A deal that benefits me

Junior in Chicago?!?

This excites me for absolutely no other reason than the fact that I get to have the most beautiful swing in baseball in my backyard.

Manny-Bay-Prospects... Does it make sense?

I woke up this morning to see if I was dreaming about the likely three-way trade involving Jason Bay and Manny. Here's why it makes sense for everyone involved:

1. Boston gets to send Manny to the NL while getting a player in return who is nearly as productive this year but is not disruptive. Bay still has a year before free agency as well, and could therefore become part of the Red Sox' longterm plans. And the most important part for for Boston: Tampa Bay does not get Jason Bay. Boston also gets reliever John Grabow. It costs them Manny for the playoff run, cash, and a couple strong prospects.

2. Florida gets a productive outfielder, Manny, free for a playoff run (from what I hear Boston will pay Florida the rest of Manny's salary). They give up a couple strong prospects.

3. Pittsburgh gets much needed high-level talent for their farm system, something like four players. They give up Jason Bay.

At first I was skeptical that Boston would trade Manny at this point in the year but considering age, won't Bay be at least as good as Manny for the next few years? And they can more easily keep him around.

Meanwhile, we know Florida is a weird team and probably just wants to go on a strong run this year before selling their team off or something. They do not have to pay the full cost for Bay to the Pirates so it is not a big loss for them.

The Pirates will presumably get great return on Jason Bay, because the Rays and the Red Sox now have to work against each other, both having a desire not only for Bay but also for the other team to not have Bay.

Rumors are that either the Pirates want slightly better prospects or the Marlins want Boston to send a prospect their way. I'm sure I'll be addicted to checking back all day to see what happens.

The greatest part is that the Pirates don't NEED to trade Bay. If we're not happy about the deal, just hang onto him and trade him in the off-season or next year at this time. With a year of arbitration left, the guy is like gold. We should get a couple elite prospects and a couple 2nd or 3rd tier prospects for him.

Finally, with Tampa Bay and Boston both in the running for Bay, the Nady/Marte-to-Yankees trade looks better and better, as it turned up the heat on these two teams to improve their situation.

Trade deadline!!

As I've said before, this is an exciting season for Pirate fans, as we have a new front office that sometimes shows shades of competence. This is a huge improvement from the last seven or so years.

The Pirates have a decent offense this year and the worst pitching anyone's ever seen. Our minor league system is practically bankrupt.

A couple days ago we traded RF Xavier Nady and RP Damasco Marte to the Yankees for four prospects. Three were pitchers of various pedigrees, although none are top-shelf talent. The last guy, whose name is Tabata, is a 19-year-old OF with potential to be a star, although he's had a rough year in the minors so far.

Despite what some media members have said, it's a great deal for the Pirates, because Xavier Nady is mediocre and is simply having a career year. He's just as likely to fall flat on his face in New York as to continue his good year there. Marte is a relief pitcher and was going to be gone at the end of the season anyway. Nice job (general manager) Huntington!

Some have complained that we helped the Yankees. I could care less if it's the Yankees or anyone else. In fact, I'll be cheering a bit for the Yankees because Nady and Marte are both really great guys who liked Pittsburgh a lot.

As I have stated more than once, if Jason Bay is traded, I will cheer for his new team until the Pirates are good again. That promise is still on, and while there is a good chance Bay will not be traded in the next 24 hours, there is still a chance.

In fact, the Tampa Bay Rays are looking more and more like his new team. The Cardinals are in the mix too, but they don't have as much to offer. I would be excited to cheer for the Rays, although it'll make me look like a bandwagon jumper. Oh well.

All Star Game Thoughts...

1. I loathe J.D. Drew. So of course he won the MVP award.

2. I'm a little bit concerned about Brad Lidge. Giving up a walk-off homer to Albert Pujols in the NLCS a few years ago really rattled him. He didn't recover until he came to Philly this year. Will losing the ASG last night have a similar affect on him? I sure hope not... cuz he just signed a 3-year deal...

3. I was really impressed with that one inning where the AL had the bases loaded with no outs and the pitcher got three infield hits in a row with outs at home. The other really impressive play was Nate McClouth's throw from center to home for another out. It was a PERFECT throw. Any other location on the ball and it wouldn't have been an out. Perfect.

4. Fifteen innings? Really? I mean... I usually like extra inning games... but I think this was kind of ridiculous in light of the managers trying to get all the players in... and still trying to win... AND trying to protect guys like Kazmir and Webb who weren't supposed to pitch. Should the managers have extra players in case of a never-ending game like this year's? Should pitchers be replaced if they're not able to be used in the game?

5. With that... should the game matter? I like that it matters b/c it makes the guys actually try to win. On the other hand... since the AL is clearly the better league [though you wouldn't necessarily know it from last night's game] it's almost a "gimme" that the AL will get home field advantage for the World Series. That kinda blows.

