Sport Chit Chat

First off, sorry that the Corpas pick up didn’t pan out. Fuentes stayed put, oops!

This week I’m suggesting new full time starter in Detroit Brandon Inge. He doens’t have a terrific average at only .221 but he has some decent power if you’re in need to some RBI’s. His average could increase as he get comfortable with the starting job and his biggest benefit is his eligibility. In FOXSports he is eligible at Catcher, Center Field & 3B (which in turn makes him also eligible at Utility, Infield Utility and Out Field Utility). If you need a flexible player that can fill rosters spots on off days, go with Inge.

I’m also going to suggest a look at Andy LaRoche. Another player who, through trade has gained a starting job. He will start at third for the Pirates and may be decent down the stretch.

-Maxmillien

Everyone now knows the news but do they really know? Yeah I got nothing left to introduce this trade. Manny Ramirez was traded away to the LA Dodgers Heyman first reported. I actually called Heyman a dick to “The Shark” for not providing us any details but that’s besides the point.

Here’s the trade:

LA Dodgers get Manny Ramirez for the rest of 2008, his team options were declined and he has agreed to decline arbitration when he is offered it. Talk about being nice.

Boston Red Sox get: My Canadian hero Jason Bay.

Pittsburgh gets Andy LaRoche (LA), Bobby Morris (LA), Brandon Moss (BOS) and Craig Hansen (BOS)

With LA, Manny Ramirez joins an underachieving Dodger team. He’s a great hitter and considered a poor defender. Not much else to say. I’m going to say he’s an underrated left fielder. People seem to think he’s the absolute worst defender out there. He’s just slow and makes some questionable plays every now and then. The monster makes everyone look bad. True Blue LA thinks they now have one of the worst defenses in the league. Blue Heaven hates it. I have to agree with them though, I don’t hate acquiring Manny as he’s a great player. The rest of the roster kind of sucks. Who’s the odd man out? They have an unhealthy glut of outfielders right now. Andy LaRoche will probably bite them in the bum.

The Red Sox get the best Canadian player in the league (arguable with Morneau but Bay has done his job for a floundering Pirates team). What doesn’t he have? No real upgrade, no experience on a winning team and therefore no playoff experience. The Red Sox gave up 7 million and two prospects for him. Still he’s a great player and I wish him the best. It’s still early but 35% of Sox fans hate the trade. I can see why they hate it, giving up money and two prospects for at best an equal player who is worth more due to his contract but notsomuch for the Sox.

The big winners of this deal, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Here’s a breakdown of the ’spects if you need more information.
Andy LaRoche: joins his brother Adam as the LaRoche Bros. are not servicing the corner infields. He was the Dodgers 2nd best prospect heading into the season and is still highly ranked. The problem? Dodgers management. He never got an opportunity to stick at 3rd where he’s expected to be a great player. He was the top 5th hitting prospect heading into this season. He has a near elite batting eye with a 1:1 walk to K ratio. He hits for some decent power, around 25 he projects but could hit 30 occasionally. Can be an all-star. Great great prospect despite his struggle in the majors. Scott Rolen type hitter?

Bryan Morris would be a great prospect but with pitchers and that dumb saying TINSTAPP, a pitcher is like risky stock, valuable one second, and worthless when he injured his arm. Morris had TJ surgery after his 2006 season missing all of 2007 and basically forgotten until this year. He would’ve been a top 5 prospect had the injury not taken place. He’s still 21 and is pitching well in A-ball. He needs to stay healthy (obviously). Control is an issue but he’s basically un-hittable in A-ball. I’d expect him to move up and he can be an excellent pitcher.

