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Week in Review: 11/9 - 11/15

By Steve Adams [November 16, 2008 at 3:10pm CST]

It's been a busy week since last Sunday, and with free agency officially beginning earlier this week, I'm sure we'll have plenty more to come! Let's take a look at some of the more notable stories of the week...

I was completely shocked to see that Matt Holliday was acquired by the A's on Monday. The A's gave up a great deal of value, sending Greg Smith, Huston Street, and Carlos Gonzalez to Colorado for one year of Holliday. I don't get this move unless the A's aren't done yet, or they're planning on dealing Holliday again in July. I don't feel that the move makes Oakland a contender, especially given how tough McAfee is on right-handed hitters. The Rockies, in my opinon, got a great package, and the A's can either deal Holliday again or perhaps emerge as surprise contenders in the West, depending on what other moves they make. There's been speculation that the Rox could turn around and deal Street immediately, with the Twins being mentioned specifically. We heard later that Colorado may just keep him as well, however. Here's some more reaction s to the trade.
The Yankees made a surprise move as well, acquiring Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira from the White Sox in exchange for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, and Jhonny Nunez. I like this move for New York, as Swisher could rebound nicely and be a big-time producer in New York, while none of the pieces acquired by the Sox offer overwhelming promise. This could push the Yankees out of the running for Mark Teixeira, which means more money to throw at the top free agent starters. Here's some additional reactions.
The Nationals acquired both Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Marlins, in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio, and minor leaguers P.J. Dean and Jake Smolinski. It seems like the Marlins could have gotten more for these two, and a second baseman is a curious acquisition, with Dan Uggla obviously occupying that slot in Florida. Is a trade or a move to third base is on the way for him? I love this deal for the Nationals, giving them a little added power and even a league-average arm is an upgrade for their rotation. Olsen's just 24, though his effectiveness has been going in the wrong direction. Still, it seems like a pretty unspectacular return for a young left-handed pitcher and an affordable outfielder who can hit for respectable power. Here's more reactions for this one.
The Cubs also acquired a Marlin this week, when they traded Jose Ceda for Kevin Gregg. This is another one I don't get at all. It seems like this makes it a guarantee for the Cubs to part ways with Kerry Wood, and while Carlos Marmol can take on the ninth inning with ease, Gregg won't offer the same security for the eighth inning that Marmol did. Gregg/Marmol is hardly the 1-2 punch that Marmol/Wood was. Wood even said he would do anything to stay in Chicago, including signing a one-year deal. Ceda put up very good numbers at AA this year, and seems like far too great of a price for Gregg. A year ago, Ceda was deemed "untouchable" even in a trade for Brian Roberts. Now he's being dealt straight up for Gregg? I don't get the thinking here. Here's the additional reactions.
The Yankees made an outrageous, six-year, $140MM offer to C.C. Sabathia. Can he really turn that down?
A few signings this week, as the Yankees brought back Damaso Marte at a cheaper price (3 years, $12MM) and the Phillies also brought back a lefty reliever - Scott Eyre. Eyre will get a one-year, $2MM deal. Both seem like solid signings to me.
A few other reliever notes: Trevor Hoffman is likely done as a San Diego Padre. It's hard to imagine, but it looks like he'll be pitching elsewhere in 2009. Here's a recap of the whole situation. The Brewers could be a fit for Hoffman, considering their best option is off the table. Salomon Torres announced his retirement (again) this week.
Once again, just to put Dodgers fans at ease... Russell Martin isn't going anywhere.
A few notes for Twins fans: Bill Smith doesn't understand where the Delmon Young trade rumors came from, but also doesn't affirmatively say he won't be traded. It's been speculated Young could be moved for a third baseman, but that may not be necessary, because they're reportedly preparing to make an offer to Casey Blake.

Full Story | Comments (18) | Categories: Week In Review

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Comments

Quite a solid week.

Posted by: RuffinTumble | November 16, 2008 at 03:17 PM

solid week, $hitty last couple days.

