MLB Major Trades at the MLB trade deadline.

Well the MLB Trade Deadline has came and went and here are the big deals, you will notice that the Sox only had a minor deal despite having a record just above .500 and 4th in the A.L. East

--BOSTON -- The Red Sox on Tuesday acquired lefty reliever Craig Breslow from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed reliever Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik, according to a major league source.
The 31-year-old Breslow has a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings for the Diamondsbacks this season, with 42 strikeouts and 13 walks. He has held hitters to a .233 average.

-The Red Sox also trades Lars Anderson for a Minor League Prospect seconds before the deadline.

-Phillies Trade Hunter Pence to Giants, Pence, 29, hit .271 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs in 101 games this year with Philadelphia. His homer total considerably exceeds that of any existing Giant -- Buster Posey has a club-high 13 -- and his RBI total fits between Posey's 61 and Melky Cabrera's 52. Phillies Get: Schierholtz who finished his Giants tenure with a .270 batting average, 23 homers and 119 RBIs in 503 games after he reached the Majors in 2007. This year, he compiled a .257 average with five homers and 17 RBIs in 77 games. His final act as a Giant was lining a run-scoring single in the 10th inning on Monday night as the Giants lost to the Mets, 8-7.
Seth Rosin, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year, went 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA and 10 saves in 34 games, including five starts, for San Jose this season. The 23-year-old was San Francisco's fourth-round pick in the 2010 Draft. and 21 year old catcher Tommy Joseph

-The Dodgers added veteran outfielder and leadoff hitter Shane Victorino to their collection of stars in a trade with the Phillies for reliever Josh Lindblom and Minor League pitcher Ethan Martin on Tuesday.

-The Dodgers also acquired reliever Brandon League from Seattle in exchange for a pair of Minor Leaguers on Monday.

-Braves acquire left-handed starting pitcher Paul Maholm and veteran backup outfielder Reed Johnson from the Cubs in exchange for highly-regarded pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman to the Chicago Cubs

-Texas acquired Geovany Soto from the Cubs on Monday night for Double-A Frisco right-hander Jacob Brigham, the club announced on Tuesday morning. Soto, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award and was named an All-Star in 2008, is hitting a career-worst .195 with six home runs and 14 RBIs in 51 games. But he has had his best month of the season in July, hitting .250 with one home run, five RBIs and eight runs scored.

-The Cincinnati Reds acquired Kansas City Royals closer Jonathan Broxton and will make him their setup man, according to a high-ranking Reds' official with direct knowledge of the trade.

The New England Intensity traveled southward to
Durham, NC to face off, for the first time in team
history, with the Carolina Phoenix in the Eastern
Conference Finals. The end result was not a good
one for New England, as they fell just short of a
return to the championship game, 7-0.

As per tradition, the weather was very hot and
humid—mid 90’s even at the 7pm kickoff time. In
fact, the host squad was confident that the ambient
conditions would favor them, so much so that their
head coach went on record saying so.

The New England defense, which would have
perhaps it’s finest outing in team history, jumped all
over the Carolina offense, with DB Gumby Nesbitt
corralling her team-leading 5th interception on the
first play for the Phoenix and returning it down to
the 32 yard line of Carolina—a great opportunity
for the Intensity right out of the gate! The blue held
Carolina’s air assault to just 4 for 23 passing when
all was said and done. Further, they surrendered
barely 3 yards per carry on the ground to the high-
octane Phoenix offense (the 7 points that the home
team would post in this game was the lowest total all
season—in fact, the lowest total in recent memory for
the perennial powerhouse).

Unfortunately, the O could not capitalize, turning the
ball over on downs several plays later inside the red
zone.

Despite a questionable pass interference call on NE
during the next series—providing a big, fat first down
for the home team at midfield—the D would hold and
force a punt that was downed just over the Intensity
side of midfield.

A sack, false start, and 7 yard loss on a pass play on
consecutive snaps dug a deep hole for the visitors on
their second possession (to the tune of 3rd and 30).
The nifty catch and run between QB Rebecca Lopez
and WR Tricia Donovan, good for 13 yards, barely
made a dent in the yards required to move the chains
and out came DL-turned-OT-and-P Bri Giarrusso to
punt away.

Possession #3 for Carolina was thwarted by a false
start of their own on 1st down, then some tough
rush defense on the next two plays by Lisa Close
(5 tackle assists), Nikia Speed (4 solo and 8 tackle
assists), Kate Miechkowski (2 solo and 7 assists) and
Charlene Casey (2 and 10), served up 3rd and long.
The pass attempt on 3rd down sailed incomplete and
out came the Phoenix punt team.

