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Moss is a 4th/5th OF Hansen is a set up man Morris is a pretty decent starter (a Logan White first rounder) but hes 3 years away Moss Hansen and LaRoche are all ready to help the ML team. will Hansen get a shot to close in Pitt w/ Capps out? Wasn't he a closer in college, or am I thinking of another Sox prospect?

Not sure what you're pissed about. The Dodgers got better (for free) and the Pirates probably got as good a haul out of Bay as they were going to get. Certainly traded high on him, given how bad last season was.

So can Manny be in LA in 5 hours?

Pitt needed another LaRoche. The current one has a bad back.

Assuming Kemp and Ethier weren't involved, it's too bad we couldn't get in there and take one of them from the Dodgers. How many OFs do they need?

Wouldn't be surprised if assistant GMs are heavily involved in the waning minutes. If Bay & Manny were the key pieces, it sounds like it was just a matter of finding a 3rd team with the willingness to give prospects that satisfied Pitt. I doubt they cared if they came from LA or TB.

too slow...

SI says it's done. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/manny.sweepstakes/index.html?eref=T1 ETA - link says 4 prospects to Pirates

Man, the Brewers suck.

There goes the 10-K streak.

that's a bizarre misinterpretation i plainly said all GMs probably say that crap because they think it's what the majority of the meathead fans like to hear, but GMs who are perceived as more forward thinking get much more leeway for their innocuous platitudes Setting aside that I'm not sure too many Pads fans want to hear that they're not really interested in trading Giles, is there a meaningful difference between lying to fans and telling them "things they want to hear" while knowing such things aren't true?

I think that DePo blog posting was more posturing than anything. yeah I agree, and not to derail the topic, but if Hendry said something like this NSBB would freak out. mostly we can't tell what GMs think from what they say because they all just feed fans crap they think they want to hear. So you guys think Towers and DePo decided a month or so ago that what their team really needed during this season when they're really crappy, is to set up a blog to lie to their fans? Seriously?

They both play(ed) for San Diego. wrong answer they're both named Milton.

I don't think that's true. The Padres are a huge mess, and a 35 year old veteran outfielder is not the key piece to build around. By the time the Padres fix their current mess, Giles will likely be retired. If they can get something for him now, they should. As I mentioned before, DePo seems to disagree. http://itmightbedangerous.blogspot.com/2008/07/brian-giles.html

So you heard it from someone other than Stone? Either way, we didn't hear it first from you, right?

I'd prefer DeJesus, which helps in CF beyond this year (I don't see Pie getting a real shot). And you can keep the Johnson platoon going for now - DeJesus is killing RHP this year (.871 OPS). Edmonds can spot start if he's healthy or be a big bat off the bench. Interesting on Giles - 2 weeks ago, DePo posted on his blog that the Pads aren't really interested in trading him. In part b/c he's performing, in part b/c of his option, and in part b/c they want the young guys to emulate him. So I wonder if he's really an option at this point.

A - who's the backup SS B - no anyway Ok fine. Sherill and Bynum. Why pay for Sherrill's saves?

I never said it wasn't a hurdle, all I said is that Detroit should think they can pull if off. It will be difficult and the odds are against them, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they won that division. But I don't think even a good RP makes those odds any better, esp if they have to give up Pudge. I just don't understand why you trade Pudge for Farnsworth. His Ks are still good, but a hit an inning and a HR every 4 IP seems a bit high. And they just got Rodney back. Zumaya is back too (though he might have a bit of a nagging injury still). I don't think Farns is a difference of 5 games for them. So if getting Farns means banking on Inge to be productive for 2 months as an every day C, I think I keep Pudge.

Inge or Pudge? They're numbers are almost equal and both were pretty bad last year.

Even if Kyle Farnsworth were a good RP, why would the Tigers want him? They can't truly think they can jump up 5.5 games in the next 2 months, can they? the tigers may have their flaws, but considering how much baseball is left, that really isn't that much of a lead to overcome that would almost be the equivalent of us sweeping the brewers and then pronouncing ourselves the NLC champs Not really. The Brewers aren't a bad team - they're the second best team in the entire NL. They have 1 team between them and an NLC regular season title. The Tigers are a mediocre team, admittedly chasing 2 other mediocre teams. But having to jump 2 teams that are each 5 games ahead of you, when you have a very shaky pitching staff, isn't easy. And 2 hours ago, the Tigers had 2 Cs that put up league-average offense (one of whom could play 3B as well). That's good when you have lots of old and some oft-injured guys on your team (Guillen, Sheff, Pudge, Ordonez, etc). Not to mention, even if the Brewers don't catch the Cubs, they're leading the WC race. The Tigers have almost no chance of making the playoffs unless they win their division. And even if they do, it would take a Cardinals of '06 run to win even 1 series. Their pitching is not good.

