American League East Twister

We've all heard more than our fair share of chatter and jabber about the powerhouse division AL East.  The division for many years has been known for the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, but more recently a third team has joined into the mix.  The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays were told again and again that they would never hold on to their Cinderella season to win the division.  Not only did they do that, they made the World Series beating Boston in the ALCS, effectively turning the division near upside down.  For many years, the AL Wild Card has been dominated by the East; in fact, the East has taken the Wild Card 11 times out of the 15 years in the spot's existence, with the Orioles taking one, the Yankees taking three, and the Red Sox taking seven.  The Rays, on the other hand, have never qualified for the Wild Card.  Before 2008, they had never made the playoffs.  They had never even won more than 70 games, and finished all but one of the franchise's first ten years of existence.  Tampa Bay could this year though, and it would certainly mark a trend.  This will mark the third year in a row in which two of the three teams of Boston, New York, and Tampa Bay will qualify for the playoffs, with each team qualifying twice.  At the moment, it looks like Boston will be the odd team out this year with a good record but they continue to stay about five games back.  The twister looks like this:

2008: Tampa Bay, Boston
2009: New York, Boston
2010: New York, Tampa Bay?

This kind of a trio is unheard of in a division, and none other like it can be found in the 15 years of the wild card's existence which allows this to happen.  Here's a look at how each team has found the success to be a part of the trio:

Yankees: It's not just all about the money.  Close, though.  The late George Steinbrenner, 'The Boss', would do anything to win and had the money to make things happen.  The Yankees have had the highest payroll in baseball for the majority of the free agency era.  The mix that has allowed them to win championships like they did in the late 90s and 2009 requires homegrown talent, too.  Players like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Paul O'Neill, and Mariano Rivera where vital to the early championships, while Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes where important to the 2009 team.  With the power the Yankees have and the idea of playing in the Bronx so lucrative to most players, the Bronx Bombers should have no problem retaining their success like they have for the last 15 years.  

Rays: The franchise had reason for excitement early in their existence just because there was major league ball in Tampa for the first time, and because Wade Boggs jumped on the bandwagon and recorded his 3,000th hit there.  The rest was not pretty through 2007.  Three number one picks went their way in that time, picking Josh Hamilton, Delmon Young, and David Price.  Hamilton ended up out of baseball because of drug addictions, and Young wasn't able to provide much relief to an organization that had no pitching before he was traded to Minnesota.  Finally the years of restarting an organization paid off, and behind a young core of Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, and David Price they made shocked the northeastern biased ESPN by winning the division.  Being one of the smallest market teams in baseball, the Rays won't be able to sign all of their talent to long deals but their tremendous scouting and development should keep funneling prospects through the system to potentially build future teams.  The Rays' payroll ranks just 21st.

Red Sox: Seemingly always in a bidding war with New York, the Red Sox have more limitations financially than the Yankees but still are always trying to sign big talent, especially international stars.  The Red Sox have the second highest payroll in baseball.  The Red Sox have also got a great scouting department, meaning all three teams are great at that.  Acquisitions like Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, and Curt Schilling have certainly added their part in the past, but just as important has been the development of players like Jason Varitek, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia were necessary to win two championships in four years.  If the Red Sox can sustain good scouting then the big payroll won't be necessary.  With the core they have now, there's little reason to believe the Red Sox will be a sub-.500 team in the near future.

Basically, these teams are deadlocked.  The Yankees have the ultimate buying power.  The Rays have the ultimate player development.  The Red Sox have a mix of both.  And for three teams that have combined to appear in 10 of the last 14 World Series, the battle might not be over for a while.  
 

Homestand Wrapup: San Diego, Atlanta

Record: 1-6

Final Record: 51-74

Games Behind First: 21.5 GB

When it looked like it couldn't get any harder on the schedule, it did.  The stretch of tough teams ended with two of the three division leaders in the National League came to Wrigley Field.  The Cubs haven't played well against these teams, and it didn't get any better this week.

