Last winter I proposed that three teams work together and swap albatross contracts. It was along the lines of what the Mariners and Cubs did in swapping Milton Bradley for Carlos Silva.
The mega mistake deal I proposed included yet another behemoth contract that the Cubs shelled out. (Doesn’t that tell you something? That maybe front office mistakes have more to do with the Cubs not winning than a Billy Goat or poor Steve Bartman!)
I suggested that the Cubs take their disgruntled and underachieving one time superstar Alfonso Soriano and ship him off in a three team trade. The Giants would unload their disappointing erstwhile ace Barry Zito and the Blue Jays would send one time face of the franchise Vernon Wells out of town.
The thought process was maybe they all need a change of scenery. Maybe a change could jolt their careers. Maybe going to a ballpark where the fans shake their head at the very mention of your name could be a bit much.
In my deal the Cubs would send Soriano to the Giants.
The Giants would send Zito to Toronto.
The Blue Jays would then send Wells to Wrigley.
I bet the Cubs wished they pulled off that deal.
Wells is off to a fast start in Toronto with 6 homers, an average of .340 and an OPS of 1.224.
Zito is mowing down batters left and right with a 2-0 record, an ERA of 1.86 and a .176 batting average against, giving the Giants a chance to think maybe the signing wasn’t a complete mistake.
And Soriano… ooof.
There’s talk of benching him.
His contract is no considered to be the worst in baseball.
He is vilified in Wrigley.
And there’s not a lot of places where they can ship him off.
Not to get all Presidential on you Cubs fans… but when you see Soriano next, just think to yourself “FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!”
If they ever find a place to ship Soriano the Cubs won’t be done dealing yet.
Kosuke Fukudome is still cashing a paycheck
"I bet the Cubs wished they pulled off that deal."
ReplyDeleteExcept that there was no deal to be had. In order to pull off the trade, the Giants and Jays would have had to be willing to trade, too. And there was no indication that either team was willing to play along with your scheme.
It's a fair cop to criticize Hendry for the signing. Not so much to slap him for *not* making a trade that you invented out of whole cloth.
Come to think of it, Hendry never followed up on my suggestion that he build a time machine, kidnap Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, and Willie Mays in their primes, bring them back to Chicago on July 30, 2003 -- just in time to be included for that year's playoff roster! Boy, what an idiot. Bet Hendry wished he had made *those* deals...
Dinah...
ReplyDeleteBoth the trade and this analysis were done somewhat tongue in cheek... basically saying all three teams had 800 pound gorillas, so why not swap them?
I know it wasn't real. I guess it was more to point out that some 800 pound gorillas can get up and play and others are Soriano
Soriano is a classic athlete who doesn't look as good when he leaves a great team. Remember Alvin Harper of the Cowboys? He thought he was a star surrounded by all that talent, left, and was never heard from again. Anybody would look good with Jeter hitting behind you.
ReplyDelete