Why not Bedard AND Roberts?

This would be our version of the DET/FLA blockbuster. Given that Tejada was given away for peanuts, who knows what it will take to snag that pair.

It just hard to see ANY team placing much value in Barfield, Francisco or Brown at the moment. I'm high on Brown, but most people are wild about light hitting first baseman.

I'd love for Perlata to be of value to ANYONE, but I just don't see him working out with the Orioles rebuilding time frame.

Allow me to be the first: Thank you Billy Beane.

I have a hard time believing that. There are zero doubts about Miller's ability to dominate at the big league level. Staying healthy, that's another thing.  Cabrera is obviously a good defensive shortstop and displayed a very good walk rate and XBH% in AA this year at age 21. Definitely an A+ prospect. Laffey is ML-ready. Its hard to get a beat on what his long term prospects are because he rocketed through the minors last year. Those are three young 20+ year olds who are ML-ready with average to high ceilings. If Beane didn't take that, he's nuts. Carlos Gonzalez was the only player in the Arizona deal that was close to a sure thing.

Also, if the deal for Haren went through, we'd have almost no ML-ready prospects to offer Baltimore for Roberts.

 

Thanks, Debbie Downer.

This trade is a bad idea but not because it is too creative for Shapiro. It's simple plugging pieces kind of stuff. The trading we do may not be the stuff of fantasy in which you indulge but that hardly makes it bad. Further, your tenuous grip on lucidity seems to be slipping. To wit:

Our AB leaders:

Sizemore
Blake
Peralta
Martinez
Hafner
Garko
Barfield
Nixon
Gutierrez

Who in there should be running more? I say we let Garko, Hafner and Martinez go crazy on the basepaths. Send them every time. Grady was 13th in the majors, 6th in the AL.

No, we don't believe in the stolen base. That is because Wedge is not so stupid as to attempt with our lineup. To ask us to indulge in that sort of ignorance is simply ridiculous.

Tone it down.

Eddie, the key to getting people to treat your input with anything but venom is to show at least some sense.

Re-read what you wrote. Did you contribute anything new to the discussion? Can you blame anyone for responding to it with the same rolling of the eyes? And it's not because we are uncomfortable with the comments you make and that they bring things to light that make us squirm. It's because you talk down to basically the entire site and make the same comments in a condescending tone. Can we please have the post-hiatus E5 back? That guy was actually a pleasure to have around. He too made his opinions known, but everyone enjoyed his company. You've morphed back into the pre-hiatus guy, and I know it's somewhat a product of the environment around here bashing you at every turn. Let's start fresh.

you are absolutely and unequivically wrong.

Which one of those players is a legit center fielder?

I'd think they'd be in the same position we are, trying to maximize '08 chances. Hudson is pretty key for them.

One guy I have been thinking about, although it's more of a trade for the future, is Chris Nelson of the Rockies system. He was a #1 choice from BP's high school, and although he started slow, he really came on last year and could blossom into a really good middle infielder.

He's blocked by Tulo and there are other SS/2B prospects in their system, and they need pitching.

And so we come full circle to the Baywatch.  I like the Hudson gambit.  The D'Backs just traded Callaspo to KC, so maybe they do plan to move Hudson and use Burke as a placeholder for Bonifacio, who is at least a year away.  

Josh Rodriguez moving in at 2B in 2009 seems overly sanguine, though.

Assuming Hudson's injury isn't anything to worry about, he would be a good candidate for a trade. He gets on base a decent clip and has already had a few seasons of success in the AL.

Arizona is a good match on a couple of levels. They could certainly use starting pitching at the back of their rotation. I hope they feel they can do better than Doug Davis as their #3. Cliff Lee and change could be enough to get Hudson to the Cleveland. Peralta too, might be a quality addition for them. Given that their lineup posted a sub-.250 average for the year, they are one of the few teams that would be willing to overlook Peralta's defensive shortcomings because the offensive improvement he'd represent.