Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

Rodriguez-Soriano finalized
 
We finally get it back moving, stringing together a solid week of posts...and then we take two weeks off. Very poor form, and of course, quite a lot has happened. I don't know that there's a whole lot to be gained by an analysis here of the Alex Rodriguez for Alfonso Soriano trade, both because they're already all over the Internet and at your disposal and because the deal is so one-sided. But here are a few words anyhow.

Joe Sheehan and Gary Huckabay at the incomparable Baseball Prospectus (I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my book, which was to have shipped yesterday) have a piece up today which goes over some of the "financial flexibility" that the Rangers gain with this trade, which was supposedly the reasoning behind it from their perspective. Of course, as Sheehan and Huckabay point out (and any rational person would realize), the money saved - whatever amount it actually ends up being - is going into Tom Hicks's pockets, not fielding a better team. At least right now. If the Rangers do in fact go out and spread this money around addressing areas in which the team is deficient (notably pitching) over the next few years, perhaps the Rangers can justify this trade on some level. But I'll believe it when I see it.

From the Yankees' perspective, this is pretty much as good as it gets. Money is obviously not an object for George Steinbrenner...and in this case, he's not even picking up all of it. Like many Yankee fans, I've been awfully frustrated on many occasions watching Alfonso Soriano (both at the plate and in the field)...and to have the cost of bringing in the most valuable player in baseball be nothing more than him and whatever minor leaguer the Rangers choose is incredible.

Obviously, moving Rodriguez off of shortstop for Derek Jeter is foolish, and hopefully both Jeter and manager Joe Torre will come to their senses and make things right. Since there's now a hole at second base, I'd really like to see Jeter move to second with Rodriguez at short and some combination of Mike Lamb, Tyler Houston, Miguel Cairo, Enrique Wilson and Erick Almonte at third, but I don't know how likely that is. Right now, it appears as if Rodriguez will simply move to third, forcing the Yankees to address the second base hole either internally with Cairo, Wilson, Almonte or Homer Bush or making another move. At this point, I'd be willing to punt the offense in that final lineup spot provided I could find a slick fielding second baseman to, perhaps, cover up some of Jeter's range deficiencies. Whatever the Yankees do at second, I'm not sure it matters a whole lot...this is going to be a ridiculous lineup.
posted by VZW Watcher at 1:36 PM -