The Nelson Cruz suspension is more interesting than the A-Rod circus

Major League Baseball finally lowered the boom on some cheaters Monday, suspending 13 players for their connection to Biogenesis, a now-shuttered Miami clinic that provided performance-enhancing drugs to baseball players and other athletes.

The suspended are (in alphabetical order): Philadelphia pitcher Antonio Bastardo, San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera, New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, Texas right fielder Nelson Cruz (pictured), minor league pitcher Fautino De Los Santos, minor league pitcher Sergio Escalona, minor league outfielder Fernando Martinez, minor league catcher Jesus Montero, free agent pitcher Jordan Norberto, Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta, minor league outfielder Cesar Puello, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and minor league utility player Jordany Valdespin.

Twelve of the 13 players received 50-game suspensions. The notable exception being Rodriguez, who was suspended 211 games for being a repeat offender, reportedly recruiting other players to the Biogenesis clinic and impeding MLB's investigation into the matter.

Twelve of the 13 players accepted their punishment. The notable exception being Rodriguez, who filed an appeal that will allow him to continue playing until a judgment is made. Rodriguez, who just returned from a hip injury, went 1-for-4 in his season debut Monday night -- an 8-1 loss to the White Sox.

As expected, a media circus surrounded Rodriguez. My reaction to him is basically, "Who cares?" The guy is a liar and a cheater. His appeal is going to be denied. He's going to be suspended for the 2014 season, and we'll probably never seen him in a big league uniform after that. The Yankees are a fourth-place team in the rugged AL East, and the 38-year-old Rodriguez's return to the lineup figures to have little effect, if any, on the playoff race. It does not look like New York will be making the postseason this year.

The more interesting story is down in Texas. Cruz, 33, leads the second-place Rangers with 27 home runs and 76 RBIs. He is clearly the best run producer in a lineup that is struggling to score runs. Texas entered play Tuesday with a 63-50 record, two games back of Oakland in the AL West. Losing Cruz is a huge blow to the Rangers' pennant hopes. This is a guy who has been batting third or fourth in the lineup all year, an impactful player still in the prime of his career who plays for a contending team.

At the trade deadline, it was assumed Texas would acquire a corner outfielder in anticipation of Cruz being suspended, much like Detroit went out and acquired Jose Iglesias to play shortstop in place of the suspended Peralta. Instead, the Rangers stood pat, leading many to assume Cruz was going to appeal his suspension and play out the season.

On Monday, Cruz accepted his punishment and began serving his suspension. Some have called Cruz "selfish" for deciding to serve his suspension now, arguing that the "team-first move" would have been to appeal the suspension, play out the year, presumably help the Rangers win, then drop the appeal and serve the suspension next year when the games "mean less."

Do a Twitter search for "Cruz selfish" and you'll see plenty of people making this argument. From where I'm sitting, that's hogwash. Cruz is obviously guilty of using PEDs. If he was innocent, wouldn't he appeal? Obviously, he knows he did it, and he knows the evidence is stacked against him. Morally, isn't it the right thing to do to accept your punishment when you've done wrong?

If Cruz did something selfish, it was taking the PEDs in the first place. Putting himself in position to be suspended, that's how he hurt the Rangers. I don't see anything wrong with accepting the consequences for breaking the rules.

A-Rod, narcissist that he is, refuses to admit that he's done wrong and refuses to see the damage he's done to the game of baseball. Isn't that part of the reason we as fans are booing the crap out of him each and every time he steps to home plate? I believe so.

The other storyline around Cruz, of course, is that Texas still needs a right fielder for the pennant drive. Hey Rangers fans, I hear Alex Rios is available.

The White Sox are wasting a lot of quality starts

Most people think I'm crazy when I say the White Sox long-term prognosis isn't as bleak as it looks. Sure, it's hard to see the light when the team is on an eight-game losing streak and has a record of 40-67.

The Sox haven't been 27 games below .500 since 1976, the same year I was born. So yeah, this stinks.

But given this team's sorry record, would you believe it if I told you the Sox rank fifth in the American League in quality starts with 60? Their team ERA (3.98) is better than league average (4.03) too. The pitchers have been more than holding their own despite almost no run support and the horrendous defense being played behind them.

White Sox starting pitchers have an ERA of 2.68 over their last eight games. You would think that would be enough to win at least one game, wouldn't you? Well, not with this team. The Sox have scored two runs or less in six of these eight defeats. Therefore, a 2.68 ERA gets you nothing more than a 2-1 or 3-2 loss. In the other two games where the Sox did score more than two runs, their bullpen imploded. None of these losses reflect poorly on the starting rotation of Chris Sale, John Danks, Jose Quintana, Hector Santiago and Andre Rienzo.

