INTERESTING NOTES

THE BIG TRADE
## The huge Red Sox/Dodgers trade is five days old. Not a significant number of games to be able to judge the effects of the trade, but lets check the status so far.
The Red Sox weren't going anywhere, so it's not surprising that their record is 2-3 since the trade. They didn't receive any impact players in the deal, they are just basically setting themselves up for some big off-season deals. And they are still 13 and a half games out.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, had to feel as though they had become solid favorites to win their division after the deal. Their record? A duplicate 2-3. They have gone from 3 and a half back of the Giants to 3 games out, but I wouldn't call that any big charge to the top.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA?
As of this morning, Melky Cabrera still leads the National League in hitting, with a batting average of .346.  I wonder how Bud Selig would handle it if a suspended player were to win the batting crown. In order to qualify for the batting champioship, a player has to have 3.1 plate appearances for evey game the team plays. At the end of a 162 game season, that figures out to 502 appearances. Melky currently has 501. Sorry Melky.

SPEAKING OF PEAK PERFORMANCES...
There has been a lot of talk about the amazing season Derek Jeter is having. Columnist Skip Clueless...erBayless, has openly suggested that Jeter's season is suspect. The two main reasons being his horrid start in 2011 and his age (38). In most people's mind, accusing Jeter of using PEDs is like accusing the Pope of using condoms: It just can't be. They say the crooks are always ahead of the cops, but I find it hard to believe that Jeter could be tested  for all this time and not be caught if he was using.
There is also a grass-roots movement for Jeter to win the MVP this year, an award he has never won. Two writers, Eric Karabell and David Schoenfield, debated this topic, which morphed into a discussion of whether or not Jeter might be the best shortstop of all time. I won't comment on the discussion about defense, since I think defensive statistics are worthless (as are Gold Glove awards), and go directly to one remark that was made by Eric Karabell. Schoenfield mentioned Derek's clutch hitting and Karabell said that wasn't a factor because "...clutch hitting is worthless." Schoenfield was stunned and so will the rest of baseball when they hear about this. Karabell acknowleged all the championship rings, but dismissed them as unimportant also. Cal Ripken was his choice, but his only argument was Ripken's  longevity. I should mention that Karabell writes the Fantasy Baseball column for ESPN., so he's probably used to living in a fantasy world.

Speaking of PEDs, Roger Clemens will be pitching another game for the Independent League Skeeters. He keeps denying that he wants to pitch for the Houston Astros this season, but the Astros seem interested, probably because he would draw a crowd. I think Roger's plan is to get back on a Major League roster so his retirement recycles and would begin again this year. This would push his availabilty for Hall of Fame back five years. I believe he hopes that this will help his ability to get in, since he would be further removed from the PED accusations. Good luck with that.

THE YANKS ARE TREADING WATER
The injuries are beginning to tell on the Yanks. You can't lose your numbers 3 and 4 hitters without suffering a little power outage. It also hurts to have two starting pitchers on the DL. I know all teams have injuries, but they're not in first place, trying to hang on. Another factor is the inability of these players to rehab in the minors, since the minor league season is over with at the end of the week. The Yanks are going to have to hold on another week and hope the injured players can find their stroke very quickly.

THEY SAID IT
"Fox Deportes has signed on to televise stock-car races in Spanish next year. Currently, NASCAR is broadcast in only two languages, English and Redneck"  -- Greg Cote
"The Washington Post endorsed the Nationals' planned shutdown of pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Shouldn't the Post be more interested in shutting down certain politicians?"  -- Bob Molinaro
"In case you missed it, just 41 days after NFL receiver Chad Johnson got married, his wife filed for divorce. One day it's china patterns, the next it's a quick out pattern."  -- RJ Currie
"Gosh, this is serious. Hurricane Isaac has now caused LSU to cancel practice for their football season opener Saturday. Against North Texas. That might put the spread under 50."  -- Janice Hough

CP-