ESPN MLB

• Sports Illustrated's Joe Sheehan responds to the likelihood that baseball will be adding a second wild-card team. Joe perfectly sums up the problems I also have with the second wild card. In fact, I would argue the problems are so obvious, and the benefits so minor, that baseball will eventually eliminate the second wild card after a few years (or after Bud Selig retires).
• Here's a report from ESPNBoston that says Red Sox players are iffy on the extra wild card. The quotes from the players exactly echo Joe's points.
• Brandon Cloud has an in-depth look at pitching in Coors Field and points to an interesting piece of data I wasn't aware of: fastballs are more affected at Coors than breaking balls. Why? One reason is that all pitches travel faster at Coors; this means gravity has less time to affect the movement of the pitch (Ubaldo Jimenez had much more movement on his two-seam and four-seam fastballs on the road). Movement on breaking balls is affected as well, but not as much, in part because off-speed pitches are moving slower than fastballs. What does it mean as to what kind of pitchers the Rockies should want? Check out Brandon's piece.
• Wally Matthews of ESPNNewYork writes about Bobby Valentine, who apparently has the Bombers on his brain.
• Joey Matschulat has a nice rundown of the Jairo Beras situation with the Rangers. Beras is a Dominican teenager the Rangers just signed for $4.5 million, but there is a dispute over his age and thus his eligibility to be signed before July 2. MLB has launched an investigation.
• Charlie Manuel says the Phillies need to bunt more. Crashburn Alley's Bill Baer has a response.
• This made me chuckle: Somehow, MLB Network rated Brian McCann the seventh-best catcher in baseball. As Ben Duronio suggests, that's pretty low for a catcher who compares favorably to two guys named Gary Carter and Mike Piazza. There's no way to measure this, of course, but if McCann isn't the most underrated player in baseball, he has to be near the top of the list.
• Speaking of catchers, Chip Buck of Fire Brand sends Jason Varitek off into retirement.
• Tony Jackson of ESPNLA has a piece on Chad Billingsley, who is making some adjustments to his mechanics after a disappointing 2011.
• Harper Gordek has his picks to SOAR and CRASH with the Nationals this year. He likes Wilson Ramos but isn't a believer in Edwin Jackson.
• Charles Piece of Grantland has an excellent essay in defense of Ryan Braun. Maybe you disagree with Pierce's stance that Braun was a victim or that baseball ultimately played the role of an authoritarian SOB. But it's hard to deny this paragraph: "Can someone seriously argue that it is ethical to take a drug to make a performance possible, but unethical to take a drug that makes that performance better? Isn't making a performance possible at all the ultimate performance enhancement? If there had been a drug that would have given us five more seasons of Sandy Koufax at the top of his game, how would that have been a bad thing, everything else being equal? Sports are rife with drugs. Without drugs of one sort or another, the NFL season would never begin, and the baseball season would end sometime in June owing to a lack of participating teams."

Diane over at the Value Over Replacement Grit blog needs your help: She's putting together a bracket of the 64 best names in major league history. Click here for details on submitting your suggestions to her. Great idea, Diane. Can't wait to see the bracket.

OK, some other good stuff from the network:

• I just wrote about the Edwin Jackson signing, which opens up the possibility of the Nationals trading John Lannan. Our Nationals Baseball blog says: Don't do it!
• Now that it appears he'll be back with the Braves, Ben Duronio takes a look at Jair Jurrjens and how he can be expected to perform in 2012.
• Alex Convery asks: Who should hit leadoff for the Red Sox?
• Logan Burdine attemps to sort through the Rockies' rotation options.
• Why Jake Westbrook has led to a series of unfortunate events for the Cardinals.
• It's not usually a good sign when you have five guys in your rotation that are dangerous gambles. Unfortunately, that's the case with the Twins.
• A good wrap-up from the A's FanFest from Jason Wojciechowski. It's too bad the A's probably won't be that good this year, because they may lead the majors in cumulative VAIR -- Value Above Interview Replacement. Guys like Brandon McCarthy, Dallas Braden and Jonny Gomes are some of the smartest/most entertaining guys in the game.
• Joe Janish is running down spring training questions and issues for the Mets. Here's an interesting one: Jason Bay's batting stance. Bay has hit .251/.337/.386 in his two seasons since joining the Mets. Even if he does play better, the Mets have a tough situation: If Bay accumulates 500 PAs in both 2012 and 2013 he gets a $17 million vesting option for 2014. Ouch.
• Chris Quick on whether the Giants overreacted to the reliever market.
• A look at the Cubs' non-roster invitees.
• Jon Shepherd of Camden Depot looks at cities MLB could expand to. I agree with Jon's assessment Charlotte would be the most likely, although I do wonder if the rapidly growing Austin area would be a consideration.
• Jose Reyes will have to cut his hair ... and he'll do it live on the MLB Network on Friday.

Well, Edwin Jackson didn't get the big deal he was looking for. In the end, he's still a pitcher who allowed a .342 on-base percentage in 2011; among 94 qualified starting pitchers (162 innings), that ranked 84th.

For all the offseason speculation (I don't think "hype" is quite the right word), Jackson is basically a No. 4-caliber starter, albeit one who has made 30-plus starts five seasons in a row. He comes with little risk but little chance for upside. Anyway, the Washington Nationals swooped in and signed him to a one-year deal.

The signing apparently would push Chien-Ming Wang out of the No. 5 spot. Actually, however, the Nationals had several candidates for the final rotation spot. Their rotation would now line up something like this:

1. Stephen Strasburg
2. Gio Gonzalez (L)
3. Jordan Zimmermann
4. John Lannan (L)
5. Edwin Jackson
6. Chien-Ming Wang
7. Ross Detwiler (L)
8. Tom Gorzelanny (L)

Here are the 2011 statistics for the bottom five guys:



Detwiler and Gorzelanny did spend time in the bullpen; Gorzelanny in particular pitched well from there and held lefties to a .157 average. Let's take him out of the equation and put him in the bullpen as a middle-innings lefty-killer. Obviously, Jackson will be in the rotation. That leaves Lannan, Wang and Detwiler for one spot. While there's never such a thing as having too much pitching -- especially considering the injury issues in the past for Strasburg and Zimmermann (not to mention Wang) -- as Jerry Crasnick hinted in his story, this opens up the possibility of trading Lannan.

The veteran left-hander was just awarded $5 million in arbitration and has two years of team control before free agency. As you can see by the numbers, I don't think he brings much more to the table than Detwiler or Wang. His peripherals don't suggest a pitcher with a 3.70 ERA, although he has managed a career 4.00 ERA despite unimpressive walk and strikeout rates.

