Yankees vs. Red Sox: some bonus fireworks for everyone’s Fourth of July holiday.

It’s been over 10 years since these teams have faced each other with neither team being in the driver’s seat of the AL East. This time of year also marks the halfway point of our fantasy season in the baseball realm. If you’re not in the top half of your league’s standings, you might just be fighting to place or make the playoffs, and or be looking to stock up for next year in keeper leagues. In last Friday’s Grumble, I talked about the importance of persistence when it comes to staying in the hunt of the pack in the standings. This past week reminded me of another aspect to keep in mind in maintaining success; to milk the most out of trades and needs.

Everyone who has played in enough fantasy leagues has probably made one of three types of trades. Some deals you win, some you lose, and some are a wash or equally fill needs. The first step that led to a blockbuster trade I made was reaching out and establishing my needs and surpluses. With Prince Fielder, Evan Longoria, Aramis Ramirez and Chase Headley at my corners, we’ve got a team stocked with a lot of power and only so many places to utilize it. After clarifying my needs on the message board, I received an offer asking for both Fielder and Longoria. One thing to keep in mind; pay attention to total statistics and rankings, but don’t invest too much into them when trying to weigh the balance of an offer or counter-offer.

Look at recent trends and more reflective statistics (BABIP and WHIP are a start). Fielder and Longoria had combined for about 15 bombs over the past month, significantly more than their pace reflected. I went back and asked for more, and got back a request of Fielder and Brad Hawpe as the base trade blocks, and an offer of a collection of five players in return. For anyone who may be still a novice, lopsided amounts of players on two sides of a trade often can be deceiving, and a raw deal for the team giving up the fewer players, and likely the stars. Again I said nay. After several counters, the deal set in stone saw me dishing Fielder, Hawpe and Tim Wakefield, who I’d just picked up the prior week, and landing Joe Mauer, Scott Kazmir and Brian Giles. In a two-catcher league where I had the underperforming Ramon Hernandez and the non-performing Kenji Johjima, it fulfilled needs, and got back appropriate value for my first-round pick.

After Pittsburgh closer Matt Capps succumbing to injury, the big news this holiday for owners may be that Joe Borowski finally fell out of favor as the Indians’ closer for a reason other than injury. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported a meeting taking place between manager Eric Wedge, GM Mark Shapiro, and the coaching staff to shake up the AL’s worst bullpen which should name a new closer, or more than likely, the dreaded committee. Prior to the beginning of the year, all signs pointed to Rafael Betancourt as the clear replacement, and one of the top setup men worth drafting in 2008. But with an ERA over six, that seems unlikely. Rafael Perez is a possibility, but mixed-leaguers and American League owners looking for numbers in the save category should take a flier on Masa Kobayashi, who sports a 3.29 ERA, and locked down four saves while Borowski was out earlier this year.

The trade rumors continue to fly this week, and will intensify heading into the All-Star Break in New York. Ironically, the Yankees might be a significant suitor in the assortment of available starting pitchers who could be traded at the break. The Dodgers and Phillies appear to be among the other teams looking for help in the way of starting pitching. The Padres may be one of the few teams in the NL dealing starters, with Randy Wolf or even Greg Maddux possibly available. That means AL-only owners may want to be cautious of pitchers on the trade block if your league doesn’t award statistics for pitchers going over to the other circuit. Along with this year’s key piece, C.C.  Sabathia, it now seems like A.J. Burnett could be the next player on the block. Even Erik Bedard’s name has swirled around, but taking 90 cents on the dollar for the former Baltimore ace after dealing prospects like George Sherrill and Adam Jones would be a tremendous blow. Then again, after the housecleaning that’s been going on, it would be just another sign of the failed regime.

Speaking of the halfway mark, here are a few quick musings for everyone. Watching the league leader ticker run by on ESPN, Grady Sizemore leads the American League, passing Josh Hamilton. Really? Sizemore is on pace to shatter both his HR and SB career highs and could hit the 40/40 mark in those categories if he continues at this rate. Don’t sell high; even his average figures to rise. When did Mark Ellis become a contributor in more than just the power department? Ellis has already swiped 11 bases, two more than his previous high. Sporting just a .259 average right now, Ellis will likely never match his .316 average of 2005, but a 20/20 season with a .270 average seems about right, and good value for at least AL-only owners…After the aforementioned trade I made this week, I’m left with Casey Kotchman as my everyday 1B, and wondering why I didn’t take the flier on fellow Ranger, 1B Chris Davis, who was just called up last week. The big-time Texas hitting prospect may hinder batting averages due to his high strikeout rate, but the power numbers in the minors are already carrying over; Davis has already hit three home runs in his first seven games.

Finally, on to my usual pick of fringe pitchers for this Fourth of July. First, a look back at the three starts and sits and how they fared last Friday:

Start: 17 2/3 IP, 2 W, 2.04 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 7 Ks

Sit: 14 2/3 IP, 1 W, 7.37 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 14 Ks

And for today:

Start: Mark Buehrle (vs. OAK), A.J. Burnett (@ LAA), Braden Looper (vs. CHC)

Sit: Edwin Jackson (@ KC), Scott Olsen (@ COL), Vincente Padilla (@ BAL)

Have a safe holiday, and be careful with those fireworks.