Birmingham, Ala — After one of the most exciting weeks of the baseball season, BDD Live returns with another broadcast filled with opinion and analysis from all the movers and shakers at the trade deadline.

Moves were made across the country, and this week’s show will attempt to do the same. Join host Eric SanInocencio as he takes the pulse of the blogosphere, hitting the hot spots of every franchise that was active this past Thursday. Giving us the latest word are a list of writers who’ve been in the middle of all the action.

Opening up the show is Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout, as he talks about the eight new prospects joining the Pittsburgh organization after a slew of deals.

Next up is Rob McMillin of 6-4-2, and he’ll enlighten us on the West Coast mood after acquiring slugger Manny Ramirez. McMillin will add his thoughts on the Angels bringing Mark Teixeira in the fold, and how the Halos have powered through the northeast on their latest road trip.

 We then move to Atlanta with Mac Thomason of Braves Journal. The Braves were expected to contend in 2008, yet moved hired gun Mark Texieira and now welcome young first sacker Casey Kotchman.

It all closes in New York, as Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues talks the junior circuit, and how the Yankees transformed their lineup over the past few days.

So join us on Saturday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballdigestdaily to listen to the live broadcast. You can also download the show or listen to the recording upon completion.

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The Minnesota Twins recalled pitcher Francisco Liriano from Triple-A Rochester and selected the contract of first baseman Randy Ruiz. To make room for Liriano and Ruiz, Minnesota designated pitcher Livan Hernandez and outfielder Craig Monroe for assignment. Both Hernandez and Monroe are expected to be released after 10 days.

Liriano was 10-2 with a 3.28 ERA at Rochester after struggling earlier in the season with the Twins after returning from Tommy John surgery.

Everyone is focusing on the Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay, and Mark Teixeira trades as well they should, but what might get lost is that there were a few teams who sorely needed upgrades and failed to pull the trigger. Will it hurt their playoff chances? Let’s have a look.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays needed to pick up a good offensive player, and were rumored to have been very close to a trade for Jason Bay, but balked at the thought of giving up a couple of their best prospects (Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann). There’s no doubt they sought after a couple other available outfielders like Xavier Nady and Raul Ibanez as well.

Did deadline dormancy hurt the Rays? They’re 10th out of 14 American League teams with an average 4.43 runs per game and even though they have the third-best runs allowed average (4.05), they’re out-performing their expected W-L by five games. Their outfielders and DH all have an OPS+ between 90 and 109, which is just below or just higher than the league average. And, of course, they have Jason Bartlett and his 59 OPS+ at shortstop. There weren’t any shortstops available, however.

First and third place in the AL East is separated by only four and a half games. Even though the Red Sox traded a future first ballot Hall of Famer in Manny Ramirez, they got Jason Bay from the Pirates, so there shouldn’t be too much of a decline in production, if any. The Yankees made huge upgrades by 4 PM on July 31, acquiring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates, and Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers.

If the Rays fall out of AL East contention, they may not be able to settle for the Wild Card either, since that will be contended for by either the Red Sox or Yankees and the White Sox or Twins. Either way, the Rays have at last two teams to watch out for as they eye a playoff berth, and the lack of an offensive upgrade may end up being their death knell.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins weren’t rumored to be involved in too many (if any) trades, so the assumption is that their post-season aspirations rest and have rested on their current corps of players.

They only have a +30 run differential due in large part to their starting rotation. Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn have been decent and Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins have been average, but Livan Hernandez has been awful. Adam-Eaton-awful. They would have improved their team — addition by subtraction — by getting him out of the rotation. The most simple upgrade would have been to call Francisco Liriano up, but there are quite a few theories as to why that move hasn’t been made yet. They also could have made a trade but starting pitching was a scarcity and what little was available was pricey.

Overall, the Twins’ lack of action won’t hurt them too much but if they continue to let Liriano toil in the Minor Leagues while Hernandez continues to be given the ball every fifth day, they may find themselves eating the dust of the Chicago White Sox.

