Movin' on Up

I’m moving this Saturday and it could not be coming any sooner. My roommate is playing his drums downstairs, which was neat the first two times, but not after eight weeks of listening to the opening act of the opening act of the opening act of Scorpions. I keep waiting for Bruce Dickinson to be passed out on my couch one morning.

          Apparently it was moving day Monday as well. Well, I guess, unless your name was Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada, Jason Schmidt, Brad Lidge, Roy Oswalt, Andruw Jones, Mike Lowell, Barry Zito, Reggie Sanders, Pat Burrell, Livan Hernandez, Mark Redman, Coco Crisp (as I am pretty sure Red Sox fans finally know, is just not that productive), Jeromy Burnitz or Morgan Ensberg. But yeah, people moved.

          Where to begin? I’m sure you all want to know what I think about Mr. Abreu putting on stripes. Well, I’m thrilled. Ecstatic. Abreu is an All-Star. Some numbers to chew on: .301 career batting average, .412 OBP and a 76 % base stealer who has 20 already this season. Yes, the power is down. But did I mention he won a gold glove last year or trails only Albert Pujols (314) and Todd Helton (278) in runs created the past two seasons (247). Coupled with the Red Sox inactivity and Boomer Wells’ lethargic start Tuesday night, this move gives the Yankees the upper hand in the division. And I haven’t even started on the acquisition of Cory Lidle, who as a fifth starter, has made 21 starts and gone past five innings pitched in 20 of them. So yes, the Yankees, always the rich kid, got a corvette because mommy spoils him.

          What really startles me is that the Red Sox were so quiet. Call me Peter King or Dan Shaughnessy, but the Red Sox just don’t have the pitching. They have the karma with every Big Papi spit-on-batting-gloves at-bat, but I just don’t see it. And if the Doug Mirabelli situation proved anything, it’s that neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox will allow anyone to get through waivers who might have an inkling of helping the other team out down the stretch. I also really hate the Red Sox.

• Royals fans, you can officially call me a Dayton Moore fan. The two things every team wants to get is young and pitching. And that’s exactly what Moore got in his array of trades. De La Rosa already has a win in the rotation and Odalis Perez is a former all-star who is a significant upgrade over nearly anyone else the Royals had toeing the rubber. Oh, and Mark Teahan just won AL Player of the Week Just don’t go crazy. Daylight is still a little ways away.

• Greg Maddux: won’t make a difference because it’s the Dodgers and they won’t make the playoffs and I’ll bet two bud lights on that with anyone.

• The Mets deservedly deserve to steal some of the back page headlines with their deals. Yes, Oliver Perez’s stock cannot be any lower and Roberto Hernandez is not the dominant reliever he once was, but both are excellent pick ups for the team running away with the National League. I would take my chances with Rick Peterson and Perez any day of the week.

• Detroit: Sean Casey will play in 25 games, ground into 12 double-plays and you’ll wonder what exactly was exciting about this acquisition.

So those were the big deals. Exactly. Big. Deal. Well, except for the Yankees who managed to acquire one of the top 10 players in baseball. And a fifth starter. And Craig Wilson to back-up first and the outfield and pinch hit. I wonder what the weather in the Bronx will be like in October.

• Ok, it really bothers me that it has become trendy to boo Alex Rodriguez. That people, along with the Sinatra and the 4 train and Bob Sheppard, have made booing the reining AL MVP something to do at the Stadium. No, he is not a true Yankee, not until he does something under the lights of postseason play. But please, just stop it. We’re better than this. We aren’t in Boston.
• Sign your contract, Matt Leinart. Take your money, most of which you don’t deserve yet, and get in camp. The Cardinals can’t afford to have even the slightest bit of negativity while everyone in the state is lusting about the Cardinals.
• Take a second out of your day today and think about those trapped amidst the horrors in the Middle East. A quick resolution is all we can pray for. 

• Floyd Landis, Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson, Floyd Landis. I bet you two have a lot to talk about.

• And Mel Gibson, I hope rehab goes well. Because it sounds like you really need it. Both from the sauce and the anti-Semitism.

• Oh, and because I know you were all waiting for it, I updated my reading list finally. Check them out.