HBT Weekend Wrapup

I was out of town all weekend but not totally removed from baseball. Indeed, on Saturday night I realized that I can get more games — plus MLB Network — on the dinky little cable system that serves my mother-in-law’s house in Mt. Hope, West Virginia than I can get on the cable system that serves my home here in the Columbus, Ohio Metroplex. That’s totally fair.  Can someone please remind me why I still live in this godforsaken place?

Here’s what went down while you were contemplating your existence this weekend:

• The Angels mug the Diamondbacks; seen fleeing with Dan Haren.

• Don Wakamatsu and Chone Figgins get into it in the dugout on Friday night. No apparent discipline for Figgins, plus he’s in the lineup the next day. Dead manager walking!

• The heat rises on a Ted Lilly deal.

• Roy Oswalt would be willing to restructure his contract to go to St. Louis. Always fun to see stuff being reported as news three days after I first reported it.

• John Maine’s season is over. Never got going, really.

• Ben Sheets is injured? What is this world coming to?

• This story about the Diamondbacks asking for a whole lot of talent in return for Dan Haren has been overtaken by events, but I link it anyway because it was so damn hilarious.

• Gary Matthews, Jr. opts out of his contract with the Reds. Because he has so many other opportunities, I presume.

• Jeremy Hellickson may be called up by the Rays and will presumably be on the David Price pen-to-starter track. Maybe the Rays are going to trade a starter? Garza for a good hitter like Delmon Young, maybe?

• Magglio Ordonez just suffered the most expensive fractured ankle in the history of the world.

• Old guy news: The Tigers are interested in Mike Lowell. Brad Ausmus is going to retire after the year.

• The Tigers are also interested in Adam Dunn. I say stick him at third base to cover for Inge. The Tigers are likely to fall out of the playoff race now, so at least give the fans some entertainment.

With the trade deadline hitting on Saturday, this is going to be a nutso week, everyone. I predict the rumor-to-transaction ratio to be something like 150:1. Keep clicking back here for a bit of sanity and insight into what is b.s. and what is not. Well, except when we spew our own b.s., but you’re used to that already.