Tom Gorzelanny and Kevin Correia battled it out in a scoreless game until Correia helped himself out with an RBI double in the 5th.  The Padres got five more in the next two innings, and the game appeared to be out of reach.  However, the Cubs got two in the 7th and three in the 8th thanks to a Kosuke Fukudome two-run double, an Alfonso Soriano RBI double, and a Blake DeWitt two-run homer.  The homer made it 7-5 and an exciting game.  Chris Denorfia hit a two-run triple off Andrew Cashner, however, and the four run lead was insurmountable for the Cubs.  On Tuesday night there was a series pitchers duel, but the only problem was that the Cubs were behind the entire game.  Chase Headley hit an RBI groundout, nothing flashy, in the first inning and that was the only run for either team.  Jon Garland, Opening Day starter for the Padres, threw seven shutout innings allowing seven total baserunners.  Randy Wells also allowed seven baserunners over seven but it wasn't good enough, the Cubs took the loss.  Give Mike Adams and Heath Bell, the best setup-closer combo in baseball, credit for holding a tight game.  The Cubs would only get one run the next day, from a Jeff Baker RBI double.  Former White Sox Clayton Richard shut down the Cubs, just like Garland did less than 24 hours before.  Adrian Gonzalez hit a homer and would later score on a wild pitch in the 5-1 win.  The annoying Padres struck again with four in the 7th on Thursday after the Cubs actually had a 2-1 lead.  The Padres got their first sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field since 2006.  I mentioned last week that the Giants are a ready playoff team, and I must say the same about these guys.  They were even more impressive with young talent like Will Venable and Chase Headley and all of that young pitching.  They were also more frustrating to play against, and I had more respect for the Giants.  Maybe I'm just the Cubs fan tired of losing and getting impatient with this month long slump.


The news of the week was that on Wednesday Derrek Lee was traded to the Atlanta Braves for minor league pitchers Robinson Lopez, Tyrelle Harris, and Jeffrey Lorick.  With the Cubs hosting the Braves starting Friday, Lee would make his debut against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.  It was quite a sad day when the Lee era on the North Side ended after seven great years.  Xavier Nady started at first base for the entire Padres series because of the impending trade, but word didn't sneak out until Wednesday a few hours prior to the trade.  Ryan Dempster started on Friday afternoon against Atlanta and batting fourth was the first baseman, Derrek Lee.  When his name was announced, the Wrigley crowd gave him a big standing ovation.  He lined the first pitch he saw to Alfonso Soriano in left to end the inning.  Koyie Hill hit an RBI single off Jair Jurrjens in the 2nd for the early lead, but Dempster would give it up with a homer to Omar Infante and a rare ground-rule double scoring a run for Alex Gonzalez.  Aramis Ramirez answered right back with a solo homer to tie it.  Ramirez would give the Cubs the lead with an RBI double, with what looked like the go-ahead run.  In the 9th with Carlos Marmol trying to save a 3-2 game, Martin Prado drew a leadoff walk.  Lee struck out, then Brian McCann walked.  Then Alex Gonzalez walked.  Melky Cabrera showed no plate discipline and a low baseball IQ by swinging at the first two pitches after Marmol had walked the bases loaded!  He struck out, setting the stage for Rick Ankiel to bat with a full count.  Ankiel lined it down the right field line scoring all three runs in one of the worst outings for Carlos Marmol in a long time.  The Cubs offense had no fight left, and lost 5-3.  Tom Gorzelanny improved to 7-7 after beating the Braves Saturday, getting five runs early on in what looked like an easy cruise to victory.  Andrew Cashner struggled big time and gave up three after Gorzelanny's one and the Braves pulled within one run.  This time, however, Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol shut the door.  The Cubbie World was taken by some somewhat surprising news on Sunday morning when Lou Piniella announced his retirement, effective immediately after Sunday's game.  The main cause was for his ill mother and Piniella wanted to spend time with his family.  There was a pregame mini ceremony to honor Piniella before his last game.  Omar Infante hit a homer in the first, but Marlon Byrd answered with an RBI single.  Jason Heyward then homered, but an Aramis Ramirez two-run homer gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead.  This is when the game got ugly.  In the 7th and 8th, the Braves put up nine runs total off the terrible bullpen.  Omar Infante hit another homer, a three-run homer, and Derrek Lee added his first hit of the series, a three-run bases clearing double.  It was a complete blowout when the Cubs scraped together two in the 8th.  The Braves won, 16-5, that being the same score they beat the Cubs on Opening Day.  After the game Lou Piniella went right to the clubhouse emotionally and then had his last press conference.  In the conference he reflected on his times with the Cubs, all the fun he has had, and sadly realizing this is the end of his baseball career and the last time he will put on a uniform.  Piniella began crying at the latter part and looked emotional throughout.  Read more about this in my upcoming post about the Piniella era on the Cubs.  Also, Derrek Lee's Cubs career will be reflected upon in a separate post.  For Cubs coverage, make sure to keep it here for the best analysis on the Cubs Insider Blog!   

