We're just a couple of hours from the trade deadline, and no more big names are on the move quite yet.

Gotta admire the gall of the Chicago White Sox, who tried to take Manny Ramirez off the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers for $1 million, which is roughly 1/20th of Manny's salary this season. No players, and the Dodgers would have to pick up the rest of the $6 million Ramirez is owed this season.

Nice try, Chicago. Even the divorcing McCourts don't need money that badly.

The biggest deal so far Saturday is a three-way deal between two contenders and the Cleveland Indians, who are in fire-sale mode for the third consecutive season. A few hours after dealing Austin Kearns to the New York Yankees, they traded starter Jake Westbrook to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals sent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres, and the Padres sent a decent Double-A pitcher (lefty Corey Kluber) to the Indians.

Love this from the Padres perspective. Added another hitter, knowing they're reaching their limited, small-market window to compete for a pennant. They've added Miguel Tejada and Ludwick in the last two days to a team that already has good pitching.

Like it from the Indians' perspective. Why not give up an expiring contract for a pitcher who could help in a couple of years?

Not understanding what St. Louis is thinking. They get a rental pitcher in Westbrook who is 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA. He has some postseason experience and has had his moments. But they gave up Ludwick (.281, 11 homers), one of their better hitters and decent protection in the lineup for Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols. They'll throw rookie Jon Jay in right field in a pennant race, unless they make another deal today for an outfielder. That's a lot of faith in a rookie.

Other minor deals: The Rays traded for benched closer Chad Qualls from the Diamondbacks, who also completed a bigger deal with another last-place team. And the Yankees remain on track to get Lance Berkman - and reports are out that the deal is done.

More is sure to come before 4 p.m. EDT.

Early trade deadline head-scratcher: What are the Cardinals thinking? originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 13:39:14.

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The AL East contenders have been quiet amid the trade deadline frenzy this week.

That appears to be changing.

The AP is reporting that the New York Yankees and Houston Astros are close to a deal that would send five-time All-Star Lance Berkman to the Bronx, beefing up an already potent lineup.

Berkman, making $14.5 million this season, has a club option for 2011 worth $15 million. He would become the Yankees' designated hitter, as New York has a Gold Glove first baseman in Mark Teixeira.

No word on who would be sent to Houston.

And then we'll all wait on the Boston and Tampa Bay response.

Today's huge deal: Lance Berkman to Yankees? originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 12:37:04.

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Even after losing Shane Victorino for a few weeks, the Philadelphia Phillies sent a message that they believe their injury curse is ending.

By trading for Roy Oswalt - and giving up on 2009 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up J.A. Happ in the process - the 2008 and 2009 pennant winners aren't giving up on 2010.

The Phillies lost Jamie Moyer and are without Chase Utley for a few more weeks. This probably means Jayson Werth isn't going anywhere, either.

Still, you wonder if the Phillies would like to get a do-over on that Cliff Lee deal. They wouldn't have needed Oswalt, could have kept Happ and the two other prospects Houston is getting, and it would have been a lot cheaper. Lee is making $9 million this season.

On the other hand, if it's true that the Astros are adding $11 million to the deal, it becomes a little easier to swallow in Philly. Oswalt, who has a career ERA of 3.24, is due $16 million in 2011 and there is a club option for 2012 for $16 million.

But he's also not as good as Lee.

The Phillies are three back of the Braves, who lost Thursday afternoon, in the NL East. Oswalt will start Friday in Washington.

Failure to keep Lee bites the Phils, who pay big price for Oswalt originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 20:45:59.

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The media is quick to call 2010 the Year of the Pitcher. It's also the Year of the Freak Celebration Injury.

Postgame celebrations have put two pretty good players on the disabled list this season. Two months after the Angels' Kendry Morales broke his leg at home plate in the middle of a mob celebrating his game-winning home run, Chris Coghlan, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, landed on the disabled list with torn meniscus suffered while administering a shaving cream pie in the face to teammate Wes Helms, who had hit a game-winning single and was being interviewed on television.