Detroit Tigers

Even though the Tigers made a trade, I’m still labeling them as having been dormant. All they did was trade a decent catcher for a mediocre relief pitcher who may be their closer by default. What the Tigers needed was not a relief pitcher but a starting pitcher.

Aside from Armando Galarraga, the entire starting rotation has been atrocious. Justin Verlander is only now creeping his way up to a league-average ERA+. A trade for a good starting pitcher would have put them firmly back in contention for a playoff berth, but with just a +28 run differential, it’ll be hard for them to patch together enough wins to overtake the AL Central or Wild Card.

Philadelphia Phillies

Going into July, the Phillies knew what they wanted to acquire by 4 PM on July 31: a left-handed late-innings relief pitcher and a starting pitcher. GM Pat Gillick made a somewhat questionable trade with the Oakland Athletics for Joe Blanton. In his Phillies debut against the Mets, Blanton wasn’t as bad as the box score indicates, but wasn’t anything special. Blanton has yet to make his second real start for the Phillies, as his most recent went only two innings as a result of a lengthy rain delay.

The Phillies were on the prowl for even more starting pitching, having been rumored to inquire about Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. Starting pitching was at a premium, though, and Gillick was unwilling to part with any of his top prospects (Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco). The Phillies whiffed on that left-handed reliever as well for much the same reason.

In the division, the Mets didn’t add the corner outfielder or late-innings reliever they were looking for, and the Marlins didn’t add anyone besides Arthur Rhodes after relentless rumors of Manny-to-Miami. The Phillies’ lack of action doesn’t hamper their playoff chances any. They have the best bullpen in the National League to go along with their second-best offense and surprisingly efficient starting pitching.

New York Mets

July was a good month to the Mets. Going 18-8 in the last month, the Mets were looking to add a corner outfielder but may have been turned off of that idea by Fernando Tatis and his amazing month of production. Simply put, they will not continue to succeed with an outfield of Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez, and Nick Evans. And Tatis, helped by an alarmingly high BABIP (.376 overall; .440 over the last 28 days), will not continue to produce at such a high level.

Additionally, the lack of an addition of a reliable relief pitcher puts a dent in their post-season hopes. Only two pitchers — Billy Wagner and Scott Schoenweis — have been significantly productive. Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano, and Duaner Sanchez have hovered around the average 100 ERA+ and Heilman’s at 90.

The Mets, more than any other team, hurt themselves by idling their way to the start of August.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals were active at the trade deadline but were very hesitant to pull the trigger on any transactions. There were rumors that they’d trade for A.J. Burnett, or that they’d trade Kyle Lohse, or that they’d trade for a closer. They did nothing and it’s probably for the better, considering their future. They only have a +28 run differential and trail the Chicago Cubs by five games and are tied with the Milwaukee Brewers who have a run differential of only +10. The Cubs, meanwhile, are at +130. Simply put, they are not going to catch the Cubs, and have only the Wild Card to look at, where they are competing with two of three NL East teams, the Brewers, and one of two (possibly two of three) NL West teams.

It’s better that they didn’t part with a couple of their good prospects for quick fixes in the bullpen. Their bullpen is not as bad as it seems and while it would have been nice to have Brian Fuentes, he wouldn’t have altered their odds of achieving the playoffs by too much and it would have come at a steep cost, likely catching prospect Bryan Anderson and more.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Like the Tigers, even though the D-Backs did acquire someone (Jon Rauch from the Nationals), I still count them as having been dormant. Rauch doesn’t help out too much unless Brandon Lyon becomes completely unable to close games for them.

What they needed was a potent offensive player to help out their below-average offense that averages merely 4.55 runs per game. Their pitching is great on all counts, and adding a bat like Mark Teixeira or Jason Bay (or even Manny Ramirez) would have given them a necessary OPS boost.

Instead, they saw the Dodgers, with an even less potent offense, acquire an impact offensive player in Manny Ramirez. Even with a two-game lead, the D-Backs can’t be considered favorites in the weak NL West anymore.

The Diamondbacks and Mets were the two teams most hurt by not doing much of anything before August 1.

