Deadline Recap
UPDATE: 4:34 EST. Talk about buzzer beater. Manny was traded to the Dodgers. Jason Bay goes to the Red Sox. Pittsburgh gets four prospects, two from each team. Wow. Ok, so now the NL West belongs to the Dodgers. Great deal. Bay should like the Green Monster. But, he's no Manny.
I want to recap all the trades, so I'll start with Sabathia.
July 7: CC Sabathia to the Brewers for four prospects. You know my thoughts on this. Might propel the Brew Crew in the World Series.
July 8: Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and two prospects. My thoughts are found here. Seemed like a knee-jerk move to the Sabathia deal.
July 17: Joe Blanton to the Phillies for three prospects. Taking Blanton and his high ERA and putting him into a hitter's park probably wasn't the best idea. The Phils needed a starter, but not sure if Blanton is the answer.
July 20: Ray Durham to the Brewers for three prospects. I guess he's veteran insurance for Rickie Weeks, maybe motivation as well. Durham, though, has been through this before, and they'll look to him to be a leader in the clubhouse.
July 22: Jon Raunch to the D'Backs for prospect Emilio Bonifacio. Shores up the D'Backs 'pen. Good deal.
July 25: Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Yankees for Jose Tabata, Ross Olendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Dan McCutchen. Great deal by the Yanks. Tabata and McCutchen were pretty valuable prospects, although Tabata's stock has fallen. Marte fills a need for a lefty in the bullpen. And Nady provides a righty bat to a lefty-laden lineup.
July 26: Casey Blake to the Dodgers for prospects. Another good move. Gives them a bat, solid defense, and versatility.
July 29: Mark Teixeira to the Angles for Casey Kotchman and prospect Stephen Marek. Steal. Absolute steal. I wrote about it here.
July 30: Pudge Rodriguez to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth. A win-win. The Yanks get the catcher they sorely needed. And Farnsworth probably takes over as the closer in MoTown.
July 31: Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox for Danny Richar and Nick Masset. One of those go-for-it moves. Don't know where he fits. Center? First? But he still has the sweetest swing in baseball. And he might be energized by the deal.
July 31: Arthur Rhodes to the Marlins for Gaby Hernandez. Not a lot of risk. Rhodes is a veteran in the pen.
Looking back, there's no real one-sided deal. Maybe the Sabathia deal. But even in the Teixeira deal, they got back Casey Kotchman, who's not a terrible player. He's pretty good. The reason I call it a steal, is because of the price Atlanta had to give up to get him last year. This was nowhere near that. So Manny dealt. Bay dealt. Tex (I can't keep spelling that) dealt. Pudge. Sabathia. Harden. Wow. Great deadline. It was fun.
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Almost there!
About two hours until the deadline is over. We've seen Manny rumors come and go. Mark Texieira was traded. So was Pudge. Earlier CC Sabathia and Rich Harden were traded. Unless the Manny thing goes through, the rest of the deals could be minor. Once it's all over, I'll provide reaction.
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Manny Deal Done?
UPDATE: 11:00 EST. Manny deal is 50-50, according to Jayson Stark's sources. We have five hours until the deadline. Let's see.
The Palm Beach Post is reporting that the Marlins, Red Sox, and Pirates, have tentatively agreed on a deal. Pittsburgh would get Jeremy Hermida and prospects. Red Sox would get Jason Bay, and lefty John Grabow. And the Marlins will get Manny. I'm on the fence on this one, if it's true. I mean, Boston must be sick of Manny being Manny. And the Marlins are close. But wouldn't they want pitching? For Pittsburgh, it doesn't really make any sense, unless on e of the prospects turn out to be pretty good. Hermida is a good player, though. But he's not Jason Bay. For the Sox, Bay is not Manny. Not many are. Grabow helps the 'pen. But, couldn't they hold on to Manny for two months? Don't they want to win a World Series? I don't think Bay does that. It could help the Marlins make the playoffs, probably by winning the NL East. Who would've thought that at the beginning of the season? There's still time before the deadline, and the deal might not get done. We'll see.
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Favre Rumors (again)
I'm really getting sick of this, but I'm just reporting the news. The Packers might be willing to trade him within the division (Minnesota, Chicago). And The Green Bay Press-Gazette says that the Pack offered Brett 20 million to stay retired. So, conflicting reports. If they do trade him to Minnesota or Chicago, that goes against their plan of keeping him away from the division. I think 20 million is inconsequential; The one thing I respect about Favre is that I've never thought he was in it for the money. And he's made plenty of it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. By the way, why does ESPN show the same Favre highlight package every time? At least freshen it up.
