…After all the rumors and allegations, it's official. Cynthia Rodriguez has filed for divorce in the family division of the Miami Dade Court.

“The marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken because of the husband's extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct,” according to Cynthia Rodriguez's petition for dissolution of marriage..

This comes after rumors of A-Rod being linked to the new single Madonna. Not to be out done, Cynthia Rodriguez was seen in Paris hanging out with rocker Lenny Kravitz. She also claims that Rodriguez has “emotionally abandoned his wife and children.”

…With Sabathia going to Milwaukee, the Cubs are looking towards Rich Harden of the Oakland Athletics. This according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun times.

…The Dodgers are in the market for a Shortstop due to Rafael Furcal being injury prone this year - and his return from the DL is hazy. The rumor is that they're pursuing SS Jack Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates which would more than likely allow the Dodgers to let Furcal go to Free Agency.

…Can't get enough of the Sabathia coverage? Gord Ash VP and Assistant GM of the Milwaukee Brewers was on “Baseball This Morning” on XM 175 and had this to say about the deal that landed lefty CC Sabathia.

“If we were going to pay the price that we were going to need to pay, we needed to make this not a July 31st deal, we needed to get those extra starts to make a difference…that came together nicely…when you’re able to make a deal of this magnitude, you want to do it as soon as possible, quite frankly, I’m not sure there’s another pitcher of this caliber that’s going to be available…”

…With trade season heating up Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald takes a look at the Red Sox “Wish List”, which includes a catcher and a shortstop.

Hype Up the Story Here

Now that the C.C. Sabathia trade is official, teams that were squashed in the bidding by the Milwaukee Brewers' Minor League depth may feel like they still have to make a big move. Erik Bedard, a left-hander that the Seattle Mariners paid a hefty price for in the off-season, is heavily rumored to be available, and despite his sub-par 2008 season, he is probably the #1 target on a lot of shopping lists.

Proceed with caution with Bedard. Due to a decent 2006 season and an elite '07 season, his value is still extremely high despite not showing anything too impressive in '04, '05, or this season. Last season is aberrant, especially if you take a look at his K/9 rates. Going into '07, Bedard had never put up a K/9 above 8, yet in '07, he skyrocketed it to 10.93. That's nearly a 33% increase!

This season, his numbers are more in line with his career averages, even though he's pitched more than half of his starts in the most spacious ballpark in baseball, Safeco Field. In fact, there is a huge disparity in his home/road splits: Bedard has a 2.35 ERA at home in Seattle, and a 5.73 ERA on the road.

Bedard is having a mediocre season despite a BABIP at its lowest point in his six-year career. There's nothing abnormal with his peripherals other than his sudden conversion to fly ball proneness. In '07, 47.9% of batted balls off of Bedard were of the ground ball variety and 34.8% were fly balls; this season, only 40.3% are ground balls and 42.9% are fly balls. I think it's safe to assume that Bedard altered his pitching style to suit the large area in his home ballpark, and this is why his BABIP is so low — the expected BABIP on ground balls is a bit higher than on fly balls.

The team believed to be behind the Brewers in the bidding for Sabathia was the Philadelphia Phillies, but it is a widely held notion that they don't even come close to the Brewers in Minor League depth. The Indians were considering taking “a larger volume of talent” from the Phillies, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

It's likely that the Mariners would entertain the same offers from the Phillies for Bedard, since they appear to be heading into rebuilding mode anyway. The Phillies' talent is mostly at the lower levels, which suits the Mariners just fine. Carlos Carrasco and Lou Marson would almost have to be locks in the deal, and that's far too high a price to pay. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays, also finalists in the Sabathia bidding, have better Minor League depth than the Phillies and might be even more susceptible to overpay for the overrated left-hander, since the Rays have a lot of competition in the AL East and the Dodgers could run away with the mediocre NL West.

The most alarming aspect of Bedard's season thus far is not the sudden change in batted ball tendencies, or the non-11 K-rate; it's his inability to pitch past the fifth inning. He's only pitched more than 5 innings seven times in his 15 starts in '08. He averages nearly 17 pitches per inning and, as a result, he's usually close to 100 by the time the end of the fifth inning rolls around. Bedard taxes the bullpen. The Mariners have three pitchers in the top-15 among American League relief pitchers in innings pitched: Sean Green (5th, 48 IP), Ryan Rowland-Smith (12th, 40.2 IP), and Mark Lowe (14th, 40.1 IP).

For teams like the Phillies, Rays, and Dodgers — teams who have had great bullpen performances thus far — it would be a frivolous burden on the bullpen to acquire a pitcher who is so obviously unlikely to take you past the fifth inning.

When all is said and done, it's a better decision to go after someone cheaper, like the Phillies did with Kyle Lohse last season. As Nick Underhill of I'm Writing Sports pointed out, the big trading deadline pitching acquisitions usually don't pan out too well anyway:

The Milwaukee Brewers and Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Melvin have just announced they have acquired LHP C.C. Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson and a player to be named. 

Sabathia will wear uniform #52 when he joins the Brewers. 

From the Brewers' press release…

“The acquisition of C.C. is a credit to all of the fan support that this organization has enjoyed over the last few years,” said Melvin.  “Without their support, we would not be in a position to acquire a pitcher of this caliber.  This addition to our ballclub is also a credit to our great scouting and player development departments led by Jack Zduriencik and Reid Nichols.  Without their expertise, we would not have produced the kind of talented players needed to make a deal of this magnitude.  We also could not have made this deal without the undying support of our ownership.”

