The Marlins acquired Jeff Conine at the waiver-wire deadline last season. Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Things get a little confusing at this time of year, what with Roberto Alomar going back to the White Sox and John Olerud heading to the Yankees and this guy going over there and that guy not going anywhere.

It's like Cooper says:

All these years and I still don't understand the trading deadline. How can the deadline have passed last week, yet the Yankees still get John Olerud and the White Sox once again get Roberto Alomar?
 -- Cooper Layden, Los Angeles

Ah, yes, the trading deadline. Everybody gets all worked up about the deadline and everything it means, to both contending teams and also-rans. Weeks are spent discussing it. Rumors run rampant.

Well, forget it. It's done. Over with. It's as gone as a Paul DePodesta fan in the Paul Lo Duca household.

But yes, Cooper, teams still can make trades. Teams still do make trades. Some of the best trades in baseball history have been made after the trade deadline, in fact.

The difference now is that players have to go through the waiver process. The player has to be offered up to other teams first, in reverse order of standings. If a team claims the player, the original team can either pull back the waiver request -- thus keeping the player -- or let the player go to the claiming team, in which case the new team is on the hook for the player's contract. If a player goes through without being claimed, he's free to be traded anywhere.

It gets a little nasty as some teams try to block others from getting key players (by putting a claim in first), and it can get complicated, which is why many teams prefer to get things done before the non-waiver trading deadline. But it can be done. Jeff Conine went to the Marlins last year on the last day of August. Alomar went to the White Sox earlier this week in a trade after clearing waivers.

Olerud happens to be a different case. The Mariners tried to work out a trade for him, but when there were no takers, they released him, making Olerud a free agent. The Yankees signed him.

The important part to remember about this whole goofy process is that teams can still swap players for the rest of the month. They will. Some big names, in fact, will change teams. But a player has to be on a roster before Sept. 1 to be eligible for postseason play.

One more point to make while we're talking about player movement: The Rockies' Charles Johnson and Larry Walker both invoked the no-trade clauses in their contracts. Walker reportedly vetoed deals to both the Rangers and Marlins. Johnson nixed a swap to first-place L.A.

"I may be old school, but you get an opportunity to play for a winner and you've got guys turning deals down and the chance to win somewhere. It doesn't compute," Rangers general manager John Hart said. "It's not a good reflection."

Lots of players have used their no-trade clause hammer to refuse to go from losers to winners. Fred McGriff did it a couple of years ago while with the Devil Rays, even though he eventually did end up with the Cubs. Rafael Palmeiro did it with the Rangers last season.

It's really not so strange. For some players, winning clearly isn't everything, especially if it's winning for only a couple of months as a rent-a-player in a city he doesn't want to be in. There are all sorts of considerations for players with no-trade clauses. Family. Comfort level. Future opportunities.

Winning is important. But it isn't everything. And it shouldn't be.

On to the E-Bag, where there are no losers. Except, occasionally, yours truly when I'm being hammered by Braves fans ...

First, I received lots and lots and lots of mail on Larry Bowa and my contention that firing him now won't do any good. The responses fell into two camps.

You are right when you say that many of Philadelphia's players aren't earning their money. And you are right when you say that negativity never helps and that it's not easy listening to a maniacal screamer. However, I disagree with your conclusion. Like it or not, great athletic achievement requires focus and concentration. An unhealthy work environment significantly detracts from focus and concentration. Bobby Cox understands this, Larry Bowa doesn't. Who is chasing whom?
 -- Bill Allen, Duluth, Ga.

Cox has some rules of his own, you know. No music blaring in the clubhouse. No losing the NL East, etc. But Cox, no screamer, is in a class by himself. I'd agree that a healthy work environment helps. But the sports world is filled with stories of players who overcome some kind of adversity to triumph. Why can't a team that is supposedly as talented as the Phillies do that?

Besides, people would be surprised to learn how little players listen to managers. Especially players who are doing their jobs. They come to the ballpark, head into the lounge (where managers almost never go), hang around their lockers (where managers almost never go), maybe do some weight work, maybe eat a little something, take BP, stretch some, warm up, play the game, shower afterward and take off. Sure, right before the game they may have to listen to a little talk. During the game, sitting on the bench, they might hear a little. Right after the game, for a period of maybe 10 minutes, they may have to submit to something, though that's rare. And there are the personal meetings. But, man, it's not like they walk in the door and are harangued as they're hanging up their shirts. That just doesn't happen.