But there are teams out there that could benefit from a solid, back-of-the-rotation starter such as Lannan, especially at a somewhat affordable $5 million. The Nationals could use an outfielder, either to bide time for Bryce Harper or allow the team to keep Mike Morse at first base instead of left field, where he's stretched defensively (yes, Adam LaRoche is still around as well). Here are some possibilities:

Blue Jays: Toronto currently has Brett Cecil, Henderson Alvarez and Dustin McGowan in its rotation. The Jays have an Eric Thames/Ben Francisco platoon in left. The Nats could go after Thames (a left-handed bat they could use) or maybe former top prospect Travis Snider.

Royals: Maybe the $5 million is too steep for the Royals, but let's face it: If they want to consider themselves sleeper playoff contenders this year, they need to upgrade the rotation. Jarrod Dyson is an all-speed, no-power center fielder who might be a slight upgrade over Roger Bernadina if he can get on base enough.

Tigers: Detroit might want to keep top prospect Jacob Turner in Triple-A, but it lacks a lefty in the rotation. Lannan for Delmon Young or Andy Dirks?

Red Sox: Boston could certainly use another arm, but not sure there's a good fit here.

Cubs: Marlon Byrd is a free agent after the season and would be a nice one-year fill-in for the Nats in center. Not sure Lannan is Theo Epstein's type of pitcher, however.

What do you think?

The last day of January is a notable one in baseball for myriad reasons, not the least of which is because we got the gang together for the Baseball Today podcast, as Mark Simon and I discussed many topics, including:

1. In addition to it being Mr. Simon’s birthday, some other pretty decent Hall of Famers were born on this day. We actually chronicle whether this is the greatest single day for birthdays!

2. Who is the best team in baseball right now? We tell you with our impromptu Power Rankings, going 1 through 10, and highlight the worst of the worst as well.

3. Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson remain free agents. Which right-hander would you prefer for this season? And why haven’t the Red Sox already locked up one or both fellows?

4. Prince Fielder joins forces with Miguel Cabrera in Detroit, creating a large, powerful set of corner infielders. We discuss Fielder’s contract, Cabrera’s defense and the weight of it all.

5. Finally, it’s time for your emails and tweets, and we discuss bounce-back seasons for pitchers, AL versus NL, and Tampa Bay’s pitching depth.

So download and listen to Tuesday’s Baseball Today podcast, and find out what Mark Simon, Jackie Robinson and Yuniesky Betancourt all have in common!

Some thoughts on the big free agents remaining not named Prince Fielder.

Johnny Damon: He's 277 hits away from 3,000 but currently scraping for a job. Tampa Bay apparently signed Luke Scott as its designated hitter and with Desmond Jennings taking over in left field, there won't be room for Damon in Tampa. While he still has something left in the tank -- his .743 OPS ranked ninth in the AL among 20 left fielders and DHs with at least 400 appearances -- there just aren't teams looking for a 38-year-old left fielder with a noodle arm. One possibility: the Orioles. With Nolan Reimold in left and Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds slated for third and first, they could sign Damon as their DH.

Edwin Jackson: A Scott Boras client allegedly seeking a five-yeal deal (good luck, Scott!), Jackson is what he is: A durable but mediocre starter. He's one of just 22 pitchers to start 150 games over the past five seasons, but only A.J. Burnett and Livan Hernandez own a worse ERA among those 22. Teams appear to be viewing Jackson correctly: A short-term placeholder, but not a guy you want to make a long-term investment on. He's apparently talked to the Yankees, but I could see him landing in a place like Detroit, allowing the Tigers to give Jacob Turner more seasoning in Triple-A.

Roy Oswalt: Yes, he missed time with a bad back in 2011, but it was the first season he hasn't started at least 30 games since 2003. He's said he's willing to sign a one-year deal to prove he's healthy, so he's a low-risk signing. I still like him: He's one season removed from leading National League starters in lowest WHIP and he had a better SO/BB ratio in 2011 than C.J. Wilson, Tim Lincecum, Jon Lester or Mark Buehrle. Here's one red flag, especially if a team like the Red Sox or Yankees is interested: Oswalt has spent most of his career in the NL Central facing a lot of weak lineups. His career ERA is 3.21, but 3.70 in interleague games. If he's not the pitcher he once was, that could translate to an ERA in the mid-4 range pitching in the AL East.

Carlos Pena: He can still mash against right-handers (.255/.388/.502 in 2011), but really needs to be a platoon player. Trouble is, most teams can't afford to carry a platoon at first base, not when you carry 12 or 13 relievers. (Now, a smart team would realize that carrying an extra bat can be more valuable than an extra LOOGY, but that's a different essay.) The Indians still seem like a good fit and at this point, Pena won't be busting their budget. The Rays may still be in play, although the Scott signing certainly makes that less likely. By the way, only five players have hit more home runs the past five seasons than Pena: Ryan Howard, Fielder, Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira and Miguel Cabrera.

Hiroki Kuroda: He's allegedly seeking $12 to $14 million per season and he just may be worth it. He's put up solid numbers with the Dodgers despite some mediocre defenses behind him. His fastball velocity has averaged 92 mph for four years in the majors, so he's shown no signs of decline despite his age (37 in February). He won't give you much more than 200 innings, but he could be a big difference-maker for a pennant contender. Do the Angels spend even more money and have Kuroda replace Jerome Williams as the No. 5 starter? That may be overkill, but aren't the Angels all-in at this point?

Francisco Cordero: I'd be vary wary. If you look at the 37 saves and 2.45 ERA you may be mislead. But most front offices are smarter than that these days, so they'll look at the low strikeout rate (5.4 K's per nine), drop in fastball velocity (from 95 in 2009 to 94.5 in 2010 to 93 last season) and see an aging pitcher in decline, even if he did throw his changeup more last season and walk fewer batters. Yes, he's a Proven Closer, but there just doesn't seem like there's much interest in $8 million relievers this offseason. Good luck, Francisco. I don't think you'll be getting that much.

We jammed 55 minutes of intense analysis into this week’s edition of the Baseball Today podcast. Among the highlights from our chats with Jayson Stark and Fangraphs.com co-founder Dave Cameron:

• Jayson and I agree on the Matt Kemp signing seeming a little too hefty, particularly given what happened in 2010. Dave offers an analytical way to look at deals of this nature using a tool on Fangraphs' site.
• Jayson runs through the other business at hand this week: The latest managerial rumblings, calling the Cubs' situation a tough read and explaining how some free agents may sign under the terms of the old collective bargaining agreement and some under the new one.
• I offer up an idea, albeit unrealistic, about eliminating divisions altogether. Jayson shoots it down and explains how interleague play will work when Astros switch to AL in 2013.
• Dave shows how perception and reality differ when looking closely at the stats for potential trade target John Danks and free-agent starter Edwin Jackson, and home-road splits for Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton .
• Can the Mariners afford Prince Fielder? Dave offers his thoughts.

Plus, we dive into some questions that these guys won’t be asked in their myriad other spots this week. Subjects include Scott Kazmir, Jack Cust, unsung MVPs and the chance that the Mets' biggest move of the offseason is ditching Mr. Met and bringing in Youppi. That and much more are in today's Baseball Today podcast.

