The Los Angeles Dodgers made a move today to tighten up their bullpen down the stretch. The Dodgers acquired relief pitcher George Sherrill from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for two minor league prospects. The Dodgers hold a commanding seven game lead in the National League West but knew their bullpen needed to be strengthened up. The Orioles, on the other hand, are eighteen games out of the American League East and decided to part with their closer and pick up some prospects.

George Sherrill has been the Orioles closer since joining the team last season. He has an 0-1 record and has converted 20 saves in 23 chances. He has 55 career saves and was selected to the 2008 American League All Star team. Sherrill will most likely be used in a setup role for closer Jonathon Broxton but can be used in the closer role if needed.

In return for Sherrill, the Orioles are getting third baseman Josh Bell and pitcher Steve Johnson. Bell is batting .296 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI’s in 94 games at the AA level. Johnson, a right-handed pitcher, has a 9-5 record with a 3.61 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 20 games between the A and AA levels this season.

The Dodgers may be making another move before tomorrow’s non-waiver trade deadline. They are still one of the teams rumored to be interested in obtaining Toronto Blue Jays star pitcher Roy Halladay. All eyes will be on the Dodgers and the other teams looking to make moves within the next 24 hours, as one of the most exciting trade seasons comes to a close.

Conversations between Toronto and Philadelphia, said to be the front runner for acquiring Halladay, are in a stalemate because the Phillies will not part with top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek. The Blue Jays have repeatedly asked for Drabek along with J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown. The Phillies countered with a package that would include one or more of the following players; Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.

Toronto balked at the counter offer from the Phillies and sources claim that both teams are still in negotiations regarding Halladay but that talks turned nasty at one point over the weekend. The second team said to be in the running for Halladay are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but Toronto is said to be asking for three players on the Angels’ 25-man roster in return for Halladay.

Halladay, wherever he lands, will make a major impact on his new team if he is traded at all. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi claims he really doesn’t think that Halladay will be traded by the time the 4pm Friday deadline arrives because he doesn’t believe that any team will want to part with the prospects they are asking for in return. If Halladay does change teams he will likely end up with the Phillies, Dodgers, or Angels. These three teams seem to be the ones that have the talent it will take to pry the Cy Young Award winner from the only team he has ever played for.

So what happens to the rest of the league if Halladay does not get traded or if the Blue Jays decide to hold onto him even if there is time left prior to the deadline? Many teams could turn to the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners. The Indians haven’t decided yet if they are willing to trade former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee or hold onto him. The Mariners also aren’t sure if they are ready to part with Jarrod Washburn prior to the deadline. If teams are looking for a plan B then they could possibly turn their attention towards Lee and/or Washburn.

Other pitching options for teams looking for relievers include Baltimore’s George Sherrill, possibly the Reds’ Arthur Rhodes, the Diamondbacks’ Chad Qualls, the Nationals’ Joe Beimel and the Pirates’ John Grabow and Matt Capps. It is still difficult to determine whether or not there will be a flurry of minor trades by week’s end or if the Holliday to St. Louis trade will be the only blockbuster deal of the 2009 regular season.

Aside from the steroid controversy surrounding the sport of baseball there have also been some incredibly entertaining, yet embarrassing, blowups by managers and players alike in the Minors and in the Majors throughout the years. We are writing this article on the heels of Carlos Zambrano’s explosion at Wrigley Field on May 27th when his Cubs defeated the Pirates 5-2.

Some of the most famous explosions over the years have included Milton Bradley, Lloyd McClendon, Earl Weaver, George Brett, Phil Wellman and Joe Mikulik just to name a few. Wellman and Mikulik were Minor League managers at the time of their blowups with umpires while the rest of the list experienced their blowups in the Majors.

So, please enjoy the following videos of managers and players flipping out on umpires during Minor League and Major League games.

George Brett, following an important homerun, had his bat examined by the umpires and it was found to have too much pine tar on the barrel. The umpires canceled his homerun and Brett went balistic. Here is the video:

George Brett Pine Tar

Reporters asked Royals coach Hal McRae a stupid question following a game and McRae proceeded to lose his mind during his post-game press conference.

Hal McRae

A Chicago Cub was thrown out at third on a questionable call and manager Lou Piniella loses his mind on the umpire. Check out the classic kick of the hat…a signature Sweet Lou move.

Piniella

This next video has some explicit language in it but no one should be surprised since it involves former Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Weaver was never kind to the umpires and vice versa.

Earl Weaver

John McLaren, when manager of the Seattle Mariners in 2008, drops one bomb after another during his press conference following yet another Mariner loss.

McLaren Rant

One of the most recognizable fights in baseball history happened during the 2003 ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Pedro Martinez grabbed Don Zimmer’s head and threw him to the ground. Take a look for yourself:

Zimmer vs. Martinez

The name Phil Wellman will never be forgotten in baseball lure, especially within the Minor Leagues. Wellman, a Braves Minor League manager, argued a call and then went nuts after he didn’t get his way.

Phil Wellman

Joe Mikulik is another Minor League manager, for the Asheville Tourists, who lost his mind after arguing with an umpire.

Joe Mikulik

The reason we wrote this article, the Carlos Zambrano ejection from earlier in the 2009 season, is the final video of our collection this time around. Hope you enjoy it. One wonderful fan turned it into a Gatorade commercial. Gotta love it:

Zambrano vs Gatorade Machine

The list of position players that have taken the mound in 2009 are Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees, Cody Ross of the Florida Marlins, Jonathan Van Every of the Boston Red Sox, Paul Janish of the Cincinnati Reds and Josh Wilson of the Arizona Diamondbacks. When a position player takes to the mound during a regular season game it is looked at as a very embarrassing situation for the team but some of the position players that have to pitch take their new assignment in stride.

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The first position player to grab the honors in 2009 was Swisher of the Yankees. Swisher had to pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 13th. Swisher threw one scoreless inning, 22 total pitches, and topped out at 80 MPH on the radar gun. This fad has continued to become popular over the years. There have been 107 position players to pitch in a regular season Major League game since 1979. 55 of the 107 position players to take the mound have left the hill with a 0.00 ERA like Swisher.

The Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Bob Melvin late at night on May 7th and replaced him with Farm Director and former Major League catcher A.J. Hinch. Hinch used a position player to pitch only six games into his managerial career when Josh Wilson took the mound on May 11th when the Diamondbacks lost to the Cincinnati Reds 13-5. Wilson tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the loss.

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The position player with the most appearances on the mound right now is Aaron Miles of the Chicago Cubs. Miles made three appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals over the past two seasons. Some of the most famous position players to pitch in a Major League game during their career includes Jose Canseco, Wade Boggs, John Russell (manager of the Pirates) and Terry Francona (manager of the Red Sox). Canseco pitched for the Texas Rangers in 1993 and injured his elbow while doing so for manager Kevin Kennedy. Canseco missed the final three months of the season due to the injury.

Some may think it is embarrassing to toe the hill as a position player but others like the challenge of throwing ‘heat’ to Major League hitters since they might never get the chance to do so ever again during their career. Let’s face it folks, with the continued bashing of the baseball throughout the league more and more position players will continue to make pitching appearances for their team to save the rest of the pitching staff.