-Special note to Jay Gibbons, outfielder on the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Gibbons hit 121 homers in seven seasons in Baltimore in his prime, back a while ago.  Having not played in a major league game since 2007, Gibbons worked his way back from injuries and the death trap for washed up veterans known as the minors impressively.  I saw this guy in the AAA All-Star Game on MLB Network, and it's inspirational to baseball to watch somebody not give up and fight back even when people had their doubts.  

Road Trip Wrapup: San Francisco, St. Louis

Record: 3-4
Final Record: 50-68
Games Behind First: 17 GB

Inspiring play by Derrek Lee in the second series, against the Cardinals, sparked a phone call from the Braves.  With Lee hitting four homers in three games, including two on Sunday, the Braves wanted in.  They got their man, too, the Cubs sending one of their longest tenured players to Atlanta for three minor league pitchers, two pitching in AA and one pitching in A ball.  Lee led the Cubs to a series win in St. Louis after a rough but tough series in San Fran where the Cubs lost three one-run games.

Pat Burrell had to be the MVP of this series.  He has reignited his career after a disappointing year with the Rays.  He won the game Monday with a sac fly in the bottom of the 11th, scoring Edgar Renteria and the win.  Note that the Cubs scored twice in the first inning, something we haven't seen much this year but a recurring theme in this series.  On Tuesday the Cubs put up four in the first, including a two-run homer from Kosuke Fukudome.  All of that was off two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, of all pitchers.  The Giants got single runs in the 1st and 2nd off Ryan Dempster, but a Starlin Castro two-run single in the 4th put the lead back at four.  Lincecum lasted only four innings giving up eight hits and those four runs on 89 pitches.  The Castro single and a Mike Fontenot two-run double in the 8th came off the bullpen.  The Fontenot double looked like just insurance in the 8-4 game after the double, but it would be necessary because Carlos Marmol gave up two runs in the ninth.  The Cubs still pulled it out, 8-6, with Dempster earning his 10th win of the year.  More impressive fight could be found in the Cubs game the next night, as the Giants scored three in the first but wouldn't be allowed to cruise to an easy win.  Marlon Byrd homered in the 4th, Xavier Nady hit an RBI double in the 6th, and Alfonso Soriano also hit an RBI single in the 6th to tie it up.  Aaron Rowand, former White Sox and one of the toughest players in baseball as voted by the players, homered in the next half inning, blowing another hard effort by the offense.  Tyler Colvin hit a homer in the next half inning after Rowand's, tying the game again.  The back and forth battle would be ended by Brian Wilson getting the save and, who else, Burrell hitting the game-winning homer in the bottom of the 8th.  Burrell would finish the series with an incredible three homers and nine RBI in four games, including two homers and five RBI on Thursday.  Randy Wells got lit up for seven runs, six earned but didn't take the loss thanks to the Cubs' late inning comeback.  For the third time in four games, the Cubs scored in the first inning with a Nady two-run double.  The Cubs had a 3-1 lead for a while, but homers by Burrell in the 4th, Pablo Sandoval in the 4th, and Burrell again with a grand slam in the fifth.  Score it 7-3.  The amazing fight of the Cubs showed again with one in the 7th and three in the 8th to tie it up.  The Cubs didn't take the lead, though, and Andres Torres, statistically the best defensive outfielder in baseball, hit a walk-off single.

Interestingly, the Cubs didn't make a single trip to Busch Stadium until August 13th.  On that day the pitching matchup was Thomas Diamond and the newly acquired Jake Westbrook, both of whom gave up runs in the first.  Marlon Byrd hit a two-run single but the Cardinals countered with a classic Albert Pujols homer.  The Cardinals scrapped together five more unanswered runs until Derrek Lee hit a solo shot in the 8th.  That would be all.  Carlos Zambrano picked up just his fourth win of the year to six losses in a tight 3-2 win.  Matt Holliday opened the scoring with a sac fly in the 1st, but an RBI double from Koyie Hill and homers from Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee, in the formidable duos' second to last game together, made it 3-1.  Randy Winn singled, scoring a run in the 6th, but the inconsistent bullpen held their ground and Marmol picked up his 20th save.  On Sunday, Lee homered twice in the first three innings in his last game as a Cub.  The Cubs put up six in the fourth making it a 8-1 blowout.  Marcos Mateo had some serious trouble ending the game and the Cardinals put up five in the ninth but luckily the Cubs had added an insurance run and Mateo was pulled for James Russell then Marmol.