The Cardinals' blowout win and decimation of the Texas bullpen in Game 3 suddenly raises the possibility that this World Series may not get back to St. Louis. The biggest issue is this list:

C.J. Wilson: 5 IP, 8 R
Derek Holland: 5 IP, 3 R
Colby Lewis: 6 IP, 1 R
Matt Harrison: 5 IP, 2 R
C.J. Wilson: 4.2 IP, 2 R
Derek Holland: 2.2 IP, 3 R
Colby Lewis: 5.2 IP, 4 R
Matt Harrison: 5 IP, 2 R
C.J. Wilson: 6 IP, 6 R
Derek Holland: 4.2 IP, 4 R
C.J. Wilson: 5.2 IP, 3 R
Colby Lewis: 6.2 IP, 1 R
Matt Harrison: 3.2 IP, 5 R

Ron Washington entered the postseason with a plan to pull his starters as early as reasonably possible and turn the game over to his bullpen. The strategy worked fine against Tampa Bay and Detroit, but at some point you need your starters to go deeper into the game, like Colby Lewis did in Game 2. The problem is the bullpen depth was supposed to include Koji Uehara and Alexi Ogando. Uehara was so bad in three appearances in the first two rounds of the playoffs (five hits and three home runs in 1.1 innings) that he was left off the World Series roster. Ogando is suddenly shaky and after throwing 34 pitches in Game 3, may be unavailable for Game 4.

With that mind, Washington will have to consider stretching out Mike Adams and Neftali Feliz in Game 4. In a perfect world, he gets six or seven innings from Holland and hands the ball to Adams and Feliz. But if Holland can't go that long, who does Washington use?

• Feliz had just one save of more than one inning during the regular and pitched more than inning just six times, including two stints of two innings. He did have a four-out save in Game 3 of the ALDS against Tampa. While Feliz has allowed just three hits and one run in 8.2 postseason innings this year (a .111 batting average against), his control has been shaky, with five walks against seven strikeouts. Adams, likewise, hasn't matched his regular-season dominance either: He's allowed 12 baserunners in 7.1 innings, a 1.64 WHIP, compared to 0.90 in his 27 regular-season games with the Rangers.
• While Ron Kulpa's call on the double-play ball hardly cost the Rangers the game, it's just another reminder that more instant replay seems inevitable. You can't televise your biggest and most important games of the year and see mistakes like that and not expect fans to be turned off by your product. Expand instant replay to fair/foul ball calls and give each manager one red flag to use per game. It's time.
• Edwin Jackson starts for St. Louis in Game 4. When he's one, he's getting right-handed hitters to chase his slider. He threw it 45.7 percent of the time to right-handed batters, the second highest percentage among starters (behind only Houston's Bud Norris). Jackson acknowledged in his pre-start media conference that he wasn't aggressive in his last start in the NLCS, when he lasted just two innings. If he is more aggressive early in the count, let's see if the Rangers look to match with an aggressive approach of their own.
• As Mark Simon and Katie Sharp point out, look for the Cardinals to continue attacking Nelson Cruz away. Of 38 pitches he's seen from right-handers in the first three games, only four came inside.

As we gear up for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, much of what has already happened in this series -- the war of words and the obvious mutual dislike -- owes a lot to a full season's worth of these two teams going after one another. And after Sunday’s ear-splitting fifth-inning mayhem, setting up the Brewers’ swagger against Tony La Russa’s more restrained Cardinals club couldn’t be any easier.

Going into Monday night’s game, you can expect the starting pitchers of both teams to have something in common: Edwin Jackson and Shaun Marcum claim they’ll want no part of the past when they take the mound. Whether it’s Marcum’s glove-flipping disaster in the Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Diamondbacks or Jackson’s 10-run shellacking in Miller Park on Aug. 3, neither man cares to remember.

“Definitely put the last one away; that’s not one you want to remember. It was pretty easy to put that one away,” Marcum said Sunday.

“What start?” Jackson retorted with a laugh when asked about the 10-run turn. “I can take my beatings and I can handle that. It’s not my first one and it probably won’t be my last. I feel good and I feel strong, and I continue to challenge hitters, regardless of what the score is.”

Thanks to the unbalanced schedule, Jackson has long since avenged himself on the Brewers in-season, throwing a pair of quality starts against Milwaukee in two subsequent August turns. Marcum has had no opportunity to put that much distance between his last start, and with that playoff start coming on the heels of a rough September, he and Brewers manager Ron Roenicke focused on being more philosophical.

“You know, you go back and look, I’ve given up a lot of hits, but a lot of them haven’t really been hit that hard,” Marcum declared. “It’s just one of those things. It’s baseball. You make good pitches, and sometimes you get rewarded for it, and sometimes you make mistake pitches and they hit it right at somebody. That’s how this game works.”

Roenicke added: “If you look at all the hits that he’s given up, there are more cheap hits given up from him than anybody else. … It’s not like they’re just driving balls all over the ballpark, that is not happening. So I don’t know why that happens now, or lately in his last whatever starts, but it’s happening more now than it did early in the season.”

Well, at least both Roenicke and Marcum clearly got their talking points down beforehand. A “them’s the breaks” defense is all well and good, but Marcum’s managed to give up six homers in his last 29 innings pitched across six starts, including that decisive Paul Goldschmidt grand slam in the NLDS.

You might want to think that Marcum’s brand of Zen fits neatly with a pitcher keeping in perspective what he has control over. Balls in play need defenders to catch them, and Marcum’s league-average strikeout rate -- 19.2 percent to the NL’s 19 percent -- means that he’s a starter who is much more dependent on his defense than Zack Greinke or Yovani Gallardo. If you wonder why so many balls are dropping in on Marcum, whether you use plain old Defensive Efficiency (how many balls in play get caught) or Park-Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, the Brewers’ defense rates as equally mediocre.

In Monday’s lineup, we’ll see what kind of memories inspire Roenicke’s lineup choice at third base, the only lineup slot where he’s had to exert much creative license since Rickie Weeks came back from the DL. If Roenicke sticks with his short-term memory, he’ll keep riding the hot hand and play utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr., never mind Hairston’s career .698 OPS, or career defensive numbers at third that don’t decisively support his current rep as the better defensive option at third base.

But could Roenicke turn back to Casey McGehee, the regular third baseman whose three-homer mash-fest against Jackson powered that 10-run disasterpiece? Probably not, since McGehee didn’t add any damage in Jackson’s next two starts against Milwaukee. Even as everyone else tries to forget what has happened while gearing up for Game 2, some men simply appear to be forgotten.

Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

The National League elimination games Wednesday went the way of the home teams, giving us much to look forward to on Friday! Keith Law and I discussed these matters and much more on Thursday’s Baseball Today podcast!

