MARCO'S BASEBALL
BLOG-O-ROONIE:
DOLLARS,
DELUSIONS AND
DESPERATION
...THE
PENNANT CHASE
Today's topic is the wild trading session concluding
this afternoon as the July 31st deadline for trades
without clearing wavers has the baseball world all
Topsy-turvey...catywampus...cracker-dog...and just plain chaotic and
bewildering.
The trading season has gotten much more frantic
since free agency has forced losing teams to trade their stars before
losing them to free agency and other teams to make wild gambles to
try to win before the same thing happens to them. Some of them do it
right, some do it wrong and some just get unlucky or lucky as the
baseball gods decree.
Take Kansas City for example. They are the
smallest of the small market teams...toiling in the baseball
wilderness and second division since 1985 when they won a World
Series from the Cardinals thanks to the worst blown call by an umpire
probably ever. Last year they snuck into the wild card, got hot and
made it to the seventh game of the series before rolling over to
Bumgarner and the Giants.
This year I predicted that they would win it all and
they made me look smart by leading their division all season. But
while their bullpen was supreme and their hitters hot and their
fielders gold, they lacked an Ace starter and bench depth. Also,
their core players Hosmer, Moustakis and several others are
all on the verge of free agency...which in Kansas City means bye bye
forever because KC doesn't have enough money to compete for free
agents.
So KC needs to win now. Voila. They trade three of their
best young lefty pitchers for Ace Johnny Cueto of the Reds.
Then they pick up super sub Ben Zobrist from the Athletics who
can fill in in left for injured Alex Gordon and when Gordon
gets back, take over at second from offensively challenged Omar
Infante.
They've emptied the farm and they know they only have
Cueto for the rest of this season...he's a free agent and KC won't be
able to resign him...not a chance in hades. But the Royals have this
one year to win it all before they go back down to small market hell.
God bless their little hearts, they are going for it.
KC's division rival Detroit has won the Central
year after year, only to cough it up in the post season. For some
strange reason they thought they could win without a bullpen and it
has cost them year after year after year. They've failed to win two
series against the Cardinals and the Giants and they let the Red Sox
beat them in 2013 on David Ortiz's and friends heroics. They
sunk a bundle into keeping Verlander, who had one more good
season and then lost his fastball, his control and his ability to
win. They tied up tons of money in Victor Martinez after his
near MVP year and then watched him lose his effectiveness to injury.
They let Scherzer walk away and traded all their other
effective pitchers except for Verlander and Sanchez. They
rented David Price for a year and now they've decided they
can't win and traded him to the Jays for a prospect. They'll trade
Cespedes next. He's a free agent to be as well.
I think Detroit lost their nerve. They are only 3 games
away from the wild card behind the Twins. The Twins! They
don't think they can come back and beat the Twins for God's sake?
With Cabrera due back from a long stint on the DL, and
J.D.Martinez almost leading the league in homers and Julio
Iglesias playing gold glove shortstop and hitting
.318 and Kinsler and Cespedes playing great? I
say keep Price and get a draft pick for him next year. Go out and get
one of the good stoppers on the market and a number three type
starter and go for it one more time. You can start to rebuild around
your young players next year. But the Tigers spit the bit.
Over in the AL East it's a different situation.
The race is tight even though the Yankees are 6 games up and
looking good until they just lost Pineda to a forearm strain.
Now they seem shaky in the rotation. Of course the Yanks will
probably go out and get another starter. And maybe another reliever
too (rumor mill says Chapman or Kinsler)so they can
keep up with KC. But the Orioles and the Blue Jays are not that far
behind and at least can compete for the wild card.
The Orioles aren't making many moves yet in the market.
Well, they got Garcia Parra from the Brew Crew to
play...outfield. I guess they want to keep their farm prospects. But
next year they lose Crush Davis and some others and probably
will be weaker. They are acting like a small market team that can't
compete.
The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, are all in for
this year. Their offense is peaking with their off season addition
Josh Donaldson an MVP candidate and Bautista and
Encarnacion still dangerous. It's their pitching that has held
them back. So what do they do? Trade for Troy Tulowitzki of
the Rockies! They were worried about Jose Reyes' diminished
range at shortstop (undoubtedly accelerated by playing on the
astroturf of their home stadium) and his huge contract. So they
traded Jose and three pitchers to the Rocks, including their number
two prospect Hoffman who looked like an Ace-to-Be until he had
Tommy John.
So now they have an even better offense (except they
don't have a leadoff man anymore and their whole lineup is right
handed except for one guy.) And still no pitching! Okay, when the
Tigers panic they trade their number one pitching prospect for a few
months rental of David Price. So that means the Jays are looking at a
future with no good pitching coming up...they've traded all of them.
They want to win now...and they could do it. However...
The Jays are the worst possible team for Tulowitzki.
Why? Because Tulo plays hard and gets hurt diving for balls. He's a
great shortstop but he averages about 115 games played a year because
of rib, groin and hip injuries. So now he'll be diving on concrete. I
doubt he'll last a month.