I've been a Phillies Phan for almost 50 years. My license plate on my car reads PHNATC. I've been a Larry Bowa supporter for years. I've heard the negative stories about his managerial ranting for years, also. This season, I bought MLB.com TV so I can watch my Phillies. What I have witnessed is that Bowa is a terrible in-game manager. His handling of the pitchers is atrocious. It is time for Ed Wade to pull the plug!
 -- David Bardo, Antigo, Wisc.

Bowa may make some questionable moves, but there isn't a manager out there who doesn't. Getting second-guessed is part of the job. The thing is, with the injuries in the Phils' starting staff (not to mention to closer Billy Wagner), and the way the rotation has performed even when it has been healthy, the bullpen (and how Bowa has handled it) is the least of Philadelphia's problems.

No one will ever convince me that when a guy is staring at a pitcher in a big spot in the game, that he is thinking about the coach and if he likes him or not. That's absurd. Bowa does make some bad coaching decisions, though, like batting Bobby Abreu and Jim Thome, both lefties, back to back all year long. In every close game you see a left-handed reliever come in and shut them both down. I think Philly needs a new coach, but they also need to take a close look at the players on that team. Having Pat Burrell, Mike Lieberthal and Kevin Millwood as cornerstones of a franchise is not a good sign at all.
 -- Braden Snyder, New Columbia, Pa.

To me, it comes down to the players, as always. Burrell has been a huge disappointment, as has Lieberthal. Millwood's OK, but he's no ace. I can't blame any of that on Bowa.

Bowa is not the cause of the Phillies' problems. But the Phils are badly in need of change, and personally I think it starts with the coaches. Bowa, for all his negativity and rage, manages a good game. But his coaches are abysmal, and I think this is the area the organization needs to address. Joe Kerrigan seems to possess an almost supernatural ability to transform proven and potential pitching talent into batting tees. Hitting fundamentals for the team are poor, which leads to terrible situational hitting. As a Phillies fan, I for one am tired of the age-old tradition in this town: a great player comes, plays mediocre in the red pinstripes, then moves on to find his greatness again elsewhere. That, I believe, smacks of coaching ineptitude.
 -- Charlie C., Philadelphia

I'm not sure if you're right, but if the coaches are bad, that's Bowa's fault. Running a coaching staff is part of his responsibility. If they stink at their jobs, Bowa stinks at a portion of his.

Then, of course, there are the old-timers and longtime Bowa-backers who chimed in. Read on ...

I would be horrified to have the Phillies fire Bowa. He has been my favorite player since I watched him in Eugene playing Class AAA ball. I still have trouble forgiving the management for trading him plus a guy named Sandberg to the Cubs for that DeJesus flop.
 -- Paul Skones, Portland, Ore.

Ah, Jan. 27, 1982. Ryno and Bowa for Ivan DeJesus. In his three main years with the Phillies, DeJesus never hit above .257 or had an on-base percentage over .325. In 1984, he committed 29 errors. Sandberg was a 10-time All-Star, the 1984 NL MVP and is a possible Hall of Famer. I can see holding a grudge.

I've been a Phillies fan for as long as I remember -- from the days when I sat on the front lawn with a radio in Philadelphia. So, what can Bowa or anyone else do to jack up the highly paid professionals? It would be nice to go back to the old days when, if in September the player was not producing, he was sent packing. But, I'm just an old fogey who doesn't understand multimillion dollar, guaranteed employment contracts.
 -- Bill, Cape Coral, Fla.

I don't consider myself an old fogey, Bill, but I'm with you.

Then there's this letter from Japan, which sums up what I've been saying rather nicely.

You're damn right. Firing Bowa isn't gonna help them, unless by "them" you mean the rest of the NL East. First off, there's too little time to turn things around for the Phillies by replacing a manager or dealing for players. Jack McKeon was brought back last year by Florida ... in May. Second, I don't believe a better environment would necessarily lead to winning more ballgames. If they replace Bowa with a Terry Francona-type manager (Surprise! He was the skipper of the Phillies before), I'm sure the players may feel a little looser. It might be good for the environment. But does that automatically lead to more wins? I don't think so. An environment doesn't win the ballgame. Talent does. And that is what they haven't had so far largely because of injuries. And last but not least, they're not gonna win this year, anyway. The NL East already belongs to the Braves and the wild card is not likely. So why bother to fire Bowa now? He'll be gone after the season no matter what.
 -- Ken Anahara, Kanamachi, Japan

	MAILBAG Comments, questions or obviously unfounded criticism? To e-mail Donovan, use the form below. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Nice going, Ken. Agree with everything you say, especially the part about so-called "players' managers" who can be too soft. I would like to add this guess about Bowa's future: I don't think he'll be gone no matter what. But I do think he has to win at least one postseason series. If the Phillies make it to the NLCS or the World Series -- it would be the team's first postseason appearance since '93 -- I don't see how they could fire him.