1. The Phillies just can’t hit. Credit the Cardinals, but baseball’s best team is in trouble if they keep relying on the three-run home run. In a related note, a squirrel did something interesting Wednesday.

2. Both the Diamondbacks and Brewers can clearly hit at home. Can either hit enough away from home? Kudos to Kirk Gibson, by the way.

3. The Yankees and Tigers play one more game to decide the opponent for Texas, and we tell you which team will have its closer on the mound deciding things.

4. It was a clutch show today, but does that make Klaw and I clutch? We debate this issue for baseball players.

5. Keith shares his thoughts on a Blue Jays prospect and more from the Arizona Fall League.

So download and listen to Thursday’s Baseball Today podcast because otherwise, you won’t know what’s happening in the game or hear Soderberg’s squirrel noises. Yes sir!

ESPN Insider Matt Meyers has a piece on Adrian Beltre, arguing that the labels placed on Beltre throughout his career are unfounded and inaccurate. I agree with Matt's general assessment that Beltre has been a tremendously underrated and underappreciated player during his career. Matt points out that Beltre is 19th on Baseball-Reference.com's all-time WAR (wins abovement replacement) for third basemen (or 21st, depending on how you do your search).

Considering Beltre is 32 and coming off an excellent season, he should have more good years left and climb up that list, maybe close to the top 10. That would certainly seem to put him in the Hall of Fame discussion ... except: Except there is probably too little perception of Beltre as a Hall of Famer. Much of Beltre's value derives from his excellent defense. B-R rates him ninth all-time in runs saved among third basemen (behind, in case you want to know: Brooks Robinson, Buddy Bell, Robin Ventura, Clete Boyer, Scott Rolen, Graig Nettles, Mike Schmidt and Gary Gaetti). But Beltre also has 310 home runs and 1,113 RBIs. It's not too much of a stretch to see him topping 400 home runs and 1,500 RBIs ... and the only third basemen to do that are Schmidt and Chipper Jones. George Brett is the only other third baseman with 1,500 RBIs.

Still, Beltre will be facing an uphill battle, no matter where his career totals end up. But he's been a terrific player, even if he's flown under the radar much of his career.

• Another must-read Insider piece: Experience matters in the postseason, right? Dan Szymborski went back to 1969 to study the issue and found ... that previous postseason experience is a nonfactor in determining which teams win playoff series.
• It was A.J. Burnett's best moment as a Yankee, writes Brien Jackson.
• The Phillies are up 2 to 1, but Bill Baer is concerned about the team's lack of plate discipline. With sometimes-wild Edwin Jackson going for St. Louis tonight, it will be interesting to see the Phillies' approach at the plate.
• Ron Roenicke gave a long leash to Shaun Marcum and paid the price.
• Orel Hershiser talks about the Yankees-Tigers series.
• ESPN Insider Kevin Goldstein explains why Robinson Cano was never viewed as a top prospect.
• Amy Nelson writes on what could be Albert Pujols' final game with the Cardinals.
• Via Aaron Gleeman at Hardball Talk, Tim McCarver needs minor surgery and Terry Francona will fill in for the first two games of the ALCS.
• The Phillies had the highest local TV ratings this year. Last? The Dodgers had the lowest rating, the Nationals had the fewest number of households.
• Finally, don't miss Jim Caple's Off Base column on the Rays, their poor fan support and their unhappy owner.

Here's my weekly look ahead, because I didn't get to it in Sunday night's Yankees-Red Sox diary.

SERIES OF THE WEEK

Milwaukee at St. Louis, Tuesday through Thursday

Tuesday: Shaun Marcum (10-3, 3.58 ERA) vs. Edwin Jackson (8-8, 4.11)
Wednesday: Randy Wolf (8-8, 3.61) vs. Kyle Lohse (9-7, 3.45)
Thursday: Yovani Gallardo (13-7, 3.56) vs. Jake Westbrook (9-5, 4.83)

Dayn Perry documents the Brewers' road woes in an ESPN Insider story, although they are coming off a three-game sweep in Houston. OK, that doesn't tell us anything. They are 8-6 in their past 14 road games, though.

Jackson will make his third start for the Cardinals. His outing last week against the Brewers was a disaster, as he allowed 14 hits, 10 runs and four home runs in seven innings. Lohse was 7-2 with a 2.13 ERA through May but has won just two of 11 starts since. He has pitched more than six innings just twice and has posted a 5.25 ERA in 60 innings with just 25 strikeouts in that span. Look for another quick hook on Wednesday.

For the Brewers, Gallardo has lowered his ERA from 4.08 to 3.56 in his past four starts, but two of those came against Houston and one against San Francisco. Ryan Braun has been more aggressive at the plate lately, hitting .373 in his past 16 games with eight doubles and four home runs but only two walks. Let's see whether the Cardinals attack him and whether he'll chase pitches out of the strike zone.

PITCHING MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Wednesday: Rick Porcello vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, Detroit at Cleveland (Wednesday)

It's not a battle of Cy Young contenders but an interesting showdown in the AL Central. The Indians are four games back of the Tigers and could use a sweep of their three-game series in Cleveland. Unfortunately, they'll face Justin Verlander on Thursday, putting pressure on Jimenez and Justin Masterson to pitch well. Porcello has been a little better of late, as he's allowed three runs or fewer in six straight starts, although they've been more of the quality start-variety (six innings, three runs) and include several starts against weak offenses -- two against Kansas City and one each against Oakland, San Francisco, Minnesota and the Angels. Jimenez allowed five runs in five innings in his first start for Cleveland against the Rangers.

THREE SWINGS

1. Tim Lincecum stopped the Phillies' nine-game win streak on Sunday, but what a roll the Phillies have been on. With a 74-40 record, they're on pace for 105 wins, and ESPN Stats & Info reports that AccuScore's simulation of 10,000 seasons gives the Phillies a 22 percent chance of winning 108 games. Why is that significant? Only two NL teams have won 108 games since 1910 -- the legendary 1975 Cincinnati Reds and almost-as-legendary 1986 New York Mets, both of whom won 108. With a 3.06 team ERA, the Phillies have a shot to become the first team since the 1989 Dodgers to finish under 3.00. We'll wait a few weeks before comparing the Phillies to other great clubs, but it's worth noting that the '86 Mets finished first in the NL in runs and second in runs allowed; the '75 Reds were first in runs and third in runs allowed. The Phillies are first in runs allowed but seventh in runs scored.

2. It's great to see Stephen Strasburg back in action in a rehab start in Class A. How about this 2013 lineup for the Nationals?

2B Anthony Rendon
RF Jayson Werth
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Prince Fielder
LF Mike Morse
CF Bryce Harper
SS Danny Espinosa
C Wilson Ramos

Rotation: Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, John Lannan, Brad Peacock (124 IP, 81 H, 38 BB, 152 SO in Double-A/Triple-A this year), and Veteran Free Agent To Be Named.

