Why would the Marlins want A-Rod? A Bleacher Report Article

Keith Olbermann wrote on his baseball blog that the Yankees and Marlins are kicking around the idea of a trade. And it makes partial sense because A-Rod and the Yankees are heading for an inevitable messy divorce. But in my latest article for Bleacher Report I ask the question: Even if the Yankees paid most of the contract, why would the Marlins want him? You can read the whole article HERE.

Red Sox Are Essentially Trading Adrian Gonzalez for a Brighter Future - A Bleacher Report Article

There are no words to express how much I want this trade to happen.
You know what trade I am talking about. THE trade. The trade that will help wipe away 2011 and 2012 and move the Boston Red Sox forward.

In my latest for Bleacher Report, I make the argument that dealing Adrian Gonzalez is worth having a hopeful future for the team.

The new era of the Red Sox starts now.

You can read the whole article HERE.


 

Why is Jose Reyes still a Met?

Seriously. What the hell?

Do the Mets think they have a shot at the Wild Card? If so, why did they deal Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran?

They are in rebuilding mode... then REBUILD!

They got a quality chip in exchange for Beltran. Imagine what they could have snagged from the Cardinals for Reyes. From the Angels. From ANY team that needs a spark in the shortstop position.

(I thought the Giants should have packaged for Beltran AND Reyes.)

They could have at least 2 players who if they aren't big leagues ready now, they will be by 2012 or 2013.

And THEN when Reyes hit the open market, out bid everyone for him there. You could even say to him before the trade "No matter what happens this year, nobody is going to out bid us." Wink wink.

They get the prospects AND they get Reyes for next year.

And yet here he is. Still with the Mets. I give the Mets tons of credit for keeping their nose above .500 and if they have a winning season, then color me impressed. There is NO WAY they are passing Atlanta or Philadelphia this year.

But they COULD be building a team for when Philadelphia's age catches up to them (which could be in a year or 2.)

Reyes, Wright and Wheeler would be on that team. But for the love of Sid Fernandez, so could have a few other players!

Someone help me. Someone explain it to me.

I'm at a loss.

The Rangers shouldn't trade Michael Young - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I talk about Michael Young. Yeah he seems mad and he should be. And sure it would appear to be the classy move for the Rangers to find him a new home.

But they shouldn't. A spot in the infield will open up for him and there is no way Texas will get equal value. Everyone should just count to 10 and by the end of the season, everyone will be laughing and saying "Remember when the Rangers were going to TRADE Young?"

You can read the article HERE.

Hey Mariners... how about waiting until Thursday to make a deal?

It appears that Cliff Lee might not be heading to the Yankees after all.
It is a shame because so many columnists and bloggers had their stories already written talking about how this means we NEED a salary cap and it isn't fair and blah blah blah.

I admit, I threw up in my mouth a little when I heard the Yankees were on the verge of getting him, but that had nothing to do with payroll. That had to do with me being unhappy when ANYTHING positive happens with the Yankees.

Is Cliff Lee heading to Minnesota for Wilson Ramos?

Is Cliff Lee heading to Texas for Justin Smoak?

Will Cliff Lee join LeBron, Wade and Bosh with the Heat?

First of all, hold off on the deal until after the All Star Game.

Why?

Well first of all it means that Cliff Lee gets to face the Yankees (and hopefully beat them) tonight.

Secondly, Lee is going to the All Star Game. If he gets traded now, he will be making his first appearance in a Twins/Rangers/Yankees/Mets/Bridgeport Blue Fish uniform at the All Star Game.

That's just strange. Have his regular season farewell to the Mariners be a win against the Yankees and the last time the baseball fans see him as a Mariner in Anaheim this week.

Yeah the season hasn't gone as GM Jack Zduriencik planned... but at least he'll be able to say "I acquired an All Star."

Should the Yankees trade Joba Chamberlain for Franklin Morales?

I think it is a trade worth considering.

Now Yankee fans reading this who think this is an awful deal, remember I am not talking about the Joba Chamberlain that everyone projected he would be.

I am talking about what Joba actually IS.

The debate over Joba has died down... there are no longer people saying he is an ace pitcher who should be in the rotation. And the people saying "He's a dominating closer and Mariano's heir apparent."

There's no Cy Young talk for Joba.
There's no shut down 8th inning talk for Joba.

The Yankees needed a #4 starter last post season and were going to turn to Chad Gaudin because Joba couldn't cut it as a starter.

This year when the Yankees needs are listed, bullpen depth is always at the forefront. Joba isn't even a mediocre reliever this year. His ERA is a big fat 5.29 and he can't be trusted in big games.