Posted by: Showtime35 | November 16, 2008 at 03:21 PM

I totally agree that the Gregg-for-Ceda deal was bogus for the Cubs. Why do the Marlins always seem to screw us? (Does the name Juan Pierre ring a bell?!) And I realize that I wasn't there to hear the discussions between Hendry and Wood. I'm sure both sides were doing a little post-we're-not-going-to-re-sign-you posturing. But it seems a little disingenuous for Hendry to claim to know what's best for Kerry and his family. And maybe Kerry said a one-year deal would have been fine with him only AFTER Hendry said they weren't going to bring him back. Bottom line is, I don't think the Cubs got better with this trade. The Marlins are known for jumping guys from AA all the way to the majors. Like we've seen it a million times before, I'm sure Ceda will come back to Wrigley in 2009 and strike out the side in a close game as Gregg rides the DL with a 1-4 record and a 5.67 ERA.

Posted by: Deke Martin | November 16, 2008 at 03:31 PM

Beane will probably get MUCH more back for Holliday in the middle of the season when teams want to add an impact bat, than what he gave up to acquire him..

Posted by: dapoktan | November 16, 2008 at 03:40 PM

when is there gana be a big name signing im exited to see who the first big name will be to sign

Posted by: addymaster04 | November 16, 2008 at 03:41 PM

Jim Hendry must of been high when he did the Ceda- Gregg deal. I'm guessing this the Cubs losts during the off season.

Add- Kevin Gregg, Randy Johnson, Brian Roberts/ Bobby Abreu, Ben Sheets

Loss- Kerry Wood, Jason Marquis, Ryan Dempster

Posted by: BLEEDINGCUBBIEBLUE | November 16, 2008 at 04:01 PM

"Why do the Marlins always seem to screw us? (Does the name Juan Pierre ring a bell?!)"

Failed to mention DLee for Hee-Seop freaking Choi.

And you're right, you don't know what went on in the Hendry and Wood talks. Just because some guy who is completely out of the loop in this situation and doesn't know Hendry or Wood, thinks that Hendry is being disingenous doesn't mean he is being disingenous.

Posted by: maynardgilmour | November 16, 2008 at 04:02 PM

Oh, and No way is Hendry going to get two more injury prone pitchers. (Randy Johnsons and Sheets.)

He's learned his lesson after Wood and Prior. Apparently the wannabe GM's haven't.

Posted by: maynardgilmour | November 16, 2008 at 04:16 PM

Just a final point, the Cubs pen will probably be this next year:

9th Marmol
8th Gregg
7th Shark
6th Guzman/Guidan

LHS Cotts/Marshall
LRP Guzman/Guidan

Lou wants Guzman to do what Marmol did in 2007 and Guzman is capable of doing that.

Asconia also has good stuff.

Weurtz, Piggy, and Hart are going to have a shot to make the team in spring training.

The reality is that Wood was good, not great and the Cubs have a lot of good young arms and they can afford to lose Wood and Ceda and they can spend the money on Wood elsewhere.

Posted by: maynardgilmour | November 16, 2008 at 04:30 PM

I am sick of hearing all this crap talk about the Holliday deal and that the A's aren't any good. I guess no one remembers the A's were 7 games above .500 at the All-Star Break with their team of high school players. Now everyone is a year older and hopefully healthier which only improves their team.

So what that they traded Blanton and Harden. Blanton has been easily replaced. The 2 only had 10 wins combined for the A's before being delt and Blanton had an ERA of nearly 5.

Greg Smith will be a good pitcher and he will do better in the NL but the A's have a lot of good young arms that are ready and waiting.

Putting Street in the deal made perfect sense for the A's since they probably couldn't have got a lot for him with teams knowing they don't value him high. It will also save the A's over $10m over the next 2 years and there are 3 solid closer options in Devine, Ziegler, and Casilla.

Gonzalez is the big piece of the deal. He SHOULD develop into a good 5 tool center fielder but is developing slower then expected and will be replaced with other young Oakland talent.

Oakland needed a right handed bat and they got that. Holliday will boost the teams RBI's and Runs and attendance while not increasing the payroll much. The A's still easily have at least $20m in payroll they could add. In 2006 they were at nearly $80m. They are at about $50m now.

If for some reason they aren't doing well mid-season(which I highly doubt will be the case) they can trade Holliday to a big market contender for more then they gave up to get him.

If they decide to keep him to make a push for the playoffs and he walks after the season they will get 2 first round picks. I'd rather have 2 first round picks then Smith and Gonzalez. Smith wasn't drafted till the 6th round and Gonzalez wasn't even part of the draft.

Option 3 is Oakland could sign Holliday to their largest deal ever and make him the teams centerpiece going into the new stadium. I wouldn't rule this out. They have the money.

