Monday, July 30, 2007

Baseball is Poop

Trade Deadline Edition
Mets trade Drew Butera and Dustin Martin to the Twins for Luis Castillo
This is sort of a nothing deal for the Mets. I really like Ruben Gotay and I don't understand the rush to replace him. I understand Castillo is a much better defensive player but he's probably a downgrade offensively and right now the Mets need hitting. But they gave up two low level prospects and Castillo is not signed long-term so it's not a bad deal.

Red Sox trade Kason Gabbard, David Murphy and Engel Beltre to the Rangers for Eric Gange
This is a tough trade. The Red Sox didn't need Gagne desperately, they've been doing fine with Papelbon and Okajima. But this gives them an incredible bullpen instead of a really good one. And they might finally be able to move Papelbon to the rotation next year. But Gabbard is a top pitching prospect, Murphy is a considered a serious outfield prospect and Beltre is only 17 years old. If it works out this year great, but it's possible in a few years two of those prospects will be good major leaguers.

Giants trade Matt Morris to the Pirates for Rajai Davis
Why are the Pirates trading for high-priced veterans?

Braves trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Elvis Andrus to the Rangers for Mark Teixeira
The Braves desperately needed a power hitting first baseman so they had to make this trade. Plus Saltalamacchia is a catcher and they already have Brian McCann. But Elvis Andrus is considered a very good prospect, and he is only 18 years old.

Braves trade Kyle Davies to the Royals for Octavio Dotel
When healthy Dotel can be a really good setup man for the Braves. This is an excellent trade for them. But Kyle Davies kills the Mets.

Yankees trade Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for Wilson Betemit
I don't get this trade. The Yankees are in no position to be trading a middle reliever, certainly not for a guy who plays second, third and short, positions the Yankees have locked up. I guess the Yankees just gave up on Proctor and they feel Betemit can solve their problems at first base.

Padres trade Scott Linebrink to the Brewers for Will Inman, Steve Garrison and Joe Thatcher
I don't know why the Padres would trade Linebrink in the middle of what is a decent season for him, while they are in a heated pennant race. It seems like the three pitchers they got are pretty decent, they all have good minor league stats. I just hope this doesn't interfere with Linebrink's quest to pitch in exactly 73 games for the fourth straight season.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's not flashy, but I really like the Mets' trade. Assuming everyone can stay reasonably healthy (and come close to their 2006 form) they have plenty of pop in their lineup.

They improved their infield defense drastically and added a pretty fast switch hitter to their 2 hole. I would've loved to see them land Cordero, but I think this is a nice tweak for the playoff run. Hope it pans out.

Anonymous said...

Kason Gabbard is NOT a top pitching prospect. It's a brilliant move by the Red Sox to sell high on him. They left him in the rotation even though Lester was ready to showcase him and it worked. David Murphy is the prospect in this deal, but he has Coco Crisp and Jacoby Ellsbury in front of him so he was expendable. The other kid is 16, which I'm not even sure is legal.