There are two reflections I have from this trip; the first, as I mentioned, the Cubs showed a real pride in fight making comebacks the entire trip.  The play was inspiring and is great for team morale and confidence as opposed to depressingly sitting back accepting defeat.  The second is that the Giants are for real.  They've got it all working, especially the pitching.  The offense has been a concern since Barry Bonds left and even before that, but they seem to be getting by with high average and Pablo Sandoval and Aubrey Huff, a nice surprise.  Of course now there's Pat Burrell, and he's becoming a vital part of the offense.  The pitching staff is one of the best in the NL, with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, a reinvented Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Brian Wilson, and more.  The Giants led the NL in strikeouts a year ago after the Cubs had led that category for eight years in a row.  The Giants, fighting with Philadelphia, the Reds/Cardinals, and a long list of teams for the wild card, deserve it in my opinion.  This team has come a long way from the Bonds-dependent clubs from earlier last decade.  This team is more athletic and can do more little things to win.  As for the Cubs, they should be taking notes on their success.  But we still have a long way to go to get there.    

Homestand Wrapup: Milwaukee, Cincinnati

Record: 1-5
Final Record: 47-64
Games Behind First: 16.5 GB


There is in fact something to play for at this time in the season, a lost season at that.  Whatever there is to play for wasn't accomplished on this homestand, that's for sure.  Milwaukee, the team the Cubs have had the most success against in the division and in baseball overall, came and demolished the Cubs and beat them badly in the series.  Cincinnati then came in and, having already beaten the Cubs in three of four on July 4th weekend, swept Chicago.


The first game of the series with the Brewers was quite historic.  In the fact that the Brewers blew out the Cubs 18-1, one of the worst margins of defeat for the Cubs at Wrigley Field ever. Randy Wells allowed six in four innings, but the Brew Crew feasted even hungrier on the bullpen.  Casey Coleman, in his major league debut, gave up six in two and a third innings.  Brian Schlitter gave up two earned and Justin Berg gave up three unearned.  The only run for the Cubs was from an unspectacular Aramis Ramirez RBI groundout.  Thomas Diamond, called up from AAA, made his major league debut starting on Tuesday night.  Amazingly, he struck out ten in six innings and allowed three runs.  Not that the Cubs won, though.  The Brewers scrapped together four runs including two RBI from Casey McGehee and that was all they needed, as a late Kosuke Fukudome homer couldn't finish the comeback from an effective start from the ineffective starter Chris Narveson.  The series wasn't all lost, however, when the Cubs rebounded with a blowout of their own.  A fun afternoon at Wrigley Field was had by all, the first in a while, thanks to 15 runs and homers by Tyler Colvin, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, and Blake DeWitt, his first as a Cub.  Ryan Dempster got a win to improve to 9-8 and Manny Parra, who threw just 54 strikes to 40 balls, took the loss.


The first place Reds came to town on Friday amped up about their divisional standing and the outstanding team chemistry that they have.  Bronson Arroyo took that energy to shut down the Cubs and hand in over to the bullpen, namely Francisco Cordero who got the save in the 3-0 win.  Tom Gorzelanny's biggest mistake was a two-run homer to Ryan Hanigan in the second and that was all they would need.    Saturday's game was the story of the Cubs' season: missed opportunities.  Drew Stubbs, who had a three homer game earlier in the year at Wrigley Field, hit one this time for a solo homer and later an RBI single contributing to the Reds' 4-1 lead heading to the ninth.  A wild ninth inning saw the Cubs score one on a Starlin Castro hit by pitch to score the first run, that being with the bases loaded.  Nick Masset, former White Sox, then came on in an emergency save situation.  He struck out Marlon Byrd still with the bases loaded for the second out, then walked Aramis Ramirez to put the tying run on third base, with the bases loaded again, then struck out Derrek Lee.  Game over.  A devastating loss with such a wild ninth inning.  But the fact is the Cubs are 13-29 now in one-run games, the worst in baseball by far.  Thomas Diamond struggled in his second career outing, giving up five in three innings.  But the Reds weren't stopped there, tacking on six more before all was said and done.  Two RBI each for Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Ryan Hanigan, and Juan Francisco helped get the job done in the 11-4 win.  Miguel Cairo, playing for his ninth different team in a 15 year major league career, tripled in a run in the ninth.