So the Jays better win their bet because they aren't
going to be able to keep Price or any other free agent. Free agents
don't come to Toronto because of the exchange rate with the Canadian
dollar and the taxes up there. Plus it's a media black hole and stars
don't dig that.
It's always the same teams collecting free agents: New
York (both teams, Chicago Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, an occasional
flurry from a Texas or Atlanta.
Speaking of Texas, the Rangers just gave up their
number 3,4 and 5 prospects to the Phillies for Cole Hamels.
This is mostly for next year because Cole has three years left
on his contract. Texas doesn't want to miss their
window. Injuries knocked them out last season and they want to cash
in while they still have a productive Beltre and Fielder
and whatever Josh Hamilton has left. If Yu Darvish
comes back ok next summer they could have a strong rotation. (I
thought the Dodgers would wind up with Cole.)
And Houston. O Lordy! They are so excited in
Houston! The 'Stros are finally winning once in awhile. But Springer
got hurt, Carter stopped hitting and they got bounced out of
first place for a few weeks. So they traded for Kazmir from
Oakland and just got that head case Carlos Gomez from
the Brewers to play center and hopefully hit. Good moves Astros! Get
the city fired up and behind you and you can turn into a large market
team. (What is Houston, the 4th largest city in the
country now?) Even if they don't win the division, they are a
favorite for a wild card.
The NATIONAL LEAGUE looks a bit less quixotic in
their quest for glory. Most of the trades have been very utilitarian.
Of course, this is the last day and things could change.
I predicted the playoff teams would be the Nationals,
Cardinals and Dodgers winning with the Pirates and
Giants wild cards. So far, that is exactly the order of things.
But the Mets with their great pitching are
hanging around with the Nats. So the Nats upgraded their bullpen by
adding Papelbon from the sinking ship that is the Phillies.
The Nats also get Rendon and Werth back from injuries
so they are looking stronger. Their starters got hurt though.
Strasburg and Fister are out. Denard Span is
still out. So the Nats are not sure things.
And the Mets could pounce ...if only they had a clue!
They got a closer in Tyler Clippard but can't seem to land a
hitter. Their loss Houston's gain with the Gomez fiasco. They didn't
like his health issues. I guess they're paranoid after Wright's
neck problem. Their offense is a joke and short and second are
problems.
They should trade for Carlos Gonzalez of the
Rockies. Lefty hitters do better at Citi Field. Citi is where right
handed power hitters go to die. (Does anybody remember Jason Bay? He
hit lots of homers and rbis for Pittsburg and Boston and then free
agented to New York and dropped like a stone.)
The Central is in the capable hands of the St.
Louis Cardinals, who pick up exactly who they need whenever they
want to. They are so logical and orderly about their moves. Let's
see, Holiday is hurt again...let's get...Moss from
Cleveland!
Pittsburgh needs to win this year or next. Clock
on the wall says free agent stars will be leaving for big bucks away
from small market Pirates. It's sad...they are almost over the hump.
If they could only win out of the wild card. A.J.Burnett was
pitching way too good to last. Since the All Star break he's been a
disaster.
The Cubs seem to be waiting till the off-season
to go after some more help. This year is a little too early for them
to go for it.
The Reds are major sellers. They will rebuild
around Votto but they got a lot of good young talent by
trading Cueto and now Leake (to the Giants) More to come with
Chapman probably going. It's the Deguello playing in the background
for the Reds. It's going to be awhile.
Out West, the Dodgers are playing cat and mouse
with the resurgent Giants. I keep expecting them to go crazy
and blow people out of the water with big moves, but the Dodgers
surprised me by adding middle-level pitchers Wood and Latos
to be 3-4 starters and actually got some prospects back to restock
their farm in this complex 13 player three way deal with Miami and
Atlanta. (The Marlins were just dumping contract money it
looks like. I suspect the Braves got some good talent
back...GM John Hart is a shrewd old bastard.)
AS I mentioned, the Giants got Leake from the Reds. He
pitched great on the road and okay in the band box at Great American.
He should do real well in the big park in San Francisco.
FIRST HALF MVPS:
AMERICAN: Trout
NATIONAL: Goldschmidt (Harper real close)
Oh yeah...for some reason I left out St. Louis from the
Mt. Rushmore of each team last time:
St. Louis Cardinals: ROGERS HORNSBY, DIZZY DEAN, STAN
MUSIAL, BOB GIBSON
foothills: Jessie Burkett (hit over .400 twice in the
nineteenth century), Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Albert Pujols.
Fans chose Brock over Dizzy Dean. I can see it. Brock
led them to three pennants. But Dean had 5 great years in the
hitting-happy early thirties and was the star of the famous Gashouse
Gang series winners of 1934 when Diz won 30 games.
Also, Dizzy was the most popular and colorful player in
baseball after Babe Ruth.
Pujols I think is nixed because of the way he left the
team. Ozzie should get more consideration. What a great star!
See you next time...
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