This might have been the greatest trade dead line I've seen in years. A lot of big league names changed teams. In a year where no one has shown complete dominance, a few teams have taken giant leaps forward into the spotlight. Here's a recap of some guys who will be trying on different colors for a few months.

CC Sabathia - Milwaukee Brewers
We all know about this one. He's 4-0 since joining the Brewers with 3 complete games. Even with all that, I'm still not sold on them making the playoffs.

Casey Blake - LA Dodgers
In 5 games with the Dodgers he's batting .412, no homers, no RBI. Dodger fan will soon know why Cleveland was okay with unloading him.

Rich Harden - Chicago Cubs
The Cubs couldn't just sit around and watch the Brewers add Sabathia without adding an arm as well. His stats may not be as eye catching as Sabathia's, but in the four games he's started, he hasn't allowed more than one run. Add that on to his recent start that helped the Cubs sweep the Brewers.

Xavier Nady - New York Yankees
Let's face it, Pittsburgh wasn't going anywhere and the Yankees needed an outfielder with a right handed bat. The Yankees gave up some good prospects, so Pittsburgh didn't get hosed, but getting Nady will pay off immediately and in the long run.

Mark Teixeira - LAA Angels
The Angels just became the odds on favorite to win the World Series this year. No team looked more dominant than they did before this trade, and now they should be even better.

Ivan Rodriguez - New York Yankees
This one confuses me. I understand they lost Posada for the year, but is Rodriguez really the best they could find? The guy is gonna be 37 years old when the season ends and only has 5 HR's to go along with a .295 batting average. His stats have really dropped off since he stopped the steroi-I mean, weight gainer.

Ken Griffey Jr. - Chicago White Sox
Biggest name on this list so far, and his addition won't make a bit of difference.

Jason Bay - Boston Red Sox
The Sox got hosed. Manny destroyed any leverage they had in trade talks, and they ate it hard. Not only did they have to give up Manny to get Bay, which was a kind of crappy trade to start, but they had to give up Craig Hansen, a flame-thrower, and Brandon Moss, possibly the top prospect in the Sox organization. Oh yeah, Boston has to pay Manny's contract the rest of the year. I don't think the Sox organization will be walking straight for a while.

Manny Ramirez - LA Dodgers
In a wide open NL-West, this trade just made the Dodgers the favorite. In fact, this acquisition could help them get to the World Series. My theory is, Manny didn't want to play in Boston so his stats were average. What's he gonna produce now that he's somewhere that he feels wanted?

I'm a big fan of what the Dodgers have been able to do over the last week. Assuming Casey keeps on doing what he has done so far, don't hold your breath, and Manny stepping it up in a new city, I think we're in store for the anti-subway series this October. A battle for LA supremacy if you will. Not quite the Indians-Diamondbacks I predicted earlier in the year, but at least it's not Boston/New York vs. Any NL team that catches fire at the end of the season.

The Detroit Pistons signed Kwame Brown to a 2 year, $8 million dollar deal. I always wondered what a 270-pound bag of shit was going for now-a-days.

Packers team president Mark Murphy met with Brett Favre today to talk about his return to the team. Uh-oh, looks like someone went over their text-message allowance for the month.

Since trading CC Sabathia on July 6th, the Indians are 10-8.

The Florida Marlins are supposedly in contact with the Boston Red Sox about acquiring slugger Manny Ramirez. I can't think of a better place for Manny. There's tons of 67-year olds for him to toss around down there.

For those of you that haven't heard of the Stephen A. Smith Heckling Society of Gentlemen, consider yourself informed.
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Some interesting news out of the Indians clubhouse has Casey Blake headed to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor leaguers. I don’t think anyone is shocked by this move. The Indians made it no secret that Blake was available, and this is the time of year teams look to add a hitter.
I was never a huge fan of Blake’s. The guys always found a way to shrink in a big moment. Look at his average with runners in scoring position last year. We were in a playoff race and he was terrible. Now this year, a year where we aren’t going anywhere and the pressure is null, he’s posting career numbers.
I don’t know much about the minor leaguers other than what has been reported. It looks like the guy in single-A looks could develop into a good hitter with time. As for the reliever, he appears to be having a down year compared to last. The Indians are apparently stocking up on relievers in trades and acquisitions in the hopes someone will pan out for next year.
Overall, not a bad day for us. We were able to rid ourselves of a below average player making above average money.

