Athletics Trade Holliday to St. Louis

Twenty-four hours ago I pondered if the Oakland Athletics would trade outfielder Matt Holliday to the San Francisco Giants.

Well, instead of sending Holliday across the Bay, the Athletics have sent him to the Gateway to the West. Holliday is now a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. In exchange for Holliday, the Cardinals gave up three minor leaguers including Brett Wallace, who was the Athletics top draft pick in 2008. Wallace could be Oakland's everyday third baseman as early as next season.

Holliday will provide protection for reigning NL MVP Albert Pujols. The Cardinals now have a power trio Pujols, Holliday and Ryan Ludwick. Holliday will supplant Rick Ankiel in left field who has struggled at the plate and hasn't been the same player since colliding head first into the outfield wall during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies in May.

The one disdvantage is that all three of these players bat right-handed. I'm surprised the Cardinals wouldn't have sought a left-handed power hitter instead. But perhaps there wasn't one readily available or who have fit into the Cardinals lineup. Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres comes to mind but he's a first baseman like Pujols and this isn't the AL so no DH (except for interleague play in AL ballparks but interleague is done for 2009.) Nonetheless, Holliday should be a good fit in the Cardinals lineup. It will be interesting to see if Holliday stays in St. Louis beyond 2009 as he is a free agent after this season.

The Cardinals currently lead the NL Central Division by not a large margin. The Chicago Cubs and the surging Houston Astros are only 1½ games back while the Milwaukee Brewers are 2½ games back. The Cardinals have the unenviable task of visiting the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. The Phillies have been playing their best baseball of the 200! 9 season having won 11 of their last 12 games.

Whatever impact Holliday has in St. Louis, I think the San Francisco Giants missed out on an opportunity to add a right-handed power hitter. Then again sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make.

Sox Trade For Adam LaRoche

The Red Sox have traded for Pittsburgh's Adam LaRoche.

UPDATE, 1:15: WEEI says the Pirates are getting Greenville (A) pitcher Hunter Strickland and Portland (AA) shortstop Argenis Diaz.

Post-Gazette:

12:46 p.m.: Strange, but LaRoche is still sitting in the Pirates' dugout during the game. Hard to tell if he has a uniform on because he is wearing a jacket over the jersey, but he is wearing a Pirates cap. Could be that the Pirates are awaiting paperwork to be completed.

No word yet on who the Red Sox are sending to Pittsburgh.

       AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS  OPS+
2004  .278  .333  .488  .821  108
2005  .259  .320  .455  .775  100
2006  .285  .354  .561  .915  130
2007  .272  .345  .458  .803  108
2008  .270  .341  .500  .841  123
2009  .247  .329  .441  .770  108

This is an upgrade over Mark Kotsay. LHB LaRoche, 29, will most likely play first against against right-handers, with Youkilis moving to third base. Mike Lowell has a .903 OPS against lefties this season.

LaRoche has also been a much better hitter in the second half. The past three seasons, post-July 1 (grabbed from SoSH):

2006: .324!   AVG  53  RS  19 HR  50 RBI
2007: .321 AVG  40 RS  11 HR  43 RBI
2008: .321 AVG  34 RS  17 HR  51 RBI

Fangraphs calls LaRoche

good enough to start against right-handers for a team not in contention, but he's a reserve on any team really trying to win. ...

His defense at first is below average, so the overall package is worth about +1 to +2 wins per season. He's not a terrible player - just a bit below average. He's also the kind of player you should never pay serious money to, which is why the Pirates had to be thrilled to dump the rest of the $7 million he was owed for 2009. ...

LaRoche gives them the ability to not have a hole at first base, and that has value. Is it worth $3 million? If you're the Red Sox, apparently it is.

Red Sox @ Rangers Preview

It has been over 2 months since the Red Sox have needed to stop a 3 game losing streak, but at least they can be happy that their ace is on the hill tonight. Beckett will try to right the ship against Tommy Hunter.

Hunter has been pitching real well of late, letting up only 1 run over his last 2 starts. It would seem that Hunter is hitting the Sox at the perfect time, as they just can't score runs lately. Ellsbury has taken over the leadoff spot once again, as the Sox just can't get anyone to step up can take over that spot. It also doesn't help that Bay is barely hitting over .150 over the past month.