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Griffey to White Sox?
Is Ken Griffey Jr. heading to the White Sox? If he approves the deal he is. Not sure how he fits. Jim Thome, another future Hall-of-Famer, is the DH. Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye hold down the corner outfield spots. In center there's a hole, but when was the last time Junior played there on a regular basis? If he's okay with playing center, and provides solid defense, while not breaking down, this could be a good trade. This would've been a better trade 3 or 4 years ago, however.
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Pudge to Yanks
Pudge Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees today for oft-maligned reliever Kyle Farnsworth. I love this deal. Pudge is a winner (Florida, Detroit). And he instantly upgrades the catcher position. Gives this team much needed fire. A guy who will yell in the locker room. Love it. I've been saying for awhile that the Yanks need fire, energy. They've got it.
Artest traded to Rockets
We've been talking Hot Stove here at The Blog of Champions, but right now it is a basketball trade making news. Ron Artest was traded to the Rockets, for a 2009 first round pick, Bobby Jackson, and the draft rights to Donte Greene. At first glance this trade does not make sense. Why bring a volatile personality to a good team? But then I thought, just like JA Adande, that Artest brings the Rockets some must needed toughness. Sure, Artest is a piece of a work. But he's a great player. For a team that can't get out of the first round, Artest brings perimeter scoring, defensive toughness, and an edge. My only problem is with where he fits on the roster. I'm assuming he takes Shane Battier's place. But Battier provides the leadership that we don't see a lot in the NBA anymore. And just glancing at the roster, they seem to be top-heavy with power forwards. Maybe a move or two will be made. But look at this starting 5:
PG: Rafer Alson
SG: Tracy McGrady
SF: Ron Artest
PF: Luis Scola
C: Yao Ming
Shane Battier, I presume, will be the 6th man. But they also have a great bench. Stevie Francis (remember him?). Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, Luther Head. As of now, in the up-for-grabs Western Conference, they can win it. They can be in the Finals. Cohesion might be an issue at first. But are you really going to want to face T-Mac, Yao, and Artest? I know I don't. Artest can shut down Kobe. He can make plays. But I think most importantly, he gives Rockets fans confidence in knowing this team won't back down.
Mark Teixeira traded to Angels.
A little late on this, I know, but I've been under the whether recently. But, as you know, Mark Teixeira was traded to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and a pitching prospect. What a steal of a trade. Good luck rest of AL, the Angels are your favorite. Any contending team could've done this deal. Kotchman is a nice player. But he's no Teixeria. So, as a trusted baseball friend told me at the All-Star break, the Angels might go on and win the whole thing. Because they're that good. Wow. I still can't get over it. It's basically Kotchman for Teixeira. And I wonder the reaction in Atlanta with the fans is. Mark Bradley at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks it creates room for improvement. Here's the money quote from Bradley:
"Kotchman is a good player, and he’ll help. But gazing at 2009 from the distant perch of July 2008, next season doesn’t figure to look much better than this one. For the first time in almost a generation, the Braves just aren’t talented enough to win. They have to find better players. They have to find them soon."
Torii Hunter sure is happy:
"A lot of people wanted that extra bat in the lineup. You got it. Believe me, you got it. There aren't many players who hit like this guy. All I can say is, wow!"
In conclusion, the Angels broke into Atlanta and stole Teixeira. Simple as that. Wow. That's just amazing. I'm going out on a limb here: The Angels are your 2008 World Series Champions. Nice try everyone else.
Tim Donaghy Gets 15 Months
Tim Donaghy has gotten 15 months in jail for his role in the referee betting scandal. Good. Great. Get him out of the NBA, get him out of the public eye. He was a black cloud for the NBA, and now he can sit in jail, and the league can move on. Hopefully David Stern and the rest of league higher-ups can find a plan that eliminates betting in basketball. And hopefully they can execute it. Because basketball is a great game, a game that doesn't deserve to have this tomfoolery. If I were David Stern, I'd try to move away from this and focus on the stars of the game. Create a marketing plan that focuses on LeBron, Kobe, KG. Focus on the Olympic team. Focus on the international talent. Try to stay away from all of the troubles that surround you and use the positives. You just had a great NBA Finals. Focus on that. If you move away from the positives and try to focus on Donaghy, you'll end up hurting yourself. So David Stern, call up Kobe and LeBron. Have them pose for an ad together. Because you have the stars to divert the public's eye. So please, heed my advice. You'll be better for it.
