MLB Trade Deadline - 1

By Kalen Patrick

Big moves have taken place in the last 12-24 hours as we near the Trade Deadline, this is probably a minor leaguers least favorite time of year, and they are on constant watch to see if they will be headed somewhere new. It's always interesting watching the guys being traded hug it out with teammates and then essentially leave right then and there.

PHILLIES GET PENCE, THE RICH GET RICHER

I will go over the moves I really like first. It seems like the NL East just got a whole lot richer with the additions of Hunter Pence to the Phillies and Michael Bourn to the Braves. I have to admit that I love the moves by both teams, and I think the Phillies are now definitely the team to beat in the NL. You combine that pitching staff, along with a lineup including Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Hunter Pence, and solid hitters in Rollins, Ibanez etc etc. pretty scary.


The Bourn addition to the Braves all but ensures them of locking up that Wild Card spot in my opinion. It will really make things interesting once the playoffs kick off. I'm already excited for a possible repeat of a Braves-Giants series. The NLplayoff contenders are stacked with pitching. Gonna be an exciting race down the stretch.

INDIANS NEED JIMINEZ TO COME UP BIG

As for Ubaldo Jiminez going to the Indians, this one is interesting, I feel this could be a boom or bust move. Honestly, when you go out and commit to trading for the biggest pitching trade chip, it says that you're all in. Anything less than Playoffs for the Tribe and this trade doesn't look so great. Plus I always tend to be very skeptical when you get a SP from the NL going to the AL. It's a whole different beast, and the Indians need Jimenez to step it up. Essentially, the Indians are hoping that they get the Ubaldo from the first half of the 2010, or at least something in that ballpark. However, the Rockies did receive some real nice prospects in the deal, and it seems like they are playing it smart and thinking long term.


A trade which left me scratching my head was Orlando Cabrera to my San Francisco Giants. Honestly, I feel the Giants should have been focusing on getting a catcher like Ramon Hernandez instead of Cabrera. The Giants already have 2 guys who are capable of playing at the same level as the 36 year old Cabrera. Mike Fontenot and you could try and argue either Brandon Crawford or even Miguel Tejada could do just as good a job.

This post is just recapping whats happened so far, gonna make another post later today or tomorrow covering all the last minute deals, and possibly looking over at all the key waiver wire pickups are out there.

MLB Weekly Power Rankings

By Kalen Patrick

So here we go with another addition of my Weekly Power Rankings, posts have been few and far between with a hectic work schedule. Don't worry, haven't forgotten about the Sports Cave. Lets get to the top 5

Top 5
1 (1 ) Philadelphia Phillies (53-31) - An incredible 22 games above .500 and not even at the All-Star Break. Best record in Baseball and THE team to beat in the NL

2 (3) New York Yankees (50-31) - On a hot streak (8-2 in their last 10 games) and they have by far the best run differential in baseball at +122.

3 (4) Atlanta Braves (49-35) - This team is so consistent, 7 games above .500 at home and on the road. Pitching has been amazing and the hitting will get better, maybe they trade for a bat too

4 (NR) San Francisco Giants (48-36) - Team has been hitting a lot better, In their last 6 games they have had games where they scored 13, 15 and 6. Also Barry Zito has been a pleasant surprise off the DL.

PABLO SANDOVAL AND THE GIANTS MAY BE THE MOST RESILIENT TEAM IN BASEBALL

5 (2) Boston Red Sox (48-34) - Red Sox had a rough time recently but the Astros cured that nicely. Every team goes though slumps, the Red Sox will rebound right now I expect.

Bottom 5
26 (NR) Baltimore Orioles (35-45) - 2-8 in their last 10 games. Remember when they started the season hot? And everyone said they'd come back down to Earth? Everyone was right.

27 (28) Chicago Cubs (34-50) - They got some lucky timely wins against the Giants, this team is still awful and a waste of money.

ITS A SHAME THIS GREAT FIELD IS RUINED BY THE PRODUCT THE CUBS PUT OUT

28 (NR) Minnesota Twins (35-46) - Twins got hot for a while but now back to reality, and its a bleak one

29 (29) Kansas City Royals (33-50) - Said it before and will say it again, check back on this team in 2013

30 (30) Houston Astros (29-55) - They stink.

