Cowhide Joyride receive:
Buster Posey, Derek Holland, 5th round pick, and a 10th round pick
Montezuma’s Revenge receives:
Carlos Beltran, Josh Beckett, 15th round pick, and 16th round pick
Dave turned two of his best picks from the 2011 draft (and two of the best picks in the entire draft) into some nice value. With Posey, he has someone he can either keep and have excellent keepers at the shallowest positions (Weeks and 2B, Zimmerman at 3B, Andrus at SS, and Posey at C), or he can trade for a good draft pick or two. What might make the most sense is packaging the newly acquired RHoward with Posey and seeing what those two keepers could bring in. He also gets two nice picks and has lots of nice parts left to deal off for more picks. He may have lost the opportunity to get very high picks (first or second round) with his recent deals to sell the major guys, but he’ll dominate the middle rounds.
For myself, the market for Posey was getting pretty thin among the teams who were giving up for the year. Either they didn’t have the parts I needed or had too many keepers already (or, in Troy’s case, just didn’t like Busta). I would’ve been fine keeping him and trading in the offseason, but wanted to address the need for another good hitter and pitcher and got them both. I hate giving up draft picks, but gotta go for it when you have a shot. Grabbing the 17th and 42nd ranked players so far was definitely a good move I think and gives me a rotation that is not especially top heavy, but is deep and consistent. Beltran will essentially replace Dunn as a regular, which is obviously positive. And given my track record with early picks, I may be better off drafting in the late rounds anyway.
All in all, again, a trade that works for all involved.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Trade Review - Moose and Cowhide
Moose in Loose receive:
Mark Reynolds, 14th round pick
Cowhide Joyride receive:
6th round pick
Here rests Brian, stuck in no man’s land. Is he going for it, or not? He’s 13 games out, in second to last, but has a roster capable of making a run and he’s up 9-0 vs. Troy this week. Of course, losing McCann hurt (you really tempted the fantasy gods with that one) and he’s got plenty of pieces that could help contenders and set him up well for next year. Tough call, but I like that he’s sticking it out. You only get so many chances to be a repeat champion and he could definitely end up in 8th with five weeks left. Reynolds is a good get, though the price may have been a little steep. He’s a tough guy to place value on because he’s so streaky, but there’s only so many guys who can hit 40 homers from the 3B position. At this point, Brian needs to go big or go home, so acquiring Reynolds with the hope that he hits a hot streak is a good call. And, who knows, Reynolds is good enough to prove himself worthy of keeper eligibility again, as there are very few consistent power sources out there and third is weak.
For Dave, he gets some good value for one of his former keepers and he is gradually stocking up picks for next season. The 6th round was a mixed bag with flops like AHill, PHughes and BMatusz and some great finds with Bourn, Beckett, Anibal, AJones and Valverde – a good round to target for those trading off pieces. I still think Dave could’ve made some noise if he stuck it out, but I can’t argue with the way he’s worked since “packing it in.”
Overall, I commend Brian for sticking with and I think Dave is taking the correct route now that he is in liquidation mode.
Mark Reynolds, 14th round pick
Cowhide Joyride receive:
6th round pick
Here rests Brian, stuck in no man’s land. Is he going for it, or not? He’s 13 games out, in second to last, but has a roster capable of making a run and he’s up 9-0 vs. Troy this week. Of course, losing McCann hurt (you really tempted the fantasy gods with that one) and he’s got plenty of pieces that could help contenders and set him up well for next year. Tough call, but I like that he’s sticking it out. You only get so many chances to be a repeat champion and he could definitely end up in 8th with five weeks left. Reynolds is a good get, though the price may have been a little steep. He’s a tough guy to place value on because he’s so streaky, but there’s only so many guys who can hit 40 homers from the 3B position. At this point, Brian needs to go big or go home, so acquiring Reynolds with the hope that he hits a hot streak is a good call. And, who knows, Reynolds is good enough to prove himself worthy of keeper eligibility again, as there are very few consistent power sources out there and third is weak.
