Good deal all around. Most pitchers give a 50/50 chance of victory. About a dozen shift the odds to 60-40. With Ben Sheets and Sabathia the Brewers can win the division as long as the 3-5 starters give them anything.
The Indians get years of outfield prospect Matt LaPorta in exchange for three meaningless months of C. C. Sabathia. In a perfect world the Indians could hold on to their best pitcher, but in this imperfect world the odds were against it.
And so the wheels turn and Rich Harden becomes a Cub. The A's get Matt Murton, who hasn't been able to crack what often has been a mediocre outfield. Throw in Sean Gallagher, who eventually will be 70% of the pitcher Harden already is, and Eric Patterson. Patterson is alot like the guys who go to plumbing supply conventions. A couple of trips a year to Chicago, alot of noise, nothing to show for it. Oh, and a catcher who isn't hitting in Peoria.
A real Dusty Springfield trade for the A's. As in, wishin' and hopin'. The worst part is they had Harden through 2009, during which time a better deal surely would have come along. Might as well pop the champagne corks in Anaheim, because the second best team in the AL West just conceded.
Then you have the Mets, who are on a 3 game winning streak. Woo hoo! Don't get too excited. Baseball games are won by the team that gets the big defensive play late in the game, the clutch pitching performance to break a three game slide, the shut down relief appearances in the critical 6th and 7th innings, and the occasional three run home run. The Mets might get the starting pitching part of that equation, but forget the other three parts.
I blame it on the hats. Those awful black caps with a blue bill. The Mets uniform IS the Mets, but A.O. (after Omar) they wear uniforms that look like something a metal band road crew would sleep in.
The Yankees compromised their heritage with the red, white, and blue NY the other day. Sure, it's to honor veterans, but raise the money another way. The Yankees uniform along with that of the Montreal Canadiens should never be altered. I guess if you're taking a wrecking ball to the House That Ruth built it's OK to patriotically pimp out the uniform. Maybe we'll see one of those snazzy red tops on Sundays next year. Anything for a buck.
Speaking of compromised heritage, when do the Yankees send Alex Rodriquez packing. Don't get me wrong. Ruth, Mantle, and Ford weren't choir boys. But they never were so willfully blind to the consequences of their actions and how it reflected on the team. If Alex Rodriquez is a New York Yankee I'm an astronaut.
A word about pitching. In 1968 the rules makers of baseball reduced the height of the pitcher's mound from 15 inches to 9 to put more hitting into the game. It worked. At the same time arm injuries to pitchers have reached epidemic proportions. Give the hurlers back three inches of leverage. It won't hurt the offense much and it will keep the game's best pitchers off the DL.
"With Ben Sheets and Sabathia the Brewers can win the division as long as the 3-5 starters give them anything."
I don't know that I agree with that statement at all. The Brewers are a good team and they now have a very good pitching staff. But their 3 - 5 are going to have to give them a little more than "anything" to have a chance to win the division. Albeit Sabathia and Sheets combined may be a little better than Zambrano and Harden, the Cubs 3 - 5 (Dempster, Lilly, and Marshall or Marquise) are much better than the Brewers back end of the rotation. Those 3 guys have the ability to win 25+ games in the 2nd half of the season. I believe this will all come down to the health of both of the clubs. Both Sheets and Harden are injury risks and could have significant impacts on their respective clubs. I look forward to the race the second half of the season.
For starters, the Cubs traded Eric Patterson, the much smarter and more polished of the brothers.
Anyhow, i agree with CubsFan83's sentiment, and if you want a longer explanation than the one I am about to give you, I wrote a nice blog about it but I guess any blog of substantial length doesn't merit being read, or at least commented on.
The Brewers' pitching staff is nearly or just as good as the Cubs'. Zambrano and Sabathia are probably a push, and Sheets and Harden are remarkably similar. Manny Parra has much more upside than Dempster, but at this point Dempster is just as good if not better just because of his past experience. Lilly is better than the Brewers' fourth, and same goes for Marquis/Gaudin/Marshall.
