I realize Bartolomania is sweeping LGT.  But I wonder if a better model for the Sabathia situation may be the Rick Sutcliffe trade of 1984  Mainly, of course, there is the issue of contraction, which immediately makes the Colon trade non-replicable.  But I see some other similarities.

For one, Sutcliffe was also in his walk year (he re-signed with the Cubs after the season) and he was about the same age as CC (27, about to turn 28 at the time of the trade).

Also, and this could be significant, Sutcliffe departed the Tribe as part of a package.  And I don't mean with Tim Drew.  George Frazier, despite the infamy imposed on him in the 1981 World Series, was a pretty decent reliever.  And Ron Hassey was a productive player everywhere he went in his long career.  I have a feeling that the best CC deals out there could involve a larger package, if for no other reason than to protect the acquiring team if CC bolts.

Finally, the Indians were not a bad team in 1984, or at least they had a nucleus of solid players and some prospects on the brink.  After all, the Indian Uprising was right around the corner.  It wasn't a blow-up situation like 2002.  And this can be seen in the incoming players.  Sutcliffe, et. al. didn't bring in prospects that were due to blossom 2-4 years later.  Mel Hall was already a regular in the majors.  Carter had gotten some playing time and would become a regular in 1985 and a star a year later.  I think that's what we're looking for now, a chance to cash in on our nucleus in 2009-2010, rather than an attempt to reload for 2011 and beyond.

I'm not very good at putting together mock trades.  But my conjecture is that we're looking less at Sizemore-Lee-Phillips and more at something along the lines of Hall-Carter.  And it will be for CC plus somebody and somebody else.  (Hassey notwithstanding, I don't think Shoppach is going anywhere.)

When the trade is done, we should know what Shap really thinks of this team.  If we get deep prospects, that means he has given up on the core and we can expect to see Peralta and Garko and Gutz and the like heading out of town.  If he brings in players like Hall and Carter (circa 1984), then he is still committed to the near future.

As much as I despise inter-league play, here it comes.  I know I am not the only recovering Reds fan here, so I self-indulgently put together an all-time team of players who plied their trades at both ends of the Buckeye State.

Please feel free to criticize or remind me of obvious choices I left out.  This mostly comes from memory and unsystematic searching.

My ideal here was to find players who did reasonably well for both teams.  This is not always possible at each position.  In difficult cases, I went with the overall best player.

In any case, a stroll down memory lane.

Continue reading this post »

Maybe others here know more about Chris O'Leary, or have opinions of his work.  But I found this link about his analysis of the mechanics of 20 top young pitchers, as identified in a recent SI piece.

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/RethinkingPitching/Essays/BaseballsTop20YoungP itchers2008.html

Since predicting Fausto's future is a cottage industry here and elsewhere, I thought I'd pass along O'Leary's take:

"2. Fausto Carmona: Carmona's a gangly guy whose mechanics are a bit hard to read as a result (which always makes me cautious). I like the hip/shoulder separation. However, he's showing the ball to Center Field (which is bad for the elbow), his PAS elbow is a little high, and his timing is a bit suspect. Notice how his GS foot is about to plant but his PAS arm isn't vertical. My gut won't let me be very positive about such a flailing, gangly guy. Yes, Bob Gibson flailed around, but after he release the ball."

So you don't have to waste time reading Eric Mack's power rankings like I did, I'll summarize the top four:

1. New York Yankees
They are the YANKEES!  How awesome!  I think I'm in love!

2. Cleveland Indians
Okay, I'll acknowledge they must have had a good year because I just noticed they have the best record in baseball.  But all they did was beat the other Midwestern teams out there in the cornfields.  They are in over their heads against real playoff teams, like the Yankees or Red Sox.

3. Boston Red Sox
Sure, they are a mess right now, but they are the Red Sox and can only be beaten by the Yankees.

4. Los Angeles Angels
You may think they can beat the Yankees, but they can't.  You may even think you remember them beating the Yankees in the post-season, but that is impossible.

I am really looking forward to the actual games.

Thanks, Ryan.

Thanks, Jay.

Bye all, see ya (maybe) next year.  Better things to do now.  There was some promise to this season.  Last year was way cool.  This year, well, the last week won't mean so much.

Mark:  Think about the bullpen, okay?

Say hi to Markos, too.  Viva Las Vegas!  Viva la Stratosphere!