Who's Hot?
Drum roll please........San Diego Padres! They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and while odds are they will be crash landing back to Earth soon but hey, they should enjoy it while they can.

Who's Not?
Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, 2 teams who rarely know what it feels like to score runs, both are 3-7 in their last 10 and both still kind of have a shot in the division? God the AL West is awful.

Kalens MLB Weekly Power Rankings

By Kalen Patrick

Here we go with another addition of my baseball power rankings, big changes all across the board at the top, while the bottom teams continue to struggle. Also have added a new section called Who's Hot and Who's Not. Lets do this.

Top 5
1 (2) Philadelphia Phillies (47-29) - Phillies have the best winning % in baseball at .618, the bats have been waking up as of late and their pitching has allowed the fewest runs in all of baseball. Hard to top that. NL's team to beat.

2 (1) - Boston Red Sox (44-30) - The Red Sox have the best hitter in Baseball (Adrian Gonzalez), the best pitcher (Josh Beckett), the best record in the AL and the best offense in Baseball. Any questions?

3 (5) - New York Yankees (43-30) - Yeesh I promise I don't work for ESPN and I promise I don't have any kind of East Coast bias, but even I can admit that these are the best 3 teams in Baseball. Yankees have the best run differential in the Majors (+92) and are right in line to fight the Red Sox for the AL East/Wild Card crown.

4 (NR) - Atlanta Braves (43-33) - One of the most underrated and forgotten teams in all of Baseball. The pitching has been outstanding, 2nd in ERA, 1st in WHIP and 1st in BAA. The Braves Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson are #1 and #2 respectively in ERA in the NL. While the offense has been struggling the return of Jayson Heyward should help and they look to be right in the thick of the playoff race.

BEST PITCHER IN THE NL IS........JAIR JURRJENS?

5 (NR) Arizona Diamondbacks (42-34) - I guess these D-Backs aren't going anywhere, with all the injuries the Giants have suffered, it really has opened up a great opportunity to make some noise and give them a realistic shot at playoffs. While I question whether they can maintain this level of play through the season, right now they are playing very well.

Bottom 5
26 (27) - San Diego Padres (32-44) - The Padres are tied for the fewest runs scored in Baseball and they somehow have an awful home record at 14-26. 3-7 in their last 10 games and thats including the 2 game win streak they are on now. Weird how things have gone so far south compared to last year.

27 (26) - Florida Marlins (33-42) - The Marlins are 1-9 in their last 10 games, Hanley Ramirez looks washed up (at 27?), the coaching change is a major hit or miss move and they suffer from having almost no fans show up to games. Pretty bleak.

PICTURE OF A RECORD SETTING ATTENDANCE AT A MARLINS GAME (JOKE)

28 (28) - Chicago Cubs (30-44) - This team is the highest paid bunch of losers I have ever seen. Prince Fielder said he would be open to signing with the Cubs in the offseason? Why? (oh yeah the insane money he will get). This is what I wrote last week and nothing has changed.


29 (NR) Kansas City Royals (31-44) - Fewest wins in the AL, 3-7 in their last 10 games, and while the Royals have some promising prospects coming up and playing respectably, this is a team that will be relevant come 2013.

30 (29) - Houston Astros (28-48) - The Astros are already 20 games below .500, have allowed the most runs in Baseball and have the worst run differential at -72. This team is in full rebuild mode, would trading Hunter Pence be the best way to get some promising prospects?

Who's Hot?
Teams that are deserving of honorable mentions here are the Washington Nationals who are 9-1 in their last 10 games and they have beaten some damn good teams lately. This team could be a force in a few years when Strasburg is back, Harper gets to the Majors and other prospects come up. The Oakland A's have stepped their game up, sweeping the Giants and getting a 6 game winning streak going. The Minnesota Twins are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have been just as hot as the Nationals.

Who's Not?
Besides for all the teams in the Bottom 5, the leading teams in the NL Central have been struggling, both the Cardinals (who are now minus Pujols until mid August) and Brewers are 3-7 in their last 10 and have allowed the Reds to get right back in the race despite only playing .500 ball lately.

Check back in next week for another edition of my Weekly Power Rankings and my new section of Who's Hot and Who's Not.