July 29 - A Big Day of Trades

The July 31 deadline was still two days away, but July 29 felt like the trading deadline. There were four deals on July 29, with the Pirates and the Mariners each doing two deals but the monster trade was between the Indians and the Phillies.

1) The Indians send Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco to the Phillies for four of their top ten minor league prospects - pitcher Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald, catcher Lou Marson and pitcher Jason Knapp. Lee, the 2008 Cy Young award winner, was 7-9 this season with a very solid 3.14 ERA inn 22 starts. He immediately gives the Phillies a great 1-2 punch with Cole Hamels. Lee has an $8 million option for next year, which the Phillies will most certainly pick up (considering Oliver Perez makes $12 million a year, Lee is a bargain at $8 million). Francisco has 10 HRs, 33 RBIs and 13 steals and was starting most games for the Indians. He will now be the fourth outfielder.

Carrasco, signed by Philadelphia as a free agent in 2003, was the Phillies #2 prospect. He was struggling at Triple A this season with a 5.18 ERA. However he has 112 strikeouts in 114 innings and his strikeouts to walks ratio is a very good 3-1 ratio (only 38 walks in 114 innings). Donald, drafted in the third round of 2006, recently just came back from surgery on his knee. He has struggled as well at Triple A, hitting only .230. However, when healthy, in his last two seasons at A and AA ball, he hit over .300. Marson, a fourth round pick in 2004, has terrific patience at the plate, having drawn 239 walks in his major league career. He can hit for average but not for power. Knapp, a former second round pick in 2008, is currently on the minor league DL with shoulder fatigue. However Knapp has struck out 111 batters in 85 innings in A ball this season with a strikeouts to walks ratio of nearly 3 to 1.

Analysis - Fair deal for both sides with the advantage going to the Phillies. The Phillies get their ace without giving up their two top prospects, Kyle Drabek or Dominic Brown (or even Michael Taylor, their top prospect closest to being ready). They also get a good fourth outfielder in Francisco who gives them speed off the bench, something they are really lacking. The Phillies now can be considered right along with the Dodgers as the team to beat in the National League.

The Indians get a good deal of talent. Each of the four players they received were listed by Baseball America as being one of the Phillies Top Ten prospects. Carrasco and Marson are the closest to helping right now, especially if the Indians trade Victor Martinez today as rumored. Knapp gives them a pitching prospect so desperately needed considering all the pitching prospect failures they have. And if Donald regains his hitting stroke at Triple A, then the Indians may have their second baseman of the future.

2) The Pirates send shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to the Mariners for shortstop Ronny Cedeno, first baseman/catcher Jeff Clement and pitching prospects Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock. Wilson, who could be a free agent after this season (his contract has a club option of $8 million for 2010), was hitting .267 with four homers and 31 RBIs. But Wilson has been always known for his defense. Snell, who had his best year in 2007 ( 3.76 ERA in 208 innings with 177 innings), has struggled since. So much so that he was sent down to Triple A, where he was downright dominant (0.96 ERA and 47 Ks in 37 innings).

Clement, a former first round draft pick, was hitting .288 at Tacoma with 14 HRs, 33 doubles and 68 RBIs. With Seattle last season, Clement struggled in 200 plus at bats, hitting .227 with 5 HRs and 23 RBIs. As for Cedeno, at the plate, he makes Jack Wilson look like Derek Jeter. This season, Cedeno was hitting .170 with 5 HRs and 17 RBIs in 182 at bats. He is a lifetime .238 hitter. Pribanic, a third round pick in 2008, had a 3.21 ERA at Class A Clinton. Lorin, a fifth round pick in 2008 and a teammate of Pribanic's at Clinton, has an ERA of 2.44 and is averaging a strikeout per inning in 88 innings. Adcock, a fifth round pick in 2006, has struggled at high A High Desert with a 5.21 ERA and 4.5 walks per 9 innings (he does have 260 strikeouts in 320 minor league innings).