Even if Kyle Farnsworth were a good RP, why would the Tigers want him? They can't truly think they can jump up 5.5 games in the next 2 months, can they? I'm not sure if this is sarcasm, but yes, they could, and probably should, think they can jump 5.5 games in 2 months. They aren't exactly chasing a juggernaut. No, it's not sarcasm. 5.5 games, when it's 2 teams, not 1, and the WC is out of reach, is a huge hurdle. The Sox and Twins may not be perfect, but the Tigers aren't without some major flaws. Now they deal their starting C for a bad RP, which I have to think decreases their chances (the drop off to Inge isn't much on offense, though I'm not sure how good his defense is behind the plate). They were 8.9% to make the playoffs before this trade. I wouldn't give up if I'm the Tigers, but I'd either get a good player or a prospect if I'm trading a decent C.

Even if Kyle Farnsworth were a good RP, why would the Tigers want him? They can't truly think they can jump up 5.5 games in the next 2 months, can they?

Be careful, it's pretty windy out on that limb. the Braves are 7.5 games back with 3 very good teams ahead of them. Hudsons done for the season, Chippers back to the DL, and now Tex is gone. I think its pretty safe to say they're done. I think he was being sarcastic. As in "way to go out on a limb" with that obvious statement. woosh what does woosh mean anyway? I've seen it posted from time to time, but with little context to help me figure out what the hell it is. And while we're at it, what does FTH mean? From what I've gathered, it's means like "what the hell", but what's the F for? Thanks in advance for your help in curing my internet illiteracy. woosh is the sound something makes when it goes right over your head...such as when some one makes a joke that you don't get or is being sarcastic but you dont catch it and respond with a post that takes what they said seriously and "fth" means "F" the heck - it's a firejoemorgan.com-ism. Look for it there and you'll see the context.

I would have to think any Manny to the Dodgers deal would have to include LA parting with either Kemp or Ethier. Perhaps Kemp and Hu for Manny? I heard something about a Manny for Kemp rumor. Am I the only one that thinks the Dodgers would be idiots to do that deal? If the Dodgers are willing to part with Kemp for a rental, can we sell them on Edmonds? He's tearing it up and a heck of a lot cheaper than Manny. We'll even swap young SS. Edmonds and Cedeno for Kemp and Hu. They can have Eyre too. In what world are Edmonds and Manny interchangeable? Who said they were interchangeable? But if Ned really wants Cedeno and really wants a big bat in the OF, I think we should try to convince him that Edmonds is the better fit for this year. I think the Cubs can address what the Dodgers perceive to be their needs (SS, OF, back-end SP - Edmonds, Cedeno, Marquis). He can get Manny when Boston turns down the $20m option if he wants him.

I would because it would allow us out from Soriano's contract and Manny will be a FA at the end of the year. We'd have our bat for the stretch and then sign Dunn in the offseason. :D Topping the worst OF defensively of Manny and Soriano....adding Dunn! Imagine that of, yikes! I wonder what type of money Dunn is going to get. Well, under my scenario Dunn would play LF, Fukudome in RF, and a yet to be determined player in CF. I know vance but the thought of it made me want to buy season tickets just for the entertainment value in the OF alone! Imagine how fun it would be to watch Dunn launch balls out of Wrigley that might land on the roof tops across the street. It would be nice. So you'd basically trade Dunn for Soriano? yes, because I think you could get Dunn for less dollars and less years than we committed to Soriano. I think while they are different types of hitters, they bring basically the same value as a hitter. Really? I think Dunn brings much more value as a hitter. Not sure how much is offset by the defense, but I don't think it's enough. And Soriano seems to be breaking down quickly. Manny is a career .312 hitter. He is a .320 hitter with runners in scoring position and scoring position with 2 outs. Dunn in no way bring much more value as a hitter. Dunn's best season isn't even as good as Manny's career avg's. I meant Dunn is more value than Soriano. I guess it wasn't clear. I was comparing Dunn & Soriano too. I'm not sure why Manny was brought in.