Trade Deadline

One can hardly call themselves a blogger of baseball without commenting on the trade deadline, in particular the trades made by the Texas Rangers. Since I've written so much about my hometown team and expressed my opinion that the Rangers trade Mark Teixeira, I feel as though I'm obligated to my two readers to comment.

1. Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay to the Atlanta Braves for top prospects Jarrod Saltalamacchia(C-1B), Elvis Andru(SS), Neftali Feliz(RHP), Matt Harrison(LHP), and Beau Jones(LHP). On this deal, who the hell knows? Did the Braves get a good deal? Probably only if they reach the World Series this year or next because I doubt they'll be able to re-sign Teixeira with Scott "Satan" Boras representing him. And how are they going to fit all of the All-Star egos on the Braves into one clubhouse with Teixeira? Could he be the missing piece or the weight the tips the scales into the Braves finishing third place in their division? But wait, the Braves also got Kansas City reliever Octavio Dotel. Not bad. For their sake, I hope they win because they "gave up the farm" to do so. (insert laughter here)...............As for the Rangers? I hope these prospects turn out to be great, but the word "prospects" implies just that so I'll reserve judgement for at least 2-3 more years. They say Saltalamacchia is probably major league ready and has great potential. They say Andru could be a "young Derek Jeter". Yeah, right. And supposedly Feliz is a great pitching prospect. I think it's a good deal for the Rangers because they had to make a deal and this is the deal that gave them the most prospects.
2. Rangers also trade reliever Eric Gagne to the Red Sox for more prospects including Kason Gabbard(LHP), who supposedly doesn't give up too many walks or home runs and is a ground ball pitcher, which is a good thing in the Rangers' home run derby ballpark. I don't get why Boston wanted Gagne when they've already got two dominant relievers in Okajima and Papelbon, but DAMN, they've got a loaded bullpen now. I would hate to face them in the playoffs. They've got to be the World Series favorites now(if they weren't already) right?
3. Other semi-interesting trades? - The Phillies trading for Kyle Lohse(RHP) from the Reds to try and bolster their rotation. Okay? But the guy is 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA. Not that exciting really if you are trying to compete with the Mets and the Braves. My beloved Yankees tried to shore up their bench by trading for Dodgers' infielder Wilson Betemit. He has 10 homers this season but is only hitting .231. Not worth trading pitcher Scott Proctor for this guy if you ask me. The San Diego Padres (Soan Diaago as pronounced by the great Ron Burgundy) picked up former all-star Morgan Ensberg(INF) from the Houston Astros. This could turn out to be a great deal for the Padres. Maybe Ensberg will re-ignite the Padres and his career, all while the Astros are footing the bill for his $4.35million salary this season. I like this deal. Finally, it's kind of weird because neither team is in contention, but the San Francisco Giants traded pitcher Matt Morris and his big $10million salary to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a rookie outfielder and a player to be named later. Talk about a kick to the crotch for Giants' fans. Maybe San Francisco is going to go after a pitcher this off-season. Or, maybe they are just going to give up on 2008 as well as this season.

Scott Boras Doesn't Love Baseball

Scott Boras doesn't love baseball. If he ever did, we'll never know. He may say he loves baseball. He may have some of the best players in baseball as his clients. He may have season tickets to the Dodgers and Angels and he may be one of the most powerful individuals in baseball and one of the most visible non-players. But he doesn't love the game. He loves money and power. I guess I cannot really judge him for that. I have no right. No one does. He's a businessman and he does get his clients big money. He does his job. And make no mistake about it, baseball is business. Big business. Anyone who loves the game of baseball though has to look at a guy like Scott Boras and feel sad for the game they love. Slowly, he's helping to erode the game of baseball by making it just the profession of baseball. I guess it's not necessarily bad or evil. It's certainly not all his fault. Many others contribute to this. But it is sad. Very sad.