Trade Analysis - Well, lo and behold. Two days after I wrote at length about Neal Huntington's bad deals, Neal pulls off his first of two good trades of the day. This is the gem of the two. Wilson is a great fielder with some pop. His one home run is not really indicative of Wilson, who averaged nearly 10 HRs a season the past five seasons. Still, a relatively light hitting Wilson is not worth $8 million for next season. Snell wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh with an attitude that often didn't match his stats. He actually requested his demotion to Triple A, noting that there was "Too much negativity." He was due to make $4.25 million next season and that's too much to pay a Triple A pitcher who wants no part of the Pirates. The Pirates should immediately call Clement up and let him play. He definitely has 20 HR potential with the short but high porch at PNC. Lorin and Pribanic look to be future middle starting rotation guys, so the Pirates did very well here.

Seattle made this trade thinking they still have a chance for the wild card being five and a half games behind the Red Sox coming into Thursday's play (they are not out of the AL West but have a bigger deficit to overcome being seven and a half games behind the Angels). However, there had been talk that Seattle was going to trade Jarrod Washburn (and they still might). Wilson will give them the everyday shortstop they need for the next year and two months. But again, he is not worth $8 million. Snell is an absolute wild card. He might pitched to his potential like he did in 2007. Or he might implode again and be the 2009 pitcher with a 5.32 ERA who for his career has averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings. Clement never had a chance to show his potential while with the Mariners and that might come back to haunt them.

3) The Pirates send Freddy Sanchez to the Giants for pitching prospect Tim Alderson. Sanchez, the 2006 NL batting champ and a lifetime .300 hitter, was hitting .296 this season Sanchez plugs an immediate hole for the Giants at second base and gives them a top of the order hitter so desperately needed on a team that is next to last in the National League in runs scored. The doubles machine should find the gaps at AT&T Park to his liking.

In Alderson, the Pirates get the #62 rated prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus. Alderson, the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 draft, has pitched well since promoted to Double A. Alderson has a 6-1 record with a 3.47 ERA and a strikeouts to walks ratio of 3 to 1. The Baseball Cube's scouting report gives Alderson 100 percent efficiency rating, a 97 control rating and a 84 K rating. Pretty damn good.

Trade Analysis - Good for both sides. Right now, Giants GM Brian Sabean is going for this year. Sanchez gives the Giants a legitimate two hitter and solid play in the field. He will make $8 million next year which I guess is fine, but here's another team that could have got Orlando Hudson a lot cheaper. Sabean must also think that with Lincecum, Cain and Jonathan Sanchez, he could afford to trade Alderson. But with Zito and Randy Johnson on their way out, trading Alderson could be a huge mistake if the Giants don't make the playoffs.

As for the Pirates, this is two for two for Huntington on the day. Alderson is a legitimate top of the rotation pitching prospect, something they desperately needed. It's clearly evident that Huntington thought that his farm system and team needed to be completely rebuilt. With the trades of Sanchez and Wilson, Huntington has traded 5/8 of his starting lineup from the beginning of this season (Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan, Adam LaRoche, Wilson and Sanchez).

4) Mariners trade outfielder Vladimir Balentien to the Reds for pitcher Robert Manuel. Balentien was always a top prospect for the Mariners (was listed as the #5 prospect in 2008). However, he didn't get his 11 rating in contact from the Baseball Cube for nothing. In his two plus years playing for the Mariners, Balentien has struck out 122 times in 401 at bats, hitting .209. But he did have 12 homers during that time and he has a 97 rating on power. Meanwhile Manuel, an undrafted free agent, quietly has been one of the Reds best prospects, averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings with a strikeouts to walks ratio of more than 5 to 1 (yes, you read that right). He was the closer at Louisville for the Reds with 10 saves and a 2.70 ERA. He has pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the Reds

Analysis - Balentien wore out his welcome with the Mariners with his lack of contact. Thus he was designated for assignment in favor of Michael Saunders before the trade. That the Mariners got such a good pitcher like Manuel in return for him is a win win situation. The Reds, desperate for offense, hope to straighten Balentien out. Since they are short in the outfield, Balentien will get to play right away. Time will tell if the Reds can straighten Balentien out, but I give the advantage for now to the Mariners, who certainly could use the bullpen help.