"Hopefully through this experience, obviously Kendry Morales' was a little bit more serious than mine, but hopefully players around the league will realize that even though were all excited just to be a little bit more cautious, a little bit more safe when we celebrate. It was one of those freak things that happen," Coghlan said to the Palm Beach Post.

And, not so surprisingly, the Marlins have banned postgame shaving cream pie celebrations. (Too bad they haven't banned their theme song.) It's been a odd year in Miami all around.

Freak injuries and no-hitters: Neither are rare in 2010 originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 22:31:20.

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Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays threw the fifth no-hitter of the season - and it's not even August - as the Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 on Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

It was the fourth no-hitter the Rays have been involved in during the past 13 months. The White Sox's Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game against Tampa Bay last July. The Athletics' Dallas Braden threw another perfect game against them in May, and Edwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks threw a no-hitter against them in June.

Garza was in total control in this one, facing the minimum 27 batters. The only blemish was a walk in the second inning against the Tigers' Brennan Boesch, and he was erased on a double play by the next batter.

Detroit's Max Scherzer had held Rays hitless through 5 2/3 innings, but loaded the bases and Matt Joyce blasted a grand slam to give Garza all the support he needed.

It was the first no-hitter by a Rays pitcher. The last four no-hitters, and five of the last six, have involved one of the two Florida teams. And there are now just two franchises that have never thrown a no-hitter: the Mets and Padres.

The five no-hitters are the most in a season since 1991, when there were seven. And at this pace, that number is in jeopardy.

Team No-Hitter is at it again, but this time on the good side originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 23:36:18.

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By definition, for every win in the standings, there's a loss. But 2010 has a somewhat odd statistical anomaly.

An examination of this week's MLB Power Rankings shows that the top 19 teams have winning records as of today. And you can make it an even 20 by adding the 49-49 Florida Marlins.

That's exactly two-thirds of the teams in the league who, by definition, are having a decent season. And that's good news for the game as a whole.

But the downside: The bad teams are worse than ever. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Arizona and Houston: Take a bow. Those five teams are combined 130 games under .500. The top five teams (the New York Yankees, Atlanta, Texas, San Diego and Tampa Bay) are a combined 100 games over .500.  That's a big difference.

In 2008 and 2009, 13 teams finished with sub-.500 records. In 2007, there were 14 losing teams. Go back to 2006, and there were more losing teams (16) than winning ones (14).

Sounds like a trend, and maybe evidence that revenue sharing is working for small-market teams that know what they're doing (Tampa Bay, San Diego) and augmenting the failure for those who don't (Pittsburgh).

Update: This week's MLB Power Rankings, with a pick for the MVP of every team.

More good teams (and really bad teams) than ever originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 00:32:53.

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The two regular features and one brand new one have rolled out for this week.

Along with the Weekly Planner and the Waiver Wire column, contributing writer Kevin Kleps makes five bold batter predictions for the second half, and wonders if the best two fantasy catchers in the game today didn't even start the season in the majors. If you've got Buster Posey or Carlos Santana on your team, congratulations.

And if you have Dan Haren in a mixed league, today was good news. He'll actually have a bullpen to protect a lead with the Angels. If you had him in an NL-only league, well, you need the Waiver Wire column.

Kevin's weekly analysis of the best players available on the fantasy baseball waiver wire takes a look at six more free-agent pickups, plus a roundup of the most undervalued batters and pitchers. And in the Weekly Planner, he examines the impact of a possible Roy Oswalt trade, plus two-start pitchers, hot-and-cold lists and start-and-sit advice.

Bold batter predictions for fantasy second half originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 00:30:48.

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The Baseball Hall of Fame added three new members Sunday in a ceremony that was equal parts tragic and comedic.

With 47 past Hall of Famers in attendance -- ranging from 91-year-old Bob Feller (class of 1962) to Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice (class of 2009) - the speeches were all entertaining in their own way. (And then there was Johnny Bench's great impression of Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" which somehow hasn't been added to the MLB.com list of videos.)

But perhaps the most memorable moments came from umpire Doug Harvey, who has throat cancer and recorded his acceptance speech in advance, sounding a lot like Babe Ruth did when he addressed the Yankee Stadium crowd in 1947.

