Opinion

On July 9th, 2011, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter not only collected his 3,000th career hit but added to his collection of haters who will not appreciate his career because he did it as a Yankee.

As Jeter took a lengthy pitch battle with Tampa Bay Rays pitcher, David Price, social media networks were flowing like crazy waiting to publish their personal thoughts on the incredible feat. 

The buzz of tonight's sports world is Derek Jeter's 3,000th career hit. To all of baseball, this is a monumental moment. In today's MLB, it's even more of one.

Every few seasons, a small market team emerges as a surprise contender.  Caught up in the rush of playoff talk, these teams often rush into trades without realizing the consequences of dealing away prospects in hopes of securing a playoff berth.

The Montreal Expos were that team in 2002. They made a blockbuster trade and in the process traded away three future All-Stars.

On Monday, New York Yankee captain Derek Jeter is expected to make his return from the 15-day DL against the Cleveland Indians.  The veteran is six hits away from 3,000 for his career.  Upon reaching that milestone, he will become the first New York Yankee to accomplish that feat.

In reference to the title, the Braves are the Beauty and the Phillies are the beast but not because of the reasons you might think. Atlanta requires finesse and control to dominate their opponents, while the Phillies use strikeouts and flat out strength to destroy their opponents. Both teams use different overall pitching approaches, but both get the job done and then some.

It was a fun time at good old Wrigley Field earlier this week. The Giants scored two week's worth of runs in one afternoon. Barry Zito won his first game since Ronald Reagen was elected to his second term, and Ryan Dempster figured out that there’s a team in the National League that he can pitch well against.

In 2011, one closer has stood above the rest and that is Joel Hanrahan. In 2008, Hanrahan joined the league of closers when he began closing out games late in the season and finished with nine saves.

He opened 2009 as the Washington Nationals closer, but quickly fizzled due to complete lack of control. He walked 14 batters in just 32.2 innings of work and batters compiled a .342 average against him. His biggest problem was not controlling his slider and that forced more fastballs and MLB hitters were expecting it.

Cliff Lee has been fabulous for the Philadelphia Phillies, both this year and in 2009 when the team acquired him from the Cleveland Indians. 

I have recently heard talk of the Braves considering making a trade before the non-waiver deadline on July 31st.

However, I do not think a trade would be helpful to the current situation the Braves are in.

Sure, it would be nice to have a center fielder who could hit, but there are drawbacks to this.

In this article, I will address these drawbacks, and discuss the five main reasons I believe a trade would do harm to the Braves.

Fly ball, left field.  It's heading for no-man's land down the line, surely a blooping base-hit by Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon, giving them an extra-inning lead in what is already an instant classic in the Bronx.  One player had different ideas.  Out of the hole at shortstop comes Derek Jeter, storming for the ball at full-speed.  He reaches up over his head, snags the third out, and promptly crashes into the second row.