I promise that I want to get something up on the site today that isn’t a weekend recap or a picture of Osama Bin Laden with OBAMA’D in big white letters at the bottom, but today is officially Did You Hear About Osama Day in America. Maybe if I was blogging from Kenya I could report futbol news and a funny video of a busty lady tripping and falling down while crossing the veldt, but no, baseball happened and then we killed a guy.

This week’s Baseball is Boring takes a xenophobic approach to the national pastime, wherein I resort to a combination of CTRL+X and CTRL+V for my USA chants and question the authenticity of Jose Bautista’s birth certificate. I’m sorry, his steroids certificate.

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Ace-ish pitcher Roy Oswalt has left the Philadelphia Phillies for personal reasons. Oswalt was a no-show in the clubhouse after his 5-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, and a team official made the announcement of his departure earlier today. The specifics are still a little vague.

The team does not know when Oswalt will return and did not detail why he has departed.

When asked if Oswalt would be back for his next scheduled start Tuesday, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. answered vaguely … “We expect him to be back.”

Oswalt left the Astros last Spring when a tornado destroyed his childhood home in Weir, Mississippi, and over the last two days a band of tornadoes and storms have moved through Choctaw County, where Oswalt was raised and resides. Another theory is that Oswalt has been struggling with mid-back spasms and has seen his effectiveness ravaged. Another theory is that it’s personal and none of our business. But this is a sports blog! Everything is our business!

Regardless, we wish Oswalt the best, and hope that he’ll either be able to work through his issues or buy and read a book about how tornadoes work.

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Update: 4 pm, not midnight. I’m allowed to get one wrong on a Friday.

In moves that must be terrifying NBA executives from coast-to-coast, MLB teams are actually making pretty big deals in order to win as the trade deadline approaches tomorrow. Of course baseball has the waiver deadline as well, but this has been one of the more active trade deadlines in recent years, with the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres stocking up on bats to hold on to their first place spots, while contenders like the Philadelphia Phillies try to erase the past with blockbuster deals. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates are still the lone vote for a 12-game season.

The week began with the Arizona Diamondbacks dealing ace Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels of Angels Angels for a package involving Joe Saunders and prospects, and from there the trade deadline panties dropped. The biggest name to be dealt is Roy Oswalt, who has been the target of trade speculation for the past five seasons. The former Cy Young Award winner finally waived his no trade clause to pitch for a contender, or at least a team within 14 games of first place.

Just try to make us forget the Cliff Lee debacle, Philadelphia Inquirer:

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