So, we had our first July 31st trading deadline deal, and it paid off for all the A's fans who paid Oaktown's own, Bubb Rubb, to break into Billy Beane's office and turn his iCal forward a month. "Any ideas what you want to do for the 4th of July, Billy?" "I celebrated last month with some friends." Screen spirals out and slam cuts to Bubb Rubb, maniacally (bubb)rubbing his hands together. When the A's are playing like it's playoff baseball in September, don't say your mustachioed over-the-internet friend didn't warn you. So, the trade that went down was Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for David Addison Leave Me Alone Maddie Russell, who I will get to after this lede. Samardzija and Hammel both gain value going to the A's, which isn't often the case with an NL pitcher going to The Land of Milk and Honey-Flavored DHs. Wrigley isn't a great place to pitch -- one day it's overcast with winds blowing straight out, another day winds are just swirling overhead like a toilet bowl genie. As we've seen in the past, pitchers can do just about anything in a short period of time. Could Hammel and Samardzija completely poop the sheets? Fo'sho. Likely? Prolly not. O.co is like Petco and Metco, a big cavernous wasteland for hitters and they have more foul territory than Roseanne Barr's privates. Samardzija brings strikeout stuff to hitters that aren't as familiar with him and could be the 2nd half's Kazmir. Yesterday, in his first A's start, he had a line of 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks. Dividends paying out quick there. Hammel keeps the ball down and O.co will love him. This trade only really hurts Tommy Milone, who was shipped to the minors. The A's just made themselves a serious contender and having a friend in Bubb Rubb pays off once again. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
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