5) From July 27 - The Indians trade Ryan Garko to the Giants for pitcher Scott Barnes. Garko, who had 90 RBIs last year in less than 500 at bats, was hitting .280 this season with 11 HRs and 39 RBIs in 246 at bats. Garko immediately becomes the everyday first baseman for the Giants. Barnes, the ninth rated prospect in the Giants system this season, is having a stellar year at Class High A San Jose with a 12-3 record, 2.85 ERA averaging a strikeout per inning in 98 innings.

Analysis - Again, the Giants trade a solid pitching prospect for an everyday bat. Sabean has certainly upgraded his offense with Garko and Sanchez. Has he mortgaged the future trading two solid pitching prospects in Alderson and Barnes. Again, its a matter of time, but Sabean had to do something with the current putrid state of the Giants offense. Will Garko and Sanchez make the difference we'll see.

For the Indians, its curious to see them trade a player who had 90 RBIs last season and is just arbitration eligible for the next three years. They could have signed him to a reasonable contract. But with Andy Marte, Matt LaPorta and others available to play first, including even Victor Martinez, Garko was expendable. Barnes gives the Indians another solid arm in the minors but he is at least two years away. Give the advantage to the Giants for getting a reasonably inexpensive every day bat here.

There is still a good amount of time left till the July 31 4:00 PM trade deadline. Roy Halladay, Victor Martinez, George Sherill among others are the big names being talked about. Something interesting usually happens but the past two days have been pretty eventful already.

The Curious Case of Neal Huntington

Last Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the Pirates were to play the Brewers at PNC Park, there was a buzz around the clubhouse that Adam LaRoche (pictured to the left) was being traded. Sure enough, the Pirates shortly later announced that LaRoche was traded to the Red Sox for a Double AA shortstop, Argenis Diaz and Single A RHP Hunter Strickland. LaRoche, a free agent after this season was hitting .247 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs. The last three seasons, LaRoche averaged 26 HRs and 88 RBIs.

Now I don't have a problem with LaRoche being traded. The Pirates are a small market team, and LaRoche is going to be a free agent. Thus, they needed to trade him. But I have two questions for the Pirates.

1) Since LaRoche was going to be a free agent at the end of the season, why didn't they trade him sooner and keep Nate McLouth instead? Nate McLouth (pictured here) was signed in February of this season to a three year 15.75 million dollar contract with an option for 2012. Pretty reasonable for an all star hitting outfielder who had 26 HRs, 93 RBIs, 113 runs scored and 23 steals in 2008 and won't turn 28 till October.

Yet the Pirates traded McLouth to the Braves in the beginning of June for pitchers Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez. What was the reason behind this? Money? Did they think the 27 year old McLouth had reached his ceiling and couldn't get any better? If it was money, why sign him to the three year contract in February? Certainly you thought he was worth it then. What would change your mind barely two full months in the season?! If it was money, why not trade LaRoche then? He was the free agent at the end of the season. There were teams that certainly needed a power hitting first baseman at the time McLouth was traded. Carlos Delgado was already on the shelf for the Mets by the time the Pirates traded McLouth. Just doesn't make sense.

2) If you are going to trade LaRoche, couldn't you have got one good prospect that's nearly ready or at least one very good prospect? Seriously, Diaz was hitting .253 at Double A, with no pop (no HRs, 14 doubles and 1 triple in 277 at bats). He is a very good fielder (named Boston's best minor league defensive player of the year three years in a row). But he hasn't shown he can hit nor does he have speed (only seven steals in eleven attempts this season). And the other player, Hunter Strickland was an 18th round pick of the Red Sox who had a 3.35 ERA at Single A Greenville in the South Atlantic League. LaRoche's numbers were down this season but his career OPS in the second half of the season is .941, which is pretty impressive. Yet, the Pirates could get only two minor league players who may never get to the majors and if they do, it will certainly take Strickland at least two years and Diaz probably one full year.

