I do believe I was right in my last blog. I said the Atlanta Braves made a good move by adding Bob Wickman. I did also say it wouldn't help them much since they don't have the pitching to get the ball to Wickman. Well, guess what? The Braves blew a save today against the Philadelphia Phillies. Do you know what inning it was in? The 8th. I don't mean to brag, but when you're right and people said the Braves had enough pitching to get the ball to Wickman, you have to say something.

     Bob Wickman was recently traded to the Atlanta Braves. Wickman is one of the best closers in the game. Lets face it, the Braves need a closer. When you've used five different guys in the closers role and you have 20 blown saves on the year, you need help. Lets face this though, the Braves don't have the guys to setup for Wickman.
     The Braves have decent pitching. Decent starters and decent relievers. However, they don't have the guys that can hold a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th. So, if you don't have the guys to hold on to 1-0 lead, how can they get the game to Wickman? That's right, they can't. The Braves can benefit from this trade, but not much. What they really need to do is go out and add another closer like guy to pitch the 8th and get it to Wickman. Say, like Scott Linebrink? Wilson Betemit has been scouted by the San Diego Padres as an everyday third baseman for them. Of course, they said Linebrink won't be moved, but if the Braves throw in a prospect....you never know. Something could happen. Maybe even Chan Ho Park could be traded to Atlanta. He's been used in the closers role before. He could benefit from moving out of the rotation.

     Josh Rabe was recently called up to the Minnesota Twins when Shannon Stewart and Tori Hunter went on the disabled list. Josh Kinney was called up at the start of July for the St. Louis Cardinals. Why is this important? They both graduated from Quincy University. No, not the Quincy in Massachusetts. The Quincy in Illinois. Quincy was once one of the largest cities in the state of Illinois. That's right. It was once bigger than Chicago AND Springfield. Al Capone stayed in Quincy every once in a while and shipped things to St. Louis. Quincy was known as the "lil Chicago" during the mob years. Josh Kinney and Josh Rabe were both big stars on the Quincy team. Qunicy University is a Division Two school in sports. Not a well known school. Why does all this matter? Because finally my town is finally being represented in Major League Baseball. Also, I may finally not get this question from people when I tell them I'm from Quincy: is that a suburb of Chicago? <-- FYI, Quincy is about 4-5 hours south of Chicago.
     Also, Neal Cotts played for the Quincy Gems one summer. The Gems are the summer league team that plays in Quincy. Also, did you know that the Cubs once had their Single A club in Quincy?

     Sammy Sosa says he would like to come back to Major League Baseball. Maybe the Washington Nationals? With all the trade rumors floating around, the Nationals may need a guy that can play the outfield for them. If they trade Alfonso Soriano and Jose Guillen, they can use Marlon Byrd and Ryan Church, but the Nationals haven't showed strong intrest in those two players this year. Maybe they can sign Sosa to a one year contract. It won't spark a huge comeback, but it could help them with the outfield situation after the deadline.
     Sosa is aging a little, but that's ok. He has a lot of experience in his career and if he comes back, he can continue his pursuit of 600 career homeruns. Austin Kearns will be in right field for the Nationals, so Sosa can play left until the Nationals feel they have a younger guy that can everyday for them in left. Sosa would be a good short term signee for the Nationals. Espically with all these trade tumors swirling around.

     Bobby Abreu has a lot of money owed to him this year, next year and the option that he has for 2008. He is a very expensive add; however, that's just the reason why the Philadelphia Phillies need to trade him. The Phillies don't need to pay him that much money if he isn't helping them. They need to find a team that he would be willing to go to. That's the main problem, Abreu has full no-trade clause. If he's willing to be dealt to a team, the Phillies need two things in return. They need a guy that can right field for them and who is less expensive than Abreu. They also need an outfield prospect in return that can take over in right field in a few years. A place they can go for this is to Queens, home of the New York Mets.
     The Mets have a kid at Double A that looks pretty good. His name is Carlos Gomez. He's 21 years old. Now, you're probably thinking about Lastings Milledge, but Omar Minaya would never give him for up. So, Abreu for Cliff Floyd and Carlos Gomez. Floyd is a free agent at the end of the year. This way, they can get rid of him, add someone else for a year or two and wait for Gomez to be ready. The only problem would be trading Abreu within the league, yet alone the same division. This could spell disaster for the Phillies to win the division. That's really the only bad thing.