AL) are responsible for the Orioles being in contention. It would take a lot of skill and nuance to argue for the importance of the O’s pitching this season. I am not that skilled or nuanced. The basic numbers are pretty clear: an offense in the AL’s top 3 of runs scored and OPS and a pitching staff in the AL’s bottom 3 of ERA paint a clear picture. Sure it may not be a Rembrandt, but the picture is much clearer than Picasso’s work. An high-powered hitters and a putrid pitchers.. what could this team need at the trade deadline?

Verdict: Pitching. Lots and lots of pitching. Getting Wei-Yin Chen back into the rotation will help, but so would putting Jason Hammels down. Getting Scott Feldman was a nice start. An innings eater like Feldman will help the fourth most used bullpen in the AL, but that can’t be the stopping point. Personally, I would like to see the O’s make a statement and go get a true ace. Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, and Chen are nice, but none of them should lead the line for a playoff team. Getting a Cliff Lee or a Matt Garza could really put a spark into a team that can use every bit of momentum to reach the playoffs from the toughest division in baseball. In addition to an ace, the O’s also need bullpen help. As I mentioned before, the bullpen is overworked. Perhaps this is the reason that Jim Johnson has not had the same success this year as he did last. Whatever the reason, adding one or two bullpen arms (one of whom should be able to provide healthy competition for the closer’s role) is definitely a must. Unlike the two teams ahead of them, the O’s have holes, but unlike the team’s below them, those holes are fixable.

4. New York Yankees (51-44) SELLERS

“I have an exposition of sleep come upon me.” This is fitting for a team that is old enough to qualify for Medicare. Now, before you jump on me for calling a team like the 48-47 Nationals buyers and the Yanks sellers, let me say I have a few good reasons. Mostly, they are age, but also health (and A-roid). The Yankees are an old, old team. Their three best pitchers combined age totals 112 (C.C. Sabathia: 33, Hiroki Kuroda: 38, and Andy “I Took Steroids Too” Pettite: 41). [Apologies if my math is off. I blame my college.] That isn’t a recipe for getting better over the last half of the season or in the future. Additionally, their GOAT (greatest of all time) closer is retiring after this year. Another reason to think of the future. Also, Phil Hughes has turned out to be the most over-hyped Yankees’ prospect since Joba Chamberlain.

The bats aren’t much younger, but they are less healthy. Look at the talent on the DL: Mark Teixeria, Curtis Granderson, and Kevin Youkilis are on the 60 day DL while Derek Jeter will probably return to the 15 day DL after hurting himself in his first game back in the big leagues this season. (Alex Rodriguez isn’t even listed as on the depth chart on the team’s website.) This level of talent on the DL would be sad… if it wasn’t happening to the Yankees. Robinson Cano is the only legitimate star on this offense any more. Brett Gardner is a useful piece for the future and it is too early to tell how the Yankees’ newest prospect, Zolio Almonte, will turn out. As for Ichiro, he has played well too, but at his age it is unwise to count on his production staying the same. Otherwise, the lineup is a combination of overpriced veterans and backups.

Verdict: The Yankees will miss the playoffs for only the second time since 1995 whether they buy or sell. I know that the Yankees always play for the now and don’t sell, but it would be wise of them to think towards the future. There are useful pieces to ship out to help rebuild the team. Kuroda is the type of pitcher who could draw a solid return of prospects. Sabathia probably makes too much money for it to make sense to trade him, but Ichiro is a veteran who could bring back a decent return. He hits well enough that even without being a power hitter, he could step in to a contender’s outfield. Beyond that, anything they can get for the numerous backups and aged veterans on their roster would be a win.

 5. Toronto Blue Jays (45-49) SELLERS

“So quick bright things come to confusion.” Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2013 Blue Jays. Such a bright offseason has led to the confusion and disheartenment of a season gone awry. On Grantland.com, one of the founders of Baseball Prospectus, Rany Jazayerli, makes a strong case that the Jays must be buyers.  His gist is that they Jays spent too much money to overcome their past 20 years of mediocrity to turn back now. Come hell or high water, the Blue Jays must try to win now.

I must respectfully disagree. Why throw good money after bad? The injuries that he sites as one of the main causes for this season getting derailed are in no way guaranteed to go away. More likely, injury prone players continue to get injured and their skills decrease with every injury. Guys like Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, and Brandon Morrow are what they are: injury prone. This won’t change magically with the change of the calendar. Jazayerli also tries to convince himself that last year’s Cy Young winner, R.A. Dickey, will regain his dominance. Historically, knuckleballers are much less likely to repeat their highs because the knuckleball is such a fickle pitch. If Jazayerli wants to bet, I would take the side that says Dickey never sniffs the full-season dominance that he experienced last year.