Like I said before, there wasn't much to take away from this homestand.  There are a few kids to watch though, like Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin.  Castro's batting average keeps climbing and climbing to the point where he will be one of the league's top hitters once he can qualify for the leaderboard which he will be able to very soon.  Colvin keeps blasting homers, with 17 as of the end of the homestand and hitting the 18th into McCovey Cove in San Francisco this week.  Both are making a convincing argument for Rookie of the Year despite the overrated yet talented Stephen Strasburg.  Darwin Barney was just called up from AAA, a middle infielder with a good batting average and decent speed, and he made his debut Thursday against the Giants.  His first at-bat was a flyout to Matt Holliday of the Cardinals the next night.  Look for more kids to be called up as the roster expands and people head to the DL.


Note: Mike Fontenot was traded to the Giants through waivers while the Cubs were playing the Giants in San Francisco, so he made the long trek from clubhouse to clubhouse to switch teams.  In exchange the Cubs received Evan Crawford, an outfielder in A+ ball right now.  I applaud Jim Hendry for this trade, it might be his best of the year.  Fontenot has no potential and is no longer young and had worn out his welcome here.  Crawford has 24 steals already this season and is the kind of good athletic outfielder the Cubs need.  

Goodbye Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot

By the Trade Deadline had come and past the Cubs had officially declared themselves as sellers and had traded away two fan favorites who had been Cubs each for over three years.  In a terrible trade sending them to the Dodgers, their Cubs career was officially over.  I am sad to see these two guys go because they always played hard and did everything right on and off the field.  Theriot was a team leader in a way because of how he played the game.  Lilly was a great teammate to everybody and a pitcher that gave his all every time out there.  His old school style became intriguing quickly as he found ways to win games.  The only time he was ever frustrated and showed it was the semi-infamous glove slam seconds after allowing Chris Young a three-run homer in the 2nd inning of Game 2 of the 2007 NLDS, losing the hard earned lead just given to him by some young catcher named Geovany Soto.

The stats with the Cubs:

Ryan Theriot .287 15 HR 174 RBI 100 SB 35 CS 330 R
Ted Lilly 3.67 47-34 712.2 IP 603 K 102 HR 184 BB 1.13 WHIP

Theriot began his career with the Cubs in 2005.  Being an original product of the Cubs farm system, he soon became a favorite of Lou Piniella's and he was given the starting shortstop position in 2007.  Theriot was an all-out gritty guy during his time in Chicago, routinely diving or leaping the get rocketed baseballs.  He was an aggressive baserunner who knew the meaning of sprint and really made a difference to the Cubs on the basepaths.  He became the Cubs main speed weapon especially near the end of his Cubs career and could be counted on for 20+ steals.  Not including an odd power spree in 2009, Theriot was a slap hitter who was fantastic and singling to right field.  He led the NL in singles in 2008 and I believe in 2009 as well.  When Starlin Castro took his job at shortstop and moved him to second base, Theriot didn't complain to anybody.   A player like him is not easy to find.

Lilly had bounced around with the Expos and a few teams in the AL when the Cubs signed him away from Toronto prior to 2007.  Pitching in a small market since 2002, Lilly had been highly under the radar.  Arriving in Chicago, he became a winner instantly with a great 15-8 season that saw him make 34 starts, a career high.  His calm and ready attitude mixed well with the organization right away.  In 2008 he was the model of consistency, pitching exceptionally well after a Cubs loss.  One of Piniella's admitted biggest regrets about 2008 was not having Lilly pitch in the playoffs, taking Rich Harden in Game 3 over Lilly for reasons unknown.  The combination of Ted's pitching skill and fantastic way of going about business made him one of the most valuable players on the Cubs teams during his stay on the North Side.