The good news? Beckett has been filthy this season. He's got an 11-3 record and a 3.35 ERA. Beckett has been outstanding in his two previous appearances in Arlington, winning both while allowing one run in 12 innings.

I am not worried about Beckett letting up a lot of runs, but Texas will get some, and I am just not sure if Boston's bats are ever going to show up....

Game starts at 8:05pm on NESN

Troubling Pujols Discussion on ESPN First Take

I was watching ESPN First Take this morning, and I was taken aback by what they were saying in their first issue of the day. Skip Bayless was talking about a ridiculous topic, is it fair to suspect Albert Pujols of using performance enhancing drugs. Didn't we have an issue like this about a month ago that fueled a war between the blogosphere and mainstream media? Every person in the main stream media that had an outlet found a way to destroy JRod of Mid West Sports Blog for such an "Irresponsible Article". Not only did I find the topic on First Take ridiculous, I found their answers to the question shocking. Take a listen.

This is one of the biggest contradictions I have ever seen by people who are supposed to be "journalists" of the mainstream media. We spent the better part of two weeks talking about how responsible journalists can't throw around performance-enhancing drug speculation unless they have any proof. People like Ken Rosenthal were angry that people could publish speculation without backing it up. Now, we have people of the mainstream media (ESPN, major newspapers, Fox Sports, etc.) doing the exact same thing. If a blogger said or wrote the same exact thing, they would be shunned by every reporter on television, or in print. Now that people like Skip Bayless basically said, on ESPN, that he will not rule out the possibility of Pujols using PED's, you expect the people who write blogs to just not discuss this issue at all?

This is the exact reason why JRod of Mid West Sports Blog wrote the blog post that he did, because people were discussing Raul Ibanez, just like Skip Bayless and the 2 Live St! ews were talking about Pujols. In his article, he never said he thought Ibanez took steroids, in fact, he stated that he hoped Ibanez wasn't taking performance-enhancing drugs. However, he acknowledged that Raul's numbers raised his suspicion, just like Pujols raises Skip Bayless's suspicion. They both stated the fact that so many players before them have been thought to be clean, and then turn out otherwise. Therefore, if you were one of the people who chastised JRod, you need to be just as upset with Skip.

However, this won't generate the buzz that JRod's article got, because this isn't a media vs blog issue. I feel that the media vs blog was the heart of the discussion about a month back, even more than the steroids issue itself. Face it, bloggers and people of the mainstream media have resentment toward each other. Maybe it's rooted in jealousy; bloggers are people who want to be people of the mainstream media, and people of the mainstream media don't want fans to read blogs instead of their articles in the paper. Whatever the divisive factor is, I feel that it is completely unnecessary. The sports world is better when you have blogs that can entertain the fans, but not be taken as seriously as a legitimate mainstream media reporter. But now, we have one of those legitimate reporters doing the exact same thing that mainstream media thought was unacceptable for a blogger. That is definitely a troubling contradiction.

All-Star Game at then-new Busch Memorial Stadium

ST. LOUIS -- Bill DeWitt saw the 1948 All-Star Game as a boy at Sportsman's Park, saw another one there in 1957, saw the 1966 All-Star Game at then-new Busch Memorial Stadium, and then on Tuesday night sat next to the National League dugout and saw the 80th All-Star Game played before 46,760 fans at new Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals' chairman, who had worked so hard with his organization to return this event to St. Louis after an unprecedented 42-year wait, was hoping to watch the NL win this time, especially with a current division leader in his charge. It didn't happen, as Mariano Rivera closed out yet another American League victory, by a 4-3 score, extending its unbeaten streak to 13 games.

When all was said and done, though, DeWitt could not have been more proud of the 80th All-Star Game and everything that surrounded it.

"It went extremely well. We couldn't be more pleased or thrilled," DeWitt said from his box seat immediately to the home-plate side of the NL dugout -- where he was coincidentally greeted by Arte Moreno, owner of the Angels club that hosts this event in 2010. "We were really honored to host the All-Star Game and to see how the people of St. Louis have reacted. They really have embraced it.

"I've been to four St. Louis All-Star Games now, and this is clearly the biggest and best. There are so many events now, it's really a celebration for five days. It's the All-Star Game but it's also everything surrounding it."

