Bizarro World

Deadline trades in baseball tend to work in a predictable way; contending teams pick up players that will help them over the final few months of the season from non-contending teams, who get players that will help them become contenders in future seasons. There are exceptions, such as today's trade between the Yankees and the Tigers, where two contenders picked up players that will help over the final few months of the season, but those exceptions are usually variations on that central theme. Every once in a while, however, there's a deal which makes absolutely no sense, and the Yankees' second trade of the day fits that bill perfectly.

The Yankees, a contending team, sent LaTroy Hawkins to the Astros, who are 13.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and 9.5 games behind Milwaukee for the wild card, and received Matt Cusick in return. Hawkins, as we all know, is a middle reliever who has followed a good year in Colorado with a bad one in New York, but could turn it around with a change of scenery. Cusick, meanwhile, is a second base prospect who doesn't have a lot of upside, but has a chance of becoming a pretty good player. In other words, this deal has a contender sending short term help to a non-contender in exchange for a prospect. To put it more succinctly, this deal is a complete inversion of reality as we know it.

Don't get me wrong, though, as I'm not knocking this trade. As a Yankee fan, I'm thrilled by it. Hawkins, after all, was designated for assignment following the acquisition of Damaso Marte, and I think it's something of a minor miracle that Brian Cashman was able to trade him for anything of value, let alone a prospect with even an outside chance of making the majors. Granted, the deal does include cash to pay Hawkins for the rest of the season, but that's money the Yankees were on the hook for anyway.

That said, it's a very strange deal, and I've got no idea what could possibly make Houston GM Ed Wade think that it was a good idea for him to make it. After all, the only reason he could have is that he thinks his team is one middle reliever away from getting to the playoffs. To me, that's a crazy notion, but if it is the case then I'd like to talk to him about a bridge I've got for sale.

Happy to Help

Just a few days after I suggest that Kyle Farnsworth is expendable, the Yankees send him off to Detroit for Ivan Rodriguez. Obviously, the Brian Cashman has been paying attention to my very sage advice. Except, of course, my suggestion about Farnsworth was preceded by my saying that there was no way to acquire a catcher better than Jose Molina. This, I suppose, is why Cashman makes several million more in salary than I do.

Anyway, this is a fantastic deal for the Yankees, who make a major upgrade at catcher without giving up anything that they'll miss, and not a bad one for the Tigers. In fact, the only people who come out badly in this deal are the cardiologists of the greater New York area, who will dearly miss Kyle Farnsworth and the coronaries he caused.

Yanks trade for Marte and Nady

It's not official yet, but from what I've been able to gather from several sources is that the Yankees have picked up lefthanded reliever Damaso Marte and outfielder Xavier Nady for pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, George Kontos, Phil Coke and outfielder Jose Tabata.

I'll give a more detailed analysis after the details have been confirmed, but my initial reaction is that it's a great trade for the Yankees. Marte and Nady are both good players who fit the Yankees' needs and are under contract for next season as well. Meanwhile, of the four prospects the Yankees gave up, only Tabata has the potential to be a real star, and he's had many personal issues and injury problems which have tempered enthusiasm for his future.

Update 11:27AM:It turns out that the trade is actually for Tabata, Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen. This makes the price slightly higher, as Karstens and McCutchen are more ready to contribute at the major league level than Kontos or Coke, the difference is very small. In fact, I'm tempted to say that it's a better price for the Yankees, as Kontos has the highest ceiling of the four, and Coke is the only lefthander. Considering how deep the Yankee farm system is in righthanded pitching, the loss of two guys that profile as back of the rotation types isn't a big deal.

Regardless, this is a great deal for the Yankees filling two of their four big holes. Now Brian Cashman faces the task of finding a better fifth starter than Sidney Ponson and a better catcher than Jose Molina without hurting the team in the long-term. As I've said before, I doubt that the latter is possible, but the former should be.

