Gammons On Available Pitchers

I would think that Randy Wolf and Sean Estes would be available also as the Padres fall further and further from contention. Wolf is on a one year deal and has been marginally successful. Estes (I would think) could also be had down the stretch.

errr... nate? what the @$*#? the word should be "take". don't ask me what i was thinking there.

To add to that,
there shouldn't be any concern over moving their contracts.

The problem with determining a list of this sort right now is that there seems to be a heightened level of parity throughout the game right now. Is Oakland a buyer or a seller? Their position in the standings would suggest the former, but can they maintain this level of success? It was established over the off-season that Beane saw his club as a seller. In-division, Seattle looked like a possible win-now playoff candidate in the preseason. Now, it's just as easy to see GM Bill Bavasi overseeing a fire sale.

The Yankees, Indians, Tigers, Mariners, Mets, Brewers, Rockies, and Padres are all teams that came into '08 with high hopes...and currently carry records under .500. More importantly, their composition- the way they're built- doesn't fit the sellers' profile, while their records don't mark them as buyers.

On the flip side, Tampa, Minnesota, Oakland, Texas, Florida, St. Louis, Houston...even Arizona... These aren't front offices likely to flip their prospects for expensive vets. It's all topsy turvy and with only 9 teams in baseball currently over 6 games out of first place, there's plenty of reason to believe the patterns could reverse course.

What's it all mean? I'm guessing the typically underwhelming trade deadline is that much MORE boring this year; with minimal action, particularly as it pertains to big names. Then again, with the NY teams both struggling, the opposite could be true. After all, when seats get hot in NYC, the pressure to act is enough to make diamonds of coal...and competitors tend to follow suit.

Here's hoping for the latter, if only to keep things interesting.

Also, could Jeremy Guthrie be added to the dark-horse list? It's likely (I hate to say) that the O's are going to fall further and further out of first, opening the way for McPhail's continued rebuilding efforts. Guthrie has pitched very well over the past two years and could be a nice No. 3 (or even 2? with his arm) on a contender. At 29, he's still fairly young, but doesn't fit the O's rebuilding window. Also, he's under team control for several years, having not even reached arbitration eligibility. This would suggest that he'd be a valuable pitcher in an otherwise underwhelming market. Any thoughts?

"The question about Lowe is, what do the Dodgers get for him? Prospects? They seem to have the rotation set now that Kershaw has been called up and the 'pen has settled in well. I just don't see anything they need that they can get for Lowe, unless they would pick up a starter to replace him or slot in behind Kuroda as number 4."

...Do you really think about trading Lowe when Penny is in self-destruct mode anyway? I dont...

Why would the Rangers trade Padilla when he's been our most consistent pitcher this year? he's 7-3, decent ERA. I can see Millwood though but as long there is a good deal with awesome prospects I don't think it would be a good idea to trade him.