Even on the slowest days in baseball - there were only eight games scheduled yesterday -- you can find a little excitement. The LA Times is reporting that Greg Maddux is being traded to the LA Dodgers, for as-yet-unknown considerations. Other media outlets are reporting this as a done deal, however as most, if not all acknowledged LAT as the original source, I'm going with their version. One rumor that's been floating around is that owner Frank McCourt has demanded that any trades this season be payroll neutral, which may be the source of the delay, as the dollars get ironed out.
It's a good deal for the Dodgers, who have quickly turned themselves into contenders within a span of just a few weeks. Maddux is a small improvement over the Dodgers house options, with Brad Penny likely out for the year. And he represents even more of an upgrade in a playoff series. When you couple that with an offense surging behind Manny Ramirez -- even if Jeff Kent doesn't agree -- and they've suddenly become the team to beat out west.
Oh, and if you're looking for something more game-centric, the Brewers won again, beating the Houston Astros 9-3 in a game that really wasn't even that close. However, CC Sabathia did again go the distance; his fifth complete game this season. Ryan Braun left the game with a recurrence of his rib cage injury, and appears to be day to day. While I'm impressed at the CC factor, I can't help but wonder what possesses Ned Yost to send his ace out for 130 pitches in August, in a game I'm leading big in against the likes of the Astros. And this isn't the first time. I'm really starting to think the Brewers are going to use him to the point of abuse.