My latest is up at The Hardball Times and it’s on the deal that sent Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren to the Angels for Joe Saunders and three prospects.

In short, it looks like the Angels may get the edge on this one, but I don’t think it’s as much of a slam dunk as others.

I’m on vacation through most of next week, so I won’t be writing much until I’m back.

Just wanted to let you know.

In the 2010 San Diego Padres Trade Deadline Primer (you can still buy it, you know) I wrote an article about David DeJesus being the perfect trade candidate for the Padres.

Now he needs surgery on his thumb and he’s out for the year. No longer an ideal trade candidate.

It’s unfortunate for DeJesus, obviously, who was in the midst of a career year, hitting .318/.384/.443 for the Kansas City Royals. DeJesus has a $6 million option for the 2011 season that the Royals will almost certainly pick up.

Pretty interesting piece on the evolution of blogs, concentrating specifically on political blogs (h/t Designated Sitter).

Nate Silver gets a mention on page seven for the great success of his political blog, FiveThirtyEight. Silver could write about the statistical analysis of dog shows and find success. Personally, I wish he’d come back to baseball, at least part-time.

My latest is up at The Hardball Times; a look at the recent trade between the Mariners and Rangers.

My conclusion is that, while the Mariners may have received a little more surplus value long-term, the trade was justifiable from the Rangers’ perspective based on their current situation and that Cliff Lee is a damn fine pitcher.  Basically, a win-win.

Reading The Elements of Style for free on Bartleby.com. Both the book and Website are recommended.

I’m going to stop writing now before I make a grammar mistake.

Just witnessed Rangers catcher Bengie Molina hit for the cycle against the Red Sox at Fenway. Molina needed a triple to complete the bid and he hit a high fly to center that bounced off Eric Patterson’s glove and into the triangle (where it disappeared, until Molina reached third*).

*Okay, I made that part up.

I’m guessing within the next few days, somebody will do a “least likely to hit for cycle” article and I’m not sure how Molina will rate. His overall offensive game is decent enough to give him a solid chance of collecting a homer, double, and single, but that can be said about quite a few players. Counting tonight, Molina’s hit just six triples in almost 5,000 plate appearances (two of them coming in his first full season).

Last week the Texas Rangers acquired Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe from the Seattle Mariners for first base prospect Justin Smoak and three other prospects.

I’m working on a full-blown article on the deal, but here’s my tentative conclusion:

While the Mariners *may* have acquired more total surplus value in the deal, the Rangers, in first place and without a playoff appearance since 1999, are in very good position to add a top-shelf player like Lee. He shows their fans that they are serious about competing and, once in the playoffs, as a top-of-the-rotation starter can be leveraged in short series. Further contributing to his ‘hidden value’ are the draft picks the Rangers will receive when he walks for free agency.

Overall, I think, a win-win for both sides.

Tumblr blogs apparently do not come with a commenting system, so I installed disqus, which is a popular third-party solution.

Feel free to comment on any entries. I have always enjoyed commentary from readers on blogs and I think it is a crucial part of the blogging concept.

Recently, I teamed up with the guys from TwinsCentric and a collection of some of the very best team-bloggers on the web to produce the 2010 Padres Trade Deadline Primer. You can purchase it for a very reasonable $9.95 or check out a free preview to gauge your interest.

Seriously, if you’re a baseball fan with any interest in what teams are going to do at the deadline, this e-book will definitely be worth your money. And it goes beyond that, too, with an in-depth look at each organization, prospect lists, team report cards, and much more.