Sunday, July 31, 2011

After the Deadline: Reviewing the trades

I was prepared to write about the next Yankees acquisition. I was hoping for some new pitching, maybe some more power for the lineup, and that would make my day right there. Here's what I got: Absolutely nothing. Nobody went to the Bronx...nobody left the Bronx. Brian Cashman ultimately had a slow Sunday, for the first July 31st in quite awhile. And I was hoping we'd get something...I would deal with Wandy Rodriguez. But we got nothing. Oh well...here's a look at some other deals made with luckier teams.

Top Ten Trade Deadline Deals:

10. Mike Adams to Texas. The Victor- Texas. How it helps Texas- Strengthens their bullpen, making it even stronger. How it helps San Diego: Just what the doctor ordered, EVEN MORE PROSPECTS!

9. Koji Uehara to Texas; Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis to Baltimore. The Victor: A Draw. How it helps Texas: Sending Uehara strengthens the bullpen further, and maybe the Arlington pitching staff can help Uehara regain his 2009 mojo. How it helps Baltimore: Tommy Hunter finally adds some good pitching to a club that needs some, and Chris Davis replaces the recently departed Derrek Lee at first.

8. Erik Bedard and Josh Fields to Boston. The Victor- Boston. How it helps Boston: A nice outfielder to add to the dozen they already have. Plus, the array of injured pitchers leaves a few holes in the rotation, one of them being filled by Bedard, who ironically has been injured for a year. How it helps Seattle: Gives them a few prospects, who they seriously need if they want to rebuild their team.

7. Derrek Lee to Pittsburgh. The Victor: Pittsburgh, for once. How it helps Pittsburgh: The one thing I noticed about the club when I went to a game this month was that it relied mostly on speedy young players, and not on bats like Lyle Overbay. This deal gives them the bat they need. And Derrek will be a good fit in a rebuilding team. How it helps Baltimore: Pittsburgh was willing to give up a few of its prospects to help the team, which is nice.

6. Kosuke Fukudome to Cleveland. The Victor: Cleveland. How it helps Cleveland: The Indians are also in need of a bat, now that Grady's on the DL again. Fuku will gladly give some plate assistance, as well as some outfield help to fill the Sizemore-sized hole. How it helps Chicago: Once Soriano, Dempster and Zambrano leave, the prospects they recieved may aid them somehow.

5. Colby Rasmus to Toronto; Edwin Jackson, Mark Rzepcinski, Corey Patterson to St. Louis. The Victor: A Draw. How it helps Toronto: Rasmus has been a young prospect for the Cards for a while now, and this trade will hopefully help his performance a little bit. Also, they needed a good fielder that was also good at hitting. How it helps St. Louis: All three players fill gaping holes in the Cardinals' roster. Rzepcinski gives them a good reliever, Jackson gives them another decent strater, and Patterson loans more plate assistance.

4. Ubaldo Jiminez to Cleveland.The Victor: Cleveland. How it helps Cleveland: Between Carmona and Masterson, the Indians have a lot of "good" at the mound, but nothing spectacular. Jiminez gives some assurance to scare away batters and help the surprising Indians finally get back to October. How it helps Colorado: Helps a rebuilding, aging team rebuild.

3. Michael Bourn to Atlanta: Jordan Schafer to Houston. The Victor: Atlanta. How it helps Atlanta: The Braves always go for a speedy young outfielder around the trade deadline, and this year was no exception. Bourn will bolster the team not only in speed but in power at the plate. The Braves needed a guy like Bourn. How it helps Houston: Gives them some pitching help, and another batch of prospects.

2. Carlos Beltran to San Francisco. The Victor: San Francisco. How it helps San Francisco: Gives a needed bat to an already strong lineup. Even though the pitching rotation is good on its own, the batting needed improvements, and this certainly helps. With Beltran's power at the plate, there's no wonder why the Giants snapped him up so quickly. How it helps New York: Gives them a few new prospects, so they can rebuild a little more.

1. (Admit it, you saw this coming) Hunter Pence to Philadelphia. The Victor: Philadelphia. How it helps Philadelphia: Adds to the already growing list of outfielders. With Ibanez getting old, Victorino on and off the DL, and the others circling between the club and the minors, it's nice to know that now there'll be a constant, hitting well and playing the outfield consistantly too. It only buttresses one of the strongest teams in the league. How it helps Houston: Well...a few more prospects couldn't hurt.

So there you go. Pretty much every team besides the Yankees made some good deals, got some new blood on their 40-man. And hey...we're still going to do well. We're the Yankees.

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