No single individual, including Donald Fehr, has done more to negatively impact the game ever. No one. Scott Boras is responsible for the richest man ever in sports. A quarter of a billion dollars for Alex Rodriguez. Good for Alex. Good for Scott. But the negative financial impacts that one contract have had on baseball are enormous. Sure, there are team like the Oakland A's and the Minnesota Twins, small market teams who do win and compete, but they are exceptions to the rules of teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox. Furthermore, a team like the A's can never fully develop a player into a community pillar and a symbol of a team and a franchise, because once a player gets too good on a small market team like that, he goes and gets a guy like Scott Boras to create bidding wars amongest the larger market teams and he leaves in free agency. (Barry Zito being the latest example).

One contract particularly symbolizes this great imbalance amongest major league baseball teams. The A-Rod deal with the Texas Rangers. Look how it worked out for the Rangers. They tried to spend like a big market team, but they couldn't quite spend enough and with some spending mistakes and not enough money to cover those mistakes they hurt their team, their farm system, and their fans in the process. The A-Rod deal was the crowning moment of their financial follies and it has set them back 10 years.

Teams are now scared to draft Boras players out of high school or college for fear that they won't be able to sign them for the ridiculous bonuses and guaranteed years that Boras' demands for these unproven players. Anybody remember how far Jered Weaver fell in the draft? Then the Angels got him. And he's good. Lucky for the Angels. Because if he'd ended up average at best like his brother, the Angels would have tears on every paycheck they sent him. When these talented players Boras' represents out of high school or college go undrafted or don't get the money he wants for them, he then just lets them sit out and play semi-pro ball for a year and re-enter the draft so another team will pony up the cash.

In the cold, hard business world, we'd call Scott Boras a ruthless business man, but a respected one and a great leader. He'd be likened to people like Boon Pickens or Carl Icahn. But Boras is in baseball. And I don't care how much money is in the game, it's still a game and there's a basic assumed level of purity and integrity when considering America's national pastime. It's kind of like church.

Boras makes me angry. And he's doing it again. Look at the way his client Alex Rodriguez has behaved this season. Yes, he's having a monster year and he's established himself as statistically the best player in baseball again at the very least. BUT, he's also twice done things in games that border on unethical, although not specifically against the rules. He makes as much noise off the field as on the field, whether deserved or undeserved, and he's having a great season on a team that isn't winning. And yet, at the end of the season after all of the rhetoric from A-Rod the last several years how he wanted to be in Yankee pinstripes for life, he'll opt out of his contract becoming a free-agent again and probably sign a deal paying him close to $30million a year.

And then there's a player like Mark Teixeiria. Good ballplayer. Great hitter for the Texas Rangers. And a constant complainer and negative sore spot for the Rangers. He'll be a free-agent in a year and he's all but said, he's gone from Texas. Certainly his right to do so, but it's the way he says these things. After he's been injured, after another slow start to another season for Big Tex, he decides to shoot his mouth off about the Rangers and their management in spite of the fact the team is now winning and playing great baseball. "We're a big-market team that's playing like a small-market team," Teixeira says. "I know the business better than anybody. I go to the union meetings, and I keep up with what's going on in the off-season. I know this is a business. But when the Yankees go out and get all-stars every year and the Red Sox go out and get all-stars every year, it shows you they want to compete and win."

These comments from a guy who gets off to a slow start every season it seems like and doesn't start hitting until late May or June. These comments from a guy who openly complained about his last boss, Manager Buck Showalter, and who now complains about his new boss with a completely different managerial style, manager Ron Washington. Teixeira doesn't even respect his manager Washington enough to follow his instructions on taking pitches in the batter's box. Teixeira doesn't respect his bosses enough to accept their suggestion he play a three game rehab stint in the minors before coming back from his injury. Why? He didn't want to travel with the minor league squad.

Am I getting a point across here? Does their seem to be a common thread? Self-serving, arrogant people tend to align themselves with other self-serving, arrogant people. There are a lot of self-serving arrogant players in baseball. Scott Boras represents alot of them. Whether it's the tail wagging the dog or the dog wagging the tail, it's still the same dog. It's Scott Boras. And he doesn't love the game of baseball.