If guys like Colby Rasmus, Brett Lawrie, and J.P Arencibia all have breakout or close to break out seasons next year, the offense could make up for a staff that won’t be very good. But that seems like a big if. Arencibia seems like a high K medium power catcher. The other two, Rasmus and Lawrie, are much more likely to develop further, but how soon will that happen? The Jays could certainly build a future team around them so I wouldn’t deal either of them, but are they ready to be a playoff contender next year?

Verdict: I think the Jays were smart to go for it. Mediocrity is only tolerable for so long. Unfortunately, the gamble backfired and now the Jays are without four of their five best prospects from last season. To rebuild that depleted farm system, the Jays must act decisively. I am talking about trading Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Both should net huge returns. Both are getting older (though Encarnacion might be young enough that keeping him through a rebuild could make sense). If Jose Reyes can get healthy enough to ship out, he should go too. One good point that Jazayerli made was that it will be difficult for the Jays to get any value on shipping out their veteran pitchers. Perhaps the August waiver deadline will be better to move them or even during the offseason this winter. Either way, Dickey, Johnson, and Mark Burhle should all go if the Jays can get even close to fair value for them. Closer Casey Janssen is another valuable piece that is unnecessary in a rebuild mode. Jazayerli is also right on another front, these moves will probably cost the Blue Jays GM his job, but if he is truly working in the team’s best interest this is the path he must take. At least Jazayerli will have a cessation to the Blue Jays’ mediocrity.

To Be or Not to Be (NL East Buy Or Sell)

Let’s cut the bull. This is a gimmick. An easy gimmick. And like the one funny joke that your dad has in his repertoire , sports writers continue to beat it into the ground. But this time of year, it’s what everyone wants to know: is my team a buyer or a seller.

It’s a fair question and a very important one too. Make a go of it while trading away a top prospect and you could end up giving away Jeff Bagwell for a mediocre (at best) pitcher. On the other hand, a few key pickups could fuel a team to the World Series (Think 2008 Phils picking up pitchers Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton).

So let’s break it down in bit-sized pieces, division by division. Who will be buying, who will be selling and what pieces might be on the market? Let’s take arms against the slings and arrows of these outrages questions and find some answers.

1. Atlanta Braves (51-38) BUYERS

The question for the Braves is not whether they should buy or sell, but rather who they should be buying. They are fifth in starters’ ERA and lead their bullpen’s era leads the league even with studs like Johnny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty on the DL for the rest of the year. Heck, their starters are even fourth in the NL in innings pitched so their bullpen should be well rested. Oh, and did I mention that they have Brandon Beachy, who was fantastic in 13 games last year, coming back soon.

On offense, they lead the league in homers and are fourth in runs scored. And that talent on offense can throw the leather around a bit too. The range that outfielders B.J Upton, Justin Upton, and Jason Heyward is insane. Andrelton Simmons is a whiz with the glove too. Chris Johnson is still hitting above .300, though he has cooled from the white hot pass to start the season.

Verdict: If the braves have one weakness, it has to be at 2b. Yes, Dan Uggla leads the team with 16 home runs, but he is below average in the field and his batting average (.205) and his proclivity towards the strikeout (108) make him a liability. With no hot-shot prospect looming just over the horizon, adding a second baseman like Chase Utley (though Philadelphia would need a king’s ransom to ship Utley to Atlanta) or Jose Altuve could put this team over the top.

2. Washington Nationals (46-43) BUYERS

The Nationals are an enigma made from a puzzle wrapped in a mystery. For a team that was talking about making a big noise October and getting 100 wins in March, this team has been surprisingly timid this year. They have a 3 shutdown aces in Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan Zimmerman (who is the best of the three in my opinion, but that is another story for another time). A bullpen that boasts of a lock-down 8th and 9th inning crew in Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano. But the back-end of their staff is a mess. Ross Detwiler doesn’t appear to be a long term answer, and whoever kidnapped the real Dan Haren should give him back now. The joke has gone on long enough. Drew Storen still seems to be shaken by his gag-fest that was Game 5 of the NLDS against the Cardinals.

And you know things are bad on offense when your manager tries to make a joke about the occult practice that he uses to fill out his lineups is broken. Yikes. Still, there is reason to be positive about the offense. Bryce Harper just came back, Anthony Rendon looks like he can be a solid contributer, Adam LaRoche is coming around, and that’s not to mention solid performers like Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman. When I look at that offense, I sympathize with Davey Johnson. The fact that his offense has scored fewer runs than the Phillies completely baffles me. Perhaps his Ouji board really is broken.