We’re going to change the “Short Stops” format since it appears that less and less people are interested in the standard daily game reviews. So let’s play around a bit. From this point on, we’ll be highlighting events from the day’s games including top performances and news on and off the field.

- Grady Sizemore hit his 27th home run of the season in Cleveland 9-4 win over Detroit. Sizemore’s career high is 28 (2006).
- Casey Kotchman made his debut with the Braves yesterday and went 0-4. Also in that game, Mike Hampton returned to the hill for Atlanta and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings.
- Anibal Sanchez returned to the mound for Florida as well and faired much better. Sanchez gave up 2 runs on 6 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Hanley Ramirez hit his 27th homer of the year.
- Arizona’s Brandon Webb picked up win #15 on the year by pitching 8 strong innings against the Dodgers.
- Chicago’s Jim Edmonds hit 2 home runs, including a grand slam, and Rich Harden shut down the Brewers offense and struck out 9. The Cubs swept the series from Milwaukee and now lead the Brewers by 5 games.
- Mark Teixeira made his Angels debut yesterday and went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Los Angeles pounded out 18 hits in the 12-6 victory over New York. The Yankees also signed  Victor Zambrano for some reason on Thursday.
- The Phillies swept the lowly Nationals to move a full game ahead of the Mets in the NL East. Washington released Felipe Lopez, Paul LoDuca, and Johnny Estrada. It’s getting confusing trying to figure out the direction of this team.
- The Twins moved back to within 1/2 game of the White Sox after beating Chicago 10-6. Minnesota scored 4 runs in the 7th inning and 3 runs in the 8th inning in the comeback win.

Thursday’s Scoreboard

Friday’s Probable Pitchers

 **Note - Due to inefficient code, we have changed the scoreboard to what you see above. Click through for full boxscores and play-by-play courtesy of MLB.

BDD’s daily recaps are provided by founder and managing editor Joe Hamrahi. Joe’s a CPA, a financial executive, a baseball analyst, and a proponent of using all available information (read stats and scouts!) in order to make better baseball decisions! Joe can be reached at jhamrahi@baseballdigestdaily.com.

The players to watch and what to watch for this weekend:

Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (8/1-8/3)

For a long time on Thursday, many thought Manny Ramirez was headed to the Florida Marlins or back to Red Sox Nation.  Late in the day, a three-way deal between Boston, Florida and Pittsburgh fell through and Boston’s migraine looked like it would last through September.  As Pittsburgh moved their negotiations to other teams including the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida was shut out off the Manny sweepstakes.  Out of the blue, the Los Angeles Dodgers jumped into the negotiations in the closing minutes of the trade deadline.  As ESPN Insiders discussed why the Manny deal did not happen, a trade was finalized between the Dodgers, Red Sox and Pirates that sent the “Manny Being Manny” Show to Hollywood.  Does this make the Dodgers the favorite in the National League West?  This weekend’s series will answer many of those questions.  The series starts on Thursday without Manny but he should be in the lineup against the Diamondbacks on Friday to face Randy Johnson.  A quick note on that match-up — Manny has homered off of “The Big Unit” five times in his career.

Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics (8/1-8/3)

If you have a headache, Bayer might help get rid of it.  The Boston Red Sox will begin their attempt to wipe away their headache on Friday with Bay, Jason Bay.  When you compare the numbers, it almost looks like a wash but Bay is much younger than Boston’s previous outfielder now trolling the outfield in Los Angeles.  Bay was Rookie of the Year in 2004 and a two-time All-Star.  One knock on Bay is his performance in Interleague games.  In 64 games with Pittsburgh, Bay hit .250 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI.  He leaves the Pirates ranked fourth all-time on the club in Slugging % behind Brian Giles, Ralph Kiner and Willie Stargell and eighth on Pittsburgh’s All-Time Home Run list.  When Bay dons a Red Sox uniform and starts for Boston (most likely on Friday night), it will only be Bay’s fourth game at Fenway Park.  With the Pirates, Bay only made one trip to Fenway for a three-game series with the Red Sox where he went 3-for-12 with no homers and no RBI.  Got a feeling that will change soon.

