Trade Deadline review

It's not quite the MLB Network's all-day coverage, but we have trade deadline details:

• VETOED! New Orleans proposed to ship Tomas Julio, he of the 80+ rating and $8.75m salary, to Augusta for a pair of low rated A-level infielders. The requisite 10 owners stepped in and stopped that from happening.
• COMPLETED! Texas shipped hurler Danny Phillips to Philadelphia for Benny Aybar, Luke Swindell and cash. I clearly cannot nurture pitching talent, as evidenced by me breaking Phillips earlier this season. The added arms solidify the staff during the end of the season push.

ACCEPTED!

• Norfolk sends Edgar Pujols and Bum Bennett to Memphis for Benito Valentin and pair of AAA players.
• Little Rock trade Les Bradshaw to Minnesota for two minor-league pitchers.
• Dennis Baek leaves Seattle for Chicago-N, in exchange for a AA pitcher.
• Chicago-N sent Albert Montero and a minor leaguer to Little Rock for Pepe Mateo.

Keep Yer Eye On...

Mitch Brow New Orleans Missouri Age: 29 B/T: S/R Born: Calimesa, CA Position(s): SS/IF/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Mitch Brow is narrowing in on the single-season hit streak mark. Brow has hit safely in 25 consecutive games. Andy Porter holds the all-time mark, hitting in 33 straight for Milwaukee (now Chicago-A) in season three.

Kip Davis made a challenge last season, running up a 31-game streak, which is tied for second all-time.

The Number Ones

We're past the all-star break in Season 8, so let's resume some the features from past seasons. First, how about checking in with the number ones?

Eight players in the Wailing Onion can claim to be No. 1 draft picks. Where are they now?

Season 1: Trent Milligan, Monterrey (selected by reigny)
Trent Milligan set the bar for draft pick compensation right out of the gate. Milligan got $7m and demanded to start in a league higher than rookie. Monterrey traded Milligan to Mark in San Francisco during season three, making his major league debut in season six. He is 42-21 with a 2.94 ERA as a major leaguer and is STILL a couple of seasons away from arbitration.

Just for the record, San Francisco owns three of the top four picks in that draft--Milligan, Garland Nathan and Harpo Dunn. No. 2 selection Kareen Duckworth remains with his original drafting team in Philadelphia.

Season 2: Boots Waltman, Pittsburgh (selected by bentschride)
Boots Waltman remains with his original franchise, now located in San Juan. He cashed a $4m bonus check and is now a fixture in the Reales rotation. Waltman was a 20-game winner last season, when he received his first all-star selection.

Incidentally, San Fran has the number three (Jorge Cruz) and four (Kirt Karl) picks from this draft.

Season 3: Danny Hammond, San Francisco (selected by mark)
Danny Hammond made his major league debut in season six, and posted his best year last season, when he hit .290-37-109. He's slowed this year with a sub-.800 OPS. Mark must feel like a failure as he has just one top-5 pick from this draft.

Season 4: Jorge Benitez, SF
Jorge Benitez commanded $6.48m as a bonus when picked out of high school. He's earned it. He debuted last season, playing 24 games, but has made his presence felt on season 8. Through 101 games, he is hitting .353-36-102 and sports a 1.100+ OPS. Stud.

Season 5: Patrick Richardson, Los Angeles (selected by Sandleaguer)
Patrick Richardson was the first of four pitchers that were selected to start the season five draft. It cost sand $7m plus a spring training invite to ink Richardson. Debuting this year, he is 6-10 with a 4.32 ERA and now working out of the bullpen.

Season 6: Orval Cunningham, Huntington (selected by jaredpaventi)
Orval Cunningham looks like a real deal second baseman. In three minor league seasons, he's hitting .313 with 48 homers. Cunningham was traded to Philadelphia last week to acquire Donovan Leiter in an effort to shore up Texas' playoff run.

Season 7: Heath Fox, Chicago-A (selected by tsteve28)
Heath Fox made the leap from HiA to AAA this year, where he is 13-5 with a 4.14 ERA. He also has 162 strikeouts in 158.2 innings pitched. Fox is finishing a stint on the DL with a stiff groin.

