BY STEVE DUNN
I make no secret of it it. I love baseball! My rental home has MLB.TV on its Direct TV connection and I WATCH it daily. On good days I watch baseball on ESPN and Fox Sports, as well. I play fantasy baseball--six teams, three of which hold down first place in their respective leagues. That means I watch the DL reports daily, and check the seven day and 30 day trends when setting rosters or picking up players.
I had a FIELD day last Thursday watching the final five hours of coverage for the non-waiver trade deadline. It was one of the most exciting days in years. Teams were re-loading for the final two month of the season. Other teams were unloading, looking ahead to the 2015 season.
Speculation was big about the Phillies trading Cole Hamels away to one of the 12 or so teams that still have a shot at postseason. The Phillies' faithful breathed a sigh of relief when 4:00 pm arrived on July 31 and he was still on their roster. The Cardinals, stuck in the middle of the NL Central, traded to get veteran John Lackey from the Red Sox and past star Justin Masterson from the Indians.
The Oakland Athletics, whose last three trips towards the pennant have been halted by the Detroit Tigers traded away powerful hitter Yolando Cespedes to beef up their rotation with another Bosox vet Jon Lester. Clearly power pitching is perceived as the way to win in the post-season. So just at the deadline, my favorite GM Dave Dombroski fired back by trading another power hitter Austin Jackson to get the 2012 Cy Young winner David Price for the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Tigers now have the last three Cy Young winners - Verlander, Scherzer, and Price in their starting rotation. Plus one of baseball's winningest pitchers this season--Rick Porcello and Anibel Sanchez.
Plus Raj Davis, Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter, and JD Martinez occupying the first six spots in the batting order--three batting .280 and higher, and three above .300.
Forgive me if I say "Blockbuster!!!!!!:
Forgive me if I dare to dream. Detroit Tigers - 2012 World Champions !!!!!!
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