Now we are talking.

Throw in Piscotty and I could live with that.

It's probably emotionally easier to follow the Cardinals as I do without seeing as many of the games unless on national TV and not watching post-games with this kind of stuff. I usually don't subscribe to MLBTV until later in the year since I'm usually stuck at work when the games are on anyway.

Miller/Craig forms the all disappointment crew for the Cards this year.

Not Piscotty but I would throw in a Grichuk

Nope its Piscotty if we are taking Craig and Miller off your hands.

Craig is a proven hitter having 1 horrible year and Miller still has tremendous upside if you can fix his head.

are you guys ready to throw in the towel on the season?

We need a right fielder and we will need a DH next year, not to mention another starting pitcher next season as well. It makes sense for both teams really.

This Royals fan thinks the prospect of asking for Taveras for 1/3 year of Shields and Greg Holland is a pipedream (though, as a big believer in Taveras and owner of him in fantasy leagues, I wish Matheny wasn't such a mouth-breather and would just let the guy play considering his other options).

Taveras isn't going anywhere unless it's to Tampa as the centerpiece of a deal for David Price (who is better and controlled longer than James Shields).

Side note on Shields: He seems to have righted a mechanical issue he was having and has been back to normal his last 3-4 outings. He was overstriding and elevating too much as a result.

As for trading Shields and Holland, it makes sense for KC. A reasonable return seems to be something built around Miller, Piscotty. I had a Cardinals' fan friend suggest Miller, Piscotty and Marco Gonzales, which I'd do.

It would be tough to watch Holland pitch elsewhere, but the Royals have the bullpen depth to survive without him if he helps return an every day player and a rotation replacement for Shields moving forward.

As for Allen Craig, I think his value is probably pretty low and wouldn't want to touch it. His power has been declining for several years, and considering the Royals just watched Billy Butler (who is younger and has a better track record as a hitter) fall off the table, I don't think there would be much interest in bringing in another unathletic, contact-oriented DH.

It's a shame. I've enjoyed watching Craig hit, but I think he may be done.

I read somewhere that Matheny said that his plan is to play Oscar twice a week. Ummmm, what? Mo should fire his ass on the spot for that. It was well recognized that Oscar would play nearly everyday or he wouldn't be brought up. It does him absolutely no good to play sporadically, especially while Craig limps around right field and hits righties about as well as I do.

Idiot boy also responded to a pregame question about Oscar not being in the lineup by saying, "we are not in the development business" when setting lineups. If that doesn't at least prompt a closed door between Mo and Captain Concussed, then perhaps ownership needs to have a closed door meeting with Mo.

Mike Matheny is one of two managers I wouldn't gladly trade for Ned Yost in a heartbeat. (Robin Ventura is the other).

That's just a pretty dumb take. Being anti-kid as the Cardinals manager probably isn't going to work with the direction the team has taken.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Competitive Balance lottery results for 2015 <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBDraft">@MLBDraft</a>:
Round A:
1. <a href="https://twitter.com/Marlins">@marlins</a>
2. <a href="https://twitter.com/Rockies">@Rockies</a>
3. <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals">@Cardinals</a>
4. <a href="https://twitter.com/Brewers">@Brewers</a>
5. <a href="https://twitter.com/Padres">@Padres</a>
6. <a href="https://twitter.com/Indians">@Indians</a></p>&mdash; MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/statuses/492019991831515136">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Competitive Balance lottery results for 2015 <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBDraft">@MLBDraft</a>:
Round B:
1. <a href="https://twitter.com/Reds">@Reds</a>
2. <a href="https://twitter.com/Athletics">@Athletics</a>
3. <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners">@Mariners</a>
4. <a href="https://twitter.com/Twins">@Twins</a>
5. <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles">@Orioles</a>
6. <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks">@Dbacks</a></p>&mdash; MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/statuses/492020288796639234">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

What does this mean? Whats a competitive balance and how do they come up with these results?<iframe style="display: none;" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" id="rufous-sandbox" frameborder="0"></iframe>

The Competitive Balance Lottery is new. The extra picks could come in handy in helping teams that supposedly need the most assistance to improve. Keep in mind, though, those teams won't get this aid until the 2013 Draft.

The first lottery will take place in July, after the 2012 Draft signing deadline has passed. The 10 smallest-market teams and the 10 lowest-revenue teams will be placed in the lottery to have a chance to win one of six extra picks in 2013. This doesn't mean there will be 20 teams in the lottery. There will be plenty of crossover, with the expectation of having 13 teams involved.


The teams that will be eligible for the first lottery are the D-backs, Orioles, Indians, Royals, A's, Pirates, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers and Cardinals.

The odds of winning a Draft pick in this lottery will be based on each team's winning percentage in the previous season. The half-dozen picks will be made at the conclusion of the first round, but after the compensation picks for free agents.

There will be a second group of six picks, coming after the conclusion of the second round. The teams from the first group that did not get one of the early picks will be re-entered, along with any other Major League team that receives any revenue sharing.

There's another wrinkle to this. These lottery picks can be traded. That's right, for the first time in Major League history, Draft picks can be dealt. But there are a series of conditions and limitations regarding such transactions.

Only a team that wins a pick in the lottery can trade it, meaning that selection can be traded just once. It can't be sold for cash, and it may only be dealt during the season. Trading can commence the day after the lottery is held and is allowed until the end of that regular season. So seeing a lottery pick or two involved in some July 31 Trade Deadline deals is a distinct possibility. They cannot be included in any Winter Meetings deals, however, with trading of picks again permitted at the beginning of the following regular season.