Edge News Boston

If baseball were a game of poker, Yankees check at MLB trading deadline

As a Boston Red Sox fan, it's OK to admit that, as the trade deadline ticked down Sunday, you were both excited and terrified.

The same fans that were eagerly waiting to see if the Sox would pull off a deal were also a bit on edge. Surely the Yankees would make a deal right? Even worse, the Yankees' greatest need, a starting pitcher mirrored the Red Sox most glaring deficiency.

The news that the Sox had traded for the talented but injury-prone Eric Bedard came over the wire and still nothing had developed in the Bronx.

Wandy Rodriguez? Nope.

Matt Garza? Not happening.

A surprise Francisco Liriano or Felix Hernandez mega-deal? Think again. Nothing.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was in on negotiations for Ubaldo Jimenez but backed out due partially to the high amount of quality prospects that the Rockies were demanding and also in part because the Rockies denied a rumored Yankees request for an MRI before finalizing any trade.

Wandy Rodriguez of Houston would also have commanded a daunting haul of prospects as well as the Yankees absorbing a high salary.

In the end, rather than overpay for a sub-par arm that was available as the Red Sox may have done with Eric Bedard, Cashman chose to stand pat.

Make no mistake about it, the Yankees do need starting pitchers. The rotation is C.C. Sabathia, a Cy Young contender, followed by AJ Burnett, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova.

The Yanks probably won't go with a six man rotation for the rest of the season but they seem content to allow all six to get starts for the time being and should one of them not be able to perform, he would be the odd man out. As of today, that guy may be Phil Hughes, who, in spite of his high level of ability, has not been able to pitch with any sort of consistency since sustaining an injury last June.

The Yankees, for all the griping about the pitching staff, have the third best team ERA in the American League. It's August and the arms that were supposed to implode following their hot starts are still producing.

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. The last time the Yankees stood pat at the midseason deadline was 1999, and they won the World Series that year.

Natural Dangers: Needham Boy Falls 150 Feet at Aubrey Falls - Slip ...

A 14-year old boy from Needham fell 150 feet from an Aubrey Falls rock and lived to tell about it. This accident is just the latest in a series of accidents this summer at national parks and campsites that show the natural dangers of the wild.

According to WCVB TV, the unidentified teen was standing on the edge of the rock at the Canadian park when he fell 150 feet into a gorge. Due to the steep grade, it took a five-man technical team to rescue the boy, who miraculously, was not seriously injured.

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