Donovan (who led the team with 5 catches for 45
yards) picked up a first down from Lopez, crossing
midfield. Lisa Vincent fumbled on the next play and
the host team recovered the ball just inside their 40.
A disturbing trend of drive-killing miscues for the
blue offense was starting to become apparent . . .

In what would be the only scoring drive of the
game, Carolina pieced together a 10 play series that
straddled the break between the 1st and 2nd quarters
and was keyed by a 32 yard completion to inside the
NE 2. Two plays later the score was 6-0, Carolina.
The XPA was good and 19 minutes into the game,
the Phoenix had a 7 point lead.

New England did not have much of an answer on
it’s ensuing possession, punting after 3 incomplete
passes. No matter, as the next defensive stand by the
Intensity was particularly noteworthy—they notched
3 of their 7 sacks during it and forced yet another
punt by Carolina. Speed had 1.5 of her 3 sacks on
this drive!

Christine Sampson was taking the snaps for New
England at this point and connected with Donna
Bruce (Bruce would catch three passes in the game,
each for a first down, to go along with 2 solo and 4
tackle assists) on her first two pass attempts, moving
the ball across midfield. Erica Adams rattled off 9 of
her 27 rushing yards on the next play and NE enjoyed
3rd and 1 from the Phoenix 34. Unfortunately a delay
of game penalty pushed the blue back and Sampson
threw an interception to end the possession.

The D would remain steadfast with Miechkowski
getting one of her 2 sacks on 3rd and 3, forcing the
home bunch to punt after the 5 yard loss. With time
winding down in the half, Sampson connected with Donovan for a first down but into the locker rooms
the teams went, Carolina holding tight to the 7-0 lead.

Of note was the conspicuous ease the Intensity was
dealing with the heat—much unlike the home team
who had several players vomiting into barrels on
their sideline and having to come out of the game
at various times during the first half. It looked as
if this would play into New England’s hands as the
game/war moved into the 2nd half. In yet another
instance of the football gods turning their backs on
the visitors, a lighting storm passed through and
extended the half time break by about 45 minutes—
providing crucial extra time for the exhausted and
dehydrated Carolina players to rest and replace lost
fluids.

Optimistic nonetheless, the Intensity took the field to
start the 3rd quarter, eager to score and win! Vincent
would return the deep kickoff 23 yards and Lopez led
the offense on to the gridiron. A 15 yard Adams run
and a pass interference call had NE inside the 35 of
Carolina, but four ineffective plays later, the ball was
turned over on downs.

Picking up right where they left off, the Intensity D
stood tall, forcing another 3 and out due to big plays
by Mocha Torres (1 solo and 4 tackle assists), Close
and Giarrusso. Donovan had a respectable 14 yard
punt return but an unrelated block in the back penalty
moved that progress back 15.

Vincent (team-leading 55 rushing yards to go along
with 6 tackle assists) picked up 5 on first down, and a
Carolina offsides aided the Intensity’s cause but they
were unable to capitalize and Giarrusso was called
upon for another punt (she punted 6 times in this
game).

A three and out capped off by an Adams interception
gave the ball right back to the Intensity on their 41,
but they responded with a three and out of their own.

Things looked grim for the blue as the Phoenix
connected for a 59 yard pass that put them on the
Intensity 11. Two plays later they were 3rd and 1
from the 2 and the D, in amazing fashion, held the
line—Torres defending a pass on 3rd down and Casey
and Edwards (4 assists) shut the door on the 4th down
run, resulting in a turnover on downs!

New England scarcely got any breathing room in the
next 3 plays for Giarrusso’s next punt—this one a
timely 36 yarder downed at the N 44. Speed dropped
the runner for a 4 yard loss as the 3rd quarter ended.
Two plays later, she, clearly doing all she could
to ensure no more points were put up by Carolina,
sacked the QB to force a punt.

Perhaps inspired by Speed’s play, the O kicked into
gear with Vincent gashing the home team defense for
a 38 yard run to march into Phoenix territory. Lopez
would soon thereafter hit Adams and Brenna Leveille
on consecutive first down passes of 9 and 15 yards,
respectively, bringing the blue inside the red zone
and looking like they would finally break the
scoreboard ice!! It is worth noting that OL Torrance
Brown, playing on a banged up ankle (she suffered a
high ankle sprain two weeks prior in the Philadelphia
game) was, along with the rest of the O line, having
a great game against the very physical and athletic D
line of the Phoenix!

That said, 2 plays later, on 3rd an 11, a high snap
Lopez had to scamper back 22 yards for forced
another punt and another prime scoring opportunity
was squandered.