OK, I stretched all the position players defensively, but Espinosa should be able to handle shortstop without a hitch (he played there in the minors), and Harper has the speed and tools to handle center field. Prince Fielder? Nats fans can dream, right?

3. Since 1990, only 21 starting pitchers have allowed an on-base percentage of .260 or less. But four pitchers are doing it this season: Justin Verlander (.233), Jered Weaver (.247), Cole Hamels (.253) and Dan Haren (.255). Verlander's total would be the third-best since '90, trailing only Pedro Martinez in 2000 (.213) and Greg Maddux in 1995 (.224). Martinez owns five of the 21 seasons on the list, Maddux four. Johan Santana with three and Curt Schilling with two also appear multiple times.

RANT OF THE WEEK

I'm stealing this great note from our Stats & Information department, which compares Asdrubal Cabrera to Jhonny Peralta:

Cabrera: .289, .832 OPS, plus+1 defensive runs saved, 3.9 WAR (FanGraphs)
Peralta: .314, .873 OPS, minus-10 defensive runs saved, 3.8 WAR (FanGraphs)

Peralta has received about zero media attention for his great year, especially in comparison to Cabrera. Although Cabrera routinely shows up on Web Gems highlights, his overall defense is more league-average than spectacular. Peralta's stick has been slightly more valuable, however, with a .314/.357/.516 line compared to Cabrera's .289/.344/.488. The Tigers are in first place, and Verlander and Miguel Cabrera aren't the only reasons why.

Oh, and the best shortstop in the American League might actually be Yunel Escobar.

After Tuesday night’s extra-inning mayhem in Milwaukee between the Cardinals and Brewers, complete with trash talk, beanball wars and umps’ warnings, the NL Central race seems made of the stuff other sports’ contests in the Midwest, equal parts parity and grudges and rivalries, and colored black and blue all over.

But Tuesday night and then Wednesday’s series anticlimax reflected a more basic proposition about where things are going in the NL Central. A division race that began the year with four teams having as much as a 10 percent shot at winning the Central -- and the Pirates weren’t the initial fourth team, the Cubs were -- is already getting down to the two teams beating on each other in Wisconsin this week. While the Reds and Pirates struggle to reach or remain around .500, the Brewers and Cardinals are the teams beginning to break away. And after three days of banging on each other, they can now get back to beating up on the rest of the division.

On Wednesday, the Brewers mounded up a 10-5 rout, powered by Casey McGehee’s three homers to avenge Tuesday night’s extra-inning loss, but the final score was far more one-sided than the significance of this one ballgame for the race that’s still being run. Newly minted Card Rafael Furcal’s command of the obvious was solid, as he observed postgame that, “We’ve got two more months to play.” While Yadier Molina rallied from a game he was responsible for at least a pair of runs all by himself by reassuring everyone that, “We still have nine games against these guys.”

It’s just as well, because after Tony La Russa left Edwin Jackson in to give up all 10 runs over seven innings, it’s clear that’s an attitude that is reflected in actions as well as words as we head into August’s dog days. Jackson could do no more than lose this game once, after all, no matter how many runs he allowed. With the bullpen shorthanded after short nights from starters Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia on Monday and Tuesday, this was something La Russa subsequently seemed fairly fatalistic about.

“He had to do it, he had his stuff. He also got blooped a few times, but they beat us. They pitched better and they played better,” the Cards skipper flatly noted.

You can quibble with the in-game tactics, of course, especially with La Russa’s decision to let Jackson hit for himself in the top of the sixth with runners on second and third and nobody out, and down by just three runs at that point. But roster design did La Russa no favors here -- while carrying seven relievers may not have been enough for this series, neither were five bench players sufficient, not when Tony Cruz, perhaps the best pinch-hitter on the bench to bring in against the left-handed Randy Wolf, was reportedly nursing a hand injury. Regardless, La Russa let his pitcher hit away, and reaped an opportunity-squelching fly out for his troubles, with La Russa’s defensive assertion -- “he had two hits for us, he had a great at-bat” -- doing little to reassure critics noting Jackson’s career .135 batting average.

So La Russa left Jackson in to take a beating, asking him to take one for the team so that the bullpen would be fresh for four games in Florida, and taking the tactical hit (and a loss) for the expected logistical and operational gain of having things squared away more to his liking. With no days off in the past two weeks, and none to come until Monday, you can understand the gambit La Russa employed.

If the Cards were left to offer truths and clichés after the game, McGehee’s trio of homers off Jackson provided a reminder that in just two months, all sorts of things can happen. After consecutive good years as a run-producer for Milwaukee, McGehee’s 200-point drop in OPS (or 60 points in EqA) through the first four months was a tough blow to absorb. You can jump on all sorts of numbers to document the how: his plummeting HR/FB numbers this year, a worse BABIP, fewer walks despite more pitches per at-bat, or an epic collapse against lefties, from a .947 OPS in 2010 to this year’s .344, while his numbers versus righties have been fairly constant, .728 this year to .750 last.

Jackson throws right-handed, so we can leave the mystery of where McGehee’s performance versus southpaws went besides the statistical rabbit hole. In the abstract, Jackson’s not a particularly complicated pitcher in terms of his assortment to right-handed hitter: He relies on a power slider to finish the guys he sets up with mid-90s heat. As McGehee noted after the game, “He’s going to make you look bad if you screw around. You have to be aggressive.” McGehee did exactly that, delivering his first and third homers on 0-1 fastballs he went with and drove to right and center, respectively, and his second on a 1-1 slider up in the zone that he got around on and clouted into the left-field corner.

Is that foreshadowing of second-half heroics from McGehee? Of course it is -- he shouldn’t be as bad as this awful four-month stretch. Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA pegs McGehee’s rest-of-season production at a conservative, believable .732 OPS (.264/320/.412). The question is how much the Brewers have to get that sort of performance from him, and from deadline addition Felipe Lopez, because with second baseman Rickie Weeks out with a bad ankle for weeks to come, the Brewers find themselves stuck in a second race, this one against time -- and not big-league time, but against minor-league schedules. If Weeks can’t recover before the end of the month, the Brewers may run out of affiliate ballgames to assign him to for rehab, putting them in an awkward situation as far as getting him in gear for the stretch run.

With Wednesday’s win, the Brewers notched their 13th victory in their last 18 games. Admittedly, a big chunk of that involves sweeping the Cubs and Astros at home, and if there’s one thing the Brewers do better than anybody, it’s win at home, with a league-best 41-15 record playing in their own house. Of course, there is the flip side of that good news -- their ugly 21-35 road record. However, the Brewers did manage a 5-6 split on a West Coast swing against the Giants, D’backs and Rockies. But that was before Weeks got hurt.

In the end, playoff odds reports like Clay Davenport’s or BP’s favor the Brewers, who are still projected to win 88 or 89 games to the Cardinals’ 85. That might sound like a lot if you rely on sabermetric currency alone to buy those decisions at the rate of 10 runs per win, but that sort of macro-level consideration doesn’t necessarily mean much at the micro-level of day to day outcomes, where anyone -- even Casey McGehee or Edwin Jackson -- can be a difference-making hero for a day, for very different reasons.

