Depending on your point of view, the saturation coverage of Major League Baseball on cable tv and the Web these days has: a.) shed light on fascinating, heretofore under-covered aspects of the sport, like the June amateur draft, and/or b.) created controversy around a lot of stuff that really even isn't worth the tv time or pixels now expended in talking about them.

To me, one area that falls squarely in the latter category is the "news" about which teams have put in claims for which players in the post-July 31st, i.e., after-the-trade deadline, part of the season.

Given the Cubs' injury problems and some of the talent gaps in their minor league system, it would make sense that Jim Hendry is combing the waiver list looking for someone--anyone--who might help his team climb over the Brewers. But to me, the breathless hysteria around whether the Cubs really did put in a claim for Scott Podsednik or Shannon Stewart has gotten old really fast.

As you know if you've read or heard any of the THOUSANDS of explanations of the Major League waiver system going out over the air waves or passing through the ether, making a claim is way short of actually acquiring the player. The player's current team can withdraw the waivers, the claiming team and the old team can fail to agree on terms of a trade, the claiming team can simply...well, there I am getting into the whole mess. The main point is, in this particular instance concerning the Cubs, and I can't state this strongly enough...

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SCOTT PODSEDNIK AND SHANNON STEWART FOR GOD'S SAKE!

And turning your attention to tonight's events in Colorado, our heroes proved they're so good, they have absolutely no need for their formerly most lethal hitter and their most dynamic player, let alone the White Sox' broken-down leftfielder or the Athletics' Stewart, who is at least three years removed from when he was at the top of his game.

Other thoughts:

That was a terrific and much needed effort from Jason Marquis, who threw great until he dropped Jeff Baker; Bob Howry was n-a-s-t-y, and it is hard for me to recall a pitcher who looked so completely feeble early in the season looking so dominant later in the same year; and Jacque Jones, 7-for-10 over the last two nights in Denver with 7 RBI and a home run, has clearly sold his soul to the devil, though unlike ingesting anabolic steroids, I don't believe that is outlawed by the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, so I'm completely okay with it.

(Note: if you haven't come across any of those explanations of the MLB waiver system, you'll find one here.)