All of these guys have been doing their jobs recently with nothing to show for it. Santiago (pictured) was the latest victim. Friday night, he held the division-leading Detroit Tigers to two runs on six hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and walked just one -- a strong outing on the road against an excellent American League lineup.

What did he get for his efforts? A 2-1 loss. Typical 2013 White Sox.

But, here's the silver lining: All five of those starters are under age 30 -- Danks is the old man in the group at 28. All of them figure to be back next year, and that's your starting point for trying to build a more competitive team in 2014 and beyond.

Given the choice, I'd rather have pitching and be looking for position players than the other way around. The Sox have a ton of holes in their lineup, but those can be filled more quickly and easily than holes in the starting rotation.

Jake Peavy heads to Boston in 3-team deal

Think the Biogenesis investigation doesn't have an effect on this year's trading deadline? Think again, because that whole sordid affair may have just allowed the White Sox to acquire their right fielder of the future (and possibly the present, too).

The Boston Red Sox had been interested in acquiring pitcher Jake Peavy for weeks. The White Sox were willing to deal, too, but the two teams were having trouble coming up with an agreement. It seems the Red Sox were willing to part with a top prospect OR take all of Peavy's salary, but not both. The White Sox wanted them to do both.

The deal might have fallen apart if the Detroit Tigers had not entered the fray. Detroit's All-Star shortstop, Jhonny Peralta, is about to be suspended as a result of the Biogenesis investigation. Lacking a suitable internal option to replace Peralta, the Tigers went shopping and decided they wanted Jose Iglesias from Boston.

However, the Red Sox wanted a front-line pitcher, and the contending Tigers aren't looking to part with any members of their starting rotation. The only way for the White Sox, Red Sox and Tigers to all get what they wanted was to consummate the three-way trade that went down Tuesday night.

Essentially, the Tigers gave up their top power-hitting prospect, 22-year-old outfielder Avisail Garcia, and pitcher Brayan Villarreal, to bring Iglesias into their organization to plug that soon-to-be hole at shortstop. The Red Sox then turned around flipped Garcia and three other prospects to the White Sox for Peavy.

This is an excellent deal for Boston. The Red Sox did a great job here. They acquired one helluva pitcher in Peavy and didn't give up any of the crown jewels of their farm system. They have organizational depth at shortstop. Veteran Stephen Drew is their starter at the big-league level, and their top prospect, Xander Bogaerts, a 20-year-old shortstop, could be ready for the majors by next year. Iglesias was expendable. He's much more valuable for Detroit than he is for Boston.

I think this is a good deal for the White Sox -- not a home run, but a double off the wall. Garcia is an experienced player for his age. He already has 25 postseason plate appearances under his belt. He played in the World Series last year. He is hitting .374 at the Triple-A level this year. It's clear minor-league pitching is no longer a challenge for him. He's ready for a full-time shot in the majors, and the retooling Sox should have plenty of at-bats to give him in the near future. In addition, the Red Sox took all of Peavy's contract. That's $14.5 million more the White Sox will have to spend next offseason. The acquisition of Garcia and the salary relief are the two pluses to come out of this for Chicago. The three other prospects the Sox got from Boston? Well, those are a bunch of ifs and maybes, like I always say.

As for the Tigers, they were pushed into a corner and forced to make this trade by the impending Peralta suspension. If not for that, they don't cough up Garcia at all, let alone allow him to land in the hands of a division rival. Garcia will have 18 opportunities each and every year to come back and haunt the Tigers over the next five seasons or so. But, Detroit is built for the here and now. This is the Tigers' window to win, and they can't afford to allow Peralta's stupidity to cost them a potential championship. So, they did what they had to do to add Iglesias, who will actually provide them a defensive upgrade at shortstop. No way he matches Peralta's bat, but he doesn't need to in that loaded lineup. The Tigers simply need him to catch the ball.

To sum up, great move by the Red Sox, good move by the White Sox, and the Tigers had better win it all this year to make this move worth their while.

White Sox trade Jesse Crain to Tampa Bay

White Sox fans will no longer be graced by the strains of Metallica's "Poor Twisted Me" when Jesse Crain enters the game.

The right-handed reliever was traded Monday to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later.

I think this is a terrific move by the Rays. Crain is a reliable, steady veteran who has proven he can handle high-leverage situations. He's in the midst of a career-best season (2-3 with a 0.74 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 38 appearances), and even at age 32, he's still missing plenty of bats (46 Ks in 36.2 IP).

