Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Unlike earlier in the day, there's now a massive amount to report on...I guess people are getting tired of waiting around for Mr. Minaya.

The four team deal
While I've seen conflicting reports about one part of this trade, the principles are clear.

Oakland Athletics get: Erubiel Durazo
Arizona Diamondbacks get: Elmer Dessens, $1 million
Toronto Blue Jays get: Jason Arnold (and John-Ford Griffin?)
Cincinnati Reds get: Felipe Lopez

As one could probably guess given the trading partners here, the A's and Jays win. Erubiel Durazo should step in at first base in Oakland and be a tremendous success, he's exactly the right guy for that team and someone who GM Billy Beane has apparently been coveting for years. Quite frankly, I'm very surprised that all it ultimately cost to get him was Elmer Dessens (likely coming off his career-best season) and some cash. The Jays, assuming they get both guys do well again here. GM JP Ricciardi is well on his way to assembling a fine minor league system, and getting a projected (potential, of course) number one pitcher like Jason Arnold is another step in that direction. The fact that Arnold and Griffin seem to have been traded together again (they were packaged to Oakland from the Yankees in the Weaver-Pena deal as well) is a bit odd, but they're two real good prospects. The Diamondbacks get Dessens and cash, and while it'll give them a third starter behind the Johnson-Schilling monster, I'm fairly skeptical about him. While there's no question he was a very good pitcher last year, there's little evidence that he's going to be able to repeat that performance. This is a guy who will be 31 next season and has only one really good year under his belt. His sparkling ERA from a year ago (3.03) is at least in part due to 10 unearned runs, without which he was a slightly less spectacular 3.54. I don't question that he'll be a valuable member of the Diamondback rotation...I'm sure he will...but this is the prize they received for the heavily sought after Erubiel Durazo...I just think they could've done better. And then there's Felipe Lopez. While his major league numbers aren't particularly impressive, there's quite a bit to like about Lopez. He's young, already has a fair amount of major league experience already under his belt and should be able to get some playing time in Cincinnati. Given that Elmer Dessens fell into the Reds' lap, they don't give up too much and bring in a guy who has a lot of potential. So A's and Jays win, but this is a deal that helps everyone involved.

Giambi to the Red Sox
Boston Red Sox get: Jeremy Giambi
Philadelphia Phillies get: Josh Hancock

Josh Hancock's a decent pitching prospect, but this is a great deal for the Red Sox (everyone seems to be in agreement on this). It didn't take a genius to figure out that Giambi and Boston's new regime would be a perfect fit, and if this is all it took to bring him over, all the better. I'm a bit concerned as a Yankee fan, because with addition of Giambi and the probable subtraction of Shea Hillenbrand in the coming days, this is looking like a really dangerous lineup, especially if, as expected, Cliff Floyd accepts arbitration. While I'm sure the Red Sox aren't done yet, there's already plenty of reason for Yankee fans like myself to be worried. The word is that the Sox also have a leg up on the Yanks in acquiring either Javier Vazquez or Bartolo Colon from the Expos, which would be that much more devastating. What I wonder is: how much more does Boston have to offer? We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, Mr. Epstein continues to impress in the early going.

There's not really a problem here on the Phillies side, having signed Thome and rendered Giambi pretty useless with Burrell manning left field in the DH-less league. As they were reportedly going to non-tender him, there's nothing wrong with getting a decent prospect who isn't that far away back in return.

Finally, Rey-O is gone, but unfortunately not yet from the Major Leagues
Tampa Bay Devil Rays get: Rey Ordonez
New York Mets get: rid of Rey Ordonez and get two players to be named (Russ Johnson is one)

Unbelievable. As a New Yorker, even though I'm not a Met fan (I have nothing against them though and do watch their games quite a bit), I'm thrilled to see Ordonez go. Has there been a less productive player for as long as St. Rey in recent memory? Absolutely excrutiating to watch at the plate, even his occasional defensive gems were all but gone towards the end of last season, and his insults of the New York fans may indeed have been a blessing if that pushed him out the door. Sure the Mets are paying the majority of his salary for the coming season...but who cares?! The fact that they're paying any less than that stupid contract is unbelievable, and that they're getting two guys in return (one of whom is apparently Russ Johnson) is that much more incredible.

So the question around baseball today should be: what are the Devil Rays doing? They appear to have absolutely no plan in place and no idea what they're doing. Acquiring Rey Ordonez? I can't even put together coherent sentences on the idiocy of this. Tampa is a truly awful team, and they continually kick themselves in the ass with positively brutal moves like this one. If you're going to be bad, at least do it with cheap, young players who someday might not be as horrible as they currently are. Rey Ordonez solves nothing for any team in baseball. At his very best, he can be a defensive replacement on a team with an excellent middle infield offensively (the Yankees are a good example), and that's it. The fact that the Rays are planning on starting him on Opening Day is insanity, and should really make everyone wonder what the hell Chuck LaMar is doing retaining his job.
posted by VZW Watcher at 12:38 AM -