---

Is there anything left to be said of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the two teams increasingly consigned to also-ran status? The Pirates are a bit hard to take seriously after their recent swoon, losing their last six straight and 11 of their last 13. They’re the team we all want good things to happen to because everybody wants a Bad News Bears story in the news, but sentiment for America’s Team is different from giving them practical consideration. Few runs scored plus a good-not-great pitching staff asked to deliver on demand adds up to a nice contestant, but not a finalist.

Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick are nice proofs of Pirates GM Neal Huntington’s willingness to try to contend -- on the cheap. You can even wishcast best-case scenarios. Maybe the aging Lee proves that not being up to the level of competition in the AL East is not the same thing as being done altogether -- he gave the Braves a good couple of months last year, after all. Maybe liberating Ludwick from Petco will give him a renewed lease on a career that had already bloomed late. These are weak reeds to lean on in a lineup already toward the bottom in runs scored, and little better in lineup-wide Equivalent Average (.252, ranking 24th). They were averaging 3.9 runs scored per nine before July, and they’ve been averaging 3.9 runs from July on. Whatever gains Lee and Ludwick add figure to be incremental at best, and too late to catch up with the pitching staff’s early-season performance.

The rotation has been the platform for the Pirates’ success, and should remain so, although cracks within the current quintet are beginning to show. Kevin Correia has taking a beating from the regression fairy in the past month, suffering three disaster starts (more runs allowed than innings pitched) in his last five spins, while Charlie Morton’s struggles with fatigue (failing to reach the end of the sixth inning in his eight starts prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Cubs) has helped overexpose the team’s no-name relief crew beyond closer Joel Hanrahan.

The Reds are the truly exasperating team in the division. While they came into the campaign with no end of options for so many positions, the Reds have been remarkably slow in sorting them out. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, they still haven’t found themselves a shortstop. Walt Jocketty and Dusty Baker only recently sorted out their outfield by trading Jonny Gomes out of Chris Heisey’s way, but that adds another non-walker to a lineup that takes a 40-point hit in isolated slugging (ISO) as soon as they leave the Gap’s small spaces. For all the Reds’ wealth in starting pitching, they’ve had to endure multiple disappointments. Dontrelle Willis is worth rooting for, but the mystery is how the Reds wound up having to call upon him -- after Travis Wood and Edinson Volquez pitched their way to Louisville, they had to use somebody. The Reds don’t just need consistency from Homer Bailey, or for Johnny Cueto to keep throwing a quality start every time out, they need to see Bronson Arroyo do something besides chase Jose Lima’s league record for homers allowed. Having already made the mistake of giving Arroyo a three-year, $35 million extension through 2013, this is one mistake they’ll be paying longer than they had to.

Does that mean they're both done? If anyone can pull off a waiver deal that alters a team fundamentally, it's probably Jocketty, but the Reds' failure to achieve much at the deadline creates questions over whether they're ever going to sort out their priorities in time before they run out of season and before the Brewers and Cardinals run out ahead. The Pirates may have to settle for a non-losing record, something that impresses you or me, but leaves them hungry for more, and ready to get back to knocking around in the baseball's black-and-blue division.

Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

From the unfortunate Braves-Pirates ending in the wee hours of Wednesday morning to actual breaking news during the taping of the show, Wednesday’s Baseball Today podcast with myself, Keith Law and guest Jim Bowden was certainly an interesting one. Among the highlights were:

1. Jim wasn’t just sad (like me) about the apparent umpiring mistake that cost America’s Team, but he sounded downright angry! Also, his reaction to the Colby Rasmus trade and other potential deals should not be missed.

2. Keith also shares his opinions on a very interesting past 24 hours in baseball, but rather than focus solely on the umpire mistake, the managers deserve blame for the 19-inning affair as well.

3. The Cardinals certainly make a statement with the Rasmus trade, but it seems like a short-sighted one.

4. Why is investing in relief pitchers for the long-term generally a poor idea? KLaw has the answer and Jonathan Papelbon fans might not like it.

5. Tim Lincecum versus Cole Hamels highlights a big night of baseball, but we point out the other starting pitchers you need to keep an eye on Wednesday.

Plus: Excellent emails, Lance Berkman versus Aubrey Huff, pitchers headhunting and concussions, stats we like, Winnie the Pooh and a whole lot more on a busy Baseball Today podcast for Wednesday. Download now!

The trade deadline is fun, full of rumors and feverishly hyped, tweeted and talked about. But how much impact does it actually have?

Here's a more detailed look at the past three seasons.

2010

AL playoff teams on July 31
Yankees
White Sox
Rangers
Rays (wild card)

Next closest: Twins -0.5, Red Sox -5.5.

Final playoff teams
Rays
Twins
Rangers
Yankees (wild card)

Big moves: Rangers picked up Cliff Lee in early July; White Sox get Edwin Jackson; Twins add Matt Capps; Angels acquire Dan Haren.

What happened: The Twins went 36-22 the rest of the season to win the Central by six games. Capps went 2-0 with 16 saves and the Twins won both games he had a blown save anyway. Lee wasn't great for the Rangers in the regular season (4-6, 3.98), but they won the division by nine games over Oakland.

Impact: None. Capps was a nice pickup, but it was mostly an improvement in the starting rotation that spurred the Twins in August and September. The Red Sox curiously remained quiet and never got in the race.

NL playoff teams on July 31
Braves
Cardinals
Padres
Giants (wild card)

Next closest: Reds -0.5, Phillies -3.5

Final playoff teams
Phillies
Reds
Giants
Braves (wild card)

Big moves: Phillies get Roy Oswalt, Dodgers get Ted Lilly from Cubs, Padres acquire Ryan Ludwick.

What happened: Oswalt was superb as the Phillies went 41-17 down the stretch. The Padres had the best record in the NL on July 31, but finished 30-30 while the Giants went 32-25 (with help from Cody Ross and Jose Guillen, both picked up in August). Their only deadline deal was reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox.

Impact: Small, with little action. The Giants only added spare parts, and two of those in August. The Phillies trailed the Braves by 3.5 on July 31, with Oswalt a key part of their eventual six-game spread over the Braves. But they would have made the playoffs without him.

2009

AL playoff teams on July 31
Yankees
Tigers
Angels
Red Sox (wild card)

Next closest: Rangers -1.5, White Sox -1.5, Twins -2, Rays -4.5

Final playoff teams
Yankees
Twins
Angels
Red Sox (wild card)

Big moves: Red Sox acquire Victor Martinez, White Sox get Jake Peavy, Tigers trade for Jarrod Washburn, Twins get Orlando Cabrera.

