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.

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.