Trade Deadline Reactions

From Starks article:

"Did the Pirates get one young impact player back in any deal?" wondered an executive of one team. "My answer is no. Did they get an Evan Longoria-type they could drop in the middle of their order?"

Andy LaRoche is batting 5th tonight, LOL @ ESPN continually being wrong.

You kind of knew this stuff would find its way to the press:

The Providence Journal reports that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein met with team veterans on Wednesday, and they told him that Manny Ramirez had to go.

The players were not only tired of Manny's antics and felt that he was a distraction, but they didn't trust that they could count on him during the pennant race. One story in the Boston Herald on Friday quoted a teammate as saying "He just doesn't care." Another Herald story discussed his refusal to visit with young cancer patients, calling him a "bum." It seems most everyone involved with Manny in Boston is happy to see him go.

The Red Sox FO have had a history of this and although I complement them for extracting an obvious problem, I also condemn them for releasing this spin.

I don't understand how Pittsburgh can be considered losers here. I think they got a haul for 1.3 years of Jason Bay. Their window to compete probably doesn't open until 2011, and they really increased their chances at putting a very good team on the field in that window.

The dodgers did pretty well in the fact that they gave up Laroche, who they weren't going to use anyway (which I think is a dumb decision...) and aren't paying a dime of Manny's contract, and are guarenteed 2 very good draft picks as well.

I think the Sox are the biggest losers here, but it became more and more obvious that they HAD to move him...and did what they could to get the best available bat to replace him.

Overall, I wouldn't say anyone was fleeced here, but I believe the Pirates are actually the biggest winner.

I don't see how the Pirates are losers they got exactly what they needed. He says that Laroche couldn't crack the lineup in LA they also never really gave him time to stick it out in the lineup they just saw him struggle and said oh go back to the minors. What Stark also fails to mention is that guy with Tommy John surgery is still a highly touted prospect.

By the way last night on sportscenter and baseball tonight both Gammons and Kurkjin called the Pirates winners so I'll trust them over a Heyman and Stark anyday.

"Hard to brand the Bucs a winner or a loser. I liked the Bay trade, but was less enthused with Nady/Marte."

I'll agree with that. I was talking about the Bay trade specifically. The other trade is going to have everything to do with whether Tabata can fulfill his potential or not...

"You have to give him credit for standing alone and calling the Yankees losers."

Funny, I've been calling them losers for years.

Yeah, I really am that hysterical.

BY the way can you honestly tell me a lineup consisting of

Bay, McClouth, McCuthcheon...Alvarez, Wilson, Sanchez,Laroche/Pearce, and Doumit is better then

Moss, McClouth McCuthcheon...LaRoche,Wilson, Sanchez, Laroche and Doumit...

Seems to me they were locked in with Bay and Alvarez and could have secured the starting pitching and it still would not have been painful in their Payroll.

Just remember...
Last year when the Red Sox traded for Eric Gagne, they got rid of David Murphy instead of Brandon Moss, because they thought Moss had more potential. And look at the season Murphy has had for Texas thus far. So Moss could be a decent pick up for Pittsburgh. Craig Hansen had no future here. His premature promotion to the big leagues fried his brain. He is a 2-pitch guy. Decent fastball, very good slider if he can control it. If he can CONTROL it. Which he hasn't shown he is able to do. LaRoche was a prospect in decline for L.A., and DeWitt seemed to leap-frog over him in the depth charts. I never heard of the 4th guy. The Dodgers got the bat they need to make a run at the N.L. West for nearly nothing. Manny is playing for a 4 year contract, so expect him to put in a 100% effort. Okay, maybe 80% effort. With Jason Bay...how many big at-bats has he ever had. What is his post season stats. How many times has he batted in a home game with more than 8000 people in the crown. Jason Bay is a wait-and-see. Hopefully he performs well.

I don't think u can call the sox losers yesterday as their hand was forced....I mean one minute you workin out deals for bay/wilson/grabow while tryin to talk to the phils, mets, the dirty dirty marlins, the dbacks....the dodgers waited til last second and forced their hand bc they knew boston wanted to move manny.