Verdict: This edition of the Nationals would benefit from taking a page out of their division rivals playbok. The 2008 Phils didn’t win the trade deadline, but after making a few solid moves they did win the World Series. The Nats would be wise to try and pick up a solid back-end of the rotation starter and one more solid bullpen arm. With just those few tweaks, a few of the pieces to this puzzle should fall into place.

3. Philadelphia Phillies (44-46) HOLDERS

I’m going to cheat here. If the Nationals were a puzzle, then the Phillies are the riddle of the Sphinx. Are they a bad team that is playing over their heads like their run differential suggests? Or are they a good team that isn’t playing up to their potential like the names on their roster indicate? Personally, I think they have a lot of sellable pieces and could set themselves up well for the future. Veterans like Michael Young, Jonathan Papelbon, and (blasphemy of blasphemies) Chase Utley could each bring back valuable prospects to replenish a pretty barren system. And that doesn’t even count the massive haul the Cliff Lee could bring in.

At the same time, this team is just 7.5 out of the division lead and just 6.5 out of the final Wild Card spot. Additionally, the Nationals are the only team between them and the division and Wild Card leaders, so it is not like they have a bunch of other teams to jump over. If they picked up a couple of bullpen arms, and perhaps back-end of the rotation starter, they could move themselves into a strong position to capitalize should one or two of the teams in front of them stumble. But if they do go for it, and come up short (and there is a good chance of that happening), they will have set themselves back by a couple of years.

Verdict: Ultimately, the next few weeks will determine what the Phillies should do. It is too early to say one way or the other. Either way, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr is in for quite a few headaches during the next couple of weeks.

4. New York Mets (37-48) SELLERS

The Mets, believe it or not, could be last year’s Nationals next year. Hope for the future is nice, but realism is necessary in the now. And realism means recognizing that this team isn’t there yet. Harvey and Wheeler will turn into a formidible 1-2 punch and with David Wright and Daniel Murphey anchoring the offense and a pay roll that will be able to be added too, next year’s Mets could very well be the surprise of the season. You heard it hear first.

With that in mind, they should be very cautious sellers. You don’t want to gut a team that is on the upswing of the rebuilding process. At the same time, turning a veteran who might be blocking a prospect into a movable asset will only strengthen the whole organization. The biggest decision that the Mets have to make is whether or not to move closer Bobby Parnell. He has finally put it together and become a good big league closer. If the Mets think they will be a sneaky good team next year, they would be wise to keep him. If they think they are still 2 or 3 years away, then they could get a nice haul in return for shipping him to a contender.

Verdict: The Mets should definitely sell a veteran like Joe Buck, even if he doesn’t generate much in return. With hotshot prospect Travis D’Arnaud waiting in the wings, it would make no sense to keep him around. Any pitcher that doesn’t have the last name Wheeler or Harvey should also be made available. And even though I think the Mets will be sneaky good next year, it probably makes more sense to go with the slow and steady re-build. Trade away Parnell, but only if the price is right. Hope may spring eternal, but hope without the solid foundation that a good return of prospects will bring is futile.

5. Miami Marlins (32-56) SELLERS

If you are a die-hard Marlins’ fan, let me preface this with, “I’m sorry.” Maybe that’s me being sorry for having to kick a sad sack franchise while they are down. Maybe it’s a sorry for having to watch such an awful excuse for baseball. Maybe it’s a sorry that you are stuck financing the largest and emptiest graveyard in South Florida. Maybe it’s a sorry that your owner is (insert string of profanities that my mother would be ashamed to read). If you’d like, you can even imagine that those two words are coming from the mouth of said owner, as he apologizes for the horrors he’s wrought upon your organization.

Verdict: Now that Ricky Nolasco has been given his freedom—I mean—traded away, there is not a whole lot of desirable pieces left on the Marlins roster. That may be the trickiest thing about this deadline for the Fish. Giancarlo Stanton is coveted by almost all of the 29 other teams, but he carries such a team friendly deal that even though he has stated that there is no way he’d resign for Miami, they still don’t need to ship him out this year. Veteran Juan Pierre will not draw much interest, and certainly won’t bring back much in return. Perhaps the Fish can use Steve Cishek’s hot streak to move him for something valuable, but that is probably the most hope I can give a Marlin’s fan for the rest of this season. And when that is your best case scenario for your joke of a season, I can only think of one thing to say, “I’m sorry.”

Highlights

There are downsides to having a supremely talented team–when they lose, you see it everywhere. I had the “privilege of walking past two different tvs in the span of five seconds, and wouldn’t you know it, they were playing the same darn highlight of Pablo Sandoval hitting a homerun against the Phillies. It’s hard having such an awesome high profile team, but I guess it’s just something I’ll have to live with. As for the obsession with the Phillies/Giants series, I’m glad it’s over with. After all, it’s only July, not October.
Until then, Who Cares?