Mark Teixeira, Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees (7/31-8/3)

Earlier this week, the Angels made a statement with their sweep of the Boston Red Sox.  With their win over the Yankees on Thursday, the Angels are 13-2 since July 12.  They also made a statement in the trade market when they went out and rented slugger Mark Teixeira for the last two months of the season.  Last season, the Braves did the same and Teixeira delivered a .317 average, 1.019 OPS, 17 home runs and 56 RBI in 54 games.  In his career, Teixeira seems to get better the later the season gets.  One thing Teixeira has not experienced in his six seasons in the Majors is postseason play which is something all but guaranteed with his trade to the Angels.  As for the Angels, they have played in the postseason in four out of the last six years but were swept in the ALDS by the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007 and made it to the World Series just once, in 2002.  With their trade for Teixeira, the Angels passed along the message to the rest of the league that they are no longer happy with just making the playoffs.

Casey Kotchman, Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers (8/1-8/3)

Last season, the Braves went out and sacrificed a little bit of their future when they sent five players to the Rangers for Teixeira.  When they acquired Casey Kotchman, they decided to get a little bit of that future back.  At 25, the former first round pick of the Angels in 2001 gives the Braves a viable first baseman of the future.  His 162-game average is a .272 average, 14 home runs and 76 RBI but was on his way to a career year with the Angels in 2008.  In 100 games with the Angels in ‘08, Kotchman hit .287 with 12 homers and 54 RBI in his second season as the team’s regular first baseman.  In his time with the Angels, Kotchman played in the postseason, the young first baseman played in the postseason in ‘04, ‘05 and ‘07 an posted an unimpressive 2-for-15 and one RBI in eight games.  It is too early to say what Kotchman will be in Atlanta.  At 24, his statistics compare closely to David Ortiz and Nick Johnson.  If Kotchman is the next Ortiz, the Braves will be ecstatic with their decision while Kotchman becoming the next Johnson is not as bright of an outlook. 

Ken Griffey Jr., Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (8/1-8/3)

One of the most surprising moves on Thursday was the trade of future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. back to the American League with the intent to help the Chicago White Sox go deep in the playoffs.  Junior Griffey’s first Major League home run came against the Chicago White Sox on April 10, 1989.  His new manager Ozzie Guillen led off for the White Sox that day.  Griffey joins a team on Friday that is clinging to a half game lead in the American League Central.  The one big question when this trade came out of nowhere on Thursday morning was where will Griffey play?  It looks like Griffey will play center field where he has not played since 2006.  Many will question the decision if the White Sox lose their grip on first place and Griffey negatively impacts the team defensively but their current option of Nick Swisher in center was never mistaken for Willie Mays out there.  Griffey is a long way away from his 10 Gold Gloves though.  Some in Cincinnati were critical of Griffey’s performance both offensively and defensively.  In 102 games, Griffey hit .245 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI with the Reds in 2008 and apparently had issues with critical comments made by Cincinnati announcer Jeff Brantley.  Griffey was so upset with Brantley that he threw a throat slash directed toward his direction in the booth over the weekend after a home run.  Offensively, with Griffey in center and Swisher moved to first to replace the struggling Paul Konerko, the White Sox get a little better but no one knows the impact of Griffey’s defense in center.  Will Junior make his first postseason appearance since 1997?  Only time will tell.

Jeff Karstens, Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs (Friday, 8/1)

Need a reason to watch the Pirates?  Actually, I admittedly know very little about Jeff Karstens but he’s got to be better than John Van Benschoten.  This will be the 10th start of his Major League career and Karstens’ first since being traded from the Yankees to the Pirates in a move for the future of the Pirates.  Five of those starts came at Yankee Stadium, one at Fenway Park and the one on Friday will be at Wrigley Field.  Without checkin with the Elias Sports Bureau, my guess is that Karstens is the fastest of any player to make starts in all three ballparks.  However, with Interleague Play, I could easily be wrong.  What I do know — Karstens is 2-3 with a 5.93 ERA in nine starts and the 25-year old averages less than five innings per start.  Another cause for concern about Karstens is his three trips to the disabled list in his limited time at the Major League level.  He hurt his elbow in March ‘06 and broke his leg in his second Major League start in April ‘06.  Earlier this season, during Spring Training against the Pirates, Karstens suffered a groin injury and was placed on the DL for the third time in his career.  While there is still a chance the Pirates flip-flop Karstens with Paul Maholm and he instead starts on Saturday, right now Karstens’ Pirate debut is scheduled for Friday. 

