Tuesday, January 11, 2005

And now, the news...

According to reports, the Shawn Green trade is reportedly done, a reporter reports.

I don't think any teams are going to want to do any mid-season deals with the Diamondbacks this year, because by the time any mid-season deal would be done, it'd actually end up being an off-season deal. You probably have to give Arizona a three month cushion. If you want to trade player A for player B, and you want player B to help with your pennant chase in 2005, you'd better start the deal with the D-Backs sometime in April, so you can complete the trade by the trade deadline in July. Can anyone remember two deals involving the same team that took so long to finish?

The extension that was holding the trade up before seems to be done -- 3 years, 30 million dollars. Another question for you all. Can anyone remember a team that lost over 100 games coming back the very next season and spending this much money? Sure, Randy Johnson's 16 million is going to be off the books, and the Yankees sent over some cash, but Green's making 16 million, too...

I do admire the guts of the D-Backs, screaming in the face of the R word (rebuilding) like they are, but 111 losses are very hard to overcome, and when any possible turnaround is built on players who are either injured, aging, of questionable ability, overpaid, or coming off subpar seasons, well, permit me to doubt that Arizona will be anywhere near contention. Perhaps Luis Gonzalez, Troy Glaus, and Shawn Green will all have 50 home runs seasons and prove me wrong, but I'm just a wee bit skeptical.

And in other news...

The Dodgers seem close to a deal with Derek Lowe, lately of the Boston Red Sox. According to ESPN, the deal on the table is a 4 year, 36 million dollar contract.

As I've said before, DePodesta is scaring me. No, Lowe wasn't that good last year, and the Dodgers are overpaying for him, but still...he's competitive, and he's capable. It doesn't put the Dodgers over any imaginary humps, but it makes them a bit tougher.

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