Tonight is the first of the final four games before the trading deadline, and the big (radar) guns are in the house. Scouts from both the Rockies and Mariners are here, which may ring a few bells to those who follow the scuttlebutt.

That said, there are obviously other things going on around the team, notably:

- Mark Newman, Nardi Contreras and Julio Mosquera are in the house

- Outfielder DeAngelo Mack is back from the disabled list, where he's been since July 10 with a sore hand.

- Grant Duff's season is over. He'll begin the rehab process down in Tampa shortly, Tony Franklin said, which leads me to believe he had some sort of surgery. Franklin wouldn't tell us.

- Graham Stoneburner, who's been out since April, is scheduled to start on Friday. He was in the clubhouse before the game, and had ticket requests in, so he's feeling better, obviously.

- Franklin said before the game that Romine was "not playing" for the two consecutive games was based on the stress incurred from the sweltering heat in Bowie.

- There is a 75 percent chance of thunderstorms around 8 p.m. tonight

It was officially acknowledged today that Adam Warren is in the Thunder's rotation. He pitches tomorrow and will take Wilkin De La Rosa's spot in the rotation for now. Speaking of the starting five, it's going to be a little more complicated for the first time through after the All-Star Break.

Starting tonight, this is how the initial turn will look:

1. Brackman
2. Warren
3. Arbiso
4. Mitchell
5. Pendleton

Then, starting on the 20th, the rotation should shake down like this:

1. Brackman
2. Warren
3. Noesi
4. Mitchell
5. Pendleton

I know I've said it before, but for Mitchell to be the only remaining starter from the rotation and to have the team still doing so well is quite amazing. Maybe I'm reading too much into this.

Warren isn't officially on the roster yet, so Ryan Baker will be heading to the DL tomorrow to accommodate his arrival. He said in the clubhouse earlier that it took him 14 hours to drive from Tampa to Trenton. Geez. I got tired driving the three hours from Princeton to Bowie for last week's road set.

More to come later. I will be attempting to get as many videos of Brackman as I can tonight. So stay tuned later for those.

Here's today's lineup:

Christian - DH
Krum - CF
Romine - C
Laird - 3B
Brewer - LF
Vechionacci - 1B
Gonzalez - RF
Nunez - SS
Snyder - 2B

The big news of the day here involves two injuries to pretty significant players. Starter Jeremy Bleich is scheduled for surgery on his left labrum, meaning his season is over. Although he was promoted before the injury was discovered, Hector Noesi will essentially take Bleich's spot in the rotation.

Bleich was 3-2 with a 4.79 ERA over 41 1/3 innings. He also issued an unsightly 28 walks during that time. He left before the Thunder's last road trip, complaining of shoulder stiffness. The team sent him back to Florida, where was he checked out and the decision to have surgery was made.

Also, David Adams was placed on the disabled list with a right ankle sprain. The diagnosis seems to be 2-3 weeks, but nobody would be surprised if it lasted longer. He was replaced on the roster by Kevin Mahoney, the former Canisius star and 2009 MAAC Player of the Year.

So, there's quite a bit of news around Thunder land today. First, in what I assume is a precursor to a promotion, Ryan Pope has been moved to the bullpen. The staff is running short a man, so the move makes sense. Jeremy Bleich, who was supposed to start Monday, will take Pope's place tomorrow. I spoke with Tommy Phelps, Tony Franklin and Pope himself about the move, and the audio from those interviews is below.

Secondly, Austin Romine is back behind the dish after serving as the designated hitter for a few games. The "tired arm," it seems, is nothing to become alarmed about. We'll see over the next few days how the rest treated him. For what it's worth, it appears Romine's hitting has suffered a little bit from not playing the field.

Finally, in non-Thunder news, the Mets have promoted infielder Reese Havens. He's batting second for the B-Mets and is playing second base. Should be a treat to see him work over the next few days.

Here's today's Thunder lineup:

1. Justin Christian, DH
2. Austin Krum, CF
3. David Adams, 2B
4. Austin Romine, C
5. Brandon Laird, 3B
6. Daniel Brewer, LF
7. Marcos Vechionacci, 1B
8. Edwar Gonzalez, RF
9. Luis Nunez, SS

Here's the audio from today's pregame sessions: