Not a creature was stirring, except an Endzone Animal

Yeah I know we said we'd take a vacation, but the Endzone Animals just had to wake us out of hibernation.

The Animals have been extremely busy on Christmas Eve Eve, completing three deals in the span of a few hours. The first deal sent third baseman Troy Glaus to division rival Vancouver in exchange for a 5th round draft pick. The acquisition of Glaus likely spells doom for incumbent third baseman Mike Lowell.

Next on the agenda, and the biggest deal of the three, was sending ace pitcher Johan Santana to another divisional rival, Arkansas, in exchange for superstar slugger Alex Rodriguez. Neither player performed up to expectations last season (yes the Falcons expected even more out of A-Rod than a .993 OPS!), so a change of scenery may work out well for both.

Finally, in another deal with a divisional foe, the Animals acquired pitcher Shawn Marcum from D.C. in exchange for two mid-level draft picks. Marcum was 11-8 with a 4.93 ERA last year for the Bushslappers and should slot in to the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation.

Newark improves on ludicrous home record

Newark extended their lopsided home record by edging the Iron Fist yesterday 6-5. Vancouver threw lefthander Rich Hill against the powerful Sugar Bear lineup, and although he limited them to 2 hits, Hill surrendered 6 walks in only 3.2 innings, and ended up saddled with the loss. Newark is now 25-1 at home.

Shawn Marcum pitched a 4-hit shutout yesterday against the Hoboken Cutters. Marcum struck out 8 and improved to 2-4 on the season.

Wild guess who has the longest current hitting streak in the DMBL right now? Upton? nope...Cabrera? one more guess... Ichiro? Forget it, it's Carolina's Mike Redmond. Redmond extended his streak to 15 games with a 1-3 effort in a 6-2 loss to Team Buddah yesterday. He's now two games shy of B.J. Upton's season-long 17 game streak.

One of the hottest teams in the league is Sardine City. After yesterday's 6-3 win over Hillsborough, the Straphangers have brought their record up to .400. Yeah they have a ways to go, but with Phil Hughes rejoining the rotation and an upbeat morale in the clubhouse, maybe the Sardines can close that 6-game gap behind the final playoff spot. Still got lots of season to go...