NL West Trading Deadline Grades

From "Why so dull? Because dealin' GMs don't have arms up their sleeves" by Scott Miller at CBSSportsLine.com:

TERRIFIC WORK

San Francisco: I know, I know. San Francisco? Aren't the Giants out of it?

Yes, they are. But anybody who could entice Pittsburgh to pay every bit of the remainder of Morris' $13.7 million this year and next deserves a gold star.

"We need to turn the page on the way we were doing things," Giants GM/snake-charmer Brian Sabean says. "We're going to need as much flexibility as we can."

They just got some.

GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE

Los Angeles Dodgers: The acquisition of setup man Scott Proctor, whom there is a good chance the Yankees burned out during his 83 appearances last season, might or might not help down the stretch. The beauty of what the Dodgers did is in what they didn't do.

They were in on all of the big names, including Teixeira. And they tried to acquire Jon Garland from the White Sox, but Chicago GM Kenny Williams, according to sources, demanded three players from the Dodgers' current 25-man roster in return -- including two pitchers. The Dodgers make that deal -- or had they caved in to the Rangers' demands for Teixeira -- and it would have been one step up and two steps back by the time they finished overpaying.

DOUBLE-SECRET PROBATION

San Diego: The Padres acquired the most bodies over the past few weeks (Milton Bradley from the A's earlier this month, Rob Mackowiak from the White Sox, Morgan Ensberg from the Astros, Scott Hairston from the Diamondbacks, reliever Wilfedo Ledezma from Atlanta). No surprise they're going for quantity over quality, given that owner John Moores opens his wallet about as often as Elwood Blues opens his mouth.

Towers frequently has referred to himself as a "Sludge Merchant" in the past. He continues digging through the sediment in search of gold.