So, um...WHAT IN THE NAME OF CALIFORNIA WATER ARE THE GM's IN BASEBALL THINKING!!! Since returning from their mini meetings in Cali there have been some really lopsided, and potentially outlandish, trades in the MLB the past couple of days.
I get a call from a good buddy of mine yesterday. Here's a little exerpt of how our conversation started:
Him: "Did you see the trade?"
Me: "Huh? Uuuuhhhh. Nope, I've been running my legs off and haven't heard anything."
Him: **"It's a good move for one team. The other, I was a little bit shocked."
**Right there you have it. I was shocked. My reaction was idiotic. From his statement I should have been warned of what I was about to hear.
Then, last night I get another call.
Him: "Did you see the trade?"
Me: "Huh? Uuuuhhhh. Nope, I've been running my legs off and haven't heard anything."
Him: "It's a good move.....***
***You see where this is going.
From the time I heard that the Rockies were about to send Matt Holliday to the Oakland Athletics for Greg Smith, Carlos Gonzalez, Ryan Sweeney and another prospect, I immediately said Billy Beane is an idiot. Then, when my friend called again this morning and said the deal is Smith, Gonzalez and HUSTON STREET, I totally went off the deep end. I will explain further down in the column.
Then, last night I got the news that the Marlins, who posted a yard sale sign just outside of Dolphin Stadium, made another head scratching move. Apparently, with his job on the line, D.C.'s Jim Bowden came calling and pulled off one of the most lopsided deals since Jermaine Dye for Neifi Perez; sending light hitting (2B) Emilio Bonifacio, soft throwing (RHP) P.J. Dean and (SS) Jake Smolinski (who is two weeks removed from major knee surgery to repair torn ACL and MCL ligaments) to the fish for Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen.
"HOLY CRAP!," I said in oblivion to my idiocy. "What on God's earth is going on???"
From Billy Beane's perspective, I know why he did this deal. The A's are getting a brand new stadium, and, after their punchless offense kept them from going to the playoffs last year, Beane knows his team needs a hitter with some sock. There are plenty of bills to pay, so they have to fill seats next season. Plus, Street hasn't been as dominant as he once was. So they get Holliday, one of the most sought after hitters on everyone's Christmas list. All is good, right?
If your an A's fan the answer is a great big Miguel Olivo HELL NO! Holliday, who is represented by Scott Boras, is going to command BIG BUCK$$$$ as a free agent after the 2009 season. Beane, who tends to refrain from over spending on players, will shock me if he signs Holliday long term. Therefore, your looking at a trade for a rental player: I would expect them to trade Holliday mid-way through the year.
So, after trading away a solid starting pitcher and setup man/closer are the A's expected to contend this year? No. What if Holliday gets hurt leading up to the trade deadline? Will Beane be able to get in return what he gave up to get him? Maybe not.
Had it been the Diamondbacks, Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, etc. that made this deal it would be a smart move. Those are organizations with big enough budgets to support an addition like Holliday and are annualy expected to be in the playoffs. Hell, if it was 1989 this would be a great deal for the A's. Not in 2009.
The Rockies and Nationals just got much better. The A's and Marlins need to call Kauffman Stadium and ask to speak to the front office. I hear K.C. has a box of Scrubbing Bubbles, a pack of dried bologna and one of those yellow Wal-Mart smiley face stickers that they would be willing to package for Mark Ellis or Dan Uggla.
Trust me. The *Scrubbing Bubbles is a brand new box and that crap works excellent.
*Now that I think of it, doesn't "Scrubbing Bubbles" sound like the title of a low budget porno?
As for the Nationals, Jim Bowden may have just saved his job with this trade. As for the Marlins, you get three what-if's that Bowden drafted. Wasn't there some sort of alarm on the telephone screaming, "Warning! Warning!: I wouldn't answer that if I were you," when Bowden's number showed up on the caller ID?
I completely understand why so many teams are looking to wheel and deal this offseason. There is little out there on the free agent market that is worth the millions of headaches you would spend to employ them. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this winter produced the most trades in MLB history. Then again, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it doesn't produce many more than what we've already seen.
More and more teams seem to be getting away from the Free Agent Frenzy that happens every offseason and are instead focusing on growing their own talent and adding pieces through trades. This is what Kansas City has decided to do and, like it or not, has already managed to bag a slugger for very little in return from that garage sale I mentioned in Miami.
Meanwhile, Mike Sweeney needs a job.
So, I guess, instead of stupid, overpriced, messed up free agent signings this year I guess we'll start seeing stupid, overpriced, messed up trades. Isn't this a wonderful world we live in?
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