Cardinal fans team up to beat human trafficking
Every time the Cardinals win a game, fans now have a new way to make a difference in the world. A new donation platform called Snoball is uniting baseball fans to fight human trafficking.

The idea is simple. Every time the Cardinals win a game, a fan donates $0.25. The money benefits Not For Sale, an organization that exists to end present day slavery.

There are more victims of human trafficking today than any other point in history–nearly 30 million. These victims are raped, abused, and even murdered by their abductors.  Of the victims, 70 percent are women and 50 percent are children.

It’s easy to give. Just visit http://tinyurl.com/gostlcards, click the donate now button, and sign in with your Facebook account.

After donating, fans are encouraged to share the “Let’s Re-Abolish Slavery” snoball on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #cardsunite.  Cardinals fans can prove, once and for all, they are the greatest baseball fans on the planet.

Imagine the difference we can make just by cheering on our favorite baseball team. Every quarter donated makes a dent in the world’s third largest illegal industry–human trafficking. If 1000 fans donate $0.25, just one Cardinals win would represent enough money raised to free 3 people from slavery.

Baseball fans can also help Not For Sale by joining Matt Holliday and Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals. They are part of a special Facebook application called Free2Play.  It allows users to create donations based on statistics of their favorite players. All money raised helps Not For Sale prevent the human trafficking of children.

For additional questions or comments, contact jason@snoball.com (Twitter: @jasonpoemusic)

About Snoball:
Snoball is a micro-donation platform that makes charitable giving easy, social, and fun.  Users can instantly donate to over 1.7 million nonprofits through customizable “snoballs.” Snoballs are automated donations based on a user’s interests.  An example snoball could be defined as:  “When Matt Holliday hits a home run, I will donate $1 to the American Red Cross.”

For more information about Snoball, visit https://snoball.com

About Not For Sale:
Not for Sale creates tools that engage business, government, and grassroots in order to incubate and grow social enterprises to benefit enslaved and vulnerable communities.

For more information about Not For Sale, visit http://notforsalecampaign.org

David DeJesus is out for the year with an injury to his hand. He was the Royals’ number one trading chip going into the deadline but his recent injury has guaranteed that he will not be leaving the club this season. He has an option for next season which will most likely be picked up by the team after the Alberto Callaspo trade.

The Callaspo deal gives the team enough money to keep DeJesus next year even at a price tag of $6 million. Replacing DeJesus for less than that might be a hard thing to do so it is safe to say he will be in blue next year.

His trade value may go down some next year but if he can regain his form after his hand heals, DeJesus will still be a good deadline pickup for a contending team this time next season. The Royals will have two options in my mind with DeJesus during the offseason. The first is to just pick up his option for next year, letting him play out the contract and trading him at the deadline if they are blown away by an offer. The second is to pick up his option in the summer to turn around and trade him before the season starts. I personally like the idea of letting him play the season out. Kansas City could get off to a good start and they might not even want to trade him them.

One good thing about DeJesus’ injury is that it allows the team to try out new players as an everyday outfielder for the remainder of the season. This can mean bringing up AAA talent or letting a bench player earn his way into the starting job for next year.

The second reason that DeJesus getting hurt is good for the team is because it has now put more focus on Jose Guillen and Scott Podsednik. The trade value for these two players is not as high as DeJesus but getting rid of these two players is a better move for the team. Podsednik was the first to move from the outfield yesterday after being traded to the Dodgers. The fact that Podsednik was moved just furthers the point that DeJesus being on the DL is actually a good thing.

Guillen will more than likely follow Podsednik out the door in the next few days. The market for serviceable outfielders has increased after injuries to DeJesus, Corey Hart, and Shane Victorino and gives KC the upper hand as teams such as the Giants are scrambling for a deadline move.