I wrote last March that the Yankees should deal Joba out of mercy to get him out of the circus.

But now I am thinking it is in the Yankees interest as well. Yeah, he's only 24... but this is year #3 of "Waiting for Joba."

The Yankees had a talented pitcher and because of the Joba rules, spectacular indecision, media scrutiny and incompetence, created a formula for failure that would be the envy of Bialystock and Bloom.

Next year he'll be 25... and if he is still a lousy reliever and an ineffective starter then he might have little to no trade value.

A few years ago, he could have fetched Johan Santana. If he keeps this up, he couldn't get Carlos Santana.

At this point in a less stressful environment might have him flourish. But a few more years of being neither a good starter nor reliever and I might have to include him on my "Can't Miss Aces Who Missed" list.

Which brings us to Morales.

Franklin Morales' tenure with the Colorado Rockies can best be summed up in his grotesque 5th inning of Game 1 of the 2007 World Series.

With the Rockies already down 5-1, Morales came into the 5th inning to replace starter Jeff Francis. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver began gushing about how talented he was and that he was a budding ace.

And in 2/3 of an inning, he let up 6 hits, gave up a walk, and committed a balk. All 7 base runners came home for earned runs and the Rockies were sunk.

He was listed as one of Baseball America's top 10 prospects in all of baseball before the 2008 season. But his record as a starter has been awful and the Rockies attempt to make him the closer have back fired as well.

Like Joba he came into baseball in 2007. Like Joba he has playoff and World Series experience that isn't pretty. Like Joba he's been shifted back and forth from the rotation to the pen.

Like Joba he is 24 years old but running out of chances with his home team.

Joba is a big right hander who has been shriveling in the glare of the spotlight in New York.
Morales is a slight left hander who could benefit of getting out of Coors and pitching with some run support and a steady closer behind him.

Maybe they should switch places.

Maybe a lower key baseball environment like Denver could be the perfect place for the big kid from Nebraska with the Star Wars first name.

Maybe being among superstars and having a fresh start is just what the left hander from Venezuela needs.

Each fan base was expecting stardom from these arms and both have come up short.

Why not swap places and see what happens?
How can it be worse than driving their careers into the ground?

Looking good, Joba

4 runs in a 1/3 of an inning.

3 losses already.

At the approximate 1/3 point of the season with a 5.82 ERA.

I had people write to me, saying I was too harsh in my "trade Joba" post. It won't be cruel when his trade value is less than for the sequel rights to The Love Guru.

Brian Roberts injury is a warning to the Astros

Take note, Houston.

The Orioles have stunk for a while, and yet they have a solid all around All Star second baseman in the form of Brian Roberts. He was in trade rumors almost every day since he made the All Star team in 2005.

And the Orioles played footsie with lots of teams, including the Cubs whom he was rumored to be dealt to on an hourly basis.

And they kept him… they kept him when teams needed an extra bat down the stretch… they kept him after he weathered the steroid accusations (and he kind of admitted he did them)… and they kept him to a contract extension.

Were they trying to keep him around and give Baltimore fans another “Oriole for life” in the infield a la Robinson or Ripken?

Were they trying to milk the other teams for as many prospects as possible?
Supposedly the White Sox were offering Gavin Floyd straight up for him but Baltimore wanted more.

Either way, Roberts is having back and abdominal issues and is on the 60 Day DL. You know what that means? It means his season is probably shot.

And the Orioles have an injured second baseman with a steroid history in his mid 30s making $10 million for the next three seasons.

Good luck trading him NOW!

A team that seems destined to hit 90 losses for their 5th straight season (and for the 8th time in the past 10 seasons) will have an albatross on their payroll.

What does this have to do with the Astros?

Well, I’ve been borderline begging them to deal Roy Oswalt before it is too late.
They have one of the best trade chips in all of baseball… a top starting pitcher who can be a legit #1 starter (or at least a fantastic #2 or #3 starter for a contender.)

A team in need of a jolt in fan interest, attendance and October revenue could make a big deal for Roy Oswalt and give the Astros and their depleted farm system a much needed replenishing.

Maybe it wouldn’t be the haul that the Blue Jays got for Roy Halladay or the Indians got for Cliff Lee… but they could get a few ready for the show pieces.

But don’t hold on to him too long!
If he gets hurt or too many teams fall out of it, they could be in the same position that the Orioles are in now…

Paying a lot of money for a guy who can’t contribute and can’t get any trade value in return.

Seriously… shop him around NOW!

This is a trade the Cubs WISHED they made

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