Baseball

We keep hearing that many teams simply will not have the budget to take on the salary of some of the players that non-contending teams will want to move at MLB's trade deadline.

Yet, I'm sure that there will be some opportunistic ball clubs that take advantage of this year's lack of competition.

There may be some bargains to be had, especially if many teams stick to filling gaps from within.

Look, it's the law of supply and demand at work. If I have a player and there are multiple teams interested, it will surely drive up the price.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella may have forgotten the one universal rule that exists in professional sports. 

For a reminder of that one rule, let's ask our friend Herm Edwards his opinion of why professional sports are played. 

Edwards, the former Head Coach of the New York Jets, gained fame for his legendary comment during a post-game interview.

"You play to win the game."

Thanks for the obvious, Herm.

Who out there still thinks Major League Baseball is genuinely troubled by steroids and performance-enhancing drugs?

I hope not too many hands are being raised.

Don't get me wrong—MLB knows it has a problem on its hands and PEDs are the source, but the suits only believe the issue to be skin-deep. It's a matter of public relations damage control and nothing else.

Spin.

Moral obligation to society? Ethical duty to protect the record books?

How about health? Sanctity? The kids? Surely you can't be serious.

Father’s Day is always tough for me because I have to honor my husband in a way that doesn’t directly benefit me.

But this holiday was easy.  He made two requests:

No. 1 - Spend more time with family.

In part one; we took a look at Harden and Gregg, and the possibilities that face the Cubs. Now, as we take a look a bit farther down the road, the choices show themselves to be a bit more complicated.

Shortly after the Cubs have to deal with the future of Harden and Gregg, they will have to face what choices to make with Derrick Lee and Ted Lilly—like I said, a bit more complicated.

In order to maximize my time and get in everything I want to say. I'm not going more than four lines per team.

You might be saying, "Why would you restrict yourself to that number? What's the big deal?"

And in reality you are right, because now I'm conscious about going over four lines and I know when I get to Cleveland, I'll end up coming back and erasing this portion of the introduction.

See the thing is, the change of groupings is fine, but it is no longer enough to keep my amusement. So I need to add in something to make it fun.

Just a "what if." I get the feeling that the two leagues will never actually completely merge because of history. Here's my idea anyway. I have always believed that great rivalries come from geographic proximity, so I have done my best to accommodate that into a new-look Major League Baseball.

If teams still want to play with or without the DH, that is entirely up to them. I don't think merging of leagues should affect that.

Sony Studios has decided to shelve the production of a movie by Steven Soderbergh, starring Brad Pitt and about the baseball book Moneyball only days before the production was set to begin.  Sony has given Soderbergh permission to find another studio.

Let the speculation ensue.

Soderbergh, who directed Traffic and Che, had reportedly turned in a script that was substantially different from the one written by Steven Zaillian. 

"I believe baseball is a beautiful and exciting game, loved by millions--I among them--and I believe baseball an important, enduring American institution.