Season 8: James Uribe, St. Louis (selected by reigny)

Breaking (but not shocking) news

Seattle trades Orber Nieto and cash to Houston for minor-leaguer Mendy Gonzales. The trade, if approved, would leave Houston with about $259,000 of cap space, though the Grail would presumably get one more year of service from the 31-year-old outfielder, who's contract runs through season nine. Of course, he'll probably be traded four more times.

Orber Nieto Seattle Nightmare Age: 31 B/T: R/R Born: Magdalena, MX Position(s): LF/1B/RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Mendy Gonzales Houston Holy Grail Age: 24 B/T: L/L Born: Amsterdam, NY Position(s): LF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Diamond Notes

We here at the blog are saddened that Peter Gammons is leaving the Worldwide Leader in Sports, but are dually happy that we get the MLB Network (thanks DIRECTV!). Before we kick the wife out of the house so I can wrp her Christmas gifts, let's take a look at the notes and rumors in the Wailing Onion:

• The annual Seattle Selloff has begun. Richard Coppinger, Mark Chen, Sean Mantei and Orber Nieto are all on the move.
  
• Speaking of Seattle, management is looking to kill two birds with one stone on Nieto. Seattle added his nearly $6m annual salary early this season but is now looking to move him. One of the upper echelon hitters in WO history, Nieto could be headed to his seventh franchise. Clubhouse cancer? Maybe. Management killer? Perhaps. Potential Tiger Woods paramour? Stay tuned...
• The biggest screw job in baseball goes to the second place team of the NL West at the end of the season. If the season ended today, San Francisco wins the division while Portland finishes two back. Both teams are moving along at a .700+ clip. And, the second place team gets stuck in the wild card. The rest of the division leaders are floating at 53-54 wins while soursurfer's Philly Flash would land in the second wild card game at 50-47.
  
• And seriously, raise your glasses to Mark and Ralph. They earn dap on patience alone, building their teams from within and signing their kids to long-term contracts.
• Texas made two moves to lock up their team as they make a playoff push, acquiring Andrew Thome and Donovan Leiter, giving up Farmer Fordham and up and comer Orval Cunningham. Leiter locked up his first win against division leader Memphis and Thome has three hits in two games since coming over.
• Speaking of trades in the AL South, Little Rock has been busy. The most notable of their three trades in one day was sending Al Ibanez and his 1.80 ERA out of the bullpen to San Fran.
• Little Rock had initiated trade talks with Texas prior to the Leiter trade, but Texan management nixed the deal due to its no intradivision trade policy.
• Philadelphia's minor selloff also including the departure of 37-year-old setup man Earle Edmonds, who heads to Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubbies.
  

onIoNDEX #2: The Mid-Term Edition

Your power ratings as of the All-Star Break...no surprises.

Portland Beavers 0.747749077
San Francisco Oogle Birds 0.725692661
San Juan Reales 0.670884146
Minnesota North Stars 0.593571429
Memphis Where My Pitches At? 0.560783505
Jacksonville Panhandlers 0.54985
Buffalo Hot Wings 0.5426
Chicago Cubbies, of course 0.539083333
Charlotte Webs 0.5169375
New York Chechakos 0.516571429
Chicago Black Stockings 0.516058824
Boston Minutemen 0.504818182
Rochester Lake Effect Snow 0.496276596
Arizona Amberwoods 0.496066667
Montreal Monarchs 0.495
Philadelphia Flash 0.493833333
Fresno Yokuts 0.493222222
Little Rock Outlaws 0.484427273
Washington D.C. Senators 0.474657143
Los Angeles Stars 0.474393939
Texas Texans 0.473442308
Augusta Waves 0.451913793
Seattle Nightmare 0.451871795
New Orleans Missouri 0.451719298
Houston Holy Grail 0.450755102
Vancouver Gulls 0.441454545
Kansas City Royals 0.439833333
Norfolk Subs 0.437333333
Burlington Pitch Factory 0.430166667
Cincinnati Motorboaters 0.418890909
Santa Fe Booze Hounds 0.3855
St. Louis River Cats 0.297822485

This has been my problem all along...

I took Spanish for two semesters in college and, before that, four years in middle and high school. Today, when I logged in, I found the answer to all of my years of WIS futility. Turns out I've been playing baseball in French.

Check the screenshot from my work computer.