I heard a rumor of talks with cincin and toronto...any truth to that?? w/ manny goin to cincin and crisp goin to toronto...I duno b/c what would have the return been? Dunn,another offer for griffey...mayb ekstein goin to the sox....hope it was jus a rumor.

If anyone can be considered winners it'd have to be the dodgers, cubs, yanks and mayb the brewers.

Seattle should of really cleaned house.....goodbye ichiro, cya ibanez, adios washburn, tootalou putz. Taking the pirates approach might of been a lil better come off season.

if anything the old rumors of clay bucholz to the rox for brian fuentes wouldn't have been to bad, I think the sox shoulda asked for clint barnes also.....they still have masterson you kno and pauley as well and a wide awray of young guns.....they also could of made a move for the return of bronson....paul byrd woulda been ok with me sticking in the back of the rotation hell even getting in on the washburn deal jus to syke out the yanks a lil ya kno.

Anywho let the fun month of august get underway and see who really made out.

I'm an O's fan, so I appreciate the Bucs' willingness to at least take a few chances. Certainly they gave themselves a better chance to compete in the future with these young players taking the place of vets who will likely be on the decline by the time Pitt's window opens.

That said, I was not overly impressed with the return they got on arguably their top two players. Initially, I thought they did terribly, but I'm coming around a little bit on the Bay deal.

Nady/Marte was bad, but not as bad as some suggest. It remains to be seen whether the Bucs could've gotten more for the pair, but neither is a spring chicken and Tabata has legitimate star potential. Sure, he's had a pretty poor year, but remember how young he is and how advanced his competition is, also. I'd be pretty shocked if any of the other players picked up figure prominently in the Pirates' future, though McCutchen does seem to have at least some upside.

The Bay deal is impossible to really assess properly at this time. All four of the prospects acquired have the potential to be quality MLB players...or total washouts.

LaRoche never really got a fair shake in LA, though I'm of the opinion he's been overrated as a prospect. His tools don't impress me and his numbers appear to have been inflated to a significant degree, by his environment. Not only does DeWitt have a higher ceiling, but it seems to me that one need only look to brother Adam to find a decent comp. Though a decent major leaguer who's, thus far, had a modestly successful career, thus far, we're not talking about a star. I find it unlikely Andy will prove much better.

Morris obviously has the highest ceiling, but he also he's also the most likely NOT to contribute at the major league level. Clearly, his stuff is good- you don't get drafted in the first round if there isn't something there to intrigue the scouts. However, he's already got a TJ surgery to his 'credit' and the sample size is too small to establish whether there's enough there to consider him a real top prospect. Certainly he's one to keep an eye on.

Moss and Hansen both strike me as role players, though I could see Hansen being traded back to the Red Sox five years from now in a deadline deal (LOL). Hansen has the stuff to close but it hasn't translated thus far, due to a lack of command. Moss is just you average solid, blue collar type that teams tend to love...until there's a better option available (though I suppose that could be said of just about anyone; you know what I mean, though). He'll give you league average numbers until the next big corner outfield prospect comes along and then he'll be relegated to 4th OF status. With so many third basemen in the system (or likely coming in Alvarez's case), that could happen sooner rather than later.

You'd like to see at least one top prospect come back in a Bay deal and I am truly surprised that the Bucs didn't insist on James McDonald over Morris, but, contrary to what I wrote yesterday, it's not an AWFUL return.

Of course, the reality is, we won't REALLY know one way or the other for a few years. Baseball history is riddled with 'good' deals gone bad and vice versa. Which will this be?

History will be more kind to the Bucs than people think. I bet they get at least 2 very solid major leaguers out of their deals + another 2 or 3 useful players now. That won't be bad considering they dumped an average OF (in Nady), an above average reliever and a very solid OF in Bay.

The Sox made out well considering ever GM knew they wanted him gone. That being said I think Bay is a moderate upgrade on a daily basis come post season we can only speculate what his #'s will look like. Also Stark is the same guy who took the Rockies in 5 last year, Since than he just makes me laugh.