Unfortunately for the Sox, Crain got injured at the worst possible time. He hasn't pitched since June 29 and is currently on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. Crain is expected to return soon, but it's hard to get fair value when you're trading a guy who is on the DL. And the Sox really had no choice but to move Crain. They are woefully out of the race. Crain's contract is up at the end of the season, and he won't be back next year. There was really no point in keeping him. The right choice is to move him along to a contender and get what you can. That's what the Sox did, but they likely won't be acquiring a top prospect in the deal.

This trade is a complex one. It needed approval from the commissioner's office before it could be finalized. The level of player the Sox receive will be based upon Crain's performance in Tampa Bay.

A lot of times in these types of situations, the two clubs involved in the trade will draw up an "A list" of players, as well as a "B list." Each list is made up of Tampa Bay players who could be potentially sent to the Sox as "the player to be named later." As you might expect, players on the "A list" are better than players on the "B list."

If Crain meets certain performance objectives -- such as a certain number of appearances or a certain number of innings pitched -- the Sox will get to select a player off the "A list" to complete the deal. If Crain gets hurt again or otherwise fails to meet the predetermined objectives, the Sox would be relegated to selecting a lesser player off the "B list" as compensation for the trade.

In short, we likely won't know what the Sox are getting for Crain until after the season is over. The best-case scenario for all parties is Crain going to Tampa Bay and pitching up to his capabilities. If he does that, he will help the Rays win in the tight AL East race, and the Sox will be able to acquire a player to help replenish their organizational depth.

Do you suppose the Nationals regret shutting down Stephen Strasburg last year?

I had a thought this morning when I was looking at the updated Major League standings: Man, the Washington Nationals sure are a disappointment this year.

Washington got a lot of respect in the preseason predictions. I just pulled out my 2013 season preview from Sports Illustrated, and sure enough, the Nationals were their pick to win the World Series.

At that time, that didn't seem like a bad choice. How can you not like a 1-2-3 punch like Stephen Strasburg (pictured), Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann at the top of the rotation?

Bryce Harper is one of the best young talents in the game. Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche are proven run producers. A young middle infield featuring Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa appeared to be coming of age. Denard Span was added to the roster to fix a perceived hole in the leadoff spot. Another successful season was considered a given.

Instead, the Nationals are 50-54 entering play on July 27. They are 8.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. They are in second place, with only Atlanta to catch, so they still have a puncher's chance in that division. But it's clear they will be falling well short of the 100-win success that was forecasted for them during spring training.

What went wrong?

Well, Harper has missed time with assorted injuries. Espinosa stunk it up so bad he got sent back to the minors. He's been a combination of injured and bad all year. LaRoche is hitting about 30 points lower than he did last season. Span's contributions have been modest at best. Dan Haren, the presumed No. 4 starter, has been a disaster. Relief pitcher Drew Storen, who had 43 saves two years ago, has an ERA of almost 6. There are a number of things that have gone wrong for that team.

Here's my point: When you have a chance to win, you have to go for it. The opportunity to win a championship is precious and very fleeting. Even when you have a good-looking roster, you're not promised anything. Guys get hurt. Guys have bad years. You just never know.

Last year, the Nationals were a 95-win team. They had the best record in the league. I thought they had a great chance to get to the World Series and win it. Instead, they shut down Strasburg, their ace, because they didn't want him to pitch too many innings in one season. They were trying to keep him healthy for the long haul because it was "the right thing to do for the franchise."

Ugh.

I hated the move at the time. Yes, Strasburg was coming off Tommy John surgery the previous year. But, the Nationals had a great team last season. Everybody was healthy. Everybody was playing well. When it's all going your way, you have to strike while the iron is hot, health consequences be damned. You can't be playing for next year, or the next five years, because the opportunity to compete for a championship in the future is not promised to you.

I'm sure if Nationals GM Mike Rizzo read this blog (and I'm sure he doesn't), he'd be indignant about what I'm about to write. But oh well.

Washington kicked away its best chance to win a World Series last year when it decided not to pitch its ace in the playoffs. The Nationals lost in the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals, and it doesn't look like they are going to make it back to that level this season.

Alfonso Soriano headed back to the Yankees, reports say

Reports indicate the Cubs will soon be sending veteran outfielder Alfonso Soriano back to the team he started with -- the New York Yankees.