I've made this post to say bye to these guys with class.  Now it's about to get trashy.  The only major leaguer the Cubs got back was Blake DeWitt, a lifetime .263 hitter who was, let's just say, less than impressive in his rookie campaign in 2008.  There's nothing special about the guy.  With 12 HR in almost 700 at-bats, he has little power.  He has poor speed.  I don't see him being in baseball in five years unless there is some hidden talent he's hiding.  We got two bad minor league pitchers as well, both of whom we probably will never see on the Cubs.  This is one of the worst trades I have seen Jim Hendry make in quite a while.  Also, one more thing.  The Cubs ranked last in steals in 2009.  They will suffer a similar finish in 2010 with no more speed.  Now they have traded away the only actual speed threat, and the Cubs won't have anybody else with more than 10 steals.  What was Hendry thinking?  Is he going to acquire speed in the offseason or something?  There is literally no speed on this roster anymore unless Starlin Castro starts feeling like stealing a bit.  It just doesn't make sense.  But right now, just a goodbye to Ryan Theriot and Ted Lilly.  

Winners and Losers of the Trade Deadline

Now half a week removed from the trade deadline I thought we should take a look back at how baseball has changed with those trades.  Namely the winners and losers down the stretch run.

Winners:

1. Texas Rangers
Because of the sale of the franchise, the Rangers had limited payroll to work with.  However, they made the most of it.  The Rangers made an early splash by landing Cliff Lee from the Mariners for super prospect Justin Smoak in the majors and others.  Lee joined his fourth team in two years in the Rangers and brought his excellent control to a rotation that is stronger but will surely benefit from this addition.  Later, they brought it Bengie Molina at catcher acquiring a bat and stopping the revolving door at catcher (Jerrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, and Max Ramirez).  First base, a weakness all season for the Rangers with Smoak not hitting as expected yet and Chris Davis struggling with contact, was also solved by acquiring Jorge Cantu from the Marlins.  Cantu was a third baseman but has played plenty at first and will play there with Michael Young at third.

2. San Diego Padres
The Padres find themselves in first place, something they haven't been able to say for a while.  Not usually a team to be very active at the deadline, the Padres made some surprising moves to fill their holes.  Miguel Tejada was acquired from the Astros to become their veteran leader.  Tejada fits in the mix with Chase Headley at third and Everth Cabrera at shortstop, two young guys who could use an interesting veteran and good hitter around in Tejada.  Ryan Ludwick was also acquired in a surprising deal between two teams in a pennant race.  The Padres needed an outfielder badly because Scott Hairston isn't suited well for an everyday job.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
Staying in the west, the Dodgers did a nice job of picking up people in a highly competitive division and the Dodgers realize they will need to slow down their streaking tendencies and win the game within the game to outplay their foes.  Getting Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot from the Cubs was great, putting in starters and giving little talent in return.  Scott Podsednik joined the team from the Royals and will man the area formerly known as Mannywood while he is (again) on the disabled list.  When Manny Ramirez returns, Podsednik will become the fourth outfielder in one of the best outfields in the major leagues with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

Losers:

1. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are in a desperate situation.  Not playing well of late with three of their core players having spent time on the DL (Johnny Damon, Magglio Ordonez, and Brandon Inge), Detroit needed more competent players in those positions for temporary fixes.  All they did was get Jhonny Peralta from the Indians, an above average yet unspectacular bat who can play third.  They had already been struggled when the deadline came around, and now they don't appear to be dangerous of anything as the Twins and White Sox are once again the powers in the division.  The bullpen help the Tigers need wasn't acquired either.

2. Chicago White Sox
I'm not hating on the White Sox here.  The fact is, they wanted a bat for insurance for their offense that has been relying a bit much on Paul Konerko's surprising play and Alex Rios' resurgence.  When Ken Williams traded Daniel Hudson for Edwin Jackson, he never thought he would end up with Jackson.  Williams, being the smart GM that he is, would want Hudson over Jackson and wouldn't do that move for keeps.  However, the Adam Dunn deal that they were hoping for didn't work out and they're stuck with Jackson.  What's disappointing here was that the Sox were linked to many big name players like Dunn and Dan Uggla even in late July and failed to make anything big happen, while the Twins seem to be gaining momentum as they typically do at the end of the season.  

