Since the baseball trade deadline is now a few days old, I figured I would add my thoughts on what transpired.

First off, I am actually happy that the Yankees did not make any major deals at the deadline. The fact that Hal Steinbrenner stuck to what he told Brian Cashman during the offseason, that is if you sign Mark Teixeira then there is no more money to make mid-season moves, well I applaud that. If you can’t win after spending $180 million on Teixeira, $161 million on CC Sabathia, and $82.5 million on A.J. Burnett, then you don’t deserve to win.

With that said, are the Yankees flawed? Absolutely, and not getting another starting pitcher, like Jarrod Washburn, might come back to bite them. But if this holds true and the team does not make waiver moves, then I am happy with that. 

Before we move on to the other teams, the one move the Yankees did make, acquiring Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Cincinnati Reds, could be one of those under-the-radar type moves that ends up making a big difference. Having a super-utility guy like Hairston lengthens the bench exponentially for this team to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cody Ransom waived, and Shelley Duncan brought back up. Ransom has been terrible at the plate, and his defense has been nothing to brag about. So if that’s the case, why not give Duncan a chance when he provides power, and can play 1B or a corner outfield position (I know, he doesn’t play the OF very well either) to sub the starters there?

One more thing….there’s been a lot of talk about Joba Chamberlain’s innings limit for 2009, and how the team is going to keep him to those innings. Well, if it were up to me, and Chamberlain continues to pitch as well as he has since the All-Star Break, I say skip his turn when you can, but otherwise forget the limit. Take your chances next year and the year after to how his arm holds up. If you have the chance to win now, you do it.

With that said, I’d be shocked if that were to happen. So what’s the alternative? My guess? They’ll move Joba to the bullpen, and bring Alfredo Aceves into the rotation. If the Yankees are lucky enough to make the playoffs, they could potentially go with a three-man rotation, especially since we know Sabathia can work on 3-days rest. They would then use Joba in the 7th, Phil Hughes in the 8th, and Mariano Rivera in the 9th.

Staying in New York, people are saying that the Mets made a big mistake by not making any moves at the deadline. Really? Why? How so? As sad as it is for the Mets, this is turning into a lost season. With the injuries to Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and J.J. Putz to name a few, the Mets really didn’t have many choices. Were they supposed to trade away prospects for someone when that person couldn’t really make a difference? And what prospects do they have to deal?

The Mets right now are a team that’s in a bit of disarray. The young players they do have, don’t really have positions, and the starting rotation behind Johan Santana is virtually non-existent. Therefore any moves they made would have had to have been  salary dumps, and I don’t think many teams wanted Luis Castillo’s contract.

Speaking of salary dumps, the Pittsburgh Pirates are taking a ton of flack for trading away virtually their entire lineup from Opening Day 2008. To be perfectly honest with you, I have no problem with them doing that. The players they had were not helping them win, so if they have some trading chips, why not use them to rebuild the system from the ground up?

The problem one could have with this team is who are the prospects they’ve gotten in return? Did their scouts pick out the right players in all of these deals? That will be the way to judge what the Pirates are doing? But when you think about it, what’s the point of keeping Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, etc. and paying them all of that money, if you’re not going to win? The only one you could question is Nate McClouth, but they had Andrew McCutchen coming up, so they made the move to strengthen the system and clear a space for the rookie. Oh by the way, not sure if you noticed, but McCutchen hit three homeruns in one game the other day. So as for clearing all of that salary, I, for one, say kudos.

The Cleveland Indians also made some salary dumps, and if you’re an Indians fan, then you have to trust Mark Shapiro here because he’s done this before. He helped rebuild an entire team when he traded away Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips. Between Sabathia last year, and Lee and Victor Martinez this year, you have to hope he’s done the same thing.

In regards to Martinez, I think this was a good move for the Red Sox because they didn’t give up too much in Justin Masterson and two minor league pitchers. But I am not sure it was as good of a move as everyone else does. There’s no doubt that Martinez has a great bat, and being able to switch hit is a huge bonus for the Red Sox. But anytime you play him, you are weakening the defense. If he catches, you lose Jason Varitek. If he plays first, you weaken yourself at two positions because Kevin Youkilis has to play third, and he’s not as good there as Mike Lowell is, and Martinez is not as good at first as Youkilis is. Furthermore, it means that someone, who is used to playing every day, has to sit everyday. While Terry Francona is phenomenal at managing players, this will be an interesting one to watch.

Now on to Lee and the Phillies. I think the defending champions did a very nice job landing Lee, especially since it’s not just for this year, but next year as well. With that said, I definitely would have pulled the trigger on Roy Halladay. There comes a time when you have to way the pros and cons of a move, and winning a World Series championship. With the players they currently have on their roster, and the ages of these players, the Phillies window for winning another title is probably 2-3 years. With that said, who gives you the better chance at winning, Halladay or Lee?

I know people will say it would be tough to deal Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, but really? What’s more important, hoping these prospects turn into the real deal, or having a legitimate chance to win the whole thing for three straight years??