CONTENDERS LOAD UP FOR STRETCH RUN

The trade deadline has come and gone and players of note have moved. Perennial winner Philadelphia is now a seller while post-season poor Pittsburg is a buyer this year. In ten months time, the landscape of Major League Baseball has changed.

The Dodgers made headlines by adding Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino to their offensive core, and the Giants got Hunter Pence to add to their multi-talented outfield. The Pirates were buyers, too, trading for Wandy Rodriguez and Gaby Sanchez.

The Angels acquired Zack Greinke at the trade deadline, bolstering their starting rotation becoming competitive in the American League West and Wild-Card race. Both the Angels and A's have crept within striking distance of the first-place

Rangers, who picked up Ryan Dempster for the stretch run. The White Sox traded for veteran arms Brett Myers and Francisco Liriano in their effort to remain atop the AL Central, while the Yankees -- leaders of the AL East -- traded for Ichiro Suzuki on July 23.

RYAN DEMPSTER

RYAN DEMPSTER DEBUTES AGAINST ANGELS

It has been more than eight years that Ryan Dempster has pitched for anyone but the Cubs. Thursday, after being dealt to the Rangers earlier this week, he begins a new phase in his career.

Dempster will make his first start in the American League against the LA Angels, after being traded on Tuesday in exchange for Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach third baseman Christian Villanueva and right-handed pitcher Kyle Hendricks.  and it's not going to come easy,

When he last pitched for the Cubs on July 25, Dempster gave up three runs on five hits, two of them home runs, in six innings in a 3-2 loss to the Pirates. His only appearance in Arlington came in 2007, when he struck out the side in a save for the Cubs.

In 16 starts for the Cubs this season, Dempster was 5-5 with a 2.25 ERA as the ace of the staff, now he's the ace of a first-place team

"I'm just going to go out there and try to eat up as many innings as I can," Dempster said. "You don't have to light up a radar gun to do that. I work really hard, and I'm ready for this stretch to throw as many innings as I possibly can. If guys want advice, they'll ask for it, but I'm just here to learn as much as they do."

That’s all I wrote, folks!