The Yankees agrees to trade Kyle Farnsworth back to one of his previous teams, the Tigers, in exchange for another player who used to be really good, Pudge Rodriguez.
Okay, maybe that's not entirely fair. IRod is hitting .295 this year and clearly isn't washed up. And with Posada done for the season, the Yanks do need a decent catcher and there really aren't many good ones out there, and even fewer who are available. I heard this morning that Pudge wasn't happy in Detroit and that's really surprising to me. This is a guy who signed his deal with them when they were absolutely terrible and I remember people wondering why he'd do such a thing. Then they made it to the World Series and he looked a little less crazy. And now somehow he's not happy.
Regardless, even though I poke fun, this is a good move for the Yanks. Pudge's contract is up at the end of the season and if he's anywhere near the leader/spark he's been for the '03 Marlins World Series team or the '06 Tigers run, then he's more than worth Kyle Farnsworth, a guy the Yankees couldn't have given away last season. Farny has been a lot better this year and Cashman traded him at what's likely his peak value. Sure, the Yankees now need someone to pitch the 8th inning, but hey, nobody entirely trusted Farnsworth still anyway.
This is kind of a disturbing trend, though. While I like the Pudge deal, I don't like the Richie Sexson pickup. Sure, he's not costing them much of anything, but he's kind of a malcontent and he's just no good anymore. When you're 6'8" and you develop holes in your swing, well, they're pretty big holes. Plus, I think the Yanks have enough DH/1B-type guys.
A co-worker of mine said this "isn't the Yankees anymore, not with guys like Sexson and Ponson." Well, whatever that means, it's kind of on point.... the Yankees, while still not trading away their prospects and mortgaging their future, are starting to look kind of desperate. Maybe it's warranted, with the pitching staff having issues... but is it worth a noted clubhouse problem like Sidney Ponson? Can Barry Bonds be far behind?
Elsewhere in MLB
Today is the MLB trade deadline and Ken Griffey, Jr. appears to be on the move to the White Sox, even though the Sox reporters I heard on the Dan Patrick Show this morning don't seem to have any idea where Griffey will play. He's too immobile to play center field anymore, and they've got Dye and Quinten in the corner outfield spots. You could move Swisher to first and play Griff in center but then you're downgrading defensively in the outfield and taking ABs away from Paul Konerko. Of course, Konerko kind of sucks now, so maybe that's okay. If I were managing that bunch, I'd DH Griffey, play Thome at first and leave the outfield as-is. Konerko can sit his .214-hitting ass. Of course, this all might be moot because, really, does Ken Griffey at age 38 make the difference for the ChiSox? They can barely hold off a mediocre Twins team and if the Tigers hadn't completely bumblef-cked the start of their season, the Sox wouldn't be in first anyway. We'll see how it plays out.
In Boston, the growing tide of "Manny is about to be traded" has continued to swell. It's hard to believe it's possible and last week a lot of people were pointing out that this happens almost every year now... and then Manny's still a member of the Red Sox. It's true that Manny's a doofus and lollygags sometimes and clearly doesn't take the game as seriously as some people would like. He also has mad jazz hands:
However, and bear in mind that I hate the guy, he's fricking amazing. He's an incredible hitter and perhaps the most impressive RBI machine we'll ever see. Look at his career numbers -- as well as what he's doing this year -- and tell me how the Sox could possibly be better without him. His career 162-game average is .312/40/132 and his OPS+ this season is 140. That's ridonkulous.
Hell, I love the idea of them trading him, because there's no possible way they'll get fair value for him and it will only weaken the Boston lineup. Ortiz won't see as many good pitches and the Sox simply won't have as productive of an offense. And besides, they've put up with Manny being an imbecile for 7 1/2 seasons -- what's another two months?