JeterHandIf you're a big baseball fan, there's a good chance you were glued to Jeff Passan's Trade Tracker and Big League Stew's 2011 trade deadline live blog over the weekend, monitoring the always crazy final hours of baseball's July 31 deadline. If that's the case, let's fill you in on a few of the on-field happenings you may have missed.

1. Derek Jeter hit on hand, Francisco Cervelli debuts at second base: A strange series of events unfolded for the New York Yankees during their 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. During his the third inning at-bat, Derek Jeter was struck on the hand by a Jake Arrieta pitch — yes, the same Jake Arrieta that plunked Jose Bautista in the helmet on Tuesday — and was forced to leave the game a couple innings later.

Watch Jeter get hit

We've since learned Jeter's hand is not broken, and that he's likely to return to the Yankees lineup by the middle of the week. But his exit Sunday left manager Joe Girardi in a little predicament. Everyday second

UbaldoClevWhat could go down as the biggest deal of the 2011 trade deadline season might also be remembered as one of the most bizarre in recent history.

Here's the official deal, as reported by Troy Renck of the Denver Post: The Colorado Rockies pulled the trigger Saturday night on a five-player trade that sends right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians for pitching prospects Drew Pomeranz, Alex White and Joe Gardner, along with 26-year-old first baseman Matt McBride.

Now here's where it got weird: The deal was thought to be in place about an hour before the Rockies took the field against the San Diego Padres, which was Jimenez's turn in the rotation. Multiple sources, including Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman, reported that Jimenez had been scratched from Saturday's start, indicating the trade had been completed.

Not so fast. To everybody's surprise, most notably the pitcher in the center of the deal, Jimenez made the start for Colorado, while reliever Esmil Rogers warmed in the

RenterianWilsonNine innings and nine items to get you going. Ladies and gentleman of the Stew, take a sip of morning Juice.

1. There goes that man again: Every now and then Edgar Renteria will remind us he's still hanging aroud in the big leagues. When he does, it's usually with the game on the line and a quality opponent across the diamond. Such was the case here, as Renteria delivered a game-ending RBI single off San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson in the thirteenth inning to give his Cincinnati Reds a desperately needed 4-3 victory.

Of course it was just last fall that Renteria was playing hero for those Giants, driving home the winning run in Game 6 and claiming the MVP trophy in their World Series victory over the Texas Rangers. This game didn't quite hold that much significance, but it's still a big moment for the 16-year veteran and his current teammates.

"It's always special because they're great guys," Renteria said of the Giants. "No matter who we play right now, we have to concentrate

XPaul1Don't question the moxie of the Pittsburgh Pirates. On the heels of two potentially back-breaking losses at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, the Battlin' Bucs rebounded Thursday night with a hard-fought 5-2 win at Turner Field, earning a four-game series split and the respect of their foes in the process.

"They're a good team. They're a real good team," Braves catcher David Ross said. "They're playing well and they know it. They don't beat themselves like they used to."

Ross is on the money. The 2011 Pirates, for the most part, play good, clean and fundamentally sound baseball. That's a big step forward.

Now, when it comes to beating themselves UP, it's an entirely different story. The physical comedy aspect is still there. It's just timed better. For an example of this, just look at outfielder Xavier Paul, who would likely just as soon erase Thursday night from the history books if it meant his bumps and bruises would also disappear.

And believe me, Paul collected quite a few. The

AP101003045552While the baseball world focused on CC Sabathia's ultimately unsuccessful attempt for perfection at rainy Yankee Stadium, Justin Germano went all the way with his bid. The 28-year-old journeyman — a righty in the Cleveland Indians organization — threw a nine-inning perfect game for the Columbus Clippers in their 3-0 win over the Syracuse Chiefs.

To achieve perfection one certainly needs to be efficient. Germano was just that, throwing only 95 pitches (69 strikes) to retire the 27 batters necessary. He struck out seven, including Corey Brown on a called strike three to finish off the fifth perfect game in International League history and the first since Bronson Arroyo tossed one for Pawtucket back in 2003.

From the Columbus Dispatch: {YSP:MORE}

"I just tried to tell myself not to worry about a perfect game", Germano said. "If they got a hit, they got a hit. It'd be great to get a perfect game, but I didn't want to go out there and nibble and put pressure on myself.

"When I got that last

PenceThere was some unusual intrigue surrounding Sunday's matchup of the two worst teams in the National League. The reason? The Chicago Cubs, winners of the first two games in their weekend series with the Houston Astros, were looking for their first three-game winning streak of the 2011 season.

In case you haven't looked at the calendar lately, we're one week shy of August. That would be nearly four months (101 games) without achieving something the Astros, who have a MLB-low 33 wins, have done twice. Heck, even the Seattle Mariners, now losers of 15 straight, have won three straight games. In fact, they won the three games directly preceding their franchise-worst losing streak.

It's almost unfathomable that the Cubs hadn't accomplished it at least once going into Sunday. And to say that wasn't weighing on the minds of Cubs players and especially the fans would be completely inaccurate. That was evidenced as the game wore on and the atmosphere at Wrigley Field was ratcheted up a few

NyjerGesture

Oh, Nyjer Morgan, what are we going to do with you?

The always animated and sometimes belligerent Milwaukee Brewers outfielder — who also answers to the name of his alter-ego "Tony Plush" — was in full split personality mode, chasing down flyballs and getting under the skin of San Francscio Giants fans after flashing a hand gesture in their direction during Friday night's game.

The controversial moment happened in the seventh inning of Milwaukee's 4-2 win after the San Francisco native made a terrific running grab of Nate Schierholtz's flyball in left-center field. Morgan exchanged words with the fans immediately after the catch, returned the ball to infield and then started pointing in the direction of the fans as he retreated to his position. Just before getting there, Morgan spun around one more time and made the gesture seen pictured above (two angles).

At first, many believed that Morgan had flipped the middle finger in their direction. I know that's what I thought I saw upon

Cruz8Nine innings and nine items to get you going. Ladies and gentleman of the Stew, take a sip of morning Juice.

1. Cruzin' on eight cylinders: Talk about effiency. Nelson Cruz went 4-for-4 and drove in a career-high eight runs as the Texas Rangers throttled the Toronto Blue Jays, 12-2. Each of Cruz's four hits resulted in at least one run, with the big blow being a three-run homer in the fourth. Michael Young also finished 4-for-4 and scored four times.

2. Cole is your father, Padres: The Star Wars mojo didn't carry over for the San Diego Padres as they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Philadelphia Phillies. Cole Hamels played the role of Darth Vader, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits in eight dominant innings.

3. Baker's dozen in Beantown: Make that 13 straight losses for the Seattle Mariners after falling to the Boston Red Sox, 7-4. Felix Hernandez failed to play stopper for the third time during the streak, pitching well for six innings, but faltering in the seventh allowing