Once again I’m a little late delivering the goods because I wanted to make sure there were actual goods to deliver. In this case, it turns out there are.
The St. Louis Cardinals have traded third baseman Scott Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Troy Glaus. Fun trade. Rolen is 33 and has battled shoulder problems, while Glaus is 31 and has battled foot problems.
Career lines:
Rolen: 6380 PA, .283/.372/.507, 126 OPS+
Glaus: 5203 PA, .254/.358/.500, 121 OPS+
2007 lines:
Rolen: 441 PA, .265/.331/.398, 89 OPS+
Glaus: 456 PA, .262/.366/.473, 120 OPS+
Yikes, Rolen’s power has disappeared.
Peak lines:
Rolen: 593 PA, .314/.409/.598, 157 OPS+ (2004, …read more

Have you noticed the National League shortstops this season? These are not the players I remember watching as a kid — Bill Russell, Davy Concepcion, Rafael Ramirez, Rafael Santana, Larry Bowa, Tim Foli, et al. Sure, Adam Everett is around, but most of the other guys manning the position now wield a potent bat.
Cal Ripken created a big stir when he first came into the big leagues. Redefined the position, they said. Alan Trammell. Robin Yount. And later, of course, the big three of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Nomar Garciaparra.
Those guys all called the American League home. What did …read more