Joe Blanton, Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals (Saturday, 8/2)

Since joining the Phillies, Joe Blanton has not proven one way or the other if the Phillies made a good decision.  His debut was lukewarm and his second start was shortened by a rain delay.  Despite his 7.88 ERA in eight innings over the two starts, the Phillies are 2-0 when he starts.  Now, Blanton faces the Cardinals on Saturday for the first time in his career.  Only Adam Kennedy and Troy Glaus have Blanton in their books.  Kennedy is 6-for-19 with three RBI and Glaus is 2-for-15 with two RBI and he has struck out the two a combined nine times.  It is doubtful that Blanton is looking forward to his first opportunity to pitch against Albert Pujols.  Who would?  Whether or not the Phillies win the opener on Friday, they will be counting on Blanton to maintain their first place spot in the National League East on Saturday.  Meanwhile, the Cardinals are locked in a tie for the Wild Card with their division rivals in Milwaukee. 

Randy Wolf, Houston Astros vs. New York Mets (Sunday, 8/3)

Since being traded to the Houston Astros, Randy Wolf is often described as a really nice guy in stories written about him.  Nine games out of the Wild Card and just a half game ahead of the Pirates to stay out of the NL Central, Wolf may prove the saying that nice guys finish last.  General manager Ed Wade’s acquisition of Wolf left many shaking their head when the deal went down last week.  After a 4 1/3 inning, four run debut on July 27, the head shaking continued.  Wolf, typically an innings eater, has pitched six innings just twice in his last eight starts.  During that stretch, Wolf is 1-6 with a 6.86 ERA and batters hit a whopping .319 with eight home runs.  The move for Wolf might have been nothing more than Wade’s attempt to solidify one of the spots in a rotation that has been ravaged by injury with the possibility of getting compensation at the end of the season should Wolf go elsewhere as a free agent based on the Major League’s free agent compensation guidelines.  If it was more than that and Wade seriously thought his Astros were still in the playoff race, one has to wonder what he’s been watching this year.  On the plus side, Wolf looks like an All-Star against the New York Mets.  In 26 starts, Wolf is 10-5 with a 3.35 ERA and they are the only team that he has posted double digit wins against.  Not an easy feat when you only have 84 career wins.  At Shea Stadium, he is 6-1 with a 2.61 ERA. 

Arthur Rhodes, Florida Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies (8/1-8/3)

Late in the day as the rumors swirled, ESPN’s Peter Gammons declared that there would be five to seven left-handed relievers traded on Thursday’s deadline day.  This was after Arthur Rhodes was dealt to the Florida Marlins.  When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Rhodes was the only left-handed reliever traded.  At 38, Rhodes is an interesting story.  He missed all of 2007 after Tommy John surgery and failed to make the Seattle Mariners roster out of Spring Training.  On April 14, he was promoted and since his promotion, Rhodes is 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in 36 games.  From June 1 to July 28, Rhodes made 18 appearances and pitched 11 2/3 scoreless innings.  Left-handed hitters are hitting just .195 against Rhodes and the Marlins are looking at the veteran to give them a second left-handed option out of the bullpen.  There should be concerns though.  In his only season as a National Leaguer, Rhodes struggled.  He was 0-5 with a 5.32 ERA as a member of the Phillies in 2006.  Also, Rhodes historically sees a dip in his performance as the season gets later.  In June and July, Rhodes owns a career ERA under 4.00 but it jumps to 4.17 in August and 4.78 in September and October.  In the end, Rhodes might be a nice addition but he is definitely a consolation prize compared to the haul the Marlins sought in Manny Ramirez on deadline day.