The Cubs will be receiving 21-year-old right-hander Corey Black in the trade. Black, who has been pitching at Class-A Tampa, is 3-8 with a 4.25 ERA in 19 starts this season. Never heard of him before today. I'm sure the Cubs will be sending him to either Kane County or Daytona soon enough.

The trade is reportedly awaiting the approval of MLB commissioner Bud Selig. Soriano, 37, is owed $24.5 million on his contract which runs through the end of the 2014 season. Reports indicate the Cubs will send $17.7 million to the Yankees as part of the deal. That seems like a lot, but hey, it's sunk cost at this point and the Cubs are actually saving about $7 million. Best of all, they make Soriano go away and open up a spot in their outfield for a younger player who might be part of their future plans.

Soriano waived his 10-and-5 rights to accept the deal. In many ways, this is the official end of the Jim Hendry Era for the Cubs. Soriano was the last player on the roster with full no-trade rights.

As GM, Hendry handed out no-trade clauses like candy. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez,  Ryan Dempster, Carlos Marmol, Soriano, they were all exceedingly hard to get rid of, in part, because they had no-trade protection in their contracts.

The new regime on the North Side isn't big on handing out no-trade clauses, and they'd be wise to keep it that way. Now that Soriano is gone, any player on the Cubs roster can be traded at any time without their consent. That's obviously a more favorable situation for management.

Cubs trade Matt Garza for a package of ifs and maybes

We interrupt the ongoing Theo Epstein love fest in Chicago to point out none of the players the Cubs acquired in the Matt Garza trade have accomplished much of anything in professional baseball.

The long-rumored Garza deal finally went down Tuesday. The Cubs sent the veteran right-hander to Texas for Triple-A infielder Mike Olt, Class-A right-hander C.J. Edwards and right-hander Justin Grimm, plus either one or two players to be named later.

As most people are aware, I'm one of those evil people who prefers proven talent to prospects. Accordingly, I really like this deal for Texas. Garza has been pitching well this year. He was 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA at the time of the trade. Those are impressive numbers with a losing Cubs team playing behind him. I watched Garza pitch earlier in July against the White Sox, and he appears to have refined his changeup. He's always had a good fastball and good, hard breaking ball. Now that he's got another off-speed pitching working for him, he's especially tough to hit.

Garza's presence in the rotation makes the Rangers much more dangerous in a short playoff series. They can stack up Yu Darvish, Garza and Derek Holland now. Those are three pretty good arms.

But if you read the Chicago papers this morning, nobody is really talking about that. The tributes to the Cubs front office are flowing. "Theo" has done it again. He's fleeced another team and acquired a "haul" for a player who wasn't part of the Cubs' future plans anyway. I can agree that Garza wasn't part of the Cubs' future. They probably weren't going to sign him to an extension. But that's about as far as it goes for me.

I don't see how anyone can say whether this was a good or bad trade for the Cubs. We won't know for two or three years.

Olt, a 24-year-old third baseman, is ranked as the second-best prospect in the Texas system. However, he's having a tough year. He was hitting .213 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Round Rock. I assume the Cubs will convert Olt to a corner outfield spot. The team just used its first-round pick on third baseman Kris Bryant. The organization has high hopes that Bryant will advance to the big leagues quickly, so surely they don't plan to have a guy like Olt blocking his path. In the short run, Olt needs to report to Triple-A and try to find his swing.

Edwards, 21, was 8-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 93.1 innings for Class-A Hickory. Intriguing prospect? Sure. Close to making the majors? Nope. We'll reserve judgment.

Grimm, 24, made 17 starts for the Rangers this season, going 7-7 with a 6.37 ERA. His last start was July 12 against Detroit. During that outing, he gave up seven runs before leaving in the fourth inning with forearm soreness. I've seen Grimm pitch a few times, and he's basically fodder for the back of the starting rotation. I wouldn't think of him as a building block for the future.

So, I'm struggling to figure out why people are so in love with this trade from the Cubs' perspective. Over the last two summers, the Cubs have traded four big-league starting pitchers -- Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, Scott Feldman and Garza. All they have to show for it is a bunch of promises for the future. Cubs' brass has consistently said, "We'll be contenders by 2015." Chicago media seem to have bought in hook, line and sinker. Well, who is going to be pitching for the Cubs in 2015? We know it won't be Garza.

If I'm a reporter covering the Cubs, the theme of my column today would be along the lines of "You guys better be right with this deal." Starting pitching is what wins in Major League Baseball. If you're going to trade a guy like Garza, you damn well better get "a haul" in return. In two years time, we'll know more about the outcome of this deal.