Trader Rater 3.0: TEX, PUDGE, MANRAM, AND JUNIOR!

Just when you thought the Trade Deadline was looking a little slow, BAM! MANRAM! One of my favorite players was moved right at the deadline and is now going Hollywood! Another one of my favorite players was also moved from Ohio to Illinois.

Even though the day as a whole did not produce much in the means of quantity, I think you have to look at the whole time period leading up to the Deadline and consider it a blockbuster transaction period, beginning with CC Sabathia.

First, let's just note the minor moves that took place:

- The Seattle Mariners traded RP Arthur Rhodes to the Florida Marlins for a prospect
- The Washington Nationals traded RP Jhonny Nunez to the New York Yankees for SS Alberto Gonzalez
- The New York Yankees traded LaTroy Hawkins to the Houston Astros for infielder Matt Cusik
- The Washington Nationales released C Paul Lo Duca and SS Felipe Lopez

- EDIT: The Minnesota Twins released SP Livan Hernandez and OF Craig Monroe, and recalled SP Francisco Liriano and 1B Randy Ruiz

Now on to the BIG Stuff....

The Atlanta Braves traded 1B Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels for 1B Casey Kotchman and P Steve Marek
This was definitely a deal that had to be done fo the Atlnta Braves and the Angels for that matter. The Braves got a solid young first basemen who will be under their control for the next few upcoming years and compliments their lineup well. Kotchman has some pop and will fit well with the Bravos. For the Angels I think it was an extreme necessity for them to add a bat. Teixeira will be a free agent after the season and I hope that the Angels plan on resigning him. But to slot him in front of Guerrero and Torii Hunter, that is a solid lineup to go with the best rotation in baseball. The Angels will have a lot of offseason issues to deal with, but you gotta love when a team puts it all on the line to win NOW.


The New York Yankees traded RP Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for C Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez
In a move that single-handily represents that the Yankees are back, they did exactly what they needed to do to win the division this year. Sure, Pudge doesn't have the power he use, but he can still hit for a solid .300 average and play a sturdy defense. Recently, the Yanks have obtained Pudge, Sexson, Marte, and Nady and were heavily rumored to go after Jarrod Washburn. Farnsworth has been better as of late and will help the end of the Tigers bullpen. I think this was a great deal for the Yanks to help replace Posada for the stretch run.


The Chicago White Sox traded P Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar to the Cincinnati Reds for Ken Griffey Jr.
I love this deal for the fact that it puts Junior back in the pennant race in the American League. Other than that though, I am not quite sure how it will work out. Prior to the trade, Quentin was in LF, Swisher in CF, Dye in RF, Konerko at 1B, and Thome at DH. Where exactly does Junior fit in? There is talk that Swisher will move to 1B and Griffey will play in CF again. That leaves Konerko on the bench, who is their team leader and captain and was the key to the World Series win in 2005. Like I said, I am glad that Griffey is back playing meaningful games, but the whole idea of him back in Center is a question mark in itself.


3-Way Deal Special! The Los Angeles Dodgers received LF Manny Ramirez, The Boston Red Sox received LF Jason Bay, and the Pittsburgh Pirates received OF Branden Moss, P Craig Hansen, 3B Andy Laroche and another prospect
So ManRam (Manny Ramirez) does indeed get traded and it is to the Dodgers. Rumors were running wild that this 3 team trade would take place but involve Manny going to the Marlins instead of the Dodgers. The Red Sox were able to accomplish getting Manny out of the AL and to be able to get a very capable replacement in Jason Bay. Bay will be slotted right into where Manny was, Left Field and middle of the order and provide significantly less headaches. I am not really sure why the Pirates felt the need to deal Bay, they never seem to want to win and continue to be in rebuilding mode. They received some decent prospects in the deal who for the majority have Major League experience. Manny brings a BIG bat to the middle of the Dodger lineup and yet another Red Sox personality to the team who already have Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra. ManRam will be in LF every game and that will mean that Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, Andre Eithier, and Matt Kemp will fight for 2 spots in the remaining games. I think this was a great move for the Red Sox and Dodgers, but for the Pirates...not so much.


Don't forget deals can still be done through out August, players just have to clear waivers.

Trader Rater 2.0

The trade deadline is only 5 days away and a couple more deals have recently gone down. Although nothing as significant as the CC Sabathia or Rich Harden deals, more often than not it is the role player type deals that help certain teams get over the hump.

The New York Yankees traded 4 prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady. According to the reports and the sources, the Pirates got back prospects who do not have much a chance to be impact players in the big leagues. I am not quite sure why the Pirates would make this deal, as I am sure a team like the Mets or Phillies could have given them a little more. For the Yankees, this was a great move, they picked up a very good situational left handed reliever and a great outfield bat who could play a lot of LF down the stretch. With this move and the Richie Sexson resigning , I am getting a sense of the of the old Yanks.