What happened: The Twins tied the Tigers for the division lead and won the tiebreaker, and Washburn was a big reason why as he went 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA in eight starts for the Tigers after he had posted a 2.64 ERA for Seattle. Peavy, meanwhile, made just three starts for the White Sox while Cabrera scored 42 runs in 59 games with the Twins.

Impact: Big. The Cabrera/Washburn deals had a huge impact on the Central, with Washburn's failures doing major damage to the Tigers. Cabrera wasn't great for the Twins, but solidified shortstop, where Nick Punto and Brendan Harris hadn't done the job.

NL playoff teams on July 31
Phillies
Cardinals
Dodgers
Rockies/Giants (wild card)

Next closest: Cubs -0.5.

Final playoff teams
Phillies
Cardinals
Dodgers
Rockies

Big moves: Phillies get Cliff Lee, Cardinals acquire Matt Holliday, Giants acquire Freddy Sanchez.

What happened: The Cardinals acquired Holliday on July 24 and he was a huge reason St. Louis pulled away from the Cubs as he hit .353/.419/.612 with 55 RBIs in 63 games. The Phillies had a comfortable lead in the East, which Lee helped maintain, and he led them into the World Series, going 4-0 in the postseason. The Rockies added only relievers Rafael Betancourt and Joe Beimel but went 36-23 the rest of the way, the best mark in the NL.

Impact: Moderate. The Cubs didn't do anything, but truth is they weren't as good as the Cards, who won the division by 7.5 games.

2008

AL playoff teams on July 31
Rays
White Sox/Twins
Angels
Red Sox (wild card)

Next closest: Yankees -1.5

Final playoff teams
Rays
White Sox
Angels
Red Sox (wild card)

Big moves: Angels trade for Mark Teixeira, Red Sox get Jason Bay, Yankees acquire Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, White Sox get Ken Griffey Jr.

What happened: The White Sox remained in a battle all season, although the only move either team made was Chicago picked up Griffey from the Reds. The teams tied for the division with the White Sox winning the tiebreaker. The Red Sox picked up Bay in the Manny Ramirez three-way deal and held off the Yankees for the wild card, going 34-19 to the Yankees' 30-24.

Impact: Minor. The Angels had a huge lead when they got Teixeira from the Braves, so he was acquired to make a postseason impact. It didn't happen, as the Red Sox beat the Angels in four games in the American League Division Series. Nady played OK for the Yankees, but that was a team that gave a combined 35 starts to Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson. They weren't going to catch the Red Sox.

NL playoff teams on July 31
Phillies
Cubs
Diamondbacks
Brewers/Cardinals (wild card)

Next closest: Mets -1, Marlins -1.5, Dodgers -2.

Final playoff teams
Phillies
Cubs
Dodgers
Brewers (wild card)

Big moves: Brewers get CC Sabathia on July 7, Dodgers get Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake, Phillies acquired Joe Blanton on July 17.

What happened: Sabathia wasn't quite a deadline deal since he came over in early July, and it's a good thing they made the deal since they didn't win the wild card until the final day of the season. Sabathia went 11-2, 1.65 for the Brewers, including three starts down the stretch on three days' rest (including the clincher). Ramirez was an absolute beast for the Dodgers, hitting .396/.489/.743, with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs in 53 games. The Dodgers went 30-24 to catch the D-backs, who went 26-28 after making just two minor moves in Tony Clark and Jon Rauch. The Phillies, meanwhile, held off the collapsing Mets by three games, with Blanton going 4-0, 4.20 in 13 starts.

Impact: Huge. The Brewers don't make the playoffs without Sabathia and the Dodgers probably don't win the West without Ramirez (they finished two games up on Arizona).

SERIES OF THE WEEK

Pittsburgh at Atlanta, Monday through Thursday

Monday: James McDonald (6-4, 4.15) vs. Tim Hudson (9-6, 3.29), ESPN, 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday: Jeff Karstens (8-5, 2.28) vs. Tommy Hanson (11-5, 3.06)
Wednesday: Paul Maholm (6-10, 3.26) vs. Jair Jurrjens (12-3, 2.44)
Thursday: Kevin Correia (11-8, 4.38) vs. Derek Lowe (6-8, 4.49)

The trade deadline doesn't come until Sunday and the Pirates hope that won't be loo late for reinforcements. The Pirates have seven road games against the Braves and Phillies this week. Hudson loves pitching at home -- 2.73 in Atlanta in 2011, compared to 4.47 on the road. The key pitcher to watch for the Pirates is All-Star Correia, who has posted a 5.86 ERA over his past nine starts.

PITCHING MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Tuesday: Justin Verlander (13-5, 2.24) vs. Mark Buehrle (7-4, 3.38), Tigers at White Sox

The Giants and Phillies begin the week with a three-game series, but none of the aces match up, so we'll go with this crucial AL Central showdown. Buehrle has quietly and efficiently kept the Sox in nearly every game he's started this season, as he hasn't allowed more than three runs since April 22 -- a streak of 14 starts. He may need to pitch a shutout in this one.

THREE STRIKES

1. Our Red Sox blog wrote about this last week, but it's difficult to argue for Adrian Gonzalez as AL MVP when he may not even be the MVP on his own team. Dustin Pedroia has been excellent, but Jacoby Ellsbury has been unbelievable. With five home runs in his past 10 games, he's now just one behind A-Gone (who has just one in July), and has 45 extra-base hits to Gonzalez's 50. He has 28 steals to Gonzalez's one, and while Gonzalez plays an excellent first base, Ellsbury plays a solid center field, a more important defensive position. His latest power display came on Friday night, off Felix Hernandez, when he golfed a low fastball that was just a few inches off the ground deep over fence in right. On a team of stars, Ellsbury's is starting to shine the most.

2. When you have so much parity like this, it only takes one or two players having bad seasons to derail a potential playoff bid. Which teams have given the most playing time to bad players? Looking at the primary playoff contenders, here is how many plate appearances each team has given to hitters with an OPS+ (on-base + slugging percentage, adjusted for home park, scaled to where 100 is a league average hitter) of 75 or less, entering Sunday's action. (From Baseball-Reference.com.)

National League
1. Brewers, 1250
2. Braves, 823
3. Giants, 809
4. Pirates, 660
5. Phillies, 534
6. Reds, 461
7. Diamondbacks, 456
8. Cardinals, 231

The Brewers are the team that should be kicking itself the most if it misses the playoffs, high in star power but a brutal bottom of the roster. Yuniesky Betancourt's line was predictable, but Casey McGehee has been even worse. Both have held their jobs. What is inexcusable is giving more than 300 plate appearances to vets Craig Counsell and Mark Kotsay.