Yeah, I know it's a little late to talk about the Sabathia trade. All the good blogs had expert analysis up the day it happened and have since stopped talking about it. Well you know what? I don't care. That's why they're better than us. I was a little depressed over the Indians inability to win a f---ing game! But they've won two straight, so everything is right in the world.
Let's take a look at this trade.

What We Lost
Carsten Charles Sabathia
Sabathia is a starting pitcher with a 6-8 record and a 3.83 ERA, which oddly enough is a shade under his playing weight. There is really no reason to talk about Sabathia since we all know what he brought to the table. I just needed to work some humor into this post and that fat joke was the best I could do. To quote Will Smith from his new movie "You expect better from me, I will be better". (Good movie by the way…that Will Smith is gonna be huge some day.)

What We Gained
Matt LaPorta
As we discussed in a previous blog topic, LaPorta is a 23-year old powerhitting outfielder. The Indians have moved him over to left field in the hopes we can finally get an everyday starter out there.

Rob Bryson
He's a 20-year old right hander who's bread and butter are his fastball and slider. This year and last he picked up a couple saves, as well as got the start in a couple. It appears the Indians will use him primarily as a reliever and possibly try him out a few times in the closers role.

Zach Johnson
A right-handed hitter capable of hitting the ball well over 300 yards. Largest accomplishment to date was winning the 2007 Masters Tournament. He should be a fantastic addition to the team. My only concern is that the Indians plan on using him out of the bullpen.

Player to be Named Later
The candidates have not been revealed but it's believed to be between third baseman Taylor Green, and outfielder Lorenzo Cain.

So there you have it. We received three solid prospects for CC with a fourth on the way. I think Shapiro did a great job robbing the Brewers blind. In the end, the Brewers are going to end up hating this deal. Especially when CC bolts for more money after they miss the playoffs...better them than us.

"Hey guys, is my prairie dog noticeable through these shorts?"

"I'm Rick James Bitch!"

Home of the Dog
The annual Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest was once again held in New York over the weekend. I don't understand why they keep this in New York. We all know that hot dog eating contests originated in San Francisco.

Olympic News
Tyson Gay of the US Olympic Track team was injured the other day in the 200M dash. Which reminds me, this is the perfect time to practice my headline writing. "Gay Leg Injury", "Gay Injury Hurts US Track Team", Beaten and Injured Gay", "Gay Goes Down", "Gay Pulls Up, Then Goes Down", "Bad Day to be Gay", "Gay Blows It".

Sabathia to Milwaukee
Am I the only one that thinks this is a bad move for C.C.? How fat is he gonna get after he eats the winners of the nightly "Sausage Races"?

He's a Material Girl
It was revealed this week that Alex Rodriguez will be getting a divorce from his wife of five years. We also learned that he has been seen running around with Madonna. Hello Roy Hobbs!

As Indians fans, we can all feel it coming. The front office is wiping it's ass and getting ready to flush this turd of a season. Borowski and Bauer were part of the courtesy flush, and now with the rumors of Sabathia to the Brewers circling the bowl, I think we can start looking towards next season. Borowski hasn't been the same since last year when he led the AL in saves, and Bauer had a 13.50 ERA in four appearances, so no surprises there.

Buster Olney of ESPN is reporting that the Brewers are leading the race for Sabathia and that the Indians are interested in Matt LaPorta and possibly J.J. Hardy. LaPorta is a hard-hitting right fielder that was taken in the first round of the 2007 draft and now plays for the Double-A Huntsville Stars. This season he has a .291 batting average with a league leading 20 HR's. His addition would be huge for the Indians as they have been looking for a power-hitting outfielder for a couple years now.

