SUSPENED

On Monday Major League Baseball announced the players to be suspended along with the number of games, because of their usage of performance enhancing drugs, and involvement with Biogenesis. Most of the players received a 50 game suspension as their punishment, which is the remainder of the season for most teams.

The players who accepted their suspension with no appeal are the following:  Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Antonio Bastardo, Jesus Montero,Francisco Cervelli, Jordany Valdespin, Fautino De Los Santos, Jordan Norberto, Cesar Puello, Fernando Martinez and Sergio Escalona. This may be problematic for play off contenders such as the Rangers and Tigers. 

The Rangers made no acquisition for a hitter this trade deadline, and now they lost a big bat. I expect the Rangers to be extremely active with players who pass through waivers. As for the Tigers, they acquired infielder Jose Iglesias from the Red Sox because they were cautious and knew Peralta could be suspended. 

Line up for your mugshot 

Now for the big fish, the witch hunt continues. Alex Rodriguez was issued a 211 game suspension for serial usage, damaging the integrity of the game, and repetitive lying to his organization and Major League Baseball. Additionally he tried to cover up his usage with Biogenesis by destroying documents. His suspension is set to take place Thursday August 8th, but Rodriguez said he will appeal it. Commissioner Bud Selig said he won't use his Integity of the Game power to override the appeal, so most likely A-Rod will complete the 2013 season barring injury. You can expect a very tabloid filled off season for A-Rod. 

Trade Deadline

Jake Peavy was the big acquisition this trade deadline, going to the Red Sox in a three team deal. Peavy will go worst to first. Jose Iglesias will join the Tigers with the possibility of Jhonny Peralta being suspended for 50 games. Avasail Garcia will join the White Sox along with three minor league prospects. A great trade for everyone, the Tigers get a defensive short stop swinging a hot bat, the Red Sox get a credited pitcher, and the White Sox get a bundle of prospects for their rebuilding strategy.

The Orioles acquired starting pitcher Bud Norris from the Houston Astros for LG Hoes and Josh Hader. The Orioles also get a 2014 competitive balance pick in exchange for the 91st international bonus slot. The Astros already acquired starting pitcher Scott Feldman from the Cubs and relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez from the Brewers, so they are set on arms.

A few relievers have new homes after the trade deadline. The Braves acquired Scott Downs from the Angels for Cory Rasmus, the Rays acquire Jesse Crain from the White Sox for a player to b
e named later, the Indians acquire Marc Rzepczynski from the Cardinals for Jaun Herrera, and the Dodgers sign The Beard himself, Brian Wilson. All these trades are to give the competetors an edge in the late innings.

The Indians will most likely use Rzepcynski as part of a rebuilding strategy, but the other acquisitions are for a playoff push.

The Padres make a significant addition to their starting rotation buy adding Ian Kennedy. although he has struggled this year, the Padres have success in salvaging pitchers. He will join a rotation with Edison Volquez, as the Padres continue to add pieces in hope to compete in years to come. Going to Arizona in the deal is relief pitcher Joe That
cher and Matt Stites.

The Athletics acquired third baseman Alberto Callaspo from the Angels for Grant Green. The Athletics hope to maintain their success and adding a veteran switch hitter may keep their team chemistry up.

The Royals traded minor league pitcher Kyle Smith for Astros outfielder Justin Maxwell. The Royals weak spot has been in right field and this should patch things up for a while.

Much prior to the trade deadline, the Yankees had a reunion with left fielder Alfonso Soriano as he joined the team. In his third game as a Yankee in 2013 he and Derek Jeter homered in the same game, the first time since 2003. Soriano adds a right handed bat to the Yankees struggling lineup, but it isn't quite enough to put them over the top.

Other moves are the Dodgers getting catcher Drew Butera and the Pirates getting Robert Andino.

