Well it was an extremely disappointing series against the WhiteSox. Liriano’s trade value probably took a hit and the bullpen was shelled. On the plus side Willingham keep hitting and getting on base, however the Twins have come out and said they are not looking to trade him. All I want to do is scream “why?!” As I posted before Willingham is a luxury we cannot afford tokeep. He is putting up numbers no one saw him producing and he isn’t getting any younger. The only thing that is keeping me from bringing a sign to theballpark that says “Trade Willingham” is that it would probably look like an insult to him. That’s all I’m going to say about the current situation though and take a look at what’s going on around the league.

· The Pirates received Wandy Rodriguez from theAstros. The Astros in returned received a minor league OF and 2 pitchers. I don’t quite understand the move for the Pirates here. While I can see where more rotational depth would be helpful for the Pirates they have far more need for a bat. They also gave up one of the top 5 prospects in their organization, one that’s in the top 100 overall, for a starter that is just above average. More than likely Wandy is worth one win, maybe two, and the Pirates probably paid too high a price for him.

The Astros came out very well in this deal. Besides sheading a good chunk of payroll the acquired a good OF prospect in Robbie Grossman who is coming back from a broken hamate bone and has been on a tear the last two months. The Astros also received pitching prospects Rudy Owens and Colton Cain. Neither are big name prospects but they might have enough to become #5 starters or add some bullpen depth.

· The biggest trade so far is Hanley Ramirez going to the Dodgers. Hanley had more than worn out his welcome in Miami with his numbers declining and lack of effort. For the Dodgers the move made lots of sense, their third basemen have a line of .249/.308/.373and their shortstops have a line of .232/.285/.319. The big question is what are they going to get out of Hanley? Don Mattingly did a great job last year getting Matt Kemp turned around so maybe he can do it again. Sometimes a change of scenery or getting into a pennant race can revive a player. Hanley was not doing well in the minors when he was in the Red Sox system but a trade to the Marlins and playing in the big leagues really got him going. And we all remember what happened to Manny Ramirez when he joined the Dodgers in 2008. Then again he may have peeked early and his days of being an MVP candidate are over. Even if that’s the case he is a big upgrade offensively over what the Dodgers have on the left side of the infield. Depending on what he does Hanley is probably worth anywhere from one to four wins for the Dodgers. Good value for the Dodgers considering they also received Randy Choate to bolster the bullpen. They also didn’t have to give up their top pitching prospect in the deal.

For the Marlins the receive pitcher Nate Eovaldi. If you ignore the current win-loss record they may have picked up a pretty good piece. He has a plus fastball that’s 93-97 and an above average slider. Scouts say he needs to improve his changeup in order to get lefties out. The fish also received Scott McGough who could end up a big league reliever. So far a good week for the Marlins they may have gotten their 1-2punch or 2-3 of the future. On the downside after years of fire sales and shedding salary they final have their new ballpark and in its first year they are looking bad, no one’s showing up and they are in sell everything mode.

· The Yankees have lost Alex Rodriguez for 6-8weeks with a broken hand and while it’s a loss it’s not the lost it would havebeen a few seasons ago. A rods Walk rate is down, his strikeout rate is up, and his defensive has been bad. All that being said he is still a useful bat to have in the lineup. However there is no real need for the Yankees to panic and trade for a third basemen, they should have a big enough lead in the division to survive without him. The problem could be come playoff time. Players who break their hands or wrists usually have it take a while before their power comes back. This is not always the case but it’s the norm and that’s A-rods biggest strength.

· The Pirates have called up Starlin Marte one of their top prospects. He has power and speed and should help the lineup some. However scouts say his swing needs polish and he does not know how to take a walk. I think it’s a mistake to bat him leadoff with him with a 6.5% BB rate at AAA. (Of course as I’m writing this I’m watching his first at bat and he hits the first pitch he sees for a home run.)

· The Mets have called up Matt Harvey. He could probably use some more time in AAA but the Mets need someone in the rotation.This is probably the Mets last Gasp to try to stay in the race. (right now though he looks really good 2 innings in)

· If for some reason you haven’t noticed, Mike Trout is a feaking stud

Well if you have any comments, complaints, arguments, or notice I missed something feel free to let me know.