MLB

The All-Star Break looms only three days away.

Teams are assessing their standing for the second half and eagerly awaiting their opportunity for redemption (or, for some teams, more of the same) in the second half.

One team that is probably having difficulties doing the former is the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves are sitting at a decent 43-44, only (used in context here) five games back of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves have gotten what they paid for with their off-season money: very consistent starting pitching.

As baseball rolls through the final weekend before the All-Star break, it is easy to see that some changes are necessary if the Twins are serious about winning the division.

Heading into play on Saturday, the Twins’ record is a pedestrian 44-43, one game over .500 and four back of the Tigers in the tough American League Central.

Billy Beane needs to take a play out of the Colorado Rockies playbook. The Rockies were playing uninspired and painfully poor baseball under manager Clint Hurdle. So, what did the Rockies management do?

The Rockies did not subscribe to Beane's theory that firing a manager during the season is a sign of weakness for a team. Instead the Rockies fired Hurdle and offered him a job in the organization, which he turned down and is now an announcer for MLB TV.

Let's just be honest, nobody around baseball figured Jonathan Sanchez would be the first San Francisco Giant to throw a no-hitter since 1976.

If anyone was willing to venture a guess, the most likely Giant would be either Tim Lincecum or perhaps Matt Cain. Even double-A prospects Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson were more likely to throw a no-hitter than Jonathan Sanchez.

Gotta love the picture

At this time during the baseball season things are beginning to wind down before the All-Star break. The selections have largely been announced, and every team gets a much needed break, while a majority of the players get some time to ease off the tension and relax.

It can't get worse, can it?

Padre management keeps telling the fans that all is well, and the plan is proceeding, and we should all pony up our cash, to watch this great team take its place in the annals of history. Right, and American Idol will give us the next Led Zeppelin.

We obviously have seen just the beginning of the wheeling and dealing to commence before the trade deadline. 

One day after dealing Yuniesky Betancourt for a pair of minor leaguers the Mariners have struck again nabbing 3B Jack Hannahan from the Oakland Athletics for Double-A pitcher Justin Souza. 

We still have 20 full days until the trade deadline, and still have all of our trade chips intact like Jarrod Washburn, and Miguel Batista, both will be subject to plenty of Hot Stove rumors. 

As a Cubs, fan it was a lot of fun putting together my list of The Chicago Cubs 20 Best Transactions Since 1990. However, it is only fair that I follow that up with the 20 Worst.

While none of these moves hold a candle to the Aramis Ramirez trade in terms of significance, there have nonetheless been some truly awful decisions made in the recent history of the franchise.

The biggest surprise here for many will be number three on this list, as I'm not sure aa whole lot of people know about that one.

My reaction to yesterday's Yuniesky Betancourt trade was pretty similar to the reaction most people had.

"Wow, Dayton Moore is a terrible GM. Thank God I'm not a Royals fan."

There are just so many things wrong with the trade.

The first error in judgment, the one most often pointed out by others, is that Betancourt is a bad player offensively and defensively. He's just another bad shortstop to add to Willie Bloomquist and Tony Pena Jr. While he may be an upgrade, he's certainly not a starter. He may not even be a big-league-caliber player at this point.