Right now the focus is on Jarrod Washburn, but I've got another idea if that falls through. With the acquisition of Marte, the dominating performances of Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson, and the impending returns of Brian Bruney and Chris Britton, I think Kyle Farnsworth might be expendable. Rather than looking at teams that are out of contention and would want prospects in a trade, why not look at a contender like the Cubs, who have Rich Hill toiling away in the minors?

Oh Rickey

Yesterday, the Yankees announced the list of former players who will be attending Old Timer's Day on August 2nd. Since this is the last such event in Yankee Stadium, it's a long list, but one player really stuck out to me, as I think that he could become a problem: Rickey Henderson. I hope that the Yankees have made it clear to Mr. Henderson that he's supposed to be showing up to play for one of the Old Timer's teams, and not for the Yankees themselves. While you don't usually have problems with 49 year-old men showing up to play for a Major League team, with Rickey you never know. Then again, considering the Yankees' current outfield situation, that might not be such a bad thing.

Jorge jeading back to the DL

By now, I'm sure you've all heard the news that Jorge Posada is heading back to the DL, and there's a strong possibility that he won't be back until next season. Posada is to have an MRI today to help decide whether he should have season-ending surgery now in order to make sure he's ready for next year, or play through the injury and finish out the season. Personally, I'm hoping that he chooses the latter. It's far more important for the Yankees to make sure that they have Jorge Posada the borderline Hall-of-Famer for the next few years than it is for them to try and have Jorge Posada the catcher who can't throw for the rest of the season.

Assuming that Posada does opt for the surgery, the question the Yankees must now answer is whether they can do better than Jose Molina at catcher. The short answer is probably not. The long answer is that good catchers are hard to find, and the names that are currently being floated as possible trade candidates, like Yorvit Torrealba and Paul Lo Duca, aren't any better than the defensively great and offensively terrible Molina. Right now, the only catcher who might be available and might be an upgrade over Molina is Rangers' prospect Taylor Teagarden.

Teagarden is a very good defensive catcher who has good power and plate discipline, but struggles to make contact. At worst, he'd be Molina's equal, and he has the potential to be much better. However, Teagarden's availability depends on whether or not Texas believes that either Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Maximiliano Ramirez is a long term solution at catcher. Additionally, a prospect of Teagarden's caliber wouldn't come cheap, and considering the Yankees' weak bargaining position, they'd have to give up a lot. In other words, I wouldn't hold my breath for this deal to happen.

Hear no Evil

You know, as long as I'm asking for favors from people who probably don't read this blog, here's another. I don't normally bother writing about players' personal lives (as shown by my non-existent coverage of A-Rod's divorce), because I generally don't care. However, this story in the New York Post about Joba Chamberlain dancing on the tables at MLB.com's 33 Club party concerned me.

Now, I can't begrudge Joba for having his fun. He's certainly earned it, and I don't think it's anyone's place to tell him what to do in his free time. However, I can't stop imagining him falling off a table and injuring himself. As I said, I don't think anyone has the right to ask Joba to stop dancing, but I would like to ask the New York Post, or anyone else, not to tell me about it. I think it's best for everyone.

Picking Nits

It was most certainly a good day for the Yankees. New acquisition Richie Sexson made an immediate contribution by knocking in the Yankees first run, and the rest of the team followed his lead by knocking six runs off of Greg Smith on their way to a 7-1 win. Meanwhile, on the mound, Mike Mussina continued to baffle the the opposition, giving up just one run in six innings, and the bullpen work of David Robertson, Edwar Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins was absolutely dominant, striking out six in just three innings of work. On a day like this, complaining might seem a little petty, but Brett Gardner managed to pick at one of my pet peeves.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gardner attempted to bunt for a base hit, and was just barely out as he slid headfirst into the base. It's that last part that gets me. Sliding into first is one of those things that drives me crazy, because it doesn't get you to the base any faster, and you run the risk of injuring yourself. Brett, I implore you, don't do that again.