Craig Hansen may be their future closer. Out of all the players, I think he’s the best acquisition. People are low on him due to just not recovering from a failed major league opportunity. The Pirates bullpen are in need of a guy like Hansen who has unbelievable stuff and just needs a chance to put it together. No pressure and he should THRIVE. He’s still just 24 and expect him to see him in a closers role very soon. Expect Hansen to be a hot commodity in the next few years at the trade deadline. He was sold low and has struggled but if he puts it back together…

Brandon Moss: Was a hot commodity and was waiting for Coco Crisp to be traded. He can play CF/LF and will likely suit up in left. He has 20+ home run power and can take a walk and hits for average. Strikes out too much to my liking. Major league ready and he’ll easily replace Bay (well not easily…). Bucs Dugout likes it, calls it quantity and quality.

Overall analysis: Great, great trade for the Bucs. 3 major leaguers for Bay who are no slouches and will start or have vital roles. Morris won’t need to pan out but he’s a good looking prospect with good stuff and just needs to move up. The Red Sox are the losers, they don’t realistically gain any ground but gave up two prospects that might’ve been useful (Moss more so) and 7 million bucks. The Dodgers slightly get better but at the cost of a great prospect and for just a few months.

As first reported by si.com’s Jon Heyman, a very late 3-team trade has been completed, involving Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez. Ramirez will go to the LA Dodgers, with Jason Bay headed to Boston from Pittsburgh to replace him, while the Pirates will receive four prospects. Ken Rosenthal of Foxsports.com has the four prospects going to Pittsburgh as follows: third baseman Andy Laroche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers, and outfielder Brandon Moss and reliever Craig Hansen from the Red Sox. Both sources also report that Ramirez has consented to the trade and will also waive his two $20 million club options for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, meaning Manny will hit the free agent market this winter. The Red Sox will also pay the final $7 million of Ramirez’s contract. Stay tuned for more information shortly, as a news conference appears to be scheduled within the hour.

If someone told me the notoriously tight-fisted Florida Marlins would end up with Manny Ramirez just four days ago I would have laughed in their face. Well, now it appears it could happen. SI.com’s Jon Heyman is reporting Manny will waive his 10-5 rights (10 years in the major leagues, 5 with the same team) in a trade to Florida. The problem is, the trade has hit some snags. The 3-team deal involving Boston, Florida and Pittsburgh would see — as of right now — Manny going to Florida, Jason Bay moving from Pittsburgh to Boston to replace Manny in left field, and Pittsburgh receiving prospects from the Marlins and Red Sox, including outfielders Jeremy Hermida and Mike Stanton and pitcher Ryan Tucker from the Marlins. The snag that has hit this shocking blockbuster is the prospects going to Pittsburgh. Florida wishes to keep the highly-touted Stanton. This will most likely go down to the last minute of the deadline, and is shaping up to be a repeat of the four-team Nomar Garciaparra trade Boston pulled in 2004 with the Cubs, Minnesota and Montreal. Stay tuned for updates on what is turning into the surprise of the season: a $20 million player going to a team with a $22 million total payroll.
UPDATE: Well, the surprise of the season appears to be dead, according to both Espn.com’s Peter Gammons and Jayson Stark. While there is still time for this deal to work out, the whole situation sounds pretty confusing from all three sides, and it’s not quite clear if one party is to blame, or if all three are at fault. I’ll break it down with a full analysis at the end of the deadline when more details come in and the stories start to become clearer. In the meantime the focus now turns to the Pirates, who could still deal Jason Bay to one of many suitors. Reports have the Rays and, surprisingly, the Blue Jays inquiring about the British Columbia native’s services. Stay tuned, it should be a wild final two hours.

Son of a bitch! The major news outlets screwed up by jumping the gun on a deal that was thought to be done. Instead of the previously reported trade which had the Pirates get back Tabata and Ohlendorf like previously reported but instead of Coke and Kontos, they get Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens.

The bastards at Sports Illustrated quietly changed their article. Nice.

Dan McCutchen is a better prospect then George Kontos. His statistics in the minors are great. He’s pitching great in AAA and looks like a player that will at least help the back of the rotation or as a bull pen guy right away. He’s a solid older prospect in this case with some good upside.

