Philly Sports 101

Friday, July 31, 2009

Philly Sports 101

Marlins Trade For Johnson; Braves Get LaRoche
Tigers Strengthen Rotation With Washburn
Red Sox Acquire Catcher Martinez
Peavy Traded to White Sox

Marlins Trade For Johnson; Braves Get LaRoche

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 04:54 PM PDT

While the Phillies were quiet today, their NL East rivals Marlins and Braves made moves. The Marlins acquired first basemen Nick Johnson from the Nationals pitching prospect Aaron Thompson. The Braves traded first basemen Casey Kotchman to the Red Sox for first basemen Adam LaRoche.

Nick Johnson is batting .295 with 6 homers and 44 RBIs and should help out the Marlins lineup. The Braves and Red Sox just swapped first basemen. I don't know the reason for that deal.

Tigers Strengthen Rotation With Washburn

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 04:41 PM PDT

The Detroit Tigers made a deadline deal with the Seattle Mariners for 34-year old pitcher Jarrod Washburn. The Mariners received Luke French and Mauricio Robles, two young pitchers with some upside. Washburn is in the final year of his contract.

Washburn is having a great year. He has a 8-6 record with a stingy 2.65 ERA. Washburn will join a Tigers rotation that already is pretty decent. Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson have been anchoring the rotation all year and now Washburn should help them.

The Tigers AL Central rival Chicago White Sox traded for Jake Peavy earlier today. Both the teams improved their rotation but Washburn will have more of an impact on the pennant race this season. Peavy may not even pitch. This will be an exciting race that I see going down to the end.

Red Sox Acquire Catcher Martinez

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 02:06 PM PDT

The Red Sox have made a deal with the Indians for catcher Victor Martinez. Martinez is the bat the Red Sox were looking for. They were also looking at Padres first basemen Adrian Gonzalez. The Indians received pitcher Justin Masterson, a promising young pitcher. The Indians also got minor league pitchers Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price.

Martinez is batting .284 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs. Martinez will probably catch most of the time for the Red Sox because their current catcher, Jason Varitek, is hitting only .239.

The Indians will have a good team in a few years. They traded away Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez for prospects who will begin to blossom soon enough. Just because the Indians traded away two very good players, doesn't mean these aren't good moves for them too.

Peavy Traded to White Sox

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 01:36 PM PDT

Many deals have taken place today and I hope to post about all the major ones. The Chicago White Sox have made a last-minute deal with the Padres for ace Jake Peavy according to various sources including Jon Heyman, and Bob Nightengale. The Padres received a package of Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell. Peavy is on the DL with an ankle injury.

Nobody is sure when Peavy can pitch again. He may not even be able to pitch again this season. Peavy is an ace who has been bothered by injuries recently. Peavy contract is not up until 2012 and he has an option for 2013.

Poreda is a highly-ranked prospect who may enter the Padres rotation immediately. In 10 games with the White Sox, the 22-year old Poreda has a 2.45 ERA. He is projected to someday become a top starter.

Richard is 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA in the White Sox rotation. The Padres got a pretty good return for Peavy. Peavy might not help the Sox run this season, so that's why this deal confuses me. Could they have put a similar package together for Roy Halladay? Nobody knows.

Off The Post

RIP Sir Bobby Robson
Spurs investigate alleged Darren Bent Twitter rant
Video: Evidence of Mark Hughes tapping-up John Terry

RIP Sir Bobby Robson

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 05:34 AM PDT

A legend passes Sir Bobby Robson has died aged 76 following a long battle with cancer. The ex-England manager passed away this morning at his home in County Durham just a few days after the appearance above at the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy charity match which raised money for his cancer charity (see video above). Robson was [...]

Spurs investigate alleged Darren Bent Twitter rant

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 02:39 AM PDT

Striker turns the air blue with Tweets outlining his preferred destination Tottenham have launched a probe into newspaper reports that Darren Bent launched a Twitter rant against chairman Daniel Levy. The Sun reported that Bent expressed his frustration at his drawn out transfer saga via the social networking site on an account that has since been [...]

Video: Evidence of Mark Hughes tapping-up John Terry

Posted: 31 Jul 2009 02:06 AM PDT

Man City telephone in a final attempt to sign John Terry Mark Hughes has made one final attempt to persuade John Terry to leave Chelsea for Manchester City. The Welshman telephoned Chelsea TV to beg the Blues skipper to move to Eastlands, knowing that it was the best possible chance of avoiding witnesses to his tapping-up! Spotted [...]