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08/01/2005 Archived Entry: "MLB News:After the Deadline"
The people who hyped up this trade deadline, must have been the same one's hired to promote Ben and Jen's "Gigli".
by Trent Harrison
So the Cubs taking a chance on giving up youngster Jody Gerut to the Pirates for the all-too-lethal Matt Lawton doesn't get get your heartrate soaring? How about Kyle Farnsworth getting the nod to anchor the Braves bullpen for a playoff run? Still nothing?
Yeah, well you and me both partner. We were supposed to see departures from Manny, Alfonso, and some more of Billy Beane's extraordinary last-minute moves. And the best thing to come out of the bottom-feeding NL West is Phil Nevin? Please, you GM's should be ashamed of yourselves. This isn't the free-wheeling, tradebait business of baeball we have all come to know and love( Thanks, of course to Mr. Steinbrenner). So, why such a lack of player movement as we head into the late season runs? Well. let's take a look...
First off, as of today there are more than fifty percent of the teams that are over the .500 mark right now, and if not for San Diego and Baltimore's recent nose-dive, there would be more. With so many teams hovering around for that Wild Card spot, not to mention a possible division title, most of the coaches and GM's seem to be content with their lineups and rotations. Making a move involving promising youngsters or valuable veterans just may seem a little too risky right now. Seeing what Toronto, Oakland, and Houston can do with their rosters gives almost any owner a shot at playoff contention.
There is also this surprising aspect- no threats. Where is that dominate lineup and/or rotation that seriously struck fear into the hearts of others teams and their skippers when that dominating empire came to town? Is it the White Sox, or the Cardinals? No disrespect here, but even those two teams owning the best current records don't exact the same fear that the previous Yankee lineups or Braves rotations used to. When the Tigers and Brewers feel as though they can match up with any team that they face, you know that this game is starting to get some parity. Teams can't count on coasting through certain series and looking ahead to the "marquee matchups", they all are pretty important now, no team wants to be at home in October and look back at getting swept by the D-Rays or Rockies as a reason for them to be missing the playoffs. What we've got here is some very good ballplayers on a bunch of very good teams, all with the attitude that this season is far from over, so these guys can go out and square off with these $100 million plus payrolls, and know that they have a legitimate shot at bringing them down.
So, I say to you this, o' faithful fans of the great baseball nation, get out to the ballparks wherever you can, because you can bet that there is going to be some fantastic baseball to be played out in the next two months. No team is to be feared, and yet no team is to be taken lightly. This is shaping up to be a showcase of some of the finest baseball ever to be played, and you have the chance to say you were there when it all went down.
See you all at the ballpark"
Trent Harrison