The Cleveland Indians traded Casey Blake to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a prospect. The Indians are clearly in seller mode and have plenty of young talent they would like to see develop at the big league level. Casey Blake was one of the players that had been rumored to move the most this season and it was a solid pickup for the Dodgers. Blake has 11 home runs already and can play both 3B and the OF. For the Dodgers he will help replace Blake DeWitt and Andy LaRoche at 3B. This move basically signifies that the Dodgers will not be looking for a SS before the deadline.
(Casey Blake in his LA Debut)

It is one of my favorite times of the year and stay tuned for some more trader rater as the deadline approaches!

CC Sabathia: Oh the places he'll (potentially) go...

Well it is July, so that means the baseball rumors start to heat up and everything from borderline bogus to so outrageous it just may work is given some thoughts in hopes and anticipation of improving the ballclub.


Every year there seems to be a big name or two who is rumored to go everywhere and anywhere depending on what newspapers and websites you check out from day to day. The big name in this year's deadline talks CC Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians.
Let's take a quick look at the possibilities of landing locations for the CY Young aka CC Sabathia.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays clearly have the talent to make the deal and have plenty of young prospects both in the minor leagues and at the big-league level. The rotation has a very solid young foundation right now with James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, and Andy Sonnastine, but adding Sabathia would round out a very tough to beat deep rotation. Do the Rays have the guts to pull it off? And would they actually sign CC long-term?

Boston Red Sox: When healthy, it's tough to argue the Red Sox would have a glaring need for Sabathia. Remember last Winter they toyed with the idea of going after Johan and eventually backed off. The Sox rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Masterson,Wakefield and Colon/Bucholz lurking, is good enough to carry this squad.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are another team who always seem to have a lot of young talent, but never seem to make the big move on in-season trades. In a division that is basically there for the taking with no one over .500, it would be wise of them to add Sabathia to Derek Lowe, Hiroki Kuroda, Billingsly and the injured Brad Penny. Will the Dodgers make the move and trade some of their prospects a la Andy Laroche and Matt Kemp?

Milwaukee Brewers: Lately, the Brewers have been the team with the most about of publicity going for Sabathia. Offering top prospect Matt LaPorta among other talent seems to have caught Indians GM Mark Shapiro's eye. The Brewers have some interesting in-house pitching issues to deal with, such as free agent to be Ben Sheets. However, in a short a series I would like to have Sabathia-Sheets-Gallardo on my side.

Philadelphia Phillies: Probably the team that needs Sabathia the most. With the recent demotion on Opening Day starter Brett Myers to Triple-A, the Phillies need another staring pitcher in the worst way. Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer have pitched pretty well for Philly, but a pairing of Sabathia and Cole Hamels would make opposing lineups cringe. The issue at hand here is, do the Phillies have enough prospects besides Carlos Carrasco that would interest the Tribe?

Chicago Cubs: At this point in the Sabathia sweepstakes game, it appears as though the Cubs will be a long shot to land this year's deadline prize. The word is, is that the Indians are looking for infield help most notably at third base and second base and the Cubs don't appear to have any prospects who will be able to help for another 2 to 3 years. What the Cubs do have is pitching talent in the upper minor league levels, but the Indians seem to be set with their staff.

If I had to predict as of today which team Sabathia will go, I would have to say the Brewers. They seem to have the talent to make the deal and GM Doug Melvin has a recent track record of making in-season deals.

Who do you think will trade for CC?

Quick Hits

Well the Steak, Crab & Curry show is on Hiatus until the end of February...but I will stick around via blog to give some opinions and thoughts on the sports world...

Some quick hits and thoughts:

Bill Parcells signs to be the VP of Football Operations of the Dolphins...whatever that means...I give him 3 years MAX before he is gone.

Coaches need to learn respect in football. It appears the whole concept of a contract does not exist anymore. Bobby Petrino never had the respect of his players in Atlanta and I'm not sure he is going to succeed in Arkansas either.

The Patriots will lose 17-13 to the 'Phins this weekend....I'm just thinking outloud.

Really T.O.? You have stooped this low to go after Jessica Simpson because of Romo's terrible game on Sunday?

Yes, the Celtics are THAT good...easy schedule or not.

Chris Paul and Deron Williams will be some of the best point guards in NBA recent history.

Yes, the Heat are THAT bad...too old and to reliabe on D-Wade.

When the Blazers get Greg Oden next year, they will be scary. A rotation of LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and Channing Frye up front with Brandon Roy scoring is nice.

The Dodgers will win the NL West this season.

The Devil Rays will not finish last in the AL East this season.

Roger Clemens is as big of a jerk as Barry Bonds.

Ed Wade is a terrible GM and has quickly traded the whole farm system of the Astros for a nut case like Valverde and a washed-up Miguel Tejada.

Ohio State will be crushed once again in the BCS Championship by another SEC team.

What has happened to the Florida State football program?


...til next time
-E