Jeff Karstens is a 25-year old pitcher that does have a chance but his opportunity may be floating away. He’s had some success in ‘06 as a starter but in ‘07 he struggled as the spot starter/long man. He’s had a really good year in AAA. He may not be valuable in anyone’s eyes but for Pittsburgh he’s good for the depth and sometimes these pitchers do pan out.

A better trade for the Pirates but I still think it’s even. The Yankees give up two top 10 prospects (McCutchen was listed #10 by some) and some depth. I don’t think Nady/Marte are going to play out of this world and the Pirates are bottom dwellers so sucking more may be better (they better sign Alvarez) when the next draft in June comes around.

People are taking the Pirates getting fleeced overboard such as bringing up the compensation, that’s two years away and there is no guarantees of that happening. We’re not looking at Nady’s 2008 numbers and he should revert back to the norm.

The Yankees finally made a move to shore up some much needed holes in their team. They probably aren’t done but they got two very important pieces. Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte are both capable players playing for the laughing stock Pittsburgh Pirates and could help push the Yankees to a playoff spot. The trade? Nady and Marte for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke, and George Kontos.

Let’s take a look what the Yankees get:
Xavier Nady turns 30 years old later this year and has 1 year more of control. He’s a player capable of playing all 3 outfield potions. He has having a career year batting .330/.383/.535. Well above his career average, he is in line for a substantial raise next year. He replaces Hideki Matsui’s roster spot as the Yanks desperately needed someone to replace Matsui as his injury can be season-ending. Nady’s a solid guy but this is his peak season. He probably won’t be as good as he is ever again but he’s still a decent player.

Damaso Marte is a solid left-handed pitcher that is not just a loogy but can be used in those situations. The Yankees were in dire need of a set-up man as they moved Chamberlain to the rotation (a good move for the future). I expect his numbers to go up a bit (lots of relievers can’t pitch in NY) but he’s still a solid bull pen arm. I take Pittsburgh numbers with a grain of salt since they are playing at a lowerage situation. Marte is the type of arm you want for the playoffs if you make it there. The Yanks bullpen has good numbers but it’s a whole new ball game in October and it’s wise to acquire a veteran like Marte. He has a 6 million option that is worth picking up next season.

Both players may be Type A players but the real question is whether the Yankees would offer arbitration at all as I could see either player accepting.

The Pirates got 4 prospects:
Jose Tabata: is the top prospect in the deal, some could even say a blue chipper. He was untouchable the last few seasons but has since struggled mightily with injuries and the like. He was ranked #2 by John Sickels and loved by many fans. He’s turning 20 soon and is in AA but finally struggling this season. He doesn’t have much power…yet but hits well for average, gets on base and a lot of people he will project into a great player even a star. He was definitely the centerpiece of the deal.

George Kontos was rated the 15th best prospect in the Yankees system. He’s a 23-year old in AA having some alright success. He’s not really spectactular but could be an end of rotation or reliable bull pen guy. Reliable bull pen guy could mean closer for the Pirates. As a prospect he’s a very good acquisition as he’s close to being major league ready and is still quite young.

Ross Ohlendorf is a soon to be 25 - year old who has sucked and failed in the Yankee’s pen. He may be given a shot with the Bucs but to be honest I would like to see him spend considerable time in AAA before receiving another chance. He has a chance to be a reliable bull pen guy if handled right.

Phil Coke is a 26-year old lefty who does not throw hard but is having a successful campaign in AA this season and looks like a bullpen guy or a loogy.

Personally I find this deal to be even. Tabata is a top flight prospect that the Yankees held back from most suitors. The Yankees get non-rental players for their prospects which may help them win this season and next. They aren’t great players by any means but the prospects they gave up for the most part do not have high enough of an upside. Tabata isn’t a stud but may be which makes it even.

Tabata could make this trade a landslide deal for the Pirates but due to his risk and with what the Yankees are getting now, very very even. All four players may end up helping the Bucs and guys like Marte and Nady aren’t of much use to the Pirates as they just block roster spots for their future.

Some reaction: Pinstripe Alley called it a great deal by Cashman. After some though, Bucs Dugout likes the deal.