Blockbuster trades and record-breaking free agent contracts are lots of fun, but not all rumors turn into reality. Some of the storylines that dominated MLBTR early on this season never actually happened. Here’s a look back at five of them:
- Giants don’t replace Buster Posey – Last year’s Rookie of the Year went down on May 25th. Since then, the Giants have seen their catchers hit .208/.272/.298 with five homers. The Giants wouldn’t necessarily be leading the NL West if they had acquired reinforcements, but I’m comfortable saying the first-place Diamondbacks didn’t mind seeing Brian Sabean roll out Eli Whiteside, Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez instead of acquiring a replacement. Finding catching midseason is never easy and the Giants’ non-Posey catchers did limit the running game (34% of would-be base stealers caught), but the defending World Champions could have done better.
- Padres hold Heath Bell – It was a foregone conclusion that the Padres would trade Heath Bell this year. Instead of pitching for a contender, he’s playing out the season in San Diego, wondering how the Padres will handle him this offseason.
- Yankees don’t acquire starting pitching – Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda were all linked to the Yankees, who seemed to be in need of pitching depth from day one. 141 games later, Yankees starters lead the American League in K/9 (7.1), are second in xFIP (3.78) and fifth in ground ball rate (44.9%). Brian Cashman’s reluctance to overpay for pitching in trades has allowed Ivan Nova to blossom, but it hasn’t answered questions about who will follow C.C. Sabathia in New York’s playoff rotation.
- Rays stand pat – B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth all made regular appearances on MLBTR this summer, but they stayed put. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who spent the July 31st trade deadline having his appendix removed, added summer reinforcements by calling up hot-hitting prospect Desmond Jennings a week before the deadline.
- Mets hold Jose Reyes – It's easy to wonder what the Mets would have obtained for Jose Reyes if they had dangled him in early July. He was hitting .354/.398/.529 at the time and had yet to spend time on the disabled list this year. The Mets, who are expected to pursue Reyes when he hits free agency this offseason, held onto him instead of sending him to a contender. Though Reyes missed time in July and August, he would have provided a contending team with a boost (and provided the Mets with more prospects).
6. Giants sign Orlando Cabrera at SS trading away Thomas Neal and sending rookie Brandon Crawford to Triple A.
FIRE SABEAN
That would be a move
That’s a negative move, not a non-move.
Bro, Im sorry but you dont fire the guy who just took you to the world series and won it. Grow up.
Are you complaining about Crawford being sent down or the fact that Sabean got Cabrera over someone else? Crawford is nowhere near big league ready. The guy simply can’t hit a lick at the big league level yet. He has good tools, so hopefully he can put it together in the years to come. If Sabean made a mistake with Crawford it was rushing him to the big leagues in the first place, but early injuries forced his hand so you can go back-and-forth with that. I don’t see why you are so mad about Cabrera either. Yeah, his numbers are falling and the end is near, but the guy is a proven winner and can help rally a club together for a post season run. Bottom line, is that Giants team has a lot of talent and they simply can’t hit. I think you need to point the finger at the “proven” product that is out there on a day-to-day basis than blame Sabean for their lack of offense. As much as I dislike Sabean, you have to put the blame on the players for not producing.
P.S. The Giants never *SIGNED* Cabrera, they made a *TRADE* for him. There is a difference, believe it or not.
“Non-moves”, not AA’s style.
Rangers don’t deal Michael Young in the offseason. After Beltre goes down, they’re probably toast without Young. Great all-around player.
all-around the batter’s box at least
still cant believe M Young isnt getting more buzz for MVP
Can’t believe you think he should
7. Rangers not trading Michael Young to the Rockies
i wonder why the Yanks didn’t trade for Fister…it seems like they had the pieces to get him without giving up any of their most coveted prospects…and he probably becomes the second best pitcher in the Yanks rotation if he was acquired…that may be the death of them come playoff time…on the other hand the Tigers made a nice move…i have to give it to them…
Look for Tigers to win first short series with Verlander game 1 and 4 or 5
I’m not sure if I agree. Short term and long term Hughes and Nova needed innings and I think they both have earned their spots (Hughes post injury of course). Both Colon and Garcia have pitched to similar results as Fister this year.
