HELLO, GOODBYE (transactions)

Mike Jacobs 1B TOR - was shipped to Blue Jays for a player to be named later. Jacobs has no real fantasy relevance as potentially a part time power bat off the bench or perhaps platoon... Edwin Jackson SP CHW heads to Chicago but perhaps en route to Washington for Adam Dunn. The Diamondbacks receive Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg. Jackson is a terrible match for U.S. Cellular but he showed more life in the AL Central than in the senior circuit. Talk is that the White Sox would prefer to keep Jackson, but he is the only Sox player that is coveted by the Nats. Hudson doesn't stand much to gain despite moving away from the DH because of the poor state of the Snakes 'pen and the continuing fire sale in Phoenix... Jorge Cantu 1B TEX goes to Texas sending Chris Davis to triple-A. Cantu becomes the regular first baseman in a much better ark for the league leading Rangers. He's obviously relevant in all formats. Davis may now be a candidate to be moved at a bargain price if the Rangers are indeed giving up on him after this most recent failure... Roy Oswalt SP PHI heads to the city of brotherly love, while J.A. Happ heads to Houston. Oswalt moves to a similar park, but with a slightly more iffy bullpen. He'll get a lot more support from the Phillies and his 6-12 record in now way reflects his excellent 3.45/1.11 line and 120 K's in 129IP, his highest strikeout rates in several seasons. Happ moves straight into the Astro's rotation (scheduled to pitch Friday evening) and is an excellent return (along with Wallace) for the aging and expensive Oswalt. The Phillies fell out of love with Happ, but he's a quality pitcher... Brett Wallace 1B HOU also comes to Houston as the Astros flip Anthony Gose, acquired in the Oswalt deal, to the Jays. Wallace is a highly touted prospect who is loved by many for his tools, but has detractors. He's been unable to crack a .900 OPS in Las Vegas, which is an extreme hitters park... Cristian Guzman SS/2B TEX has been acquired by the Rangers for the Nationals for prospects. He replaces the injured Ian Kinsler. Guzman will presumably start and has some limited value in the Rangers potent lineup. That the Nats moved Guzman may indicate that the White Sox will deal Gordon Beckham (previously told by Sox management he was staying put) for Adam Dunn rather than Edwin Jackson. Beckham had been the subject of rumors previously... Jhonny Peralta SS/3B DET switches AL Central uniforms to replace Brandon Inge. Peralta's owners are hoping for a burst of energy for the struggling converted shortstop... Joe Saunders SP ARI switches leagues and has some possibilities to be use not facing the DH... Dan Haren SP LAA moves back to the AL West, but was hit by the injury bug. Given the injury and his recent record of second half collapses, we'd be a little cautious with him... Matt Capps RP MIN becomes the closer in Minnesota after being acquired for catcher Wilson Ramos. Jon Rauch who has pitched extremely well and blown only four saves moves to set-up for Capps who has also blown four games... Scott Podsednik OF LAD moves to Chavez Ravine. It's uncertain where he will play when Manny Ramirez returns, but he is a must start now, hitting for average, power and speed... Miguel Tejada 3B/SS SDG goes to PetCo to shore up, probably, the Friars banged up middle infield. Tejada can still produce in spurts, but should largely be avoided in home stretches... Lost in the trades, Nate McLouth OF ATL got sent down to AAA. Matt Diaz has been the main beneficiary along with Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske.

EVERYBODY HURTS (injury news)

