Hot Stove Thread, Part II

I was OK with it when the deal was reportedly Lee and Shoppach for Bay, although I really like Shoppach and think he could be an better-than-average piece in the Indians' lineup. I'm just not completely sold on Lee, although a change of scenery could help him as well.

I think adding Miller and Gutierrez is WAAAAAAAYYY too much to get just Bay and Paulino in return. Bay seems to have plateaued a little bit the last year or so, and Paulino ... well, my mother used to say, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

 

It's more of a salary thing than anything else. Plus, Matsui is starting to show some wear & tear on him. I think that consecutive-game streak is showing, and not everyone is a Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken or Steve Garvey [/duckingfromcubsfans]. Austin Jackson (21 years old) looks like a real stud and Jose Tabata is about two, maybe three years away from being a real masher. Matsui is a very good player, but if you have a club dumb enough to offer up a young, hard-throwing left-hander and a few other spare parts for an outfielder on the wrong side of 30 with a couple dings on him, you do that deal.

 

Hey, Norm! If you were a hot dog, and you were starving, would ya eat yourself?

EDIT: In a minor Harry Caray threadjack, at least our boys in Iraq still know how to have some fun. ;D

 

I don't like posting three times in a row, but this merits the trifecta: Padres & Pirates in discussions for a Jason Bay deal.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3151599

 

Bay is a tough call. It's not so much that he hit a plateau. He was an outstanding player, and then he was awful this past season. Kind of like Travis Hafner, but even worse in 2007. But the talent and track record makes it seem like a rebound is likely, also like Hafner's case.

I understand not wanting Paulino. But as much as I like Shoppach, trading Bay for Shoppach and Lee made no sense for the Pirates. Lee was terrible last year and he makes a decent amount of money, too. In that deal, it just made more sense for the Pirates to hang on to Bay and hope he can pump his value back up.

 

Perhaps two in a row for me here, unless somebody jumps in. I read that just now, too.

Supposedly, the Padres and Pirates discussed a deal that would send Xavier Nady and Nate McLouth to the Padres for top prospect Chase Headley, which made some sense. The Padres need immediate help in the outfield and the Pirates have other options and no real hope of contending in 2008, if ever.

I'm guessing the Padres decided that it wasn't worth giving up a quality prospect for those two. But if they are really talking about Bay, Morris and McLouth for Headley and Barrett, the new regime in Pittsburgh is just as stupid as the old one.

 

Miguel Tejada to the Astros for five players:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-tejada1212,0,378258.story

 

I'm trying to figure out why the Astros did that deal.

 

They gave up no one good to rent a good player for 2 years. I guess he gives them more offensive production at short.

 

Jeez, you'd think any team dealing for Tejada would want to at least wait until after the Mitchell Report is out.

I wonder if a move to Houston will actually do anything to rejuvenate Tejada, who has been in a steady decline.

Edit: Zeke, from what I've read, none of the prospects they gave up was particularly good. Scott probably wasn't going to get much of a chance to play and this is a big offensive upgrade at shortstop.

But they still have bigger needs and I doubt this move alone helps them keep up with the Cubs and Brewers.

 

Patton was ranked Houston's No. 3 prospect and Costanzo No. 6 by Baseball America. John Sickels of minorleagueball.com had Patton No. 1 and Costanzo No. 5. (Albers was not "eligble" to be on those lists since he had too many ML innings)

 

Ok. So much for what I read about those prospects. Thanks lantaur.