And the elements played a role, too. A steady rain was falling when his speech began, and when Harvey - nicknamed "God" during his umpiring days - took to the podium to say a few words after the recording finished, he delivered the one-liner of the day.

"See, I stopped the rain," Harvey said.

Other memorable quotes from the ceremony:

• "Individuals have chosen the wrong road, and they have chosen that as their legacy. Others still have a chance to choose theirs. Do not be lured to the dark side. It's a stain on the game, a stain that's gradually being removed." - Andre Dawson
• "One of the many duties of the home plate umpire is to make sure that the runner touches home. Well, if you're a true baseball fan, you need to visit Cooperstown. This is home and you need to be sure you'll touch home by the end of the game. I'll be watching to make sure you do." - Harvey
• "Being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame is like going to heaven before you die." - Whitey Herzog
• "I didn't play this game with this goal in my mind. But I'm living proof that if you love this game, the game will love you back. I'm proof that any young person who can hear my voice right now can be standing here as I am." - Dawson

Also honored were longtime broadcaster Jon Miller (Ford C. Frick Award) and New York Daily News sports writer Bill Madden (J.G. Taylor Spink Award).

Hall of Fame ceremony poignant, yet with a fun tone originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 22:48:08.

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For once, my instincts are correct.

Pitcher Dan Haren wasn't traded to the Yankees. He was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels for Joe Saunders and a pair of prospects on Sunday afternoon.

It's an interesting call for the Angels, who give up an All-Star caliber of pitcher in Saunders (who made the AL squad in 2008) to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Haren. Both are 29, and are similar statistically this season with ERAs in the mid-4s, but Haren (7-8 this season) has the better track record (3.71 career ERA). Saunders, 29, is 6-10 this year and 56-32 lifetime with a 4.29 ERA.

Give the Diamondbacks the edge in this one, because they shed a lot of salary, got a decent arm in return and one of the prospects is pitcher Patrick Corbin, 20, a second-rounder in 2009 who is a combined 13-3 in the low minors this season. If Corbin pans out, give Arizona a huge edge in this one.

And the Angels showed the Rangers that they're not going to release their hold on the AL West without a fight. Haren, who broke in with Oakland, will have some pressure in his return to the AL West.

Who is next be traded? Roy Oswalt? Ted Lilly? I'll go with Brett Myers of the Astros, who is a bargain innings-eater and a guy who has had success starting and out of the bullpen in his career. And this one really might include the Yankees.

Dan Haren traded to Angels originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 19:13:05.

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The biggest name on the trade market - a player who is almost certain to move by deadline day - is Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren, who is having an off year (7-8, 4.60 ERA) and is especially expensive for a last place and rebuilding team.

Haren, a three-time All-Star,  is owed $12.75 million in 2011, $12.75 million in 2012 and $15.5 million (option) in 2013, with a $3 million buyout. That's a lot, and that's why there are only a few teams in this bidding for a right-hander with an 86-70 lifetime record (playing almost exclusively for losing teams, however).

The clubs in the running are the Philadelphia Phillies (who seem to want him the most - he'd replace Jamie Moyer, who is likely done for the season), the St. Louis Cardinals, the Los Angeles Dodgers and, of course, the New York Yankees.

There are reports that the Yankees are actually the front-runner. And sure, he could end up there. But in this poker game, I'd be calling the Diamondbacks' bluff.

Let's see: I have an expensive pitcher I'd like to dump. There are only a handful of teams who would even want to enter the bidding. How do I play them against each other? I know: Let's get it out there that the Yankees are very interested! They need to replace Andy Pettitte!

The Seattle Mariners used a version of this plot to turn up the heat on the Texas Rangers earlier this month in the Cliff Lee deal. True, the Yankees seemed to have a deal in place. But they didn't get the deal. I wouldn't doubt new Arizona GM Jerry DiPoto is doing the same thing. "We want Joba Chamberlain," the Diamondbacks exclaim. That only helps the Phillies and Dodgers sweeten the pot.

Haren will end up somewhere, and very soon. But I'd bet it's not the Bronx.

Will Dan Haren be in Yankee pinstripes, or is this just another ploy? originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Saturday, July 24th, 2010 at 23:44:48.

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