Opinion

Adam Dunn is still a Washington National.

With a half-dozen or more teams making offers for the slugging first baseman right up to the last moments of the July 31 trade deadline, General Manager Mike Rizzo decided on Saturday afternoon that doing nothing made the most sense.

Dunn made it very clear that he didn’t want to leave Washington and believed that a multi-year deal with the Nationals could be reached any time this summer, this fall, even after the season is over.

He wants to stay. Really.

Well the clock has ticked past the magic witching hour when teams have a last chance to cure what ails 'em via non-waiver trade. The Los Angeles Dodgers were very active at the deadline just as GM Ned Coletti promised. Boy oh boy, is the NL West ever in for it now!

If you detect a hint of sarcasm, then you're far more astute than Ned. Then again, I have old socks that are more astute than Ned.

For Jesse Chavez, Gregor Blanco, and Tim Collins, the Braves acquired the now infamous converted-pitcher Rick Ankiel and an old friend (save the 2005 NLDS) in Kyle Farnsworth (as well as come cash from the Royals).

That's a right-handed reliever with a straight fastball, a AAAA outfielder (as much as we loved him in Atlanta), and a 5'7" lefty with a huge ceiling and awesome stuff (308 Ks in 202.2 career MiLB innings) for two more-than-serviceable Major Leaguers.

With the minutes ticking away toward the 2010 Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, fans saw the typically violent flurry of activity as general mangers hustled to smooth out the rough edges. Some of the moves look brilliant while others seem to stink of acquisition for acquisition's sake.

Take a gander at the maneuvering that started way back at the beginning of July and decide for yourself:

July 9th —Texas Rangers acquire RHP Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners for 1B Justin Smoak, RHP Blake Beavan, RHP Josh Leuke, and INF Matt Lawson.

After a dreadful road trip immediately following the All-Star break, the New York Mets returned to Citi Field and proceeded to take two out of three against the St. Louis Cardinals. This series win not only stabilized the team to a certain degree, but it also created a very important series—as far as July goes—against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In order for the Mets to sniff any sort of playoff berth this year, it seems to be they need to win every single series at home and pray for rain on the road. Does this remind anyone else of 2005?

The last we heard, the Yankees were still looking to deal and were specifically looking for an infielder who would be an upgrade on Ramiro Pena and a way to help their bullpen, even if it meant acquiring a starter so they can move Phil Hughes to the pen.

Here is the latest:

It’s amazing to me that a team that is supposedly in financial ruins continues to add players at the trade deadline.

If there is an early winner from the July 31 trade deadline it has to be the Texas Rangers. First they added Cliff Lee, then they added Jorge Cantu, and now they have added Cristian Guzman. Obviously, the latter two aren’t in the same category as Lee, but they are solid pieces that can be used to help solve the Rangers’ World Series puzzle.

If you're a Mets fan, you are familiar with heartache. The very term "Mets fan" is synonymous with pain. This trade deadline has brought us too many moments of agony to rehash, but there are several that stick out in the collective memory of the fan of the Mets. These trades are the lemon juice in a cut type of transaction. They were the ones that really stung.

Joe Torre is an all time great manager. He has four World Series Rings as a manager for the New York Yankees. He knows how to manage lineups, and certainly knows his players' mentalities.

His biggest weakness has always been bullpen management. Even back in his Yankee days, he would either overwork his veterans or not use his young guns too often, thus hindering their development.

The Yankees had a busy day Friday, acquiring Lance Berkman from the Astros and Austin Kearns from the Indians, and it looks like they could make some more moves today as the 4:00 PM Trade Deadline approaches.