Remembering Murcer

As we wait for baseball to start again, I thought I'd share a great little story with you. Steven Goldman is one of the best writers covering the Yankees, and his post on Monday about Bobby Murcer brought a tear to my eye. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to check it out.

Bringing the Thunder

I don't like the home run derby. It's not that I'm opposed to the concept, mind you. I actually think it's a good idea, but whenever I watch it I find myself incredibly bored by it. There's obviously no interest in the outcome, and watching a glorified batting practice while the three or four hundred announcers and analysts ESPN has covering it try to squeeze in as many product placements as possible just isn't that enjoyable for me. That said, I needed to balance my checkbook last night, so I had the TV on in the background. If nothing else, I figured, the small army of children they have shagging flies are kind of amusing.

Thank goodness for those kids, because otherwise I might have missed Josh Hamilton put on a show that people will be talking about for a long time. Twenty-eight home runs, hit into parts of Yankee Stadium that have only been hit a handful of times before. It was an epic performance, and if you missed it you should definitely check it out here.

I can only hope that something similar manages to save the All-Star Game, another event which I like in theory but manages to have all the fun sucked out of it by Major League Baseball and Fox.

Feeling the Burn(ett)

After an oh so brief respite, the Yankees returned to their offensive futility this afternoon as they were thoroughly dominated by AJ Burnett. For many people, though, this performance was more than just another bad day for the Yankee offense; it was also a look at a potential trade target.

Obviously, what we saw out of Burnett was good, even taking into account the slumping ways of the team he was facing. To me, it confirmed what I had suspected, that Burnett is pitching better than his 4.96 ERA would have you think. Taking a closer look at his stats this year, you see that he's still striking guys out (in fact, he leads the league), and isn't allowing any more walks and home runs than he has in the past. The only big difference has been that more of the balls that have been put into play against him are going for hits rather than walks. At .337, his batting average on balls in play (or BABIP) this season is far higher than it has been over his career. That suggests that he's either been a victim of bad luck or bad defense (or both). This means that his perceived value might be less than his actual value, and the Yankees could get themselves a bargain by taking advantage of that.

That said, there's another factor to consider with Burnett: his contract. Burnett is signed for two more years and is owed $24 million. This would be a good deal for a pitcher with his talent, except that Burnett has only managed to remain healthy for only three out of his eight full seasons in the majors, so it's a safe bet that he'll have problems in the future. When you consider the plethora of young pitching talent the Yankees have in their system and the excellent pool of free agent pitchers available after this season, it's easy to see how Burnett could easily turn from an asset to an albatross in a few months.

Bobby Murcer, 1946-2008

Bobby Murcer passed away earlier today. I never saw him play, as I was only two years old when he retired, and I certainly never met him, so I'll leave the task of paying tribute to him as a player and as a person to those who did. Instead, I'm going to spend a few moments talking about Bobby Murcer as I knew him; an announcer.

My first memories of Murcer are of the guy who would occasionally talk about the game I was watching while Phil Rizzuto was talking about something else entirely, and who would then be left alone when Rizzuto would suddenly head home before the game was over. As entertaining as Rizzuto was, I can't imagine it was an easy job for Murcer to be the straight man, but he did it well.

It was after Rizzuto retired, I think, that Murcer really came into his own as a broadcaster. There are plenty of ex-players out there who bring experise and love for the game to the broadcast booth, but there aren't many who were as likable as Murcer. His midwestern drawl and genial manner made him a great storyteller; the perfect company for a summer afternoon. He worked well with whoever was in the booth with him, no mean feat when you consider the revolving cast of thousands that make up the YES Network's announcing teams, but he was especially good when paired with Ken Singleton. Too often, the sportscaster's version of humor involves a barrage of self-aggrandizing catchphrases, but the team of Murcer and Singleton were genuinely funny, and were one of the few that actually made me laugh.

When measured against the accomplishments that his family, friends and colleagues can attest to it's a small thing, but I truly enjoyed Murcer as an announcer, and I'll miss him.