Justine Siegal, who was already the first woman to coach a professional baseball team (The Brockton (MA) Rox, recently in the news for giving Bill Bucker a job managing, pitched batting practice yesterday for the Indians’ camp.  She confessed to being nervous, called herself an old lady…and still made manager Manny Acta, who also pitches BP on occasion, look bad.

Apparently in her teens, she threw in the upper 70s.  Hey, that’s faster than Tim Wakefield!  She’s scheduled to pitch BP for the Oakland Athletics later in the week, too.

Also, we’re back! Did you miss us?

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!

This evening, members of the Tribe….no, not that Tribe…will go to synagogues all over America.  The luckiest of them will even perhaps run into UPH.

The rest of them, however, can still be glowing with excitement, because it’s official: The biggest matzah ball in the universe, ever, has landed.  It contains 1,000 eggs, 200 pounds of matzoh meal, 20 pounds of something semi-worrisomely referred to as “chicken base,” and 80 punds of margarine.

Margarine?  Our bubbe is turning in her grave.  In any case, the 267 pound sphere of carbohydrate goodness is celebrating an exhibition game scheduled for October between the New York Knicks and an Israeli national team, the proceeds of which will benefit Migdal Or, a huge orphanage/educational center for underprivileged kids, recent immigrants to Israel, and others.

You can find out more about the program and buy tickets here for either the Knicks game versus Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on October 18th or the Israeli team’s tilt versus the LA Clippers on October 20th.  UPH wishes we could be there.

In the meantime, we’ve got some cooking to do.

Forthwith, a little analysis.

At the trade deadline, the Indians sent Victor Martinez to the Red Sox, in return receiving pitcher Justin Masterson and prospects Bryan Price and Nick Hagadone.  Unquestionably the deal of the deadline, but that’s not really news.  A lot of analysis, Jayson Stark in particular, says the Indians won’t be any good ’til 2012 at the earliest.

Lies, we say.

Masterson projects as solid long relief, with the ability to spot start or even re-convert to a starter if need be.  He’s been pitching relief since his time at San Diego State, but his college career began as a starter at Bethel College.  He’s started occasionally for the Red Sox, particularly last season, starting 9 games in 2008. In those starts, he pitched 54 innings and had an ERA under 4.  The most telling stat? In his 2008 starts, Masterson help opponents to just a .206 batting average.  The Indians have decimated their major league level starting pitching in recent months, losing Sabathia and, last week, trading Cliff Lee.  Masterson isn’t the answer to that problem, but he’s more than a stopgap when your starter doesn’t come through, and his big game mentality shouldn’t be underestimated.  If someone takes a chance on converting him to a starter, the Indians might have a solid #4 or #5 option.

As for Price, Hagadone, and, while we’re at it, Martinez with the Sox?

Now, we don’t know if Jayson Stark has had the opportunity to see Bryan Price pitch, but UPH has.  He had Tommyjohn surgery in college, came back stronger, and threw so hard for scouts in his senior year at Rice that his control was a little spotty at times.   Nevertheless, the following facts are true:

1. Kid throws heat.  His average fastball is close to 95 and he can top out at 97.

2. When he’s rattled, he’s pretty rattled. But…

3. He’s not so easy to rattle.

In a shortened season in his last year at Rice, Price earned 4 wins out of the pen.  The Sox were looking to make him a starter, and if the Indians keep that up, we think, barring setbacks, you could see him at AAA and having a cup of coffee in 2011, not 2012.

Hagadone?  He has also had Tommyjohn surgery, but currently tops out at 98 mph.  Not clear if he’s going to be a starter or a reliever, but it looks to us like the Indians are giving themselves a heck of a lot of options in terms of flexible arms that can throw a lot of pitches.

As for V-Mart?  Well, consider the facts: he has a year and a half left on his contract.  He cried when he left Cleveland, and has never played anywhere else.  The Indians organization spoke publically about how much it loves him.  It wouldn’t surprise UPH at all if there’s somewhat of an informal understanding: Martinez leaves, but comes back ASAP, with a hometown discount of course, to mentor Cleveland’s hot-stuff young pitching staff in 2011.  If Carmona can get some consistency, what you have in Cleveland is, we think, what you call a contendah, and sooner that everyone thinks.

Hey, it could happen…you heard it here first.