It's a pretty simple reason. Money. The Red Sox were willing to assume the rest of LaRoche's contract for the season (nearly 3 million). Apparently other teams were willing to offer a better prospect but couldn't take all the money. Even more the reason to have traded LaRoche sooner. They could have eaten some of the money (say the 4 million they paid him already this year), traded him sooner and got a better player in return. The Pirates already have moved Diaz to Triple A Indianapolis to try to placate their remaining fan base.

If these two trades don't make you start questioning the Pirate franchise, then perhaps this dandy of one done on my baseball trip will finally convince you. On Monday, June 29th, I saw Nyjer Morgan (pictured left) play left field and bat second for the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC against the Chicago Cubs. On Friday, July 3rd, I saw Nyjer Morgan play centerfield and hit leadoff for the Washington Nationals against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park. That's because the Pirates traded Morgan on Wednesday, July 1st to the Nationals for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.

In 278 at bats, Morgan was hitting .277 for the Pirates with 18 steals and an on base percentage of .351. In 70 at bats for the Nationals, Morgan is hitting .329 with 11 steals and an on base percentage of .368. Milledge, had been sent down by the Nationals after the first month and was still out due to an injury he suffered in the minors. Hanrahan, briefly the Nats closer had a ERA of 7.71 with the Nationals while giving up FIFTY hits in 32 innings this season.

Morgan is also known as an excellent defensive outfielder (just ask the Mets on their recent road trip to DC on how good Morgan is) while also being a really positive influence in the clubhouse. Milledge is a well known cancer who the Mets happily traded away to Nats (during the moronic Jim Bowden era) and the Nats couldn't be more happy to be rid of as well (on that same day they got rid of Milledge, they sent down the equally troublesome Elijah Dukes to make a spot for Morgan - a win, win, win situation for the Nats). As I noted in my previous trip post of the Nats-Braves game, one fan described the Pirates getting Hanrahan as "I guess the Pirates saw something in Hanrahan that we hadn't seen in the first sixty games".

What do all these moves have in common? One man, Neal Huntington, general manager of the Pirates. Huntington was hired as general manager of the Pirates in October, 2007. Under Huntington, the Pirates have stressed sabermetrics, or perhaps I should say Huntington's brand of sabermetrics. Under Huntington, the following trades were made.

1) Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor leaguers Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, and Dan McCutchen. Nady at the time was hitting .330 with 13 HRs and 57 RBIs in 327 at bats. He added 12 HRs and 40 RBIs in 227 ABs for the Yankees (giving him 25 HRs 97 RBIs in 554 ABs - very nice numbers). Marte at the time of the trade had a 3.47 ERA and averaged a strikeout per inning in 47 innings pitched. Marte would struggle with the Yankees the remainder of the year posting an ERA of 5.00. Nady and Marte have been hurt most of the 2009 season, Nady needing Tommy John surgery on his elbow.

As for the "booty" the Pirates received in return, the prize prospect was Jose Tabata, an outfielder with a questionable attitude and background. Tabata, 21, is repeating Double A ball again this year at Altoona, showing very little power (2 HRs and 13 doubles in 200 ABs) while hitting .290 with only six steals. McCutchen, a little old for a prospect at 26 (turns 27 in October), has been OK with Triple A Indianapolis with a 9-5 record with a 4.19 ERA and a ratio of 3-1 in strikeouts to walks. He was a 13th round pick of the Yankees back in 2006. Both

Karstens and Ohlendorf have been up with the Pirates since the trade last year. Karstens, a 19th round pick of the Yankees in 2003, got off to a good start in 2008 for the Pirates before cooling off with a 4.03 ERA in nine starts. This season Karstens struggled and was sent to the bullpen. Currently he has a ERA of 4.26 ERA in 25 games (with 10 starts). Karstens has a very poor strikeouts to walks ratio of 1-1 (36-36) in 82 innings. Ohlendorf, a fourth round pick of the Diamondbacks in 2004 (traded to the Yankees in the 2007 Randy Johnson deal), has equally as struggled. In 2006, Ohlendorf had an ERA of 6.46 in 62 innings with the Pirates. This season, Ohlendorf has a 4.59 ERA in 19 starts. Ks to walks are also a problem for Ohlendorf. Last year it was 49-31 and this season it's 62-32 in 111 innings (the walks have improved).