3. St. Louis Cardinals
You hear the talk all time, blabber about how Albert Pujols needs protection in the lineup or no one will give him anything to hit.  That's why the Cardinals acquired Matt Holliday in 2009, but that isn't enough to conduct an offense.  A key part, Ryan Ludwick, was traded to San Diego in the middle of a pennant race having hit 37 homers two years back.  That trade made no sense because all they acquired was Jake Westbrook.  Considering the Cardinals like to brag about the 1-2-3 punch they have with Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jaime Garcia, the need for another starter that badly I am skeptical about.  Trading away some of Pujols' beloved protection and an underrated bat just for another starter who is not really important for the Cardinals to win the division.

Road Trip Wrapup: Houston, Colorado

Record: 1-5
Final Record: 46-59
Games Behind First: 13 GB

This season probably marks the end of the playoff hopes for the Cubs.  With 57 games remaining and 13 games behind first, there is virtually no chance the Cubs can reach St. Louis and Cincinnati.  This series saw the Cubs do a whole bunch of things wrong and it was quite ugly.

On Monday the Cubs continued on their semi-roll with a 5-2 win improving to 7-4 after the break.  Carlos Silva, who had been just 1-4 in his last five decisions, got a win and Carlos Marmol closed it out after doubles by Geovany Soto, Marlon Byrd, and Alfonso Soriano collectively drove in four runs.  The most notable scoring on the night, however, was when in the 6th Ryan Theriot, wearing his socks high for a change of pace, homered to left center.  The homer was his first in 2010 and first since June 2009.  The next night Ted Lilly made his last start as a Cub and sadly it was a loss even though he got a no-decision.  Getting the worst run support in the major leagues, Lilly got none on this night while he was in and had to hang around for 5.2 innings before the Astros started scoring.  The Astros got two in the seventh before Lance Berkman hit a grand slam to open it wide open.  Being a face of the franchise for many years, that would be Berkman's last homer as an Astro before he was traded to the Yankees on Saturday.  A Tyler Colvin homer was the only damage the Cubs could muster against Brett Myers who threw a complete game.  Myers has been terrific for Houston, going at least six innings in every start this season.  Surprisingly, he was not traded but rather will become the ace of the staff after Roy Oswalt's Thursday trade to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and other prospects.  In the finale Randy Wells gave up three of the eight runs the Astros would score in the final three innings.  Carlos Lee hit two homers, including one off the foul pole that sent the fans home with chicken due to a local promotion.  The Astros took two of three.

Friday night in Colorado was all about making history.  That meaning the Rockies scoring 12 in one inning.  After an Ian Stewart homer that cleaned the bases obviously, the Rockies put up five more.  12 in total.  12!  Rockies win 17-2.  Carlos Gonzalez will remember the game Saturday night for his entire life, hitting a walk-off homer that completed the cycle.  Impressively, the Cubs rallied to tie it at five from a huge Derrek Lee homer.  However, the second Rockies cycle in as many years against the Cubs (Troy Tulowitzki did it last year) powered the Rockies to another win.  Carlos Silva was removed in the first inning with an irregular heartbeat and that accurately describes the state of the Cubs right now.  The Rockies got two in that inning before Blake DeWitt, the newest Cub, stepped in in the top of the 2nd.  He hit an RBI double off the wall in right field, putting the Cubs on the board in his first Cubs at-bat.  It was a blowout at 8-1 by the fifth in the Rockies' favor, but the Cubs put together a mad rally.  Alfonso Soriano's solo homer in the 8th put the Cubs within four at 8-4 and the Cubs might have tied it in the 9th if not for Dexter Fowler, who stole Soriano from extra bases.  Byrd scored on the sac fly anyway, but Soriano probably would have made third with the carom of the ball back the center field.  Soriano would have been the tying run.  The Cubs couldn't finish the rally, and were swept.

The only thing I was impressed with on this trip was their ability to rally showed in the last two games in Colorado.  I am a big fan of that because it makes the other team uncomfortable.  You don't want the other team to be able to sit back and relax and not worry if they make stupid mistakes.  Also, this is a huge team confidence and morale builder even if the game is not won.  Everything else about this trip was terrible.  The playoff hopes, slim at the start of the trip, and now gone.  I will make a post soon about the horrible trade that sent Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Blake DeWitt and two minor leaguers.  I was quite sad at the deal and I was very surprised that Theriot was traded.  To find out why, read the upcoming post which should be posted in anytime from tomorrow to a couple of days from now.