Where the Brewers fall way short is on offense and in the bullpen, which is simply atrocious. The offense is top heavy, with three studs, one solid guy and a bunch of dead bats. It takes a lot of bad to drag down an offense that features Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart. The team as whole doesn't get on base at an adequate pace and the team average is .254. They rank fifteenth in the league in runs cored, which is remarkable considering how good the middle of the order is. Like I said, their offense features too many 0 fer's. The Cubs have an outstanding offense. They lead the league in BA and OBP and are second in SLG%. They also have a run differential more than seven times better than that of Milwaukee. Both teams are good, but at least statistically speaking, the Cubs are in a league of their own.
Go ahead and call it wishin and hopin for the A's. Billy Beane has made people like yourself look and sound foolish before. How about this trade a few years back....Mark Mulder to the cards for a shaky middile reliever Kiko Calero, A 19 year old minor league catcher/1B named daric Barton, and a young UNPROVEN righty named Dan Haren. People like yourself were saying the same thing about that trade. Billy Beane will always have my support because he has a GREAT track record, he always has the benefit of the doubt in my book. He is the BEST GM in baseball.
Dudski. I am in total agreement about needing to adjust the mound height. It not only allows for better leverage for the pitcher but added safty for line drives up the middle. If you recall in 1968, I do, players were not allowed to lift weights or bulk up with the theory (myth) that it restricted flexibility. I'm not talking steroids either. Work outs in the off season has produced a totally different player than in 1968 where a large number of players used spring training to get into shape. The exact height for the mound would be interesting. Being old school I would like to see it back at the 68 level.
1. With the A's, Harden's value is at its peak, and it was wise for Beane to deal him at this time. Harden is always an injury risk, and the A's--while a surprise--are clearly thinking 2009, and should be a dominant force in the West for a long time. Don't ever underestimate Mr. Beane.
2. Eric Patterson was dealt to the Cubs, not his older brother Corey, who is currently an out-making machine for the Cincinnati Reds.
3. You must be an astronaut, because Alex Rodriguez is the most valuable player on the Yankees, by a mile. He is the best offensive player in baseball, period.
Oh, and the Mets' struggles have nothing to do with the hats, rather it is Minaya's decision to sign aging veterans on the decline.
Last edited by RaysDigest on July 10th at 8:29 AM.
CubsFan-Now that Harden has evened things up, you may have a good point about the back end of the rotations being the difference. The interesting thing to me about the Cubs this season is that the weather really hasn't come into play at Wrigley Field as much as normal. I may just be imagining it, but the wind has been more stable, which works for the pitchers. As for a key Cub the rest of the way, I'd say Carlos Marmol may be one. He hasn't been as consistent lately.
Chitown-Lee is going to be very important. I don't see Soriano as that big a factor, so Lee and Ramirez are going to have to stay the pace. The rest of the lineup can be pitched to. I like DeRose, though. Saw him play shortstop at Richmond in the minors. The Braves never should have let him go.
Slimmy-I think this deal will tell alot about Beane's approach. I think he's pretty much drained the swamp of talent and from here forward he has to hit with some of the new players. I don't see the Cubs package as being that impressive. Maybe Murton will hit if he gets playing time, but there's a reason he didn't make a place for himself with the Cubs.
Goutdaddy-I agree with you on the mound. One of the things I like about baseball is that it isn't a cookie cutter deal. If teams want to adjust the mound within some range of 9-15 inches why not let them?
i have to say that the trade didnt surprise me but what did surprise me was the fact that they got rid of gaudin. they gave up too much for a catcher? couple outfielders and a rhp. harden and a minor leaguer maybe but not gaudin. he was a good starter and good middle man. we will see.
The really sad thing is to watch the brew crew give away young talent for a rental that wont stay there at season end. The only way he'll stay is if they win a championship and even then, imagine the money teams will throw him. he is only 27 and a cy young winner. i really do not think the brew crew can win a championship with that much lack of experience on the hitting side.
From Milwaukee's perspective, they're thinking two prime draft picks after Sabathia leaves. In the time they have Sabathia, they're putting in all their chips in the middle of the table. Ditto with the Cubs and Rich Harden.
Oakland traded Harden when his trade value was at or near its highest. What if they had kept Harden and he blew out his elbow or shoulder? Then you have a damaged pitcher. Beane is positioning the A's to be perennial contenders when they move into Cisco Field in the next few years. If he plays his cards right, he can use all that new revenue to keep those young studs.
And as for the height of the mound, I'm in favor of raising the mound to the 1968 level.
