Every week, UPH will look at one confusing thing in sports, and figure it out.  It will then become Stuff We Didn’t Used to Get.  If you’ve got something you want us to investigate, drop us a line.

What the heck does the trade deadline even mean, anyway?  It just happened on July 31st, yet MLB players are seemingly frolicking about with impugnity.  We thought that “deadline” meant “this is when you can do this until, and afterwards, you get in trouble.”  We’re sure that’s what it meant for our third grade diorama project….

It turns out that the trade deadline is actually a slight misnomer: this is the deadline for free and easy trading, if you will, but trades can take place afterwards.  It’s just that those trades have to be completed with players who  either are taken off the roster and clear waivers (meaning their team gives a chance for other teams to pick them up, and nobody does), or are not on 40 man rosters to begin with.  That’s how it happened that last night the Yankees traded for Chad Gaudin, and today the Indians unloaded Carl Pavano to the Twins.  However, no player aquired after August 31st is allowed to be on the playoff roster.

Now we get it!