As much as baseball in Boston has been a downer this year, it's still hard to ignore the trade deadline. With the exception of the NFL, deadline day is one of the most exciting in all of professional sports. The best part of the deadline is that it appeals to buyers as well as sellers. For teams in the hunt, it's a day for the organization and their fans to anticipate what piece they will add to improve their championship run. If your team is out of it, it's still nice to see what prospects (or in the NHL, draft picks also) your team will come up with for the future. Now I haven't paid nearly as much attention to baseball or the Red Sox as I have in past years, but today is still a fun day for me.
The Trade Deadline is somewhat mis-labeled as a one day event. As we saw in the NHL this past year, the Devils made the biggest move of the "deadline" when they acquired Ilya Kovalchuk about a month prior to the cutoff. It's similar in all sports, so here's what we've already seen:
Lee to the Rangers: Despite being on the verge of bankruptcy, the Rangers made a proactive move and acquired the World Series "almost-hero" from last year. Lee goes to the Rangers and immediately becomes the first actual "ace" that the Texas organization has had in years, if not decades. Justin Smoak was the big piece heading to Seattle, and he is expected to be an elite first baseman in the future. But with the Rangers' current situation and roster, they made the right move in playing for the present.
Haren to the Angels: I applaud the Angels organization for this move. They haven't really been as competitive this year as they have over the last decade, but they are still trying to make a push to get back to the postseason. They let Vlad go in the offseason and Kendry Morales breaking his leg was a huge loss for the Halo's. But when the opportunity to acquire a bona-fide ace presented itself, the Angels jumped all over it. The best part of this deal for LA/Anaheim is that they got Haren for relatively little. The only MLB asset they parted with was mediocre lefty Joe Saunders! Yea, nice haul Arizona!
Oswalt to the Phils: Oswalt isn't the pitcher he was five years ago, but he is still amongst the top 20 or 30 in the game today. He voiced his opinion on the Astros' organizational direction earlier in the year, and it was no secret that he wanted out of Houston. The Astros gave him his wish, and the Phillies jumped all over the opportunity to add a great #2 starter behind ace Roy Halladay. With their offensive struggles and injuries this year, the Phillies are going to need to get to the playoffs with pitching, and they made a great move in getting Oswalt. Similarly, the 'Stros got J.A Happ and Brett Wallace in the deal, a very good package compared to what the D-backs got for their ace.
Berkman to the Yanks: The Astros garage sale continued on Saturday when they shipped Big Puma off to the Bronx. This is a classic trade that will make Sox fans furious. The Yankees are mostly healthy and can already slug with the best of them, and they still went out and added one of the best bats available! Berkman will be a part of a lineup already featuring Arod, Teixeira, Jeter, and Robinson Cano! That's scary, flat out scary. The Sox could have used Berkman's bat (where would you put him, though?), but they were silent in talks with Houston, and that might make fans jump-ship.
Jackson to the White Sox: Edwin Jackson didn't even last a full year with Arizona, despite throwing a no-hitter earlier in the year. Instead, he was shipped back to the AL Central. The White Sox made a fairly good deal here. Daniel Hudson has the upside of a good #2 or 3 starter, but he isn't pennant-race ready.
Those deals were the big ones that were either in-place or completed prior to the actual day of the deadline. Of course, there is plenty of action that goes on throughout the last day of July as well. Some of the deals that have gone through today:
Lilly to the Dodgers: The Dodgers have been a very disappointing team this year, with the exception of Chad Billingsley and Andre Ethier (prior to his finger injury). Lilly is exactly what the Dodgers need to recover and make the playoffs. They've had rotation struggles outside of Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, so this move should help out.
Capps to the Twins: Some...most...expected that Joe Nathan's injury would be a disaster for the Twins. Well, it's July 31st and they are still within 1.5 games of the AL Central lead, so they've managed just fine. Adding Capps, an All-Star this year, should really give them a needed boost down the stretch.
Busy Padres: They went out and got Miguel Tejada yesterday, and today they've gone out and acquired Ryan Ludwick. It looks like San Diego really believes that they can continue to play division-leading baseball, and who's to say they can't.
Reliever movement: The Yankees just went out and added a much needed bullpen arm in Kerry Wood, and the Rays added to their back-end by acquiring Chad Qualls. The Bronx Bombers are just adding pieces left and right and doing a good job of acting instead of reacting. Qualls is a good pitcher if in a setup role, but if the Rays want to keep pace with New York, they'll have to do more than just this.
Those are some of the deals that have surfaced in recent hours. As you may have noticed...the Red Sox, as of 3:45 pm ET, have been completely dormant. Would fans like to see them go out and add an Adam Dunn, a Cody Ross, or maybe a guy like Matt Lindstrom or Scott Downs? Yes, I'm sure fans would love that. I'm not saying that the Sox should overpay for a "medium-asset," but to sit around with your thumb up your ass and not show fans that you want to win is absurd. The biggest reason, I think, for fans ditching the Sox this year is their laughable offseason. Two years ago they watched the Yankees swoop in and steal Teixeira. This offseason, they watched the Yankees get Curtis Granderson and countered with Mike Cameron and Bill Hall. Yes, Beltre has worked out better than anyone imagined and Lackey was a big-money signing, but their general strategy of "value" and "defense" has worn Sox fans' patience thin. In a market like Boston, you can't preach value to your fans when they help you sell-out Fenway park for hundreds of games in a row (I'm not sure about the actual number). Fans dish out thousands of dollars a year (casual fans!) to watch the Sox, and they have been rewarded with 37-year old defensive specialists. Bill Simmons nailed it on the head the other day (for once, because Bill Simmons sucks and is retarded), but the Sox are boring! The don't have a goofball like Manny or Pedro anymore. Papi is no longer in his prime, Pedroia's hurt, Ellsbury is a pussy, and Papelbon, Dice K, Beckett, and JD Drew have all worn out their welcomes to various extents.
Basically, the Red Sox have a thin bullpen, they're hurt on offense, and their rotation (while good) has struggled with consistency and injuries...yet the Sox are just standing by and watching the Yankees go get the guys that we should be pursuing. Theo and company will make a move by the end of the day, I'm sure of that, but it'll most likely be with the addition of a cheap utility guy or a 6th inning bullpen guy...and that's almost worse than standing pat. Why not just rid yourself and your frustrated fans of a guy like Ellsbury? Package Jacoby, Ramon Ramirez, and a few prospects and go get yourself a prime-time guy! It's a stretch, but why not make a run at a guy like Hanley Ramirez or Carlos Beltran? Why not pull the trigger on Adam Dunn? Would it kill the Sox to get Prince Fielder? Why are they putting such high value in Jacoby and ending all talks when he's brought up? Send him out! Bring in a Hanley or a Prince! If you do that, you'll gain back a lot of those fans who have either given up or just flat out stopped caring.
Again, they won't do it, because they've turned into a boring organization with a poor strategy. So, Sox fans, prepare for a whole lot of mediocre down the stretch!