Ian Kinsler 2B TEX is headed to the DL after a series of admissions that his leg issues aren't behind him. That the Rangers then acquired Guzman probably indicates this may be a longer term situation. Kinsler owners should be checking alternatives... B.J. Upton OF TAM missed a couple of games but is expected back in the starting lineup as early as Friday evening... Stephen Strasburg SP WAS is headed for a DL with shoulder inflammation from carrying around the weight of ridiculous expectations. MRI's showed no structural damage, but Strasburg, who was unlikely to pitch through September anyway, may only get a handful of starts for the remainder of this season... Carlos Guillen 2B/OF hit the DL for the Tigers, He should be back shortly but remains a candidate to miss time for this, that or the other thing... Magglio Ordonez OF DET is out with a broken foot, but keep him in mind as he may be back at the beginning of September and could be a decent end game play... Andrew Bailey RP OAK is expected to hit the DL with a lingering back strain. Michael Wuertz is expected to be the fill-in closer, although Craig Breslow has recorded a save as well... Carlos Beltran OF NYM has returned and hit his first home run this week, he has promised more to come... John Maine SP NYM has hit the surgeon's table again and will miss the rest of the season... Alex Gonzalez SS ATL is fighting possible gastritis, but is expected back in a matter of days... Albert Pujols 1B STL felt his calf grab, but stayed in the game, eventually getting the game winning hit. But has been struggling at the plate since... Andrew McCutchen OF PIT is back in the lineup but hasn't been very effective. Despite the shoulder issue, the Bucs have been letting him run, but you shouldn't count on this... Jason Bay OF NYM goes to the DL with concussion symptoms, Jeff Francoeur, but has been mentioned on and off in rumors involving Jose Guillen... Troy Tulowitzki SS COL was activated. Expect continued timeshares between Jonathan Herrera and Clint Barmes... Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS had a talk with Dr. Yocum focusing on the perils of rushing his injury. There's no timetable although he has done some light running.

LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD (playing time issues)

Everth Cabrera SS SDG probably gets bumped with the acquisition of Miguel Tejada. He was not running with his leg issues, so presumably you were not playing him anyway... Xavier Paul OF LAD gets bumped with the acquisition of Scott Podsednik. Expect him to move to Triple-A when Manny Ramirez returns... Ryan Theriot SS/2B CHC  may be headed out of town in a Ted Lilly deal to Los Angeles, be wary... Josh Willingham OF WAS has been going through a prolonged slump and is being mentioned in trade talks (the Nats will try to move Dunn, have less interest in moving Willingham) and will now be given some days off.

ELECTRIC YOUTH (rookie/prospect watch)

Logan Morrison 1B FLA was recalled to play outfield and should have eligibility soon. Although he is a big guy, he has yet to show consistent power and remains an iffy pick in an under-powered Marlins offense.., Domonic Brown OF PHI also gets the call but may not have a place to play when Shane Victorino returns or until Jayson Werth is dealt, if indeed he is dealt... John Jay OF STL has been winning more and more playing time. We re not believers, but Colby Rasmus has been totally vulnerable to left-handed pitching (as have most of the Cardinals)... The left-handed Jay has been very good against lefties, but in very few at-bats (hitherto he has been mainly used against righties)... Buster Posey C SFG has only hit .420 the past month with seven dingers and 24 RBI... Jose Tabata OF PIT after a cold starrt has righted the ship, batting .316 the past month.

I'M ON FIRE (hot players)

Delmon Young OF MIN continues to rig the bell with 29 RBI and a cool .431 over the past month. remember when he was the all everything prospect? Perhaps the passing of his mother has remotivated the talented outfielder... Aubrey Huff OF SFG continues to force his way onto fantasy rosters with a .351 month and seven home runs... Gordon Beckham 2B CHW likes major league chow better than minor league bus trips and has hit .361 over the past month... We're are definitively not believers but there might be some NL Only kind of help from Angel Sanchez and his .290 average over the past month... Brett Myers SP HOU with the Oswalt trade, the odds of Myers leaving Houston have gone down (although he is on the block and teams are asking), but Myers has been extremely reliable with a 1.67/0.74 line and 31 K's in the past month... John Axford RP MIL blew his first save, but got the win making it 3 W's and seven saves for the Brewer's closer to go along with a  2.25/0.92 line.

COLD AS ICE (cold players)

OK, so it's not exactly "ice" but Ichiro Suzuki OF SEA has only hit .246 the past month. Probably just trying to fit in with a team that has only one starter, himself, hitting out of the mid .250's most days... 6.75/1.61 for Jonathan Broxton is not a good line. He's battling injuries and manager Joe Torre has shown no hesitation going to Hong-Shih Kuo and the very-much-worth-watching Kenley Jansen. Expect him to be rested... Dan Haren SP LAA has gone a month without a win... Ubaldo Jimenez SP COL got his 16th win, but remains in a deep slump. His control, which was the heart of his success the first few months of the season has left him, with 18 walks in 28.1 innings in July.