The Battle for NL Central B

The NL Central is the only division with six teams. This does not make it unfair for these teams, because two or three of these teams are always among the worst in the league.

Each year there are 1-3 teams competing for a playoff spot and the other 3-5 teams compete to be the best of the bad.

That's why I have created the NL Central B-division. Since the Pirates will never win the NL Central again, we can at least be the best of the teams that are eliminated by July.

If we take a look retroactively, the Pirates haven't even won the B-division for a few years:

In 2007, the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals all had at least 78 wins, while the Astros won the B-Division over the Reds and Pirates with 73 wins (Pirates: 68 wins).

In 2006 the Cardinals, Astros and Reds all had at least 80 wins while the Brewers won the B-Division with 75 (Pirates: 67 wins).

In 2005 the Cardinals and Astros had at least 89 wins, while the Brewers won the B-League with 81 (Pirates: 67 wins).

In 2004 the Cardinals, Astros and Cubs all had at least 86 wins, while the Reds won the B-Division with 76 wins (Pirates: 72 wins).

And in 2003, the Cardinals, Astros and Cubs all had at least 85 wins while the Pittsburgh Pirates won the B-Division with 75!! Oh yeah. This was of course a Lloyd McClendon-managed year of craziness, including Randall Simon hitting a certain sausage over the head with a baseball bat.

So it's been 5 years since our last B-League championship. How are things shaping up this season?

Well, the two divisions are clearly set already: The Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers are competing for playoff spots (50-55 wins), while the Pirates, Astros and Reds are in the B-Division (42-43 wins).

Currently, Cinci and Pitt are tied for the lead while Houston is a game back. I'll be chronicalling our quest for a B-Division championship the rest of the season.

Go Bucs!

(Hey, when you've been losing for this long, you'll take what you can get.)

c.c. ya later

welp... so much for that.

c.c. if it happens

could the phils get sabbathia?

who could they possibly give up that would even out the trade?!!?

i like the lineup just the way it is, thank you. so please don't give the indians any of the following:

utley... obviously
rollins
howard
burrell... though a year ago i'd be in shock that i now want to keep him
victorino
werth
feliz... we spent too long trying to find a good 3b
ruiz... bat's terrible right now... but defensively he's a gem
coste... great backup catcher and a good bench bat
dobbs... the "pinch-hitter extraordinaire"

i don't have strong feelings for bruntlett or jenkins or taguchi... but i appreciate what they've been able to do both in the field and at the plate. but... if they had to go... okay.

as for pitchers... i need to keep:

hamels... obviously
kendrick
myers
moyer... old... but reliable most of the time
lidge
condrey
durbin
romero

i'd eagerly part with eaton. and i'm always skeptical of madson and gordon... so i'd be fine if they left, too.

am i forgetting anyone important?

the alternative is for the phils to dig into their minor league prospects. apparently there are some good ones... though i don't know any of their names. it's a tough call for me... b/c we could have some brilliant players preparing to come up... but... at the same time, i'd more easily let them go since i don't have an emotional connection to them. [note that i said "to" them rather than "with" them. "to"implies the one-sidedness of the connection/obsession. "with" would imply a mutual connection. only in my dreams.]

if chase ever leaves me, by the way... i'll be absolutely devastated. i'd like the phillies to lay down the big bucks and just keep him for his entire career. course... that's what their plan was with burrell... until he hit his 3-year slump. course... he's coming out of it... and loves philly... so maybe he'll stay after all. [how he loves it there i have no idea... fans have been harassing him for the duration of his slump.]

hamels will jet the second he gets offered more money. not b/c he doesn't like philly... but b/c he's a little bit arrogant and has one of the most awful, greedy, manipulative human beings on the planet as his wife. i don't seem him staying with the phils long-term... though i wish he would. he'll prolly end up with the yanks or bosox or something like that. i'd rather keep him around... but money's a powerful thing.

as for c.c.... do i want him? depends on the price tag. not if it'd break up my beloved starting lineup. i can see him doing well in philly though... and having him would certainly bolster the rotation.

if, of course, he can get used to the hitter-friendliness of The Bank.

Losing

I have to be honest. It's difficult for me to post when the Phillies are losing. I stop watching Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight. I can't go to ESPN.com or Delaware Online b/c I don't want to see articles about a single Phillies' loss... much less a streak of losses. I live in denial.

Brett Myers got demoted to the minors yesterday... though... they're saying that it's not a demotion. It's a way for him to get his fastball back to normal without the pressure of needing to win. And it's so he can reboost his confidence. He'll apparently be back in a few starts and the guy they pulled up from the minors to replace him will go back down.

It's a wonder they never sent Adam Eaton down to the minors.

I'm not really sure what's wrong with the Phils right now. Myers not pitching well is certainly part of it. But something weird happened with them during all the interleague play. It's rather distressing. Still in first place... but barely.

They're a good team. So I'm fairly certain that they'll pull it together and be back to their normal form soon. Well... at least I hope they will.