The home team, knowing they dodged a bullet and
tasting blood in the water, would come out fired up
on offense, trying to run the ball and consume as
much clock as possible. They were having success in
this effort, picking up 2 first downs before two short
gains and a block in the back forced up a punt.

In another unfortunate turn of events, the sure-handed
Donovan, hoping to put the blue in great position
to score, bobbled and lost the punt that Carolina
recovered on the Intensity 46. The Phoenix picked
up right where they left off running the ball and
got all the way to the Intensity 30 yard line before
they returned to trying to move the ball through
the air . . . they probably should not have as Speed
and Miechkowski each tallied another sack for a
combined 17 yards lost for the home team and a
turnover on downs.

With the clock persistently ticking away, the New
England offense had to get yards and quick if they
wanted avoid the looming loss. Lopez was sacked on
1st down but completed another pass to Donovan on
2nd that got those lost yards back and then some. The final nail in the coffin came on 3rd down as another
high snap was covered up—this time by Carolina—
14 yards behind scrimmage and it was all elementary
as one run play and a knee later the game was over.

The Intensity would fall short, this season, on the
goal of returning to Texas and taking what they
left there in 2011. The bitter taste of losing this
winnable game will hopefully fuel their efforts and
preparations for 2013.


Congratulations from MA SPORTS WEB ON A TERRIFIC SEASON FOR THE NEW ENGLAND INTENSITY!

By: Tom Nappi

From Worst to first and my playoff prediction as we have reached Mid-Season

30) Houston Astros (33-53) - Will there ever again be hope for the Astros

29) Chicago Cubs (33-52) - Will they ever be good enough for even the playoffs

28) Colorado Rockies (33-52) - Back to their normal selves after 2 years of glory

27) San Diego Padres (34-53) - Another Rough Year for the Padres

26) Seattle Mariners (36-51) - Felix Hernandez and that's about it

25) Minnesota Twins (36-49) - Injuries and rough season so far for the Twins

24) Philadelphia Phillies (37-50) - The most shocking team by far, no one could have predicted this but poor offense and injuries have hurt the Phillies chances at coming around from this one.

23) Kansas City (37-47) - Only 10 games below .500 this is actually pretty good for the Royals.

22) Milwaukee Brewers (40-45) - The loss of Prince Fielder seems to have to stuck a dagger in Brewers playoff hopes.

21) Miami Marlins (41-44) - The addition of Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buhrle and 3 games below .500 at all star break = very disappointing. P.S. go back to your old uniforms and get rid of those awful Green walls in the new stadium but keep the bakini dancers.

20) Arizona Diamondbacks (42-43) - Still in the playoff hunt only 4.0 games back but don't expect much

19) Toronto Blue Jays (43-43) - About what I expected, good pitching....no hitting.

18) Oakland Athletics (43-43) - Pretty good pitching and defense as usual but no hitting, but don't count on much

17) Boston Red Sox (43-43) - .500 at All Star Break. Time to worry if the Sox starting pitching doesn't start pitching well, they are done!

16) Detroit Tigers (44-42) - After a rough start, the Tigers have turned things around and only 3.5 games behind in the Central.

15) Tampa Bay Rays (45-41) - There line up is a disgrace but the Rays pitching is terrific, which is why the Rays will be in the hunt for the 2nd wild card spot.

14) Baltimore Orioles (45-40) - I will be shocked if the Orioles keep this up but they will continue to get better every year and will be a competitor in the A.L. East within the next 2 years if they aren't already.

13) Cleveland Indians (44-41) - The Indians are right in the hunt for the A.L. Central and have improved drastically from last years horror show.

12) San Francisco Giants (46-40) - Tim Lincecum has been a disappointment but they continue to remain competitive in the N.L. West

11) St. Louis Cardinals (46-40) - The Bearded nobodies in the Cardinals bullpen will emerge towards the end of the season...BEWARE!

10) New York Mets (46-40) - The Mets have had quite the turn around this year and R.A. Dickey has led the way as he had an terrific first half of the season.

9) Cincinnati Reds (47-38) - The Reds are shockingly terrific this year and are not going away. The Reds will be a wild card threat and perhaps an N.L. Central threat.

8) Atlanta Braves (46-39) - The Braves are playing terrific through the first half and with their solid rotation will be around come playoff time.

7) L.A. Angels (48-38) - The Angels should at the very least clinch a wild card spot in the A.L. they have had a tremendous turnaround since their awful start and with the emergence of Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo and the turnaround of Albert Pujols, they are an easy World Series contender.