Ichiro Suzuki hits the first inside the park homerun in MLB All-Star history and wins the MVP award in a 5-4 win for the American League in one of the best All-Star games I've ever seen.(What a great 9th inning! The NL loads the bases and almost comes back.) This guy(Ichiro) plays the game the way it should be played. He hustles. He hits for high average and gets on base consistently. He scores runs. He is a good fielder. A likeable player. AND...The Seattle Times is reporting that Ichiro is close to signing a contract extension close to $100m over the next five years. The Mariners, with the momentum they have going into the second half of the season and the chance they could be in the playoffs definitely should announce they have signed Ichiro to an extension. Tomorrow wouldn't be soon enough. Then, with the closer they've got in Putz and the pitching talent they've got, especially if Jeff Weaver returns to the form he was with St. Louis last year in the playoffs and if King Felix turns it on, they are one impact player trade away from winning the AL West and maybe going all the way, although I still like the Tigers for the Series. And yes, it was moving and emotional seeing Barry Bonds walking with his godfather Willie Mays around the ballpark before the game to a standing ovation for Mays. And with Derek Jeter right next to them also. Say what you will about Barry Bonds and his lack of character. Maybe you are right. But he's still a human and he has good character qualities as well. And, no matter what happens, he is the best hitter to ever play baseball and it's hard not to get excited watching him at the plate. Bud Selig, show some class and annouce you'll be there and excited about it when Barry breaks Hank Aaron's home run record.

Go here to watch the extremely moving Willie Mays tribute before the game that ran on FOX. http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2007/video.jsp

A few random MLB thoughts I had at the halfway point of the baseball season...

1. Ending speculation that he might be traded, the Associated Press is reporting that Mark Buehrle has signed an extension with the Chicago White Sox for $58million over four years. Frankly, I'm surprised they were even talking about trading him in the first place. The White Sox are only a couple of years removed from their World Series championship and they've still got the tools to compete sooner rather than later. The Texas Rangers are another story altogether though. If they are smart, they'll trade Eric Gagne, Kenny Lofton, Sammy Sosa, Mark Texeira in the next three weeks. The Los Angeles Angels and the San Diego Padres could use a healthy Texeira for the stretch run. I know the Angels have prospects to spare. Maybe the Mariners, the Braves or the Diamondbacks too? Same for Sammy Sosa. With the Cubs only 4 1/2 games out of the lead, how about bringing Slammin Sammy back to Wrigley? Or with their overworked bullpen, do you think the Dodgers might want Gagne back? I also heard on the radio today a suggestion that the Rangers trade Michael Young, since he has openly stated he doesn't want to be part of a rebuilding process. It is true that if it takes the Rangers 2-3 years to be competitive again that Young will probably be on the downside of his career. He'll still be good, but maybe not as good as he is today. But I'm not sure you trade Young at this point, if ever. That may be waving the white flag too soon, even though you could get a lot for Young.

2. Why has it taken Alex Rodriguez until this year to become the monster player and clutch player the Yankees needed when he was traded a few years ago? He's a punk and a jerk and he is what is wrong with baseball, BUT, he's still one of the three best hitters in baseball(Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols are the other two) and arguably the best player in baseball period. So, now that the Yankees suck and are struggling to even remain in the playoff picture, why does he decide to break out and have a great season? Remember the curse of the Bambino? Well, there's the curse of A-Rod, and it's time to pass it on. Los Angeles maybe?

3. Even with the departure of their manager Mike Hargrove and all of their injuries, could the Seattle Mariners actually sneak up on the mighty Los Angeles Angels and win the AL West division? How much better could the Mariners be if Felix Hernandez pitched consistently to the dominant capability he has and they traded for another hitter in the lineup before the trade deadline?

