Angels Acquire Dan Haren  —  It took some time, but the Angels got even.  Two weeks after the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee, the Angels traded for a highly-coveted pitcher of their own, obtaining Dan Haren from the Diamondbacks, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

Daily Rumble: Welcome to the Roy Oswalt Show  —  Cliff Lee is gone.  Dan Haren is off the board.  So strike up the band, because this is now The Roy Oswalt Show.  —  There's only one “premium” arm left on the starting-pitching market, and it's attached to the right shoulder of the 32-year-old Astros ace.

The Greatest Trade Rumor In Baseball History  —  A rundown of the relevant parties:  — Oliver Perez, owed $24/2: Arguably the worst pitcher in baseball, Perez has Steve Blass Disease, minus the connotation of once having good control.  Perez allows more homeruns and walks at a per-nine-inning pace …

Tampa Bay Rays may use top pitching prospect Jeremy Hellickson as a reliever down the stretch  —  Top prospect Jeremy Hellickson has dominated as a starter at Durham but may help the Rays down the stretch as a reliever.  —  Times]  —  CLEVELAND — RHP prospect Jeremy Hellickson's future is as a starter …

Was It Easier To Be A Good Clutch Hitter In The “Old” Days?  —  I first reported on this issue in a post last year Did The Increased Use Of Relief Pitching Cause A Decline In Clutch Hitting?  Back in the 1950s and 1960s, as I show at this earlier post, hitting in non-close and late situations …

Red Sox ratings are way down this year  —  The Red Sox bandwagon has a few empty seats in it this year according to Sports Business Journal: … Obviously they still reach a ton more households than just about any team, and some of this drop also probably reflects the Celtics …

Yanks, Dodgers, Giants among buyers … The Texas Rangers made the big score already by acquiring star left-hander Cliff Lee, and the Braves enhanced their chances, as well, with their addition of steady shortstop Alex Gonzalez but plenty of buyers remain with only five full days to go before the trade deadline.

Hearts on display during induction speeches  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — During a late July weekend in the summer of antiperspirant, the three H's descended on this spiritual home of baseball and made for a wonderfully comforting experience.  —  Harvey, Herzog and The Hawk triumphantly crossed …

Red Sox Season Statistical Anomaly Due to Poor Situational Play  —  The Red Sox are first in the league in OPS and second in runs scored.  Their pitchers throw at the highest average velocity in the majors, and their rotation, even given the injuries, ranks as having the second highest sabermetric value.

How much of a mind game is playing for next contract?  —  Charlie Manuel, when asked on June 8 whether Jayson Werth's impending free agency could be contributing to his slump:  —  “In some ways, it has to.  I definitely think that.  In know in his mind he thinks about it.” Werth, responding to the Phillies manager's comments:

New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya doesn't give coaches a vote of confidence … LOS ANGELES — New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya declared manager Jerry Manuel's job safe at the start of a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.  —  Minaya would offer no such assurances …

GM: No mortgaging future to fill holes  —  DETROIT — With outfielder Magglio Ordonez and second baseman Carlos Guillen landing on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday, Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski's job got a little bit harder.  —  The Trade Deadline is less than a week away …