Gary Glover. Craig Monroe. Matt Clement. Felipe Lopez. Paul LoDuca. Johnny Estrada. Livan Hernandez.

All  the above players were released over the past seven day period, which again shows just how much baseball is changing. Never before do I remember so many players, especially one who had starting positions when the season began, getting cut loose just as we move into the stretch.

In the case of some--like LoDuca, Lopez, and Estrada who were marking time on an team going nowhere--we can understand. But, the Twins cut loose Monroe and Hernandez as an aggressive play to cut bait and stay in contention.

I tell you, the game is changing. But, I also think the end result will make the leagues more competitive whether the Yankees and Red Sox have a huge finanical advantage or not.

Back to the Twins, the minus of Hernandez means the return of Francisco Liriano. There is virtually no chance Liriano is hanging in the free agent pool of your league, but if he is, fix that immediately. All we need to know is that Liriano is 10-2, 3.28, with a 1.13 WHIP at AAA Rochester this year as he has gotten into the post-operative groove. Not to mention 113 whiffs to 31 walks over 118 innings.

With the trade dedline now over, there are a few players who suddenly have everyday gigs as a result of the movement. I actually saw the Pittsburgh debut of outfielder Brandon Moss on Friday. With the Red Sox as a fill-in this season, Moss hit .295-2-11 over 78 at-bats. But the 24-year old assembled pretty good minor league totals of .287-74-403 totals over 638 games. Moss also has--or had--double digit steal capability with 21 swipes each over 2004-05, not to mention 164 doubles and a decent .815 OPS. He will play every day so if you are in a deep league, grab him.

That same game we also saw Jeff Karstens 2008 debut as he shut down Chicago on five hits over six innings to earn his first win of the year. Karstens, 25, is a former Yankee prospect who bagged a 33-26 mark with a 3.52 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 107 minor league starts. He struck out 533 while walking 161 over 640 innings. The drawback is Karstens hurls for the eternally rebuilding Pittsburgh, but he could give you some decent innings.

The swap of Ivan Rodriguez by the Tigers shines a spotlight on a couple of Tigers who might help out in a deep league. First, Brandon Inge defaults to the starting catcher role, but 29-year old Dane Sardinha was brought up to spell Inge as Detroit scrambles for post-season play. As a major leaguer Sardinha has a small sample that is not much of a recommendation (.111-0-3 over 27 at-bats). In fact his minor league totals of .222-53-278 over 704 games does not point to much.

But, the former second round pick of the Reds in 2000 has a lot more time behind the dish over the last five years than Inge, and sometimes a two-month window gives a player a chance to shine a little. On Detroit, who can score runs, you might do all right filling a hole with Sardinha for the remainder of the season, as well, at-bats are the name of the game.

Detroit also traded for Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth hoping to find some kind of closure to their search for a closer. If you have watched--or in my case suffered--with the tirals of Fernando Rodney you know the Tigers had to do something and Farnsworth who had a pretty good run with New York (1-2, 3.45 with 43 whiffs over 46 innings). He always had closer stuff, but wildness has been his enemy. Still, if you are coveting saves he might get you a few because someone has to in Detroit.

Looking still at some older players getting a shot, the Phils Mike Cervenak who made his major league debut last week at the age of 31. Mired at AAA since 2004, Cervenak has decent minor league totals of .294-13-650 over 991 games, but Cervenak is not more than a utility fill-in at best (he has played the corners, outfield, and second in the minors).

St. Louis brought forth 21-year old import Jaime Garcia who has some pretty nice minor league numbers with 328 strikeouts and 344 hits allowed over 361 innings. He also has allowed 121 walks, but based upon Garcia's age, and the fact that he has spent the bulk of 2008 at AAA (4-4, 4.44 over 74 innings) after a solid stint at AA (32-, 2.6) Garcia is definitely a name to track. His time may not be now, but the numbers and variables look promising.

One of the remnants of Oakland's swap of Tim Hudson, Dan Meyer, was advanced as Dana Eveland was sent back down following his recent struggles. Meyer was 10-5, 4.48at AAA Sacramento which are not bad totals for a pitcher in a hitter's league. At 26 Meyer is unlikely to gain much acclaim as a starter, so his chance is likely in middle relief.

Finally, 32-year old Les Walrond was brought up by the Cubs, but there are really only two words you need to know regading him: situational lefty.

That will be it for this time. Please not I am on vacation for the next week, meaning no Tumbling Dice, Bed Goes Up, or Hotpage till 8/13 when Tumbling Dice returns.