2) Jason Bay to the Red Sox, Manny Ramirez from the Sox to the Dodgers for Brandon Moss, Andy LaRoche, Craig Hansen and Bryan Morris (Pirates picked up two players each from the Dodgers and the Red Sox). Bay, of course, was an All Star for the Pirates, having two 100+ RBI seasons. He would end up with 101 RBIs in 2008 with a combined 31 HRs for both the Pirates and the Red Sox and he is having a good year with 20 HRs and 72 RBIs. The return for Bay was not horrible, but not great either. Moss is hitting .254 with 5 HRs and 27 RBIs, while LaRoche is hitting .262 with 4 HRs and 37 RBIs. So Moss and LaRoche have 11 less HRs and 8 less RBIs combined than Bay. LaRoche is a former 39th round pick of the Dodgers while Moss was an eighth round pick of the Sox.

Hansen, who makes as much money as LaRoche and Moss combined ($825,500) is a former first round pick who has been out most of the season with a nerve issue in his neck. Hansen had struggled in his two seasons with the Red Sox putting up ERAs over 6.00 in both seasons. Hansen was consistent in his time with the Pirates last season, also putting up an ERA of 6.00. Meanwhile, Bryan Morris, who was selected in the first round by the Dodgers in 2006 is struggling at A Ball with an ERA over 5.00.

3) Pirates acquire Delwyn Young for two players to be named. The Dodgers had designated Young for assignment and the Pirates traded two minor league players for Young. It was actually Huntington's best move as general manager. Young, a switch hitter, has hit .321 for the Pirates with 4 HRs and 21 RBIs in 159 at bats. He is probably not an everyday player, but certainly is a nice bat to have off the bench.

4) Nate McLouth to the Braves for pitchers Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez. Morton is now with the Pirates and actually has shown some talent in his seven starts with a 3.86 ERA. Locke, a former second round pick of the Braves, has struggled in his two seasons in the minors and currently has a ERA of nearly 6.00 in 82 innings at A ball. Hernandez, signed as a free agent by the Tigers in Venezuela in 2005, is at Double A Altoona, where he is hitting .294 overall for the season with an ugly 93 strikeouts in 391 at bats and an even worse ratio of 14 steals in 26 attempts. Hernandez also only has 2 HRs on the year.

The deal was so criticized by the Pirates media and fans that Huntington had to send an "open letter" e-mail out to Pirates fans to defend the deal. In fact, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did an editorial after the deal noting the Pirates ownership should sell the team, stating "It's time Pittsburgh baseball had ownership worthy of the game." Ouch!

5) Eric Hinske to the Yankees for pitcher Casey Erickson and outfielder/catcher Eric Fryer. Hinske was signed as a free agent for one year at 1.5 million by the Pirates. He strictly was a role player for the Pirates and really was not needed on the Pirates with a crowded outfield and LaRoche at the time playing first. Hinske has 5 HRs on the year, most of that coming with the Yankees. Erickson is a former 10th round pick of the Yankees and actually has pitched well in A Ball averaging a 3-1 strikeouts to walks ratio. Fryer was selected by the Brewers in the 10th round in 2007 before being trading to the Yankees. Fryer has struggled at Single A, hitting .245 overall.

6) Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan. At least Milledge and Hanrahan are major leaguers, albeit Hanrahan is not a very good one. The jury is still out on Milledge, who has three big league seasons under his belt, hit .268 last season for the Nats with 14 HRs, 61 RBIs and 24 steals in 523 at bats. Currently Milledge is hitting .354 for Indianapolis since the trade.

