So it's that time of year again. The time when teams decide which direction they are going in this year and for the next few years. The time when some of the league's best players are traded, altering divisional, wild card, and pennant races dramatically. It's the MLB trade deadline. Although there is a few days left, many important moves have already been made.
The Dodgers are attempting to overcome their hitting woes to stay competitive in the NL West Race. Getting Matt Kemp and Andre Eithier back from injury helps but i'm not so sure trading for Hanley Ramirez will be of much assistance. After performing like one of the best players in baseball from 2006-2010; Ramirez has been rather pedestrian these past two years. He's hitting around .250 since the start of 2011 and has an OPS in the .700's. He has hit pretty well in his first four games in L.A (.374/.475/.750) so maybe all he needed was a change of scenery.
The White Sox attempted to improve their banged up pitching staff by taking a flier on Francisco Liriano. He's struggled a bit this year (3-10, 5.31 e.r.a), but he's shown that he can be an effective pitcher. He's never gotten back to his dominant 2006 form (12-3, 2.16 e.r.a) but he could turn out to be an effective 3rd starter for Chicago.
Like many other Yankees fans, I was incredibly excited by the acquisition of Ichiro. That was before I looked up his stats for the past two years. He's batting below .270 in both seasons while his on base percentage is down about 70 points from his career average, and his offensive wins above replacement is less than one. This isn't a bad trade for the Yankees by any means; just not as good as it sounded originally.
Now onto the biggest trade of the deadline. With the trade for Zack Greinke, the Angels are announcing that they are all in as World Series contenders this year. In fact, they may now be favorites. They have three legitimate aces in Greinke, Weaver, and Wilson. They also have a solid fourth starter if they need him (Haren). The offense is good but far from great. This may not matter as they have three of the most dangerous hitters in baseball in MVP canidate Mike Trout, slugger Mark Trumbo, and two time champion Albert Pujols. The trade for Greinke moves the Angels from World Series contenders to World Series favorites.
Hot Teams
Oakland: I know I talked about them last week but the A's are continuing to make Billy Beane look like a genius. They are now 18-3 in their last 21 and haven't lost a series since June. While Yoenis Cespedes gets most of the attention, Josh Reddick quietly is becoming one of the better hitters in baseball. Meanwhile, the A's have by far the best pitching in the American League. The rotation has no weak spot while the bullpen may be the best in the business. They'll have a spot in this section every week until they slow down.
Cincinatti: Despite the absence of MVP canidate Joey Votto, the Reds have won nine of ten and are fending off the pesky Pirates for NL Central supremecy. Johnny Cueto be the most under-rated pitcher in baseball (13-5, 2.39 e.r.a) and the bullpen is more than solid. However it might do the Reds a bit of good to try to find a bat in the last few days of the deadline.
Cold Teams
Milwaukee: A year after winning their first playoff series of my lifetime, the Brewers are downright bad again. The trade of Greinke symbolizes their collective giving up on the 2012 season. While it's obvious that Prince Fielder is a huge loss; no one expected the Brewers to fall this far this fast. They've lost eight of ten and are now a season worst ten games under .500. All this the year after coming within two games of the World Series. There is some good news though; they got quite a haul from the Angels for Greinke. Plus, as they now know, things can change in an instant.
Houston: Worth noting: after appearing in this section last week they preceeded to lose six more games in a row. They've now lost 12 in a row and have fallen to 34 games under .500. So no more time will be wasted talking about them.
Cleveland: The Indians have fallen back under .500 (50-51) and 5.5 games behind the White Sox for the division lead. They appear indifferent to many of their observers, they lack any kind of identity, and they're wildly inconsistent. After beating Verlander last week, they lost a combined 23-5 the last two games at the hands of the not so mighty Minnesota Twins. If they keep this cold streak up they could fall right out of contention even in the weakest division in baseball. They're right on their way to missing the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.
That's it for this week. Stay Hungry My Friends..
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