6) Chicago White Sox (47-38) - Ever since the addition of Kevin Youkalis the White Sox are playing .700 baseball. Youk seems to be just the piece they needed to turn their season around. The White Sox are on top of the Central and will be around come playoff time. Youkalis was the A.L. Player of the week this week!

5) L.A. Dodgers (47-40) - The Dodgers are surprisingly on top of the N.L. West but it has shown to be a pretty weak division this year however the Dodgers have been playing well and should be competitive come playoff time.

4) Pittsburgh Pirates (48-37) - Hell has frozen over. The Pirates are a good team, 11 games above .500 and in 1st in the NL Central at Mid Season...This could be the year the Pirates go from Worst to First! P.S. Andrew McCutchen is a beast!

3) Washington Nationals (49-34) - The Nationals are an unbelievable story and have climaxed quicker than most thought as they lead the N.L. East and should be taken very seriously.

2) Texas Rangers (52-34) - The Rangers are playing elite as expected and will certainly more than likely have a deep playoff run. The fear is will the Texas Rangers be the Buffalo Bills of Baseball and lose 3 World Series Straight.

1) New York Yankees (52-33) - Despite losing Mariano Rivera to a more than likely season ending injury and having Brett Gardner, C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda go to the D.L. The Yankees are back to being the best team in baseball and should be feared by everyone come playoff time.

Tom's Midseason predictions

Here is how I believe the playoffs should break down after a 2012 first half of irony and surprises in MLB.

NL East - Washington Nationals NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals NL West - L.A. Dodgers

National League Wild Card
Atlanta @ Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Wins!

Division Series
Pittsburgh VS Washington - Washington in 6
St. Louis VS L.A. Dodgers - St. Louis in 7

Washington over St. Louis in 7, Thats Right The Nationals make the World Series!

AL East - New York Yankees AL Central - Detroit Tigers AL West - Texas Rangers

American League Wild Card
Chicago White Sox @ L.A. Angels - Angels Win!

Division Series
Yankees VS Angels - Yankees in 7
Detroit VS Texas - Texas in 7

Yankees Over Texas in 7

World Series
Yankees over Nationals in 6 games!

Let's Flash Back.
Tom's Prediction Prior to Season Start - Most of my picks are still very alive, except the Phillies they will not win the World Series and probably won't make the playoffs!

AL East - N.Y. Yankees
AL Central - Detroit Tigers
AL West - Texas Rangers
WC 1- L.A Angels
WC 2- Boston Red Sox

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - S.F. Giants
WC 1- Miami Marlins
WC 2 - Atlanta Braves

AL Winner - N.Y. Yankees
NL Winner - Philadelphia Phillies

WS Winner - Philadelphia Phillies in 6

By: Tom Nappi

Ray Allen is a player that can now be added to the long list of overpaid babies that have played for a professional sports team. Why you may ask? We'll it's not because he went to the Miami Heat, it's the fact that he made comments on how the Celtics owner Danny Ainge and Head Coach Doc Rivers did not appreciate him.

Hey Ray if the Celtics did not appreciate you then why would the Celtics bother even making you a 2 year, $12 million dollar offer with a no trade clause. Ray Allen is a 37 year old washed up Shooting Guard who the Celtics offered 6 million dollars to for the next 2 seasons while the Heat can only afford to give him 2 years, 6 Million.

I understand if Ray Allen wants to join the Heat to win a championship before he retires but this is not the case based on the comments he has made the only reasons he chose to leave the Celtics is because he was replaced by a younger, more athletic Avery Bradley in the starting 5 and he was hurt by some trade rumors that floated around his name during the last NBA season. Even at this point in his career Ray Allen fails to understand that nearly every player will be involved in a trade rumor at one point during their career (just ask Paul Pierce) and as their age increases, they lose a step and risk being replaced by a younger, more athletic player.

The funny thing about this story is Ray Allen will likely get the same amount of playing time if not less with the Miami Heat and certainly will not be a starter in the majority of Miami's games. Ray Allen left purely because of emotion, this was not a business decision. We know for a fact that he did not go to Miami because of money and we can also assume that he did not join Miami purely to win a championship, he joined to spit in the face of the organization that brought him the only championship of his career because he was almost traded and he was replaced in the starting lineup some games by a more athletic player. If you think this is a reason to leave just look at all the trade rumors that the face of the Celtics, Paul Pierce has been involved in. I don't see him complaining.

Hey Ray Allen your 37 years old, most 37 year olds don't start, get over it! Have fun in Miami, you certainly won't be missed in Boston, the last thing any clubhouse needs is a baby like you, and if you think you were disrespected by Celtics management or fans for a second just remember you were named as being part of the modern Big 3, named after 3 of the best players to ever wear an NBA uniform in Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale and Robert Parish.

