Oswalt to Phils? ... The trade-deadline thread

Good night!

 

Spnited, thank you for helping to illustrate my point that BYH started the discussion of Berkman and finances, not me. So kind of you.

And BYH, here is your initial post on the subject, which was actually the first I saw the news of Berkman going to the Yankees.

Joel Sherman Tweeting the Yankees are close to acquring Lance Berkman. Let the caterwauling commence.

The whole world knows what you were getting at with that second sentence. I'm just glad we are past the days when we couldn't have this discussion without the fight.

 

Both Berkman and Kearns provide depth for a bench that has used Juan Miranda as the back-up DH/1B and because of match-ups used Colin Curtis as the DH in a key game against the second best team in baseball.

For essentially nothing, Kearns is a short-term upgrade over the Colin Curtis/Kevin Russo/Chad Huffmans of the world as a fourth outfielder since Marcus Thames can only pitch-hit or DH because he's a butcher in the field.

 

Eat a dick.

That comment (the one you quoted, not "eat a dick") was directed at anyone using this acquisition to declare the game is unfair--like Jeff Passan, who is a great writer but also contradictory here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-tradebuzz073010

Writes Passan: The have-vs.-have-not chasm that for the last 20 years has existed is as wide as ever, even with revenue sharing trying to artificially imbue the game with balance.

Yet this is from his PREVIOUS column (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoHdwomycEWnKFXHeSDjVx8HU84F?slug=jp-oswaltphillies072910), in which he lauds the Phillies pursuing a third straight pennant by landing Oswalt:

With free agency and revenue sharing and a wide-open international market, year-to-year dominance in the major leagues is as hard as ever. Three straight World Series isn’t just an accomplishment; it’s damn near impossible.

He sure doesn't seem to think the competitive balance is artificial there. So what is it? Is it the same teams feasting every year, or is it more balanced and unpredictable than ever before?

Nobody would have bitched about this trade if any one of the other 28 teams completed it--and it certainly seems a good quarter of those teams had a shot at making it, no matter what the financial cost ended up being to the team that acquired Berkman. So save the complaints for December, when the Yankees offer Lee--a noted headcase who cost the Indians the World Series with his complete ineptitude in 2007 and who has been on an amazing FOUR teams in a single calendar year despite brilliant pitching--twice as much money and twice as many years as anyone else. I still won't buy (get it? Buy? I'll be here all night!) the argument, but at least it'll be more compelling.

 

I actually think there are very few teams that would even pay $3.5 mil for what Berkman is today. Remember, he's having the worst season of his career.

I think the Astros should consider it a win that they saved $3.5M, got some bodies and opened up a spot for Brett Wallace.

Berkman was going to have to be gone next year anyway, because of the size of the option ($15M?) and his declining skills.

 

BYH, it's not the most compelling case. The World Series championship the Yankees purchased last season was a much better one. But it is just one more piece of evidence.

I do applaud the Phillies for doing everything they can to win. I applaud the Yankees for the same. I certainly admire their approach more than that of teams like the Pirates, who refuse to spend a reasonable amount of the limited funds that they have.

It is the system I have an issue with, not the teams that take advantage of it.

 

Jake Westbrook scratched from his start in Toronto today, apparently on his way to the Cardinals as part of a three-way deal involving Ryan Ludwick going to the Padres.

http://twitter.com/BNightengale/statuses/20003725870

 

And meanwhile, it appears Frank Wren is sitting on his hands. Disappointing.

 

And yet in one of the worst years of his career, Berkman has a higher on-base percentage than Derek Jeter (.372-.337), a higher slugging percentage (.436-.386) and a higher OPS (.808-.723), all by appreciable margins.

There are those who would argue the stats that determine a player's true value indicate the Yankess would improve themselves by batting Berman leadoff and dropping Jeter.

 

He won't be replacing Jeter in the lineup. He'll be replacing a DH, corner outfielder or 1b. That's a different standard of expectations.