It's OK I hear plenty of hate on the A's every year but I think most people will be eating their words come next summer.

Posted by: Chris | November 16, 2008 at 04:58 PM

this site is very informative w/ updates and breaking news, but once it involves opinion and analysis, then i'll defer to experts on espn/ba/bp...sorry tim i disagree the holliday trade was a great deal of value.

smith/street were non factors. from the A's perspective, replacements are already there. i find it interesting that we've already heard rumors of street/gonzalez already being moved on.

Posted by: arly2380 | November 16, 2008 at 05:01 PM

Hold onto your hats Cubs fans when Kevin gregg comes into the game with runners on base. The 29 saves and less than a 3.50 ERA look nice for a closer, but trust me from watching over 100 Marlins games and being a fairly solid fan of them: This guy will have you on pins and needles, he puts runners on base at an alarming pace.

Posted by: johns | November 16, 2008 at 05:13 PM

just thought of a possible dodgers idea. they sign mark teixeria 6/120. then they trade loney for good, young pitching. i was thinking the pads and peavy, but they have gonzeles. they could move loney to third. so loney and elbert for peavy? loney has become very good, so i dont know how much besides him and a young pitcher they want. i think the pads know kouzmanoff isnt good enough

Posted by: lakersdodgersyankees4life | November 16, 2008 at 07:36 PM

Chris:

You are huffing gasoline if you think the A's are going to win their division or the Wild Card. The A's will be lucky as hell to be in 2nd place in their division.

I find it endlessly hilarious when I read A's fans comments on here. They actually think that Holliday will make them a playoff team. Ridiculious. You have a rotation of one pretty good starter who more then likely won't relive last years numbers, and 4 total scrubs. And you're offense was one of the absolute worst in baseball last year. You could've added A-Rod and it wouldn't make a difference.

We'll see who'll be laughing next summer. It certainly won't be A's fans; unless they're laughing at the great deal Beane gets them for Holliday at the mid-season point when they and everyone else remember that their team isn't very good.

Posted by: Colin | November 16, 2008 at 07:59 PM

I'm an A's fan and I certainly do not think we have a playoff team, so obviously Colin, we don't all think alike. =P

Starting off with the starters, you're right about the uncertainty of its current rotation. Duchscherer, while good last season, his health is a big concern and who knows how he will perform next season. However, the rest of the rotation isn't really anything stellar but I wouldn't really call all of them 'scrubs.' Guys like Braden and Dinardo might be nothing much, but Gallagher and Gonzalez lack experience and has some of an upside. Unfortunately, I only pan both of them to be a good #4 or #5 at best.

On offense, you're right, you can add super arod and the team would still suffer. A's don't have that good leadoff bat to begin with and is a team where players get on base erratically. When this happens, the clutch hits usually falls on the guy who can't really deliver which leaves the A's with pathetic number of runners on base.

A's fans should really look closely not at the team but at Beane from now to see his next moves because I think this might be the year where he should set his strong foundations for the future rather than going into the tiresome rebuilding cycle again.

Posted by: 510hope | November 16, 2008 at 08:46 PM

Colin:
A's fans don't think Holliday instantly makes the A's contenders. A's fans are optimistic that Beane plans on the A's being contenders. They added Holliday, and they're looking into Rafael Furcal and Jason Giambi, and likely kicking the tires on more than just those two. A's fans also know Beane is smart enough to realize that the 100-win Angels were actually closer to an 84-win team, and that they were only 7-8 wins better than the A's rather than 25 games....as long as we're talking about numbers not likely to be repeated. And remember, the Angels aren't guaranteed to sign Teixeira.

Posted by: scatterbrian | November 16, 2008 at 09:26 PM

hey Colin, don't sell the A's short, the Rangers have no pitching and the Halos may lose 2 key players (even though they do have a deep pen) and we both know that the M's won't be in the running for anything but top draft pick

the A's are not without their flaws either, but much like the Twins, this team finds a way to win with young and inexperienced players year after year (save for a losing season here and there)

Posted by: MDWhiteSoxFan | November 17, 2008 at 09:00 AM

so as not to upset any Rangers fans, I know you guys are looking to improve your pitching staff, I just don't think that anyone you go after will fix the problem (as it's a very big problem)

Posted by: MDWhiteSoxFan | November 17, 2008 at 09:02 AM

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Week in Review: 11/9 - 11/15

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