Dylan Covey was out celebrating his birthday a day early at an amusement park. Covey wouldn’t receive his real birthday gift, though, until three days later, on August 16, when he planned to sign a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, the team that selected him in the first round, 14^th overall, in the June draft following his senior year at Maranatha High School in Pasadena, California.

Covey got a phone call while at the park from his dad, Darrell, who told Dylan that he needed to go to the emergency room of a local hospital. The blood work had come back from Covey’s physical examination with the Brewers, and his blood sugar levels were extremely high. Neither the doctors in the emergency room nor the Brewers medical team were completely certain about what was wrong, but they had an idea of what was going on.

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The matchup was quite ironic.

Two franchises, one in the process of rebuilding and just four losses away from an 18^th consecutive losing season, the other thought to be in need of retooling but instead leading its division, clashed in a three-game series between the lowest-payroll teams in the major leagues last week at Petco Park in San Diego.

Along with outfield prospect Andrew Lambo, James McDonald was dealt by the Dodgers to the Pirates last Saturday just before the trading deadline for reliever Octavio Dotel. The Bucs' front office immediately gave McDonald a spot in the rotation, even though he pitched predominantly out of Joe Torre's bullpen last season and in his brief stint with the Dodgers this year.

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On the block:

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The Angels' basis for acquiring Dan Haren was the future, not the 2010 season. However, considering they shouldn't write off this year, they went in the wrong direction. While a starter would help, they needed to improve their offense and bullpen first, and then move their focus to starter.

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Some stat geeks and sabermetric fanatics usually pass-up the All-Star Home Run Derby, calling the event purely commercialized for the younger or more casual fans, not for the true fans that study the game! Well, now at 18, I’d like to think of myself as a “scholar of the game.” I’m increasing my knowledge each and every day with Baseball Prospectus, as numerous research and analytical assignments ensures the expansion of my baseball mind.

However, I can happily admit that there was nothing wrong with enjoying Monday night's showcase of baseball’s best power hitters (well, beside A-Rod, Pujols, and Ryan Howard….). Maybe, aside from bragging rights, it didn’t count for anything, but what it did do was bring to light the competitive nature of a baseball player. Yes, it was just a derby, but it still meant something to each and every one of those participants. Especially for Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who was pronounced as good as dead at the same time last year. Now, once again an All-Star, Big Papi put on a show at Angels Stadium in Anaheim.

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