Things You May Have Missed While You Were Living Your Life

While you were busy having all-night horrorthons and the Giants filled up their schedule by pushing the series to its MAXIMUM CONCLUSION, other baseball-y things happened, too.

Huge trade stuff! Why wait for the World Series to end when you can make enormous deals now? Here’s the breakdown:

Diamondbacks get: Heath Bell (MIA), Cliff Pennington (OAK), Cash (MIA)
Marlins get: Yordy Cabrera (OAK)
A’s get: Chris Young, Cash (ARI)

It’s a big move for all teams involved with the A’s getting a very A’s type player in their already crowded outfield (good defense, lots of home runs, lots of strikeouts), the Marlins get rid of Heath Bell, and the Diamondbacks get to re-stock their shortstop position while hoping that Heath Bell ends his slide in the thin Arizona air. No real losers here, though I worry about Bell’s ability to pitch over the duration of his contract.

And huge manager changes! The Boston Red Sox love to deal executives like ballplayers, bringing in John Farrell and giving up Mike Aviles in exchange. WIth Jose Iglesias’ glove ready to soak up every groundball and Farrell’s return hopefully marking an end to the TMZ-esque exploits of 2012, the Red Sox should at least be less infuriating to fans next season. Even better, general malcontent Yunel Escobar may no longer have a job.

Diamondbacks name Bob Brenly and Steve Berthiaume as new TV crew. Brenly is solid and, in addition to introducing “Want” to a mass audience, Berthiaume is an Emerson College graduate, automatically making him the best color commentator in baseball.

Bearded man shouts “Go Cards!” while robbing bank. Can anyone offer an alibi for Jason Motte? I’m just saying…

Tim Lincecum’s 2012 was the worst year ever for a multi-award winning pitcher. This makes me sad.

CC Sabathia concerned about elbow discomfort. CC Sabathia has thrown over 2,500 Major League innings, not to mention minor league and amateur efforts. And he has managed to remain fairly injury free. Unfortunately, pitchers are like characters in a Shakespearean play: doomed. For those rooting for 300 victories, elbow issues would deal a serious blow to those chances.

Buster Posey and Fernando Rodney win Comeback Player of the Year awards. Cool.

The worst commercials of the postseason. This is serious business.

Is Justin Verlander a fireballer? A: Yes. Longer answer: just click the link.