In my opinion it was a disapointing trade deadline. Names like Alex Rios, Hunter Pence, Cliff Lee, Giancarlo Stanton, Michael Young, Michael Morse, Chase Headly, Carlos Quentin, Adam Dunn, Tim Lincecum, Jonathon Papelbon, Micahel Cuddyer, and many more were tossed around, but none were traded.

Although many names were not traded, trades can still go through with players who passed through waivers. for example last year when the Dodgers and Red Sox made their block buster deal, it was after the trade deadline. I am 90% sure more than one of those names will have a new team by October.

Bringing K's to Baltimore and MM's to Boston

The Baltimore Orioles acquired relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez, also known as K-Rod, from the Milwaukee Brewers in the wake of Braun's suspension. The Orioles loss part of their bullpen when trading for starting pitcher Scott Feldman of the Cubs at the time. For Feldman Pedro Strop had to go to Chicago, so now K-Rod will replace him. Rodriguez is having a great season. He has a 1.09 ERA in   24.2 innings pitched. He will set up for closer Jim Johnson in a great bullpen. Going to the Cubs in the trade is minor league infielder Nick Delmonico.

Dustin Pedroia is now a richer man. The 2008 MVP has finally cashed out. He is ranked as the second best second baseman in baseball, behind Robinson Cano and now he has the salary to prove it. Pedroia signed a 7 year $100 MM contract with the Boston Red Sox most likely making him a member of the Red Sox for life. I think the sub $15 MM annual salary is a steal for the Red Sox considering the stats he has provided.

Pedroia has a 119 OPS+ during the period of 2007-2013, that is well above average, 19% above average to be exact. Also because OPS+ considers ballparks he is tearing it up. Pedroia has also featured decent speed stealing 116 bases in the 7 year period, not to mention terrific defense considering his 2 gold gloves. Pedroia is a $18 MM+ a year player, especially with an average annual WAR of 5.27. The reason why the Red Sox are in first place is because of Pedroia, and he will be the basis for the team for the next 7 years. He will be 37 when the contract concludes, and that is well played indeed.
 

Fool Me Once

It appears Ryan Braun will not fool Major League Baseball again. Once before the slugger had been accused of PED usage and he escaped on a technicality and delivered a seemingly honest speech. Braun will be suspended for his involvement in the Biogenesis PED scandal. Major League Baseball provided astonishing amounts of evidence to Braun and his representatives and agreed to not appeal his suspension. The final verdict for the 2011 NL MVP is a 65 game suspension. The Brewers are already in last place and are selling this trade deadline. The loss of Braun will put the final nail in the coffin for the Brewers this season.You can also expect Alex Rodriguez to be face the consequences for his actions with Biogenesis at more severe levels, because of his previous offenses.

With the loss of Braun you can expect Ramirez, Gallardo, and Rodriguez to be traded this deadline. As for Gomez, Segura, and Lucroy; you can possibly see them move as well.

Speaking of trades, the Rangers and Cubs finally finished the Garza trade today after some adversity. Garza will go to the Rangers in exchange for 1B/3B Mike Olt, two minor league pitchers, and two players to be named later. Olt has been glorified for his bat, but hasn't performed at the Major League level. Matt Garza spent some time on the DL  but has a 3.17 ERA over 71 innings pitched in 2013. Garza will join a rotation with ace Yu Darvish and may pitch for the Rangers as soon as tomorrow.

The All Star Break

The Home Run Derby was just shy of amazing. Yoenis Cespedes put on a show by blasting 17 home runs in the first round and eventually winning the entire competition. My pick Bryce Harper was the runner up with a total of 24 home runs, conveniently 8 in each round.

The All Star Game itself was all American League. The AL pitching combined to pitch a shutout and the offense scored 3 runs. Two runs came off of Diamondback's starter Patrick Corbin and the third off of Braves' closer Craig Kimbrel.

