A few items of note regarding teams from MLB's Central divisions, as the Cards fall behind the Phils in Game 1 of the NLDS.
- The Tigers preferred Doug Fister to Ubaldo Jimenez when they were shopping for a pitcher before the trade deadline, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Whether that's true, we'll probably never know, but Fister certainly pitched better for Detroit than Jimenez did for Cleveland after the deadline. The Mariners were originally hesitant to move Fister, according to Knobler, but Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was persistent in pursuing the right-hander.
- The Reds tried to acquire Hunter Pence from the Astros, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, and GM Walt Jocketty has said he thought he made a better offer to Houston than the one it eventually accepted from the Phillies. McCoy reports that the Astros wanted Devin Mesoraco and adds that lefty Aroldis Chapman was not available.
- The Cubs remain in limbo while waiting to hire a new general manager, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, who notes that the fates of manager Mike Quade, his coaches, and several players are up in the air until someone takes the helm. The Cubs are unlikely to spend lavishly this offseason, according to Sullivan.
Ed Wade is a Balloon Head!
Although, even if the Reds did acquire Hunter Pence, their pitching stunk this year.
I really expected to see a better result for the Reds in 2011 and it just didn’t happen.
Plus, the fact that Ed Wade is the Andy MacPhail of the South. MacPhail likes dealing with the Cubs. Wade likes dealing with Phillies
PS I have no idea as to why Ed Wade still has a job, he finds a way to mess up the simplest of tasks. This guy could mess up a cup of coffee
Ed Wade loves Philly!!!!
Phillies gave up a lot for Lidge and Pence. The Oswalt deal was okay, but Happ will turn it around and Gose was a great return, just a bonehead move to trade him for Wallace.
Hold on. The Reds were trying to acquire an OF? Why?
I understand Pence is really good and all, but he only had 1.5 years left when he was traded. So when you aren’t competing because your pitching sucks, why do you try to go from a C or B to and A in the OF while your pitching (the reason you’re losing) will still be an F?
He had 2.5 years left. Bourn had 1.5 years.
don’t expect the cubs to do anything this offseason, would love to see a lot more purging though. finding someone to take soriano and zambrano would be great. sori for lackey? let’s do it. zambrano for figgins? he can play third and bad leadoff ahead of starling. money’s spent already, let’s at least mix it up if we can…
You’re right… Figgins would be a bad leadoff