MLB Bullets Hasn't Been Traded Yet

I keep expecting Al to call and tell me I've been traded to Athletics Nation for a couple of young bloggers. It would be nice to blog for a contender, but I don't want to leave Chicago.

• Today's the trade deadline, so a lot of what I'm writing may be obsolete by the time you read it. What isn't obsolete is that the White Sox traded Jake Peavy to the Red Sox in a three-way deal that sent Jose Iglesias to the Tigers.
• The A's made a deal with their "arch-rival" Angels, getting Alberto Callaspo for minor league second baseman Grant Green.
• White Sox outfielder Alex Rios has been the talk of the trade rumor mill, but he left last night's game with a foot injury.
• Before Rios got hurt, Jay Jaffe suggested three logical destinations for Cliff Lee, Hunter Pence and Rios.
• Despite the Phillies being six games under .500, GM Ruben Amaro says there is little chance the team will trade Cliff Lee.
• The Tigers needed Iglesias because they may lose Jhonny Peralta to suspension in the Biogenesis scandal.
• Speaking of Biogenesis (and how's that for a transition?), MLB is expected to announce the suspensions on Friday. Among those expected to be suspended are Peralta, Nelson Cruz, Jesus Montero, Everth Cabrera and some guy named Alex Rodriguez.
• Jon Heyman lays out what is likely to be Bud Selig's plan for ARod, which may include seeking a lifetime ban under the commissioner's "Best Interest of Baseball" powers. MLB is still hoping that Rodriguez will seek to cut a deal.
• Rodriguez's lawyer took to the airwaves yesterday, vowing to fight any charges. Both sides seem to be displaying their feathers (and other body parts) at each other at the moment.
• Tom Verducci thinks that Rodriguez's career is likely over, but he doesn't expect him to go quietly.
• Craig Calcaterra thinks that Selig is willing to tear up the drug testing program just to get Rodriguez, and he calls that "absolute madness."
• Turning to Peralta and Cruz, Bob Nightengale says their teammates will never forgive them if they're suspended. Not necessarily for the PED use, but rather for abandoning their team in the midst of a pennant race. While it may be in both of their best interests to cut a deal with MLB like Braun did, the pressures of a pennant race may force them to appeal.
• Joe Sheehan believes that no PED user has damaged the "integrity of the game" nearly as much as Selig did when he participated in the collusion of the 1980s and engaged in unfair labor practices during the 1994 strike.
• In the midst of a terrible season, the Brewers are giving all fans who come to Miller Park in August a $10 voucher for concessions, merchandise or tickets to future games.
• Kevin Kaduk points out that this promotion is likely to cost the Brewers a little more than the money they saved for not having to pay Ryan Braun the rest of the season.
• Brewers owner Mark Attanasio wrote an open letter to the fans.
• Memories of someone who went to this weekend's Hall of Fame inductions ceremonies are the surreal experience of hardly anyone being there. (Note: The author makes a big point about Rogers Hornsby being in the Ku Klux Klan. While there is little doubt that Hornsby shared the racist attitudes of most white people from Texas in the first half of the 20th Century, the evidence that he was in the Klan is thin, essentially consisting of Fred Lieb saying so decades after Hornsby died. He certainly wasn't an "avowed" member as he wrote. It is a well-known piece of gossip, however.)
• Grantland also looks back at Induction Weekend with a big emphasis on the relationship between the ballplayers and the autograph seekers.
• Rob Neyer visits Josh Gibson's grave and finds it sadly neglected.
• Former slugger George "Boomer" Scott has died. I remember Scott as the biggest star on the Brewers when I first started watching baseball.
• Most other people remember Scott from his time with the Red Sox, and Nick Cardafo remembers him as a gentle giant.
• Gordon Edes says that Scott died feeling abandoned by the Red Sox and baseball.
• Tino Martinez defends himself against the charges of abuse that led to his resignation as the Marlins hitting coach.
• David Schoenfield says that, believe it or not, Francisco Liriano is a Cy Young Award candidate.
• Jon Tayler looks in-depth at Liriano's turnaround and notes that he's junked his four-seam fastball.
• Chad Qualls took an embarrassing, but highly hilarious, tumble during a celebration.
• Miguel Cabrera exited Tuesday's game after aggravating a hip injury. I bet the Indians regret not making a better offer for Matt Garza now, because the Tigers suddenly look very vulnerable.
• Albert Pujols's injury is probably a good thing for the Angels, writes Cliff Corcoran.
• What's not good for the Cardinals is that Yadier Molina expects to go on the disabled list.
• What's good news for the Cardinals is that they found (and made) an all-star second baseman out of nowhere in Matt Carpenter.
• If you're an astronomer who is also a major league ballplayer, you'd better watch it the next time you come to bat against Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw went on Jimmy Kimmel Live to express his anger about Pluto being stripped of its status as a planet. As it turns out, Kershaw's great-uncle was Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930.
• If you wonder where all those ballgames that you're watching on mlb.tv are stored, the answer is Omaha.
• Finally, if you've been watching ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball and you've wondered where lead broadcaster Dan Shulman has been the past few weeks, he's representing Canada playing basketball in Israel. Really, it's not as confusing as it sounds.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. But today was pretty good around my house.