My favorite Lastings Milledge moment when he was the with the Mets in 2007 and I was at my friend Joe's house on a Friday night for a party. A friend of his stunningly said the Mets should move Carlos Beltran (he of the two gold gloves) to right and put Milledge in centerfield (I was already aware of the scouting reports that said Milledge was a corner outfielder). Milledge was traded after the season to the Mets for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. As many baseball people know, Milledge proved with his erratic play last season that he is not a centerfielder, while Beltran won another Gold Glove. That guy was also a supposed computer expert and he was also clueless about Macbook Pros too, so he was two for two on the idiot scale.

Now Milledge might turn out to be a good ball player. But two teams, the Mets and the Nats, both cut Milledge loose. Two teams who weren't exactly stocked with good outfielders. Milledge was considered a risk by the Mets when they drafted him due to a questionable reputation. He has proved with his behavior in the majors so far that his reputation might have been warranted. And when the trade went down for Nyjer Morgan, a well liked player in the Pirates clubhouse, the Pirates' players sounded off.

6) LaRoche to the Red Sox for Argenis Diaz and Hunter Strickland. See above for analysis.

So out of six trades Huntington has made, only one, the Delwyn Young trade, looks to be good so far. The Hinske deal was strictly a salary dump. However, he should never have been signed in the first place. And LaRoche should have been traded in late May, early June. That could have been money used towards keeping McLouth. Look at the lineup the Pirates could have had today, had they kept McLouth.

CF Andrewl McCutchen

LF Nyjer Morgan

RF Nate McClouth

C Ryan Doumit

1B Garrett Jones

2B Freddy Sanchez

3B Andy LaRoche

SS Jack Wilson

Not bad and you very might have one of the best defensive teams in the major leagues. Alas, no. And you can't say that the McLouth trade was not money. The Brewers have 2/3 the market size that Pittsburgh has. Yet Milwaukee has a $80M payroll while the Pirates maybe have $50 million (if even that).

Now I went back in time and I noticed that Huntingtons were involved in several major deals in history.

1) Neal's grandfather, M. Donald Grant Huntington, was responsible for the trade in 1977 that sent Tom Seaver from the Mets to the Reds for Pat Zachary, Doug Flynn, Dan Norman, and Steve Henderson . Apparently Neal idolized Donald so much that he swore when he was GM of a club someday, he too would make such great deals.

2) Neal's great great great great grandfather, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours Huntington, was responsible for selling the United States the 828,000 acres of land in the Louisiana Purchase (cost, $15 million). Apparently Huntington was on orders from Napoleon Bonaparte to "find any means necessary to fund my war with Russia, even if you have to dump the Three Musketeers."

The United States ended up getting 14 states and Canada getting 2 provinces, kind of like the Red Sox getting Jason Bay and the Dodgers getting Manny Ramirez.

3) Neal's long ago descendant, Grand Chief Huntington, a member of the Canarsee Tribe, was the chief negotiatior responsible for selling the island of Manhattan to Peter Minuit, aka the Theo Epstein of New Amsterdam, for 60 guilders in 1626 (which would be $1000 now). Huntington did get a get town in Brooklyn, Canarsie, named after his tribe.

Now of course, I am being facetious about the long line of Huntingtons involved in these deals. However, all of the other facts in those above mentioned deals did occur (sans the Bonaparte quote). I have two points. One, Huntington is like M. Donald Grant, the French, and the Canarsee Tribe. Perhaps you might want to hold onto what you have. Down the road, it might be worth a lot more than now. Don't be so quick to deal your assets.

Second, Neal might want to tell his employers, you need to spend money to make money. Nickel and dime your team and you will end up with a team worth a nickel and a dime. Just look a few hours west to Milwaukee to see what you can do with a little more salary and better minor league development. Sadly, there's a reason why only 15,000 a night to come out to see the Pirates in what I think is the best baseball park in the major leagues . The proof is in the management.

The Good, the Bad and the Neal Huntington

There have been a few trades in major league baseball the last few days. They have a range of good, bad and ugly, or as I like to call it "The Good, The Bad and the Neal Huntington."

The Good - The A's trade star outfielder Matt Holliday to the Cardinals for third baseman Brett Wallace, outfielder Shane Peterson and right-handed pitcher Clayton Mortensen. The A's also threw in 1.5 million in cash in the deal.