The highlight of the night was the entrance of Mariano Rivera to his final all star appearance. Every player, umpire, coach, and crew member cleare
d the field and Rivera walked into to the hymns of Enter Sandman all by himself. The ovation was electrifying, loud, and actually a quite touching. The respect the fans, the players, and everyone for that matter have for Rivera is just amazing. He pitched a perfect 8th inning and helped the American League secure home field advantage in the World Series: Somewhere he also wishes to have another ovation.

Robinson Cano was hit on the knee by Matt Harvey in his first at bat. It was of course an accident, but something the Yankees cannot afford. Cano tried to stay in the game, but was taken out before the end of the top of the first. Tests came back negative and reports are that Cano will play in the game against the Red Sox Friday night.

My first half awards:

American League MVP: Miguel Cabrera
American League Cy Young Award: Felix Hernandez
American League Rookie of the Year: Jose Iglesias

National League MVP: Yadier Molina
National League Cy Young Award: Clayton Kershaw
National League Rookie of the Year: Yasiel Puig

There are
also reports that the Texas Rangers are on the verge of acquiring Matt Garza

No No Timmy

One of my favorite pitchers has finally completed his share of history. He is a two time Cy Young Award winner, a two time World Series Champion, and now he has thrown a no hitter. I'm talking the Freakshow himself, Tim Lincecum. It was just a regular Saturday night start against the Padres, but 148 pitches later Petco Park and the Giants went wild.

Although Lincecum and the Giants have been short of success this season, this may be the turning point of their season. With a fantastic pitching performance
from Lincecum and sending four players to the All Star Game, along with the upcoming trade deadline, the Giants should get ready for their run to the playoffs. I predicted they would make the playoffs, and i'm sticking with it.

Lincecum will have more than a week to recover from the 148 pitch performance, but it doesn't even bother me that much. I've seen Lincecum throw over 130 pitches before and an extra 15 shouldn't faze him. He was mechanically sound the whole game and didnt try to throw any harder as it when on. He actually relied more on his breaking and off speed pitches in the final three innings more than his fastball, making him nearly unpredictable.

The Trade Deadline

The trade deadline is a little bit more than two weeks away and some teams will be buyers and others will be sellers. Lets look at which players may be moving and to where.

Chase Headly has not performed according to numbers he put up last season. He may be on the move. I think the Yankees should definitely pick up Headly because the production at third base has been horrific and Alex Rodriguez doesn't seem to be coming back this season after his association with Biogenesis. Being a switch hitter in a predominantly left handed lineup will be huge for the Yankees and Headly's left handed swing against right handed hitters will fit well in the small Yankee Stadium.

Alex Rios is most likely on the move, for the White Sox have announced that they will be sellers. A potential seeker for Rios should be the Giants. Their outfield is currently Tanaka, Blanco, and Pence. Even if Angel Pagan comes back and performs well, they will still be getting little production from left field. Rios is a tremendous defender and is still good enough to cover ground in AT&T park.

Matt Garza has already been informed he will be traded and a logical landing spot for him would be in Baltimore. The Orioles have a tremendous offense and a great bullpen, but their starting rotation is very sketchy. Garza has success in the AL East after spending seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, and can go deep into ball games. If the O's want to contend this season, they need to find a starter.

The Phillies are looking for a center fielder and that may come in the shape of Alejandro de Aza, Dexter Fowler, Juan Pierre, or Franklin Gutierrez. All of the following are probably available and would definitely help the Phillies on defense and offense, because Ben Revere hasn't performed as expected this season.

Yovanni Gallardo will probably also be on the move this trade deadline and a landing spot for him will be with any one of the teams in the NL West. The Dodgers, Giants, and D-Backs are all logical contenders, but the Padres and Rockies are borderline and rebuilding. Gallardo is great pitcher to build on and can be a huge help to a rotation and the bullpen, because he would be saving them many innings.

The Red Sox acquired left handed reliever Matt Thornton from the White Sox and that has been the only major trade so far. The Red Sox want to continue to contend and the hard throwing veteran will absolutely be a help down the line, especially with the number of injuries their pitching staff has accumulated.