Colon 3.79 FIP /2.4 WAR
Garcia 3.84 FIP/2.3 WAR
Fister 3.13 FIP/4.5 WAR
Plus Colon and Garcia did it in a hitters friendly park in the AL East. Not saying Fister has or would struggle in NY but he’s unproven in that respect. AJ is the only guy I would clearly trade spots with for Fister. The others are either giving you comparable performances or have long term futures and deserve the IP.
havent really seen Fister pitch post-mariners, but have heard he’s really dealing Maddux-like right now. still, Safeco and Comerica seem ideal for him. maybe he wouldnt have found this kind of confidence looking over his left shoulder at that T-ball porch at New Yank
Maddux had elite stuff and was the best pitcher of his time please do not compare Doug Fister to him
“maddux-like” as in multiple pitches, using location and movement, changing speeds … as in NOT big-unit-like. it’s a touchstone, not a comparison. loosen up
What I’m saying is they are nothing alike at all. Maddux used movement and deception as all great pitchers do. Even Randy Johnson used movement and deception he didn’t just go up there and throw as hard as he could. It isn’t about loosening up it’s about your horrible comparison, they have nothing at all in common.
Number one should have been – White Sox didn’t bench Dunn at All-Star break
And they don’t bench Rios. And they don’t bring up Viciedo and De Aza until it’s too late.
Following CC in the playoffs is a toss up, but frankly I don’t see a problem with it being Nova. Sure no playoff experience and is only a rookie, but he’s probably been their best 2nd half pitcher to CC. Colon and Garcia make a decent 3-4 game starter and definitely can battle Porcello and Fister or Harrison/Ogando (If Ogando even makes it, but he’s been struggling)….I still think the Tigers or Rangers would have the pitching advantage against the Yankees but based on 2011 I’d say all 4 Yankee starters are above average (Meaning on a scale of 1-10 of how their season, I think all would get at least a 7 or 7.5)
Colon has had one of the hardest pitches to hit this season. I hate the guy, especially how he looks… but that 2 seam fastball with movement that goes back on the plate at the last second is ridiculous! Strike 3 looking all day.
“I hate the guy, especially how he looks”
lolled
I don’t see a problem with rolling out CC-Colon-Nova-Hughes/Garcia in the series. Ppl are still looking at Colon and EXPECTING him to fail but other than a couple of bad starts he’s been consistently good this year.
His FIP has been below 4.00 every single month this year.
colon starts game 2, yanks are down 1-0 in the series , thats a huge problem.
That’s a problem that a Doug Fister probably wouldn’t solve. My point is, is he really that much better than Colon, Garcia or Nova, in terms of what they have done this year to warrant trading prospects? He’s a decent pitcher having a good year in two very hitter friendly parks. That’s not dismissing what he’s done away from Safeco or Comerica because he does have good away splits but still. Can numbers truly indicate what he would’ve done in the AL East at NYS?
just me, maybe, but i’m still wondering how Fister would pitch at Kramerica.
the numbers seem a little sketchy
Braves not trading their four top pitching prospects (and Beachy, who’s now a star not a prospect) may be a story also- but not for this year.
Though apparently they should’ve traded Jurrjens when they had a chance…
Why?
because they have eleventeen starting pitchers and other holes to be filled
Then move one of the young unproven pitchers not a guy with big league success
How is “Non-Trade of Justin Upton” not at the top of this list?
I thought the same thing. But at the same time, I don’t think they were going to seriously consider an offer unless they got much more than they normally could. Which for Upton, would be entirely too much for even the deepest team to handle.
If Boston were actually close to getting him with what they were offering, it definitely would’ve been a mistake.
Though if you could say one “non-move” impacted the team the most, it would be not acquiring a better 1B prior to the season, and instead focusing on using Juan Miranda and Xavier Nady. ESPECIALLY considering Brandon Allen was in AAA, and just not going to get a shot for whatever reason.
i vote for rihanna dumping matt kemp
then again, the dodgers went nowhere