Horsehide Chronicles

Yesterday's news that the Cubs will likely pursue free agent-to-be outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, which was reported by Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago, shouldn't come as much

On Tuesday, the Padres placed third baseman Chase Headley on revocable waivers, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. This is probably not big news. But if he passes through unclaimed, it can certainly be.

If the owner of your favorite baseball team has a "win at all cost" attitude, that's usually a good thing, right? Yes! Being aggressive and spending money has paid off for many eventual World Series champions. But it's also resulted in some very dire situations, notably in the case of Arte Moreno and the Los Angeles Angels. 

"Put me in coach, I'm ready to play today. Look at me, I can be centerfield."

Of the names we're hearing that are very likely available on the trade market, there's not much to get excited about. At least not in terms of a player who can make an impact down the stretch as Marco Scutaro did with the San Francisco Giants in 2012. 

Pitchers are fragile and should be handled with care, which is why you'll see workloads decrease in the second half and very few pitching prospects called up to the big leagues for the stretch run. That doesn't mean you should stop paying attention to what's going on down in the minors.

Here are some pitchers, two from each level, that have either been really bad or really good as of late. 

Triple-A

Hello, boys and girls. It's fairy tale time.

Today, we're going to be learning about the story of how a great hitter came to be.

Once upon a time...

There was a promising young slugger.

This slugger hit with a big stick from the left side, and he was once a top prospect in the minors who showed flashes of his ability and power at the major league level. Alas, he never could seem to stick in the big leagues.

In the American League East are two elite second basemen in line to get paid: Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees and Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox.

Now we have an idea as to who's going to be paid first, which naturally means we have to ponder what it could mean for the other guy.

In reality, it only takes one team to overvalue, and, thus, overpay for a player on the trade market. But there's always a group of players that's viewed as having a certain value based on certain numbers, reputation and trade-market depth.  

For those reasons, certain players will be overrated, and some team will be taking a risk by acquiring them, even at fair market value.  

Unless the price somehow goes way down in the next 12 days, here are five overrated players whom your team should avoid acquiring before the trade deadline.

Heading into the second half of the season, the Rookie of the Year races in MLB's two leagues will be looking to answer two different questions.

For the National League: All right, who wants it the most?

And for the American League: Seriously, does anybody want it, like, at all?