Lastly a little business advice for Ray Allen, next time you want to be respected by a fan base, don't bash the franchise that brought you your first and hopefully only championship you will ever win in your career. Trade rumors and losing the starting job are part of a long-term athletes career get over it, this is business. Enjoy south beach you big baby can't wait until you get a sea of boo's from the Boston crowd and there will be plenty of boo's. (If Boston will boo Adam Vinatieri on a 2 and 14 Colts team they will certainly boo Ray Allen)

The New England Intensity won their conference semi-final match, 31-13, on Saturday, 6/30/12, against the Philadelphia Firebirds on a very warm summer afternoon at Medway’s Hanlon Memorial Field.

A lot of hard work by the staff and players in the preceding two weeks paid early dividends for New England as they stuck to the game plan and took control early in this contest.

The home crowd did not have to wait long for something the cheer about as the visitors turned the ball over on downs in the game’s opening series, giving the Intensity the ball at the Philadelphia 40 yard line. Two sizable runs (one by Lisa Vincent, one for Nikia Speed) and a Rebecca Lopez-to-Erica Adams pass for 20 yards had the Blue on the 1-yard line. Vincent, who would lead the team with 82 yards on 10 carries, punched in the first of two rushing TDs on the next play, giving NE a 6-0 lead with 9:12 remaining in the 1st quarter. Record-breaking kicker Lola Kantak drilled the extra point attempt (she’d end the day with 7 points by placekicking—4 XPAs and 1 FGM).

On the Firebirds ensuing series, they did not fare much better. Nikia Speed (1 solo tackles, 6 assists, half a sack, as well as 29 rushing yards on 5 carries), Charlene Casey (team-leading 11 tackle asssits) and Lisa Close (6 tackle assists) forced a 3-and-out for the visiting squad that was fair-caught at the Philly 42.

A 5-yard run by rookie Heather Milan-Eagleson was followed soon by a 37-yard TD pass from Lopez to Brenna Leveille not even 4 minutes after their first score. Lopez threw for 111 yards including 2 TDs and 3 first downs.
The Firebirds 3rd possession was another 3-and-out (due in no small part to several of Alie Powers’ first few kickoffs sailing about 40 yards on average and solid coverage by Vincent, Gumby Nesbitt and others). These first 3 kickoffs by NE were returned for a net -1 yards and Philadelphia’s explosive kick return game was held to less than a 6 yard average for the game.

Kantak hit her 4th FG of the season on the Intensity’s next possession, pushing the score to 17-0 NE with about 8 minutes left in the 2nd.

Another short possession for the visitors was followed by another Intensity TD—an 11 yard run by Vincent with just under 2 minutes in the half.

Lopez connected with Milan-Eagleson early in the 3rd for the Blue’s last score of the game. The 13 yard reception was her first career receiving TD and with 12:03 left in the 3rd, New England enjoyed a 31-0 lead.

A few miscues in the 4th quarter gave the opportunistic and gamey Firebirds the chance to get on the scoreboard . . . They picked off Lopez with about 9 and a half minutes left in the game and returned it 20 yards for a TD to break the shut out bid for the home team. Two plays into the next drive for the Intensity saw a snap sail high of the QB that Philadelphia recovered inside the red zone. The Blue D held strong for several plays but eventually a very athletic play by the visitor’s WR hauled in a 14 yard touchdown pass with 5:32 left. The XPA was off the mark and the score stood at 31-13, it would be the final score.

New England had a relatively-balanced attack on Offense, once again, with 111 passing and 152 rushing yards (averaging well over 5 yards per carry). They outgained their opponents who had 99 passing and 50 rushing yards (incidentally, less than 3 yards per carry)—most of the yards coming in the 2nd half.

In addition to leading the team in rushing yards and rushing TDs (this game and for the season, thus far), Vincent had two half sacks and a 54 yard interception—setting up Kantak’s aforementioned field goal in this game.

Other defensive standouts for NE were Donna Bruce (team-leading 3 solo tackles, 2 assists and a pass defended), Kate Miechkowski (4 tackle assists and a sack), and Erica Adams (4 tackle assists and half a sack), who also had 21 rushing yards on 4 carries.

New England now will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2nd straight season. They will be preparing to travel to Durham, North Carolina to face the Carolina Phoenix for a 7/14/12 game. The Phoenix won their semi-final game against the Arlington (Texas) Impact the same evening as the Intensity/Firebird game.