TWO DAYS TO GO

The trade deadline ends at midnight on Thursday. Teams have to decide if they want to go all in and make that big trade to push them over the top or throw in the towel and get rid of some big contracts...er big name players. As usual, there will be at least one trade that no one saw coming. That's when it gets interesting:
M "Wait a minute, Bob. I'm pinch hitting for you this inning."
P  "But Skipper, it's only the third inning."
M " I know. You should go in and change your uniform. They need you in the other dugout."

Who's moving? 
The rumor-mongers are out of control.
Jon Lester, Red Sox - Only because the Sox & Lester can't come to an agreement on an extension, not because Boston is giving up for the season. Yeah, right.
Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians - The media director is tired of correcting the way the reporters keep mis-spelling Asdrubal.
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies - Actually, a trade with the Yankees died when Colorado refused the Yanks offer of their whole starting lineup. The Rockies said, "Hey, we want to get BETTER."
John Danks, White Sox - The Yanks are interested but only because Cashman has a few million burning a hole in his pocket.
Cole Hamels, Marlon Byrd, Jon Papelbon, Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard,  the trainer and the right-field ball boy, Phillies -  What, the left-field ball boy is considered a prospect? If this occurs, the Phillies roster won't be included in the score book. Instead, it will be hand-written on an eraser board under the stands  -- and updated hourly.

Naughty, naughty.
San Francisco broadcaster, Mike Krukow, believes that Rockies shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki, is being fed signs as to what pitch is coming when Colorado plays at home. He thinks this is the case because Tulo is hitting something like .571 at home and only .247 on the road. These kind of accusations are not new in baseball, but consider two things; (1) It's not illegal (2) You still have to hit it.

3 blind mice
Bobby Cox, Tony LaRusso and Joe Torre were all inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. As Vod has pointed out, all three had Steroid users play for them, and none of them will admit to knowing anything. In fact, only LaRusso says the he was a "...little suspicious." Yeah, me too, Tony.

Maybe he's tired
David Ortiz is at the center of another controversy. Apparently, he hit a homer against Tampa Bay pitcher Chris Archer, and Archer didn't like it. A lot of hitters flip the bat after hitting a dinger (Reggie Jackson comes to mind), I have no problem with that. What does bother me is the 29-second jaunt around the bases afterwards, which is almost twice the norm. Ortiz holds the MLB record at 33.9 seconds. I can reheat a slice of pizza faster than that.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Saints QB Drew Brees says he thinks he can play another 10 years, when he’d be 45. Coincidence? NFC South rivals are suddenly pushing to get Metamucil added to the banned-substances list."  -- Dwight Perry
"As a society, we must have a very low opinion of our professional athletes, judging from the media’s relentless — often cloying — campaign paying tribute to Derek Jeter for doing the right things and carrying himself with dignity. Isn’t that what everyone simply is supposed to do?"  -- Bob Molinaro
"A.J. McCarron reportedly fell in the NFL draft because he was "cocky." If being cocky hurt a quarterback's chances in the NFL, Johnny Manziel would be playing in Canada.  To accommodate Manziel, the Cleveland Browns opened training camp inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas."  -- Brad Dickson
"Free-agent receiver Arland Bruce is suing the CFL over adverse effects from a 2012 concussion. Trying to get money from the CFL proves he needs his head examined."  -- RJ Currie
"Cowboys GM Jerry Jones says now that he almost drafted Johnny Manziel. But maybe he decided that there wasn’t room at A T & T Stadium for both their egos?"  -- Janice Hough
"Talking about David Ortiz' bat-flip: I never saw Hank Aaron flip his bat."  -- Chris Archer, Rays' pitcher
"At Big Ten media days,it was reported that the Universities of Nebraska and Wisconsin are working on a rivalry trophy. I remember when that was called a keg."  -- Brad Dickson
"Rory McIlroy said he focused on two words during the final round of the British Open. My guess: winner’s cheque?"  -- RJ Currie

CP-