While looking up the stats on LaPorta I noticed two things. First, the Brewers farm system is stacked with talent. Second, Mat Gamel. Gamel is batting .381 with 15 round-trippers on the year. And oh yeah, he's a third baseman. A position the Indians haven't had stability at in years. If they could somehow swing things to get LaPorta and Gamel, I would change my underwear and then pack C.C.'s bags.

Of course, these are all rumors. But if this goes through it would be huge for the Tribe. Shapiro did a great job in getting quality talent in return for Bartolo Colon (Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips) Let's hope lightning strikes twice.

With tomorrow's big UFC fight between Quentin "Rampage" Jackson and Forrest Griffin, I figured we would talk a little MMA today. This fight has the potential to be monstrous for the UFC. Griffin is a huge fan favorite due to the wildly popular first season of the "The Ultimate Fighter", while Jackson has gained popularity for his work in Pride and for his quick rise to champion of the UFC Light Heavyweight division.
If you're a border line fan of MMA and have that "I could take it or leave it" mentality, do yourself a favor and watch some interviews with Jackson. I defy you to not be reminded of Ali back in the day. When you're done watching the interviews, take a look at his fights. In particular his fight against Ricardo Arona, where Jackson was locked in a triangle choke. Normally, when you find yourself in a choke, it's over. Instead Jackson picked Arona up off the mat, lifted him over his head, and slammed him to the ground rendering Arona unconscious, ALL WHILE BEING CHOKED OUT! The second must-see fight is the Chuck Liddell rematch. Up until that match, Liddell had a strangle hold on the Light Heavyweight division, beating UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture twice, as well as two solid wins over Tito Ortiz. Jackson came into the Liddell fight and knocked Chuck stupid about halfway through the first round to secure a knockout.
Griffin has a tough task ahead of him. He has notable wins over Stephan Bonner, Jeff Monson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Not to mention a hard fought split decision against Tito Ortiz. But he certainly hasn't fought the talent that Jackson has. The one thing going for Griffin is that he can take a beating. Back in 2003 Griffin broke his left forearm in the first round of a fight against Edson Paredao, and was still able to knock him out with the other arm. The best part about that story is that he never got it fixed. He felt the recovery process would have taken too long, and may have stunted the growth of his MMA career.
I think we're in for an amazing fight. Jackson hasn't lost since 2005 when he was defeated by Mauricio Rua, the same man Forrest Griffin submitted with a rear naked choke last September. That win for Griffin set the table for this title shot with Jackson and a win would definitely solidify Forrest's career. With that being said, I'm taking Griffin in this fight. I don't think he'll knock him out, Griffin doesn't have that kind of power. But once he gets past the third round, the fight is his. Nobody in that light heavyweight division has the conditioning that Griffin has. Ultimately, I think that will win the fight for him.

Michigan Sucks
This past week Kevin Grady, Michigan Wolverines running back, was arrested for drunk driving while home in Wyoming. I have nothing funny to say about this. I'm just making it a point to post all of these situations that Michigan fan used to throw in our (Ohio State fan) faces.

I Just Found Out He Retired
Brett Favre has reportedly contacted the Green Bay Packers about a return to the team this year. He's just f---ing with Rodgers at this point right?

The Battle for I-71
The Cleveland Gladiators defeated the Columbus Destroyers in last week's AFL wild card game to continue their waste of Quicken Loans Arena electricity.

Lebron Sweepstakes 2010
If you've been reading the papers lately, I'm sure you saw the comment Lebron James made about going to the Nets in 2010. Because you actually read the comment, you know it was a non-issue. He shed about as much light on that topic as Bill Belichick does on injury status'.
I found a great article this past week that breaks down some very solid points as to why Lebron may stay in Cleveland.
Unfortunately, I don't have the link. But the Little Mime of Hate does, and when he gets his life together and sends it back to me, I'll post the link.