Kuzul

The Pittsburgh Pirates didn't land any of this year's most coveted trade chips, but they approached the July 31 deadline with a level head and the necessary poise.Pittsburgh added four players either at, or prior, to this year's trade deadline. Check out NBC Sports' Matthew Pouliot's overview of the Pirates new acquisitions:They certainly got more interesting with Travis Snider in right field and Sanchez replacing Casey McGehee in the first base platoon. Snider hasn’t been quite as much of a disappointment as everyone thinks—he has a .248/.306/.429 line and 31 homers in 835 at-bats—and he’s just 24 years old. Sanchez is a career .298/.390/.488 hitter against lefties. He’s been way off this year, but if the Pirates can get him straightened out, he’ll be a nice part-timer. Again, I’m not sold on the moves—Brad Lincoln was looking pretty good since a switch to the pen—but factor in the Wandy Rodriguez ...

The Yankees didn't make the big splash at the 4 p.m. deadline for a player like Ryan Dempster or Matt Garza.Instead, they made a trade more on need for third base, as they acquired third baseman Casey McGehee from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for reliever Chad Qualls, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Got 2d confirm, #Yankeess did get McGehee for Qualls— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 31, 2012  The 29-year-old McGehee is only hitting .230 with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 92 games for the Pirates.With the injury to Alex Rodriguez, breaking his hand on a hit-by-pitch by Felix Hernandez, the Yankees needed to find a more everyday replacement to step in.Two years ago when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, McGehee hit .285 with 23 home runs and 104 RBI, which are very good numbers.McGehee is up for arbitration after the 2012 season and won't ...

Coming into a MLB game in the ninth inning, listening to your favorite rock or rap song surely will get you a bit nervous/pumped up/downright scared. In my case, that song happens to be "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Yes, it may seem like a sissy song to walk out to, but read the lyrics , especially the refrain, and you will understand. For MLB closers like Heath Bell, the nervousness/adrenaline/fear are what he thrives on. The pressure is what makes him good. At 6'3" and a husky 250 pounds, Bell looks like the butcher at your local deli who didn't give enough meat to his dog. He is a fun guy, and regularly uses his Wii Fit board to stay in shape. Off a baseball field, Bell doesn't seem like an imposing man. But once he steps onto the mound at Petco Park in the ninth inning to the tune of "Blow Me ...

Phoenix was the epicenter of the July 31 MLB trade deadline this year. In four separate deals, a total of 16 players changed hands. From the Arizona Diamondbacks side, the club parted ways with ace Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Chris Snyder and Chad Qualls. Although the core of the Diamondbacks is still in tack, the organization over the next few years will see many new faces take the field in Phoenix. Get to know these names, Arizona fans, you will be hearing a lot about them. Begin Slideshow

It looks like the Arizona Diamondbacks aren't quite done with their apparent fire sale just yet. John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR is reporting that Arizona has agreed to send beleaguered relief pitcher Chad Qualls to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later. Qualls, a 31-year-old righty in his third year with the Diamondbacks, has a 8.29 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP. The Rays will pay the remainder of Qualls' $4.2 million salary this season.  In a separate deal, according to multiple sources, including FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and azcentral.com's Nick Piecoro, commissioner approval is all that remains between the deal that would send Diamondbacks' backup catcher Chris Snyder to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It was originally reported that the major obstacle in any deal for Snyder, are the remaining years on his current contract.  Snyder is due $5.75 million next year with a club option worth $6.75 million for 2012 that comes with a $750,000 buyout ...

The Lance Berkman trade isn’t even official yet and the word is that the Yankees are already moving on. According to both Buster Olney and Jack Curry, the Yankees are working on other deals and expect to make at least one, maybe two, more trades. What else are the Yankees looking for? Well, they’ve added a full-time DH, but they still need an outfielder that can hit lefties. The ideal person would be somebody who can start in left field so the Yankees can move Brett Gardner to center and sit Curtis Granderson against tough lefties. They also are still in search of some bullpen help. It doesn’t appear that there has been anything going on with the Blue Jays, but the Diamondbacks' Chad Qualls is one name that has been mentioned. Infield help could still be had as well. Berkman can play first base, but they could still ...

According to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks are likely to make at least two more trades, including a deal that involves Chad Qualls. Gambadoro lists Colorado and the Yankees as the two most likely destinations. Qualls, still 31 (his birthday is August 17), was the D-Backs' closer last year and at the beginning of the season, but he’s since lost that job. He’s gotten rocked in quite a few games, allowing at least two earned runs in 11 games so far. His ERA is a hideous 8.51, but his xFIP is 3.97. So somewhere in-between those two numbers lies a not-so-great truth. His BABIP is also a huge .436, so there is certainly the possibility that he’s been dealing with a great deal of bad luck. But he’s been consistently bad all year and has not gone as many as even five games without giving up some ...

First off, I'd like to apologize to train wrecks everywhere for comparing them to Chad Qualls.  Even watching two steamers crash in slow motion isn't as painful as watching the D-Backs' "closer" try to actually close out a game.  The 31-year-old righty has an 8.60 ERA in 2010 thus far, but that doesn't even begin to explain just how bad he has been.  Even in the games he actually does save, it's never a 1-2-3 inning (hence his 2.11 WHIP).  I refuse to let my grandmother watch an Arizona ninth inning anymore, for fear that her little heart just can't take the gruesome sights. It's like a bad crime show, you know who the bad guy is, but it still takes till the last five minutes of the show for everyone else to figure it out.  Duh, AJ Hinch and Kirk Gibson, how do you not realize that this guy is just downright ineffective? Last time I ...

Sex and the City 2 and Jonah Hex have not been the only flops this summer. Fantasy baseball has had its fair share as well.   We are more than two months into the 2010 baseball season, so its not too early to label certain superstars as busts. Sure, they could turn things around. They could play phenomenally from here on out and salvage their seasons, but right now they are giving their fantasy owners ulcers every time they go 0-for-4, blow a save, or get torched for seven runs in four innings.    Here are the ten biggest busts in fantasy baseball! Jason Bay, New York Mets The Mets needed to keep up with the Yankees in the big-ticket item department, plus they needed outfield pop because they knew Carlos Beltran was going to miss the first half of the season. So they ...

The past two games for the Arizona bullpen? 6 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Yes, I know. It is an amazing feat. One might actually think that a corner has been turned, that things will improve. This is, indeed, possible, but before there are parties and wagers about how the season is turning around (I doubt people are doing that yet, but still relax), take a deep breath and look at the reality. The bullpen just did that against the Astros, a pathetic excuse for a major league team at the moment. How bad are the 'Stros? Offensively, they are terrible. In 26 games, the team has scored a total of only 73 runs, an average of less than three per game. They have hit only nine home runs as a team (remember that BOTH Mark Reynolds and Kelly Johnson have hit as many individually). They only mustered one run against D'backs' starter Cesar ...