MY FEELINGS ABOUT THE MARK DEROSA TRADE REVEALED

I usually type my blog titles after I've finished writing the accompanying blog. Occasionally, that leads me toward the desire to add an upfront explanation for said title. Rarely do I sate that desire. I figure if my title really needs explaining, it isn't really working. However, I couldn't – in good conscience – type an all-caps title today without mentioning that Billy Mays died this weekend. It's been a tough few days to be famous.

I finally talked myself into posting/advertising my blog on facebook on Friday. I thought I'd picked an opportune time because I figured my NBA Draft blog would be a good one. It was ... meh. I probably should have waited to post it until I could read back over it Friday morning and edit it/make it make more sense. As is, it really only makes sense if you watched the draft. So, my bad. I don't know that it would have boosted my readership all that much anyhow. So far, I've seen no results. Of course, I consider "results" to mean answers to the QotD, and my sports questions have a historically limited audience.

This weekend included the first of this year's Pig Pickin' pre-parties at my dad's lake house. The point of the pre-parties is to plan the actual party, which is August 15^th this year. If you're reading this blog, you're probably invited.

On to matters at hand: the Cardinals made their second trade of the season, sending right-handed relief pitcher Chris Perez to the Indians for the versatile Mark DeRosa. I'm not exactly against the trade, but there are a number of reasons that it bothers me.

1. DeRosa is a former Cub. Considering the Cubs have Aaron Miles, the Cards and Cubs have essentially switched second basemen between last season and now, though obviously not through a direct trade. Historically, when the Cards and Cubs have swapped players, it has worked out pretty well for St. Louis, but it still just feels like my best friend shot me in the ass whenever I see a Cub in a Cards' uniform or vice versa. I'm still not over the fact that Jim Edmonds finished his career in Chicago.
   
2. DeRosa's first start for St. Louis came as an outfielder. I'm guessing/hoping that DeRosa will pretty much become the everyday third baseman, so I can't fathom why he would play in the already crowded outfield, unless the Cards are betting on a softball-esque rule change, and MLB decides to allow four outfielders instead of three. He did make a pretty good play in his leftfield start – one that Chris Duncan probably wouldn't have made – but he's still more needed at third. Again, hopefully this isn't a legitimate concern, and DeRosa will start his third-base Cardinals career tonight, but it seems like a confusing message.
   
3. The Cardinals' bullpen has been immensely inconsistent this season. Of course, Perez was part of that inconsistency, but I don't agree with weakening an already weak pen. Side note: I wouldn't be surprised to see Todd Wellemeyer as a long reliever when Kyle Lohse comes off the DL in the next couple weeks, unless Brad Thompson craps the bed in his start tonight.
   
4. This pretty much means that Cleveland's season is over. The Indians have always been my favorite AL team, and it sucks to see them struggle this much. When I was growing up, I really bonded with my Grandpa Sherrick (who lived in Ohio) over talks about the Indians, so I have a bit of a soft spot for them. Now that he's gone, I can occasionally bond with Byron over talks about the Tribe because he's a fan, too. Next time I see him, I'll make sure we cry into a beer together over the wasting of Grady Sizemore's and Victor Martinez's careers.
   

I'm still predicting good things for the Cards through this trade, but I'm no more than cautiously optimistic at this time. My threat level is yellow.

In the last couple weeks, I've been trying to put myself and the Star-News gaming blog on the radar of different game companies. (I think I pretty much stopped at Activision and EA.) So, now I get an occasional email from their PR departments announcing breaking game news. It's not very useful so far. Friday I was emailed "NFC WEST TEAM AND PLAYER RATINGS REVEALED IN MADDEN NFL 10 SEASON PREVIEW," in all caps, just like that. The point of the email was pretty much to send me a link, which anybody could theoretically find, you know, if they have the internet. I guess I missed the emails announcing "NFC SOUTH AND NFC NORTH TEAM AND PLAYER RATINGS REVEALED" because those ratings evidently predate the NFC West's. I don't know that this is exactly "news": the unveiling of the made-up video game attribute ratings of professional football players, but it's the sort of email I get nowadays. If you'd like, I'd be happy to forward them.

QotD:

What do you want to see at this year's Pig Pickin'?

My take: People I care about and a continuation of the relative good fortune we've had over the past four years. So, no rain (and no rainbows) and not too much trouble.