Standing Pat...
If Theo Epstein made a splash at last year’s trade deadline, he barely caused a ripple this year, but he wasn’t the only general manager standing pat this season. With every team from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Detroit Tigers still hoping to have a shot at a spot in the playoffs, the talent pool was a shallow one, and the price to take a dip in it was downright prohibitive. So while rumors swirled around impact players like A.J. Burnett, Ken Griffey Jr., Billy Wagner, and even our own Manny Ramirez, none of those players changed zip codes when the July 31st deadline passed, with only some minor pieces being shuffled around the boards in the end. Hell, not even a team like the Yankees, a team in which a third its starting rotation has spent more time on the disabled list than on a pitcher’s mound, didn’t make a move.
But, in the end, did it make sense for any of the contenders to make a move? In Boston’s case, getting a front end starter like Burnett would have cost them a couple of MLB ready prospects, as well as Bronson Arroyo- a pitcher whose numbers, once adjusted to the AL-aren’t far off from Burnett’s. Add to that the fact that Florida was insisting that whoever took Burnett would also have to absorb the inflated contract of the declining Mike Lowell in the deal. This deal would have certainly made the Marlins a better team in terms of talent acquired and the payroll flexibility they’d gain from losing Lowell, but the price was simply too steep for teams who would, essentially, be renting free-agent-to-be Burnett for the last two months of the season.
That deal is simply one example of the inflated values non-contending teams placed on their players. Tampa Bay wouldn’t move Aubrey Huff, Danys Baez, and Julio Lugo unless the Red Sox and Mets would counter with several prospects, including the Mets’ pitching phenom Lastings Milledge, Sox catcher, Kelly Shoppach, and the coveted Hanley Ramirez. Minnesota, meanwhile, wanted no less than Kevin Youkillis, prospects, and cash in exchange for the suddenly foundering lefty reliever J.C. Romero.
So contending teams stood their ground, and, while some of these deals may come back to haunt them as they fall out of the race (say hello, Orioles), I think that, for the most part, these bits and pieces will be addressed from within the teams’ farm systems, as well as off the waiver wire for the remainder of August.
As a matter of fact, Epstein has already taken advantage of waivers, signing pitchers Ricky Bottalico and Mike Remliger to complement some of the small trades he did make, including deals for Tony Graffanino and Alex Cora, as well as the resigning of the popular Gabe Kapler.
Other teams also made small moves to address their weaknesses. The Yankees signed former Red Sox reliever Alan Embree, and offered a minor league contract to Hideo Nomo in their continued quest to field the major league roster equivalent of a star-studded episode of the Love Boat. The Orioles swapped Larry Bigbie for the excitable ex-Athletic Eric Byrnes, while the A’s continue to scoop up young, affordable talent, and still find ways to win.
So while no one landed the big fish this season, it doesn’t seem as if anyone really needed to; there are enough role-players and innings-eaters floating around the system that, for the most part, teams with holes have managed to patch them at bargain prices. The only teams who lose in all of this are perpetual non-contenders like the Devil Rays, who had the chance to not only free up finances in their limited budgets, but improve themselves in the process.
When Stars Collide!
Manny Ramirez and Edgar Renteria collided in shallow left field during a game last week, and, as the two stars lay prone on the field for at least a full minute, it appeared as though the hopes for the 2005 season lay there with them. However, Renteria and Ramirez stood to relieved applause, and, while Manny was taken back to the dugout to tend to his bloodied nose, Renteria went back to his position. Manny missed the next game, with blurred vision in his left eye, as well as some bruising in his ribs.
Twins Try to Return the Favor!
After the previous weekend’s sweep of the Minnesota Twins at Fenway, the Sox rolled into the Metrodome, where their 8 game winning streak ended in a 12-0 blowout in the opener, and then, after a series of embarrassing defensive miscues, took the second game 3-4. The Sox, however, held the brooms at bay with an 11-7 victory Sunday.
Bell-Who?
As Mark Bellhorn rehabs in Pawtucket (currently batting .115), Tony Graffanino continues to win over both the fans and the front office, with a 3 for 4 showing and 4 RBI in Monday’s opener against the Rangers at Fenway, including a three run bomb that helped sink Texas 11-6.
If Theo Epstein made a splash at last year’s trade deadline, he barely caused a ripple this year, but he wasn’t the only general manager standing pat this season. With every team from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Detroit Tigers still hoping to have a shot at a spot in the playoffs, the talent pool was a shallow one, and the price to take a dip in it was downright prohibitive. So while rumors swirled around impact players like A.J. Burnett, Ken Griffey Jr., Billy Wagner, and even our own Manny Ramirez, none of those players changed zip codes when the July 31st deadline passed, with only some minor pieces being shuffled around the boards in the end. Hell, not even a team like the Yankees, a team in which a third its starting rotation has spent more time on the disabled list than on a pitcher’s mound, didn’t make a move.