American League
1. White Sox, 1221
2. Rays, 729
3. Tigers, 559
4. Red Sox, 488
5. Indians, 462
6. Angels, 432
7. Rangers, 333
8. Yankees, 121

Will the White Sox continue to play Alex Rios and Adam Dunn as the calendar flips to August? Rios is hitting .207, Dunn .160. Ozzie Guillen must still have faith: He hit Dunn cleanup on Sunday. One of less-heralded bad positions has been the Tampa Bay shortstops, where Reid Brignac and Elliott Johnson are both hitting under .200. Sean Rodriguez made his 11th start there on Sunday, but he's made five errors there with little range.

3. The Mariners have lost 15 straight. I was at Friday's game at Fenway when Felix Hernandez pitched. The King was alternately frustrated and unfocused, but mostly he displayed an alarming amount of bad body language throughout the game. When the Mariners scored a run in the first and then the Red Sox tied it in the bottom of the inning on a Kevin Youkilis RBI single, Hernandez waited to cross paths with Youk after getting out of the inning. Both players smiled and laughed, as Hernandez probably said something to the extent of "Well, there's the ballgame." When Felix departed, not one player met him at the top of the dugout to shake his good or give him a pat on the back. It's a bad situation in Seattle and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Mariners shop Hernandez around in the offseason.

By the way, here are the past five teams to lose 15 or more in row:

2005 Royals: 19 straight losses.
Final record: 56-106.
Next season: 62-100.
Next winning season: Still waiting.

2002 Devil Rays: 15 straight losses.
Final record: 55-106.
Next season: 63-99.
Next winning season: 2008.

1988 Orioles: 21 straight losses.
Final record: 54-107.
Next season: 87-75.

1982 Mets: 15 straight losses.
Final record: 65-97.
Next season: 68-94.
Next winning season: 1984.

1977 Braves: 17 straight losses.
Final record: 61-101.
Next season: 69-93.
Next winning season: 1980.

RANT OF THE WEEK
I find it hard to believe this report, which suggests the Cardinals could trade Colby Rasmus to the White Sox for Edwin Jackson or Matt Thornton plus a prospect. Even if the prospect is lefty pitcher Chris Sale, Chicago's first-round pick in 2010, I don't think it makes much sense for St. Louis. Jackson is a free agent and inconsistent -- 3.97 ERA but a 1.43 WHIP.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

With trade rumors hitting us in full force as the deadline approaches, let's take a look back at some of what happened at the 2010 trade deadline and see how many of those players are making an impact for their new teams.

Cliff Lee traded to the Rangers; Mariners acquired Justin Smoak, Blake Beavan, Matthew Lawson and Josh Lueke
Despite a solid BB/K rate, Smoak continues to struggle with consistency at the big league level. He's still only 24, so there is time for him to improve, but he's not the instant impact bat that the Mariners were hoping for. Both Beavan and Lueke have pitched in spots for the Mariners this season. The Rangers rode Lee’s contributions to the World Series and have since moved on from Smoak seamlessly, relying instead on the likes of postseason hero Mitch Moreland, Michael Young and Mike Napoli.

Dan Haren traded to the Angels; Diamondbacks received Joe Saunders, Tyler Skaggs, Patrick Corbin and Rafael Rodriguez
Haren has thrived for the Angels this season, and Saunders has held his own with the surprise contenders in Arizona. However, the big score for the D-Back may not arrive until late next season or 2013, as Skaggs has continued to impress all those who have seen him pitch. Recently, he earned a promotion to Double-A after posting a 3.22 ERA, 2.65 FIP and 3.7 K/BB rate at High-A Visalia in the hitter-friendly California League. Corbin has had his struggles at Double-A, but he has posted an impressive 4.5 K/BB rate and should see the big leagues one day.

Edwin Jackson traded to the White Sox; Diamondbacks received Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg
This move was sort of a head-scratcher at the time, and the way Hudson has pitched for the D’backs ever since confirms that confusion. The Snakes have Hudson under team control through 2016 while Jackson will hit the free-agent market this winter.

Roy Oswalt traded to the Phillies; Astros acquired J.A. Happ, Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar Oswalt pitched brilliantly for the Phils in the 2010 postseason. However, career-long back problems may have finally caught up to him. On the Astros' side, Happ was plugged right into the rotation, but his struggles with command and allowing the long ball have led to an ERA nearing six. Gose never played a game in the Astros' system as he was flipped to the Blue Jays for first baseman Brett Wallace; the 24-year-old Wallace has been unimpressive in his young major league career, though he does sport an above-average OBP. Villar continues to struggle with strikeouts in the minor leagues.

Lance Berkman traded to the Yankees; Astros received Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes
While Berkman is in the midst of a late-career renaissance with the Cardinals, Melancon has taken over as the Astros' closer with a 2.91 ERA, 3.33 FIP and ground-ball rate of 60 percent. Jimmy Paredes is now in Double-A and continues to steal bases, but he also continues to struggle with his lack of plate discipline.

Matt Capps traded to the Twins; Nationals received Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa
Capps pitched well for the Twins down the stretch in 2010, but his huge regression in strikeout rate has hurt him big-time this season. In the meantime, despite some ups and downs in his first full big-league season, Ramos has established himself as the Nationals' catcher of the now and the immediate future.

Jhonny Peralta traded to the Tigers; Indians received Giovanni Soto
Peralta re-signed with the Tigers last offseason and has been worth every penny of the $5.25M he is making this season. Over the past two seasons, Peralta has improved his contact rate, which has helped to lower his strikeout rate. Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Soto continues to show good strikeout ability at the lower minor-league levels of the Indians' organization.

Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot traded to the Dodgers; Cubs received Blake DeWitt, Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit
Lilly pitched well for the Dodgers down the stretch in 2010, but his issues with the gopher-ball have hurt him this season. With the Dodger's financial situation in shambles, the three-year $33 million deal Lilly signed last offseason only makes things worse. Overall, this deal has helped no one, though the Dodgers did at least acquire league-average reliever Blake Hawksworth in exchange for Theriot this past offseason.

Octavio Dotel traded to the Dodgers; Pirates acquired James McDonald and Andrew Lambo
After being acquired by Los Angeles, Dotel appeared in 19 games, allowed seven earned runs and was then traded to the Rockies in September. The Pirates landed the high-upside, inconsistent McDonald, who has been once again inconsistent. However, his 4.15 ERA (4.57 FIP) have at least contributed as a back-end rotation piece to the surprising Pirates. Lambo was once a top-end prospect with the Dodgers, but his prospect status is all but gone now. He's hitting .206/.278/.326 between Double- and Triple-A this season.

Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel traded to the Braves; Royals received Tim Collins, Jesse Chavez and Gregor Blanco
Both Farnsworth and Ankiel moved on from the Braves in the offseason, and Blanco was traded to the Nationals this past May. Collins made the Royals out of spring training and has continued to prove that he can miss bats (24.3 percent whiff rate), but his control has really tailed off at the big-league level. Collins is only 21 years old, so his future may still be as a consistent late-inning reliever someday.

Charlie Saponara writes for SweetSpot blog, "Fire Brand of the AL." You can find all of his writing adventures by following on Twitter.