Bball3345's Stream of Consciousness: August 4

by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)

This year's trade deadline seemed a lot more exciting than last year's. In fact, I can't even remember a single deal from 2005...nope, I got nothing. Of course, I guess we will have to wait and see if I can remember any of this year's next deadline.

Speaking of the deadline, Los Angeles seemed to have mortgaged their future on the playoffs this season. With the Padres plugging their hole at third with Todd Walker and the Dodgers dealing with the injuries of Nomar and Kent, this may not have been a wise move. Did they really think Julio Lugo was going to be their savior? Nabbing Wilson Betemit was a nice move, but it's not like Aybar wasn't a decent utility player himself. I guess we will see if the moves work out.

Texas will also have to hope Carlos Lee was the answer to putting them over the top. Unfortunately, the pitching-shallow Rangers had to give up an effective reliever in Francisco Cordero. Texas may have the offense to make the playoffs, but their weak pitching will make it near impossible to advance, let alone win the World Series. Oh, and you can have Kip Wells.

Not too long ago, Wells was the future ace for what was to be a superstar rotation in 2006 for Pittsburgh. They had minor leaguers John Van Benschoten, Sean Burnett, and Bryan Bullington, along with a dominant Oliver Perez all being touted as future All-Stars. Well, it is 2006, Wells has been traded, Benschoten, Burnett, and Bullington have all had major arm problems, and Perez lasted one-third of an inning in his final AAA start before being shipped to New York for Xavier Nady.

How come Nady receives Perez and Roberto Hernandez in return, but Craig Wilson only net the Pirates Shawn Chacon. Chacon has the production of Perez, without the huge upside and Hernandez is an effective reliever. Wilson, the better player, can only Chacon? I would have rather seen a single-A player on the other end of the trade than Chacon.

Last season, Chacon finally escaped the not-so-friendly confines of Coors, looking dominant for the Yankees in the second half of the season. It looked as if Coors had been the problem all along and Chacon truly was deserving of the major leagues. Unfortunately, his highly-publicized 7.00 ERA has proven those claims were premature. He truly cannot pitch at this level.

Something has gone terribly wrong in Coors. Pitchers are throwing shutouts and looking, well, really good in the light air of Colorado. It doubtfully has to do with Cirillo's claim of Rockies switching balls during the game; however, there is something going on. The new humidor use in Coors has made the balls fly more like sea level than high-altitude. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. It seems as if Colorado should have to adjust to the natural environment, not try to change it. On the other hand, don't teams move fences in and out based on helping out the pitchers/batters. I wonder if Petco Park could get away with using a humidor? Regardless, it seems as if Chacon may have left at the wrong time. Aaron Cook, Jason Jennings, Jeff Francis, heck, even Josh Fogg have looked unusually strong. If Fogg can look good at Coors, then Chacon had a decent shot at success, right?

Back to the team Chacon left, the Yankees improved themselves, and their chance at making the playoffs, more than any team at the deadline. The acquisition of Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, and Craig Wilson should work wonders. Abreu fills in for the absence of a strong corner outfielder, with Matsui and Sheffield out for who knows how long. Lidle inserts his consistently mediocore starts in the fifth slot, replacing the consistently horrendous starts of the former Yankees' fifth starters. Wilson adds depth off of the bench and takes time away from Phillips' dreadful bat.

In contrast to the Yankees deadline action, Theo stood still. I believe this was the smart move, as teams were likely trying to pry away Jon Lester. Not only is Lester their best young starter, he has been the second best starter on the 2006 team. It would have made no sense to hurt their current, and future, rotation to grab a player like Andruw Jones. Pitching, not offense, is the weakness of the team. With Vartitek likely out for the next couple weeks, the Red Sox made their first post-deadline move, acquiring Javy Lopez. Lopez certainly represents a drastic offensive improvement over Mirabelli. This move alone doesn't make the Red Sox the favorite, but it will help them hang in the race for the time being.

Date

Fri 08/04/06, 8:21 am EST