The 80th All-Star Game will be remembered for yet anothe! r AL vic tory, this one courtesy of All-Star MVP Carl Crawford's classic leaping catch to rob Brad Hawpe, and also Adam Jones' sacrifice fly that scored Curtis Granderson. But it also will be remembered for Going Beyond.

It was the Midsummer Classic that brought President Barack Obama to the field for a ceremonial first pitch that had not been thrown at an All-Star Game by the nation's chief executive in 33 years. It was the video also featuring four other living Presidents who hailed the All-Stars Among Us -- those 30 winners of a competition to find everyday heroes who have embodied Obama's emphasis on public service.

It was the All-Star Week when:

• Sheryl Crow and special guest Elvis Costello rocked the park grounds underneath the Arch for the free All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi, raising money and awareness for Stand Up To Cancer;

• A field of 8,000 runners took part in the first All-Star Charity 5K and Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike, as founders of Stand Up To Cancer, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Prostate Research Cancer Foundation all addressed them and gathered in an unprecedented gathering.From:mlb.mlb.com/news

All Star Game Lineups...and more Halladay

It's that time of the year again...the All Star Break. The game coverage will begin at 8pm EDT and be televised on Fox and Fox HD. Here are the just announced starting lineups...

The National League's manager Charlie Manuel's National League starting lineup is...

1. Hanley Ramirez, SS
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Ryan Braun, RF
5. Raul Ibanez, LF
6. David Wright, 3B
7. Shane Victorino, CF
8. Yadier Molina, C
9. Tim Lincecum, SP

The American League manager, Joe Maddon, announced these gifted players to start tonight...

1. Ichiro Suzuki, RF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Mark Teixeira, 1B
**5. Jason Bay, LF**
6. Josh Hamilton, CF
7. Evan Longoria, 3B
8. Aaron Hill, 2B
9. Roy Halladay, SP

Enjoy the festivities. Remember, the winning team will be the home team for the 2009 World Series, much to the delight and dismay of baseball fans the world over. I, for one, would rather see the home team advantage be awarded to the team with the best record in the regular season, but that's just one guy's opinion. What do you think? I'd love to hear from you.

The starting pitchers...Roy "Doc" Halladay of the (for now) Toronto Blue Jays for the American League versus Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants pitching for the National League. This should be a good one.

No matter what they say, the Toronto Blue Jays are interested in obtaining players in a trade for one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, Doc Halladay. Here's part of what the man himself had to say yesterday...

"I enjoy being in Toronto...where I've spent all of my career. As a player there's that will to win and do it in October. I would like that chance. I'm not saying it won't be Toronto. What's best for the organization ... but it has been tough because I enjoy Toronto so much. You'd like to be three games up and not have to deal with this," ! Halladay said.

As for being the American League starting pitcher, he said this...

"I'm obviously very honored. It's a special experience. I'm glad I wasn't the one deciding on who was gonna start. I don't know if it was because Tampa has beaten me five or six times in the last year. I'm extremely excited. A highlight moment in my career."

Did you catch that "three games up" comment? Rings a bell, doesn't it? Boston right now is three games up on the pinstipers. HMMM. I'll leave that one alone right now but remind you that Clay Buchholz will be pitching Friday night for the Red Sox IN Toronto. Subliminal in-person advertising by Theo and company?? My comments will have to wait.

That's it for this beautiful Tuesday, All Star game day. Enjoy everything and I'll see you soon. Click on the title of this post for more on the game and as always, BE WELL. Thanks.

Congrats to Prince Fielder!

For winning last nights Home Run Derby. My prediction was wrong. Instead of Winnie the Pooh-holes or the Big Phillie Cheesesteak, the world's fattest vegetarian won, Prince Fielder. The unknown Nelson Cruz finished 2nd somehow, and really impressed me. When both Fielder and Cruz started the 1st round with 11 home runs each, I thought the derby would be great! Then, Brandon Inge and Adrian Gonzalez came up, and finished with 2 combined home runs, it went downhill. Overall, it was an OK home run derby, but I enjoyed watching it as usual. Congrats again to Prince Fielder, the winner of your 2009 MLB State Farm Home Run Derby. I have yet to see the Celebrity Game but it's on my DVR so I'll watch that soon. My box of Ginter should be arriving today! YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!