I received lots of mail on the deadline trades. We'll start with an easy one, before we get into the DePodesta pounding ...

Can the Cubs afford to sign Nomar Garciaparra to a long-term deal?
 -- John Purnell, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Yeah, the Cubs could do something. It might take a little imagination, but they can do it. The question is do they want to? Does Nomar? And how much does Nomar want? He missed out on a chance to grab a four-year, $60-million offer from the Red Sox, possibly as recently as March. He almost certainly won't get that now. Whether the Cubs want him depends a lot on these next couple of months.

The parking lot attendant and the Harvard wonder boy [Boston GM Theo Epstein and L.A. GM Paul DePodesta] may know how to finance a team but they have no clue about the heart of a ballclub. Trading Lo Duca for anything less than Randy Johnson was despicable and shortsighted. He was the heart and soul of the team ... motivator ... rally-starter and always an upbeat guy. Sixteen years after the Dodgers' last World Series win, we were getting close to the top. The Dodgers are built on pitching (have been for 60 years). Lo Duca made these guys sing. No offense to David Ross, but he ain't Lo Duca. Guess it's time to make my golf plans for October. At least I'll save the $3,500 in playoff ticket money.
 -- Jack Rorke, Los Angeles

Got lots of mail like Jack's. He brings up a good point about the value of a decent catcher. Look what Ivan Rodriguez has done with the young staff in Detroit. Look how badly the Marlins wanted a catcher who knew how to run a game (they gave up a frontline starter, Brad Penny, in the deal for Lo Duca). The heart and soul thing in the clubhouse is a bit over-played, but the importance of having a good catcher is not. The Dodgers know this, which is why they tried to get Charles Johnson from the Rockies. By dealing Lo Duca without a decent backup plan, the Dodgers are stuck without a needed presence behind the plate unless something happens this month.

DePodesta is truly hated by the typical Dodger fan these days. Of all people to tear the team and its psyche asunder, it took an upstart, purely detestable geek/nerd GM who never played ball, obviously. He used his calculator and ripped the heart away from our team, the two biggest fan favorites besides Eric Gagne, in Dave Roberts and Paul Lo Duca. Southern California is still in shock and reeling that this Bozo d'Academe would waltz in and do his 11th hour machinations. He gave our sparkplug, Roberts, with 33 steals, away for a minor leaguer! What is that? Detestable DePodesta keeps us awake at night with his imbecilic and incredulously illogical moves, as if he were a child tinkering with his chemistry set!
 -- Jim Lekas, Dodgers fan since 1954, Huntington Beach, Calif.

Wow, Jim. I hope getting that out makes you feel a little better. Certainly gets me fired up.

I know the Mariners are bad. But I can hardly believe that Ichiro's feat of two 50-hit months in a season has gone completely unmentioned.
 -- Elliot, Seattle

Yeah, Elliot. They are bad. But 50 hits in May, and 51 in July, should be mentioned. Consider it done.

Please, one more question on the 300-game winner issue. Even in this "hitter's era," a win is still awarded to a pitcher in every game. If a given pitcher plays in a small park and gives up lots of runs, isn't it also just as likely that his team will score lots of runs? I see why ERAs should be worse, but why would wins go down?
 -- Dave Bell, Springfield, Va.

The theory is that it will be harder for starters to pick up wins because they won't be able to stick around long enough, often enough, to get a decision. Those decisions will go to relievers. I don't think that possibility is as threatening to a quest for 300 as the fact that pitchers just don't get as many starts as they used to (now that everyone has five-man rotations).

No wonder the Braves never have anyone in the stands supporting them. They are all home on their computers bashing you and anyone who doesn't give their Braves respect. Next time you should tell those Braves to try going to a game once in awhile and support their team.
 -- Todd, Philadelphia

Todd, that isn't fair at all. The Braves had 51,000-plus at Turner Field last weekend. But, you know, your e-mail is funny, and there's always a spot for that in the E-Bag.

After reading the past few mailbags involving the Braves, my favorite team, I just wanted to say that you sportswriters take a major beating. I wasn't expecting the Braves to be in first and I respect that you and other writers say what you honestly believe is going to happen. The Braves just have the coaching staff that is amazing enough to keep surprising us all.
 -- Shaun, Rotterdam, N.Y.

Thanks, Shaun. I needed that.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.