4. You heard it here first....The Milwaukee Brewers will implode.

This is a few days old, but it's a fantastic argument from Joel Sherman on the New York Post Blog on why the Yankees should consider putting A-Rod up on the trading block. Personally, I don't like that even though I don't like A-Rod one bit. As a Yankees fan, I'm not ready to give up on the division or a wild card spot in the playoffs and I just don't think the Yanks can't get close without Rodriguez. Nevertheless, this guy makes a great point. If you like New York baseball, this is a great blog to read! http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/st/archives/2007/07/why_trade_a-rod.html#more July 02, 2007 WHY TRADE A-ROD I have learned a certainty over the past few years: If I include the name Alex Rodriguez in a column or blog, it will elicit more response on this site or into my Post e-mail then if I wrote about the war or race relationships or religion. Early in his Yankee stay, I dubbed A-Rod as Lightning-Rod. He just seems to attract the most copy, interest, etc. So when I wrote for today’s Post that I think the Yankees should see if they could get Rodriguez to waive his no-trade clause to see just how high the offers would go between now and July 31, I fully expected what I have gotten: an e-mail box filled with not only A-Rod commentary, but misrepresentation of the column. So let me state a few facts: 1. Alex Rodriguez has an opt-out clause at the conclusion of this season. If he did not have that clause or if the Yankees knew that he would not use it, I would not advocate trading Rodriguez. I would advocate restocking the lineup around him. But here is the thing: Over the course of this season, I have asked at least eight significant decision-makers in the Yankee organization what they think Rodriguez will do at the end of the year and it is not 5-3 or 6-2 or even 7-1. It is 8-0 that they expect A-Rod to make himself a free agent. There is a long, multi-leveled explanation that can be given to why, but their reasoning essentially can be boiled down to this: Rodriguez is represented by Scott Boras. When you hire Scott Boras, you do so to maximize your earnings. A-Rod, in his first crack at free agency, essentially sent himself to a baseball slum in Arlington, Texas because that was where the most money was being offered, $252 million over 10 years. Boras recently was quoted in a Los Angeles magazine piece saying he expects there to soon be a $30 million-a-year player. There is no one in the game who can close to commanding that amount except for the player already making $27 million this season. The only way to get to $30 million or more is to go out in the free-agent market. Could Rodriguez decide to ignore all of that, essentially shun a chance to get a contract for say six years and $180 million, of course he could. It is just that we use history in baseball to draw all kinds of estimations of what we think will happen next. And everything from the Boras/A-Rod past says he will go out on the free-agent market to seek the biggest deal. 2. If that is the case and the Yankees do not intend to give him a blank check to retain him, then shouldn’t the Yankees at least find out what he can fetch on the trade market? Now there are two major provisos here, as well: 1) The Yanks would have to concede that they are definitely not contenders over the next four weeks and 2) Rodriguez would have to waive his no-trade provision, which he told me on Sunday he would not do. My suspicion is that A-Rod/Boras would never give up that no-trade right. But still, don’t you think the Yankees should at least ask about it and try to provide a picture of why it would be worthwhile to do it? 3. What is in it for the Yankees? The Yankees have no major league-ready position prospects of worth. The free-agent market is not very deep except for in center field where theoretically the Yanks could use someone while reducing Johnny Damon and his $13 million deal to either a left fielder, DH or bench player. But they just might be replicating their problem with players like Damon by signing a player in their thirties such as Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones or Ichiro Suzuki to at least a four-year contract for a significant sum. They will all but guarantee declining years while they are members of the Yankees, and the Yankees need to stop replicating that practice so often. This is not about trading Rodriguez for a bag of balls or even for just one good prospect. The analogy I made in the column was to the Herschel Walker deal that the Cowboys made with the Vikings that fetched them so many young players that they built a dynasty. The Yankees don’t have to make Rodriguez available to 29 other clubs. There are probably a half-dozen clubs with deep farm systems and the craving for A-Rod, including the Dodgers, Angels, Diamondbacks and Tigers. The Yanks already have a headstart because so many clubs called in the offseason asking about Rodriguez’s availability. And remember, putting A-Rod on the trade market is not the same as trading him. The Yanks could essentially eliminate negotiations and simply tell each of the interested clubs: Here are the three players that it would take from your organization to get the best player in the world in the midst of his greatest season. The Dodgers, for example, can say that it is crazy to trade first baseman James Loney, outfielder Matt Kemp and closer-in-waiting Jonathon Broxton for half a season of Rodriguez. Fine. The Yanks don’t have to trade Rodriguez unless they are completely satisfied. And I don’t know about you, but I would be curious to see just how far the Angels would go to bat A-Rod behind Vladimir Guerrero and essentially add the one missing ingredient from an otherwise championship-looking team: a dynamic cleanup man. 4. Please stop sending e-mails about how the Yanks should trade Bobby Abreu or Johnny Damon instead of Rodriguez. Players such as Abreu and Damon have no-trade clauses, also, but they don’t really need them. They are human no-trade clauses. Who the heck wants Abreu and Damon, expensive players who seem to be going through the motions in their own disappointing seasons? Stop being a Yankee fan for a minute and be the other team: Would you acquire Abreu or Damon? And even if you did, wouldn’t you make the Yankees eat most if not all of their remaining contracts while giving up nothing of value in return. Trading Rodriguez is not about joy if you are the Yankees. It means your team is inexplicably disappointing. It means you don’t see a real chance to make the playoffs. It means you believe you have no chance to retain A-Rod after the season. And it means your system is barren of positional studs ready to make a difference in the majors. If you think this explains the current state of the 2007 Yankees, then I think you have to see if Rodriguez would accept a trade and then just how big a package you get for him. As opposed to Abreu or Damon, Rodriguez would potentially bring a massive return to help the Yankee future. This is not about running him out of town. This is not about anything that is going on in his personal life. This is about doing the right thing long-term for the Yankees. Posted by Joel Sherman on July 2, 2007 10:05 AM

