The Art of The Trade
Well the trading deal-line passed a few weeks ago and there were a few big deals. One of the biggest was Victor Martinez for Justin Masterson and others. When I saw that trade go down I was dis-appointed to be honest. I had always liked Justin Masterson. The kid would fit into any role the Red Sox wanted him to. Clay Buchholz’s name was rumored for a time in that trade deal instead of Masterson. This trade lead me to think about the art of the trade.
You can look back in time at trades and at the time you would think “what’s going on here?’ Then you have other times where you don’t question it at all. Since the Masterson trade to Cleveland, his ERA is 3.78. In that same time, Buchholz’s ERA is 5.78. Looking at it right now you would think the Sox sent the wrong pitcher. But this is where the art of the trade comes in, well you hope it does.
Back in 1987, a trade between the Tigers and Braves occurred. John Smoltz was traded from the Tigers to the Braves for Doyle Alexander. Doyle went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA for the Tigers. John Smoltz would not pitch for the Braves that year. So, after a quick glance at the numbers it looks as if the Tigers came out on top. Well the next two years Doyle would go 20-29 with a 4.38 ERA, and then retire after the 1989 season. Over the next few years….and years, John Smoltz would become one of the best pitchers in the Majors. He has become one of two pitchers with over 200 wins and 150 saves. The other is in the Hall.
There are many examples of trades that could go either way. The fact for us fans is that sometimes we just have to wait and see. So, here is a little homework. Tell me a trade that went down and at first thought you said “oh no”, but in the end your team made the right move.
It’s All About What’s Right
The other day I had a meeting at a local bookstore coffee shop. As usual, I was a few minutes early so I decided to look for my next read. Of course I went straight to the baseball books and started to see what was available. I picked up a few books and then I picked up Juiced by José Canseco. As I was flipping through the book I started thinking do I really want to read this? I know a good bit of the stuff in the book has come to light, but I just kept thinking why should I read this. I’ve read other books about ball players like Nolan Ryan, Johnny Damon, and many books about scouting as well.
So after sitting there looking through the book Juiced, I put it back and looked at a few others. In the end I knew that the next book that I read, I wanted it to be something good about baseball and not negative. I’m tired of hearing about steroids, seeing what happen to Shane Victorino during the Cubs game the other night. I want to hear about the good things about this great game. I want to read another Moneyball, or another Idiot. So, throw them at me, what book have you read that you would like to recommend to me?
Also, in closing, had a comment left on my blog the other day about the name of my blog from Johan. It appears that we have the same name blog/forum. So as I did, please check out his site (http://tbebaseball.com/index.php?act=idx), cause with a name like The Batter’s Eye, it has to be good!
Let the Voters Speak
Well over the past few weeks there has been talk in the media that Pete Rose may be reinstated by Major League Baseball. Personally I think this would be a great move. I think public opinion will tell you Pete is one of the most loved baseball players of all time. Not only that, but he is one of the greatest players of all time. There was never a doubt he left everything he had on the field. Ok, that was all as a player. Now as a manager, he did gamble on baseball games which that is a baseball no-no. For that we all know he was given a life time ban from baseball.
So, after 20 years should this ban be lifted? Well, if MLB never wanted to revisit this, then in 1999 he should have not been allowed to participate in the all century team recognition. I would say reinstate Pete back into baseball and let the voters vote. If he is voted in, it should only be as a player and no mention to him as a coach. So I ask of you Bud, let the voters vote.
The Batters Eye- Instant Replay 4 J00000010UTC 2009It’s been a while since my last blog post here. I’ve got a few in the works about my travels over the summer to a few different parks and cities, but I could not pass up letting you know my take on instant replay. Over the past several days, the ALDS and NLDS have been taking place. [...]
- Storytellers 4 J0000005UTC 2009This past Tuesday as I was studying for a final, I heard the news that Ernie Harwell passed away. If you watch baseball even remotely, you know who Ernie Harwell is. For those of you that do not, he was the long…long time voice of the Detroit Tigers. For you that do not know, I [...]
- The Art of The Trade 4 J0000008UTC 2009Well the trading deal-line passed a few weeks ago and there were a few big deals. One of the biggest was Victor Martinez for Justin Masterson and others. When I saw that trade go down I was dis-appointed to be honest. I had always liked Justin Masterson. The kid would fit into any role the [...]
- It’s All About What’s Right 4 J0000008UTC 2009The other day I had a meeting at a local bookstore coffee shop. As usual, I was a few minutes early so I decided to look for my next read. Of course I went straight to the baseball books and started to see what was available. I picked up a few books and then I [...]
- Let the Voters Speak 4 J0000008UTC 2009Well over the past few weeks there has been talk in the media that Pete Rose may be reinstated by Major League Baseball. Personally I think this would be a great move. I think public opinion will tell you Pete is one of the most loved baseball players of all time. Not only that, but [...]
- Take Notice 4 J0000007UTC 2009Well as most of you know Manny Ramirez returned to action last night after testing positive for PED’s. He held a press conference before the game fielding questions, but would not answer anything about his positive test. First off, Manny owes it to the fans and his team to answer these questions, just as anyone who [...]
- Love at First Sight 4 J0000006UTC 2009Trying to think back to my first baseball memory the one thought that comes up was either ’85 or ’86 watching the Braves play a double header vs the Reds. One thing I remember was my dad pointing out Pete Rose to me. I just thought that was cool. Living in the south it’s pretty [...]
- Getting in the Groove 4 J0000006UTC 2009As I have had the MLB package for a few years I’ve noticed a lot of different things in the game of baseball. One is which players play every play and which takes a few plays off here and there. I think if we all think we know a few on each list. Also I’ve [...]
- What’s Done is Done 4 J0000006UTC 2009Last week on the 2nd of June, the Yankees were playing the Rangers. Padilla, hit Teixeira in the rear to load the bases. On the next play, A-Rod hit into a ground play. On the play Tex took out Andrus in a hard slide. In unwritten baseball rules the deed was done. Well to AJ Burnett [...]
- First Pitch 4 J0000006UTC 2009Well here am I starting blog number 2. This blog is strictly devoted to baseball. I’ll talk about different story lines and my thoughts about them. So, with out further adu here we go. First pitch time is 6:26pm and it’s a strike. Yesterday Tom Glavine was released by the Atlanta Braves. I saw one comment [...]
- Instant Replay 4 J00000010UTC 2009