Sabathia, 27, owns a career record of 106-71 with a 3.83 ERA in 237 starts over eight seasons with the Indians.  He is a three-time All-Star (2003-04, 2007) and has pitched in the postseason twice (2001 and 2007).  Since making his debut in 2001, he is among the Major League leaders in both wins (T10th, 106 - T5th among lefthanders) and strikeouts (5th, 1,265 - 3rd among lefthanders).  He recorded at least 11 victories in each of his first seven seasons.

“C.C. is one of the top pitchers in the game today,” said Melvin.  “His addition to the starting rotation will be a major key in helping the team reach its ultimate goal of going to the postseason and beyond.”

Sabathia is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA in 18 starts this season.  He currently leads the American League in strikeouts (123) and strikeouts per 9.0 innings (9.0) while ranking second in innings pitched (122.1) and tied for second in complete games (3).  Since April 22 he is 6-5 with a 2.16 ERA in 14 starts (104.1ip, 25er).  His ERA since April 22 ranks third in the Major Leagues.  He has tossed 10 quality starts this season and has produced five double-digit strikeout performances, including three in a row from June 15-27.

I hope to talk to Matt LaPorta some time today.

Hype Up the Story Here

- Jerry Hairston Jr. had 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Adam Dunn blasted a 3-run home run as the Reds held off the Nationals, 6-5. Edinson Volquez picked up his 11th win of the year for Cincinnati.
- Oliver Perez tossed 7 scoreless innings, Carlos Beltran had 3 hits, a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 stolen bases, and Fernando Tatis redeemed Billy Wagner with a 2-run homer in the 12th inning as the Mets got by the Phillies, 4-2. Jayson Werth walked twice, stole a base, and hit a 2-run home run off of Wagner in the 9th inning to send the game into extra innings for Philadelphia.
- James Shields struck out 8 while allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits over 7 innings, and B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, and Evan Longoria each drove in 2 runs as the Rays cruised to a 9-2 win over the Royals.
- J.J. Hardy doubled, hit 2 home runs, and collected 4 RBI, Ryan Braun singled, doubled, and homered, and Bill Hall went 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI as the Brewers crushed the Pirates, 11-6. Corey Hart also had 2 doubles and 2 RBI for Milwaukee. Nate McLouth singled, doubled, and knocked in 3 runs for Pittsburgh.
- Cody Ross went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and 5 RBI, and Mike Jacobs reached base 3 times, scored 3 runs, and drove in 2 more to lead the Marlins to a 10-5 victory over the Rockies. Brad Hawpe was on base 3 times, homered, and scored twice for Colorado.
- Jon Garland pitched a complete game 6-hitter, and Jeff Mathis contributed 2 hits and 3 RBI as the Angels shut down the Blue Jays, 7-1. Garret Anderson singled, doubled, walked and drove in 2 runs as well for Los Angeles.
- Nate Robertson pitched brilliantly for 9 innings, Ryan Raburn hit a solo home run, and Marcus Thames drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly off of catcher-turned-pitcher, Jamie Burke, as the Tigers edged the Mariners, 2-1, in 15 innings. If Seattle wasn't a last place team, people would be making a bigger deal out of the mis-management of the pitching staff…and rightfully so.
- Robinson Cano had 2 hits and drove in 2 runs, and Alex Rodriguez blasted his 18th home run of the year, but it was Brett Gardner's RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning that sent New York fans home happy, as the Yankees walked off with a 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
- Chipper Jones singled, tripled, homered, walked 4 times, scored 3 runs, and drove in 2 more, and Mark Teixeira went 3-for-7 with a double, 2 walks, and 3 RBI…one which proved to be the game winner in the bottom of the 17th inning…as the Braves outlasted the Astros, 7-6. Ty Wigginton had 3 hits, including a grand slam, for Houston.
- Ian Kinsler and Ramon Vazquez each had 3 hits, and David Murphy went 3-for-6 with a 3-run homer to help the Rangers barely get past the Orioles, 11-10. Kevin Millar went 4-for-4 with a double and a home run, and Nick Markakis singled, doubled, homered and drove in 3 runs for Baltimore.
- John Danks struck out 9 while giving up just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, and Dewayne Wise led the offense with 2 hits, an RBI, and a run scored as the White Sox defeated the A's, 4-3.
- Glen Perkins threw 7 solid innings, and the Minnesota offense battled back to score 3 runs in the 7th inning to give the Twins a 4-3 win over the Indians.
- Ryan Theriot and Derrek Lee collected 3 hits apiece, and Aramis Ramirez singled, doubled, and drove in 3 runs as the Cubs bounced back to squash the Cardinals, 7-1. Sean Marshall allowed one run in 6 innings for Chicago.
- Andre Ethier continued to swing the hot bat, going 3-for-4, and James Loney smacked 2 doubles and knocked in 3 runs to lead the Dodgers over the Giants, 5-3. Emmanuel Burriss had 3 hits for San Francisco.
- Randy Johnson struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings, and Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton hit solo home runs as the Diamondbacks squeezed out a 3-2 win over the Padres.

Sunday's Scoreboard