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Just your everyday 57 pitch outing for a closer

This is pretty agonizing.

Thanks for your hard work JD.

Burnett's struggles are passing by? That's good to know. I see that in his last 11.1 IPs he hasn't given up a run, against CLE and KC. The start before that he was bad against TB and coming off of a horrible month of starts where he gave up 6 and 7 runs virtually every time out. He wouldn't instill a lot of confidence in me if he were on the Red Sox.

I agree that it is long on SP, but Lee is in a class by himself. Haren is a good pitcher but has the chance to be Scott Kazmir redux, and Oswalt isn't good enough to have been an AL impact pitcher (which is why the Yankees weren't too interested, right?). I would argue that the entire league has pretty mediocre talent available. Even Berkman, who is a big name, isn't in his prime anymore and is an over the hill player.

I think this is a good deal for the Astros. They lose a quality player but they get nothing in return, so there's no added burden of having to wait around to become competitive again. Now they can lower expectations all around and not give anyone false hope that they might be good sometime soon. I hope it doesn't hurt too much to remove the gigantic baseball bat that Hank Steinbrenner shoved into their anus.

Yawn re: Edmonds. If those are the rumors at this stage in the game then we're clearly looking at a very low-key trade deadline.

What they're looking for is to deal someone totally insignificant for lightning in a bottle. I agree with you that Hoffman isn't a very good pitcher, but neither is anyone else they could get for virtually nothing.

Yeah, I'm using the original trade deadline thread. That's right. This is the quietest Sox deadline that I can remember. There are usually a rumor or two, or at least a targeted player. This year it doesn't seem like there is. There's certainly no Roy Halladay out there, and I don't think there's even a V-Mart-type who has a slim chance of being acquired by the Sox. The closest player to that caliber is probably Adam Dunn, but the Sox don't have any need for him. They are always aggressive at the deadline, but I'm having a hard time seeing anything significant happening.

He projects as a guy who could be an ace. He only recently became a starter full time, has great natural command of multiple pitches, and sits consistently in the low 90's with room to grow. Recent Sox pitching prospects have developed very nicely and both Buchholz and Lester sat low 90s at the same age. There's reason to believe he will add velocity. The Sox FO talks glowingly about this kid as a pitcher and as an athlete, and their track record with developing pitching prospects looks pretty good right now. If Kelly is the next in that progression I'm not going to be shocked. This club has developed a lot of high impact pitchers in their tenure and I expect it to continue.

Watching this team against the Angels the past few nights, I would say they are roughly as good as they are in the standings. They are probably the 4th best team in the AL behind NYY, TB and TX, and that's with the current injuries. One can see the tremendous impact on this lineup just getting Victor Martinez back. As the other players start to come back this team will go back to being in competition as one of the best teams in baseball. The question is how quickly they will gel and how much time is left to make a run. With the way Beltre is swinging the bat the middle of this lineup is as dangerous as any: Pedroia Ortiz Youkilis Beltre V-Mart Drew ...round out the rest of the team with Ellsbury, Scutaro and Mike Cameron roaming CF and we're looking at a really solid club. If Jed Lowrie plays near career MiLB numbers (.825 OPS career minors) this team has added depth. This team has all the makings of a really great run and being a dangerous playoff team. We have complained about them being mediocre all year, but for awhile their offense was spectacular despite injury. Their rotation is one of the best in baseball merely with Lester, Buchholz and a combination of "decent-Matsuzaka" or "surging-Lackey". A well rested Josh Beckett is a wildcard that could give them an extra ace, or merely be a 5th pitcher working out his s***. Papelbon is a legitimate closer; Bard is probably the most dominant talent on the team as a second year player. If this team gets healthy and Theo aggressively improves the bullpen, I am confident that they will have a strong finish to this season.

Beltre and Cameron both making defensive plays that won't show up in the boxscore but which will have a big impact.

I would like them to go after Russell Martin if he doesn't cost them any really high caliber prospects. They would be foolish to let anyone even of Stolmy's caliber go, so I'd say no Rizzo, no Anderson, nobody like that. Maybe a middle infielder like Tejada or Gibson and a second tier pitching prospect (weiland or Fife), or a single SP prospect like Doubront. There are too many red flags to treat Martin as if it is 2008 and he's an elite catcher. That said, he's a legitimate starting catcher on an MLB club. He's got the versatility to play a few positions, and from what I know he's a good team leader and clubhouse guy (I don't remember reports to the contrary, no first hand knowledge). He's clearly a good athelete and I think he would be a good candidate to have a bit of a rebound upon changing scenery and hitting in a deep lineup and small park.

The WC is a challenge, but definitely not impossible. I imagine the Rays and Yankees are both impressed that the Sox have been able to remain this close with so many injuries. Palodios is right, they are still within striking distance. I would argue they are within striking distance of the Yankees, though I think the Yankees are clearly the better and healthier team moving forward.

I love how you refer to it as "cap relief". They are nowhere near the cap. It's payroll relief, or just relief. When the Yankees try to save money it is cap relief. When the D-Backs try to save money it is just an example of income disparity or a s***** franchise. I'm waiting for the day when the Yankees are seeking "relief" from the cap. Doesn't seem to phase them. I'm not ragging on you, just pointing out the interesting use of a term that applies more specifically to big-market teams. If it is really financially motivated then the deal probably won't be fair, other than providing relief for Arizona. If the move is there then the Yankees should take it, no doubt. It is a luxury, like you said, and I actually think it's a risk. I'm always skeptical of guys who were virtually unhittable for a few years and then get moved. He's probably still going to be a very nice pitcher no matter what, but it is probably safe to say that Haren's last few years were the best he will have. That said, a 3.60 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 200 IP in the AL East isn't beyond the realm of possibility for him.