The A's got two former first round picks in Wallace and Mortensen, who are in Triple A, and a former second round pick in Peterson who is in Double A. This is in exchange for an outfielder in Holliday who was hitting 286 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs but last season hit .321 with 25 HRs and 88 RBIs, and who is a free agent in two months and 1.5 million in cash.

The Cardinals got the star hitter that Tony LaRussa so desperately wanted to back up Albert Pujols with and Holliday responded with a four for five first night as the Cards pounded the Phillies. The lifetime .316 hitter will be very happy to be playing for a first place team and should see LOTS of good pitches to hit with Pujols in front of him.

However, the Cards did give up a lot for a player they will have for a little more than 2 months (3 months if they make the playoffs). Wallace is one of the top 10 prospects in baseball currently and his bat is ready for the major leagues. However, his glove is a question mark and he may end up at 1B for the A's. Mortensen is only spending his second year in the minors and is already at Triple A. He projects as a back end of the rotation starter. Peterson is an OBP machine who fits in with Billy Beane's ideal type of players. He is starting to hit for a little more power, as he has hit seven home runs this season as opposed to only one home run last season. But for Peterson, this is also his second year in the minors and the A's desperately need a leadoff hitter

But give Cardinals GM John Mozeliak credit for at least going for the brass ring. He knows with a starting staff of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainright and Joel Pineiro, his team probably has the best starting rotation in the NL Central. And now with Holliday to combine with Pujols and hopefully Ryan Ludwick resurging, the Cards are now the team to beat. Sometimes you have to give up a lot to get a lot. As for Billy Beane, he again proves how to get talent for talent.

The Bad - The Cardinals trade outfielder Chris Duncan to the Red Sox for shortstop Julio Lugo. Now the Cardinals needed a shortstop really bad with Khalil Greene's anxiety issues and Brendan Ryan not really a true shortstop. The question is will Lugo be the starting shortstop and are the Cardinals kicking in any salary? Lugo has 13.5 million left on his contract (not one of Theo Epstein's better moves).

The Boston Herald says that the Sox are going to be responsible for his contract, but does that mean the Cards are responsible for Duncan's $825,000? Who knows, but I find it hard to believe that Theo Epstein would pay for the entire remaining contract of Lugo plus the 2.5 million for LaRoche (see below), plus the the $825,000 for Duncan. Lugo by the way was hurt most of the season till recently, when the Red Sox designated him for assignment. He was hitting .284 with one home run in 37 games, so he still can play. Duncan was hitting .227 with 5 home runs and 32 RBIs and was sent to Triple A. Duncan will be strictly depth on a crowded Sox bench. You just wonder if the Cards could have just waited for Lugo to be released, which is what most people thought and then sign him.

The Neal Huntington - The Pirates trade Adam LaRoche for shorstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland. The Red Sox will assume the rest of LaRoche's salary for the season, 2.5 million.

The Pirates got a .253 hitting Double A shortstop who was signed as a free agent and a 18th round pick pitcher in Single A ball for a first baseman who was hitting .247 with 12 HRs and 40 RBIs (last season .270 25 HRs and 85 RBIs), who was a free agent at the end of the season, but historically has a .900 OPS the second half of the season and also averaged 26 HRs and 88 RBIs the last three seasons.

The A's got two players who were former first round picks and another player who was a former second round pick for Holliday. Huntington couldn't even get a player considered in the top ten prospects for the Boston Red Sox in his deal. The Holliday deal only reinforces how bad this deal was for the Pirates. In fact, the #11 prospect for the Sox, Yamaico Navarro was immediately moved up to Portland to replace Diaz. Somehow I don't think the Sox are going to miss Diaz.

That's just real awesome work by Huntington. Nice to see he is continuing in the tradition of inept Pirate GMs such as Dave Littlefield and Cam Bonifay. In fact, I have been so impressed by the ineptitude of Huntington, he will be featured in my next article entitled "The Curious Case of Neal Huntington".