Opinion

It has only been a week since the Toronto Blue Jays traded for Troy Tulowitzki, only a week since my colleague and close friend Scott Miller graced this very space with a column headlined, "Troy Tulowitzki Blockbuster Does Nothing to Change AL Playoff Picture."

Every year, MLB's trade deadline brings about a flurry of activity. And every year, players get traded after that deadline, throwing many fans into confusion. Isn't a deadline supposed to mean something?

The July 31 trade deadline is officially called the non-waiver trade deadline, meaning that in order for players to be traded after July 31, a much more complicated process is followed.

The recognition has been quiet, and the hype has been nonexistent.

But there is substance. It exists under the radar for a team that has not had many splashes this season but has modestly positioned itself as the best team in the National League.

From the perspective that it didn't lead to a win, Luis Severino's major league debut was a failure.

From just about every other perspective, however, it was a success. Severino may not have led the New York Yankees to victory, but he looked the part of a pitcher who could lead them to a handful of must-have wins in what's left of the 2015 season.

After five innings of spinning their wheels harmlessly against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees began oiling the bomb bay doors.

The foreshocks started in the sixth inning with RBI from Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran. The flurry pulled the Yankees to a 4-3 lead, one that New York would build into a 13-run mountain thanks to an explosion of offense in the bottom of the seventh. 

Troy Tulowitzki bombed again Tuesday night, teeing off on an inside, belt-high Phil Hughes fastball for a 436-foot solo shot, his second home run since stepping into a Blue Jays uniform in late July.

From the moment we first heard his name, we were told how great Bryce Harper would be.

For a guy who's never tested free agency, David Price has worn a lot of uniforms.

First, of course, the ace left-hander donned the laundry of the Tampa Bay Rays, the club that grabbed him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Then, for parts of two seasons, Price played for the Detroit Tigers after Tampa Bay shipped him out at the 2014 trade deadline.

Buckle your seat belts, baseball fans, because the National League wild-card race is about to get, well, wild.

Dave Dombrowski and I were not always on the best of terms.

Early on in his time with the Detroit Tigers, one of his close aides basically stopped talking to me, telling me, "I don't think you've been fair to Dave." Later, another aide told me that Dombrowski had made it a fireable offense to be found talking to me.

As time went on, I think Dombrowski gained a little more respect for my work. I know I gained more respect for his.