• Regarding the Harden trade … Blogger 27 Outs says the Cubs traded the A's pennies on the dollar for Harden. A's Nation is disappointed that the A's didn't get an impact bat (which seems to be their A-No. 1 need). Catfish Stew's Ken Arneson says this one really hurts, as the A's traded two flawed players for four flawed players. Bleed Cubbie Blue's Al Yellon says, "Good job, Jim Hendry. And stay healthy, Rich Harden."
Writing on this subject last night, I suggested a resemblance to the Mark Mulder trade, in which the A's did quite well for themselves. But as someone somewhere pointed out, we might also be reminded of the Tim Hudson trade, which didn't work out well for the A's at all. As a friend of mine used to say, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
• First Doug Glanville, and now Milton Bradley's blogging in the Times? Bradley's first entry is solid, but tell me again: What makes this a blog rather than a column? Seriously. I really want to know.
• Also from the Times, a fascinating slide show about hitting, featuring George Brett. Which reminds me of this snippet from Posnanski's latest Banny Log:
I always remember what George Brett said about hitting: He will have people try to think of a number between one and 10 and say just they are flashing a DIFFERENT number of fingers. So say 7, but put up three fingers. Say eight and put four fingers. Say 5 and put up one finger. Do it fast and see how long you can keep it up.Most people can only do it for two or three rounds before they are putting the SAME number of fingers as they are shouting out. George says this just shows the mind cannot really think two different things at once, not if you want to be successful.
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I tried it. Brett's right. I messed up in Round 3. Of course, I can't hit a round ball with a round bat, either.
• OK, so it's not like the Browns are leaving for Baltimore and changing their name. But this week The Sporting News has left St. Louis, where the paper had been since its founding in 1886. So that seems sort of a shame, especially for all the employees who weren't asked to move to North Carolina. Also a concern: TSN's archives -- perhaps the best collection of research materials outside of Cooperstown -- are leaving, too, and it's anybody guess as to when they'll be seen again.
• Via Home Run Derby, awesome news for Barry Zito fans.
• Nice Yankees-centric interview with Tyler Kepner, one of the most interesting beat writers working. Speaking of the Yankees, last night the Red Sox were rooting for them. When's the last time that happened?
• Wonderful argument-starting list from U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron: MLB's 50 most valuable assets. Just at a glance, here's a good one: at No. 11, B.J. Upton is five spots ahead of Justin Upton. I happen to agree, but two months ago a lot of people would have thought that was nuts.
• Happy 53rd to Willie Wilson, the fastest player I ever saw. In Wilson's first six seasons, he hit 13 inside-the-park home runs. Say what you want about Vince Coleman, and Coleman was plenty fast, but playing in roughly the same era and the same sort of home ballpark, Coleman hit one inside-the-park home run in his entire career. I've never seen anyone else quite like Wilson and probably won't ever again.
Rob Neyer