My All-Stars

In a few hours, Major League Baseball will announce the 31 man rosters for the 2007 American League and National League All-Star Teams. I've come up with my own All-Stars for this season in the list below. Since I don't feel qualified enough to put together two 31 man rosters, I've made my teams a little bit thinner. I've picked starting lineups for each team, along with two reserve pitchers and a relief pitcher. In the spirit of representation for every team, I've picked additional reserves from teams who didn't have a representative in my starting lineup or pitching rotation. These aren't necessarily my favorites and certainly my self-imposed rules are forcing me to leave off deserving reserves such as Big Papi and Pudge, but these are the most deserving players based on the criteria for only listing starters and making sure reserves only represent teams not included in the starting lineup:

American League All-Stars (or at least they should be): C - Jorge Posada, NY Yankees

1B - Kevin Youkilis, Bos Red Sox

2B - Brian Roberts, Bal Orioles

3B - Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees(unfortunate, but he deserves it)

SS(tie) - Carlos Guillen, Det Tigers/Derek Jeter, NY Yankees(too close)

LF - Vlad Guerrero, LA Angels

CF - Ichiro Suzuki, Sea Mariners

RF - Magglio Ordonez, Det Tigers

Starting Pitcher - Justin Verlander, Det Tigers

Reserve Pitchers - Josh Beckett, Bos Red Sox/C.C. Sabathia, Cle Indians

Relief Pitcher - Jonathan Papelbon, Bos Red Sox

Reserves - CF-Tori Hunter, Minn Twins/RHP-Dan Haren, Oak Athletics/RF-Sammy Sosa, Tex Rangers/RHP-Al Reyes, TB Devil Rays/RHP-Mark Buerhle, Chi White Sox/CF-Vernon Wells, Tor Blue Jays/RHP-Joakim Soria, KC Royals

National League All-Stars (or at least they should be):

C - Russell Martin, LA Dodgers

1B - Albert Pujols, STL Cardinals

2B - Chase Utley, Phi Phillies

3B - Miguel Cabrera, Fl Marlins

SS - Jose Reyes, NY Mets

LF - Alfonso Soriano, Chi Cubs

CF - Carlos Beltran, NY Mets

RF - Barry Bonds, SF Giants (having a great season despite seeing little to hit)

Starting Pitcher - Brad Penny, LA Dodgers

Reserve Pitchers - Chris Young, SD Padres, Jake Peavy, SD Padres

Relief Pitchers - Francisco Cordero, Mil Brewers

Reserves - RF-Ken Griffey, Jr., Cinn Reds/2B-Orlando Hudson, Ari/LF-Carlos Lee, Hou Astros/LF-Matt Holliday, Col Rockies/1B-Dmitri Young, Wash Nationals/SS-Edgar Renteria, Atl Braves/RHP-Ian Snell, Pitt Pirates