For Dave, he gets some good value for one of his former keepers and he is gradually stocking up picks for next season. The 6th round was a mixed bag with flops like AHill, PHughes and BMatusz and some great finds with Bourn, Beckett, Anibal, AJones and Valverde – a good round to target for those trading off pieces. I still think Dave could’ve made some noise if he stuck it out, but I can’t argue with the way he’s worked since “packing it in.”
Overall, I commend Brian for sticking with and I think Dave is taking the correct route now that he is in liquidation mode.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Trade Review - Billy Chapel and One Nut
Billy Chapel receive:
Kendrys Morales, Adrian Beltre, Mark Buehrle, and a 5th round pick
One Nut receive:
Jered Weaver, Alex Gordon, and a 1st round pick
Troy ultimately did not get the type of return many had expected for one of the top pitchers in the league, causing a mild uproar throughout the league. Ok, maybe a little more than mild. The issue at hand is the keeper worthiness of Morales and Beltre. If you look on the surface, based on this year’s stats, you could make a case for Beltre and Morales for Weaver, as Beltre is hitting in the middle of one of the top lineups in the league and hitting well, while Morales had a 86/34/108/.355 line in 2009 and just turned 28 years old. The thing keeping Beltre from being a high quality keeper is he only contributes in three categories (albeit doing so quite well over the last year and a half) as his .316 obp is atrocious and he simply does not run. And he’s 32 Dominican years old, meaning he’s not in his prime and thus, not a long-term keeper. For 2012, yes, but I would be surprised if this kind of production continues and makes him a keeper in 2013. Morales, meanwhile, will have not hit a baseball in a major league game in 23 months come next April, assuming that he’s fully recovered. He has the pedigree of a masher who the Angels signed in his teens hoping for years like 2009, but the bottom line is he’s just had one good year. For a guy like Weaver, Troy should’ve gotten more. One could actually make the case that Alex Gordon was a more valuable keeper than Morales with a solid 57/12/54/9/.369 line and a pedigree that far exceeds anyone involved in the trade. No sense continuing to stone Troy for this, but the fact that a first round pick needed to be added for Jason is simply ludicrous.
For Jason, well, it was a brilliant bit of negotiating in which he rid himself of a player eating a bench spot and didn’t lose very much at 3B with Gordon. Weaver has a 1.79 era and 0.95 whip, which is dazzling, and makes the uproar following the Justin Upton (for CHart and Weaver) deal over the winter seem a little silly by comparison. Weaver is a flat out stud and will provide some consistency to hedge against the volatile Morrow, Lewis, Lowe, and Wandys of the roster. He’s a surefire keeper for many years to come. Oh and Jason gets a first rounder next year. He’ll be having wet dreams about this for months.
The league has had some doozies over the years, but this might be the most lopsided of them all.
Kendrys Morales, Adrian Beltre, Mark Buehrle, and a 5th round pick
One Nut receive:
Jered Weaver, Alex Gordon, and a 1st round pick
Troy ultimately did not get the type of return many had expected for one of the top pitchers in the league, causing a mild uproar throughout the league. Ok, maybe a little more than mild. The issue at hand is the keeper worthiness of Morales and Beltre. If you look on the surface, based on this year’s stats, you could make a case for Beltre and Morales for Weaver, as Beltre is hitting in the middle of one of the top lineups in the league and hitting well, while Morales had a 86/34/108/.355 line in 2009 and just turned 28 years old. The thing keeping Beltre from being a high quality keeper is he only contributes in three categories (albeit doing so quite well over the last year and a half) as his .316 obp is atrocious and he simply does not run. And he’s 32 Dominican years old, meaning he’s not in his prime and thus, not a long-term keeper. For 2012, yes, but I would be surprised if this kind of production continues and makes him a keeper in 2013. Morales, meanwhile, will have not hit a baseball in a major league game in 23 months come next April, assuming that he’s fully recovered. He has the pedigree of a masher who the Angels signed in his teens hoping for years like 2009, but the bottom line is he’s just had one good year. For a guy like Weaver, Troy should’ve gotten more. One could actually make the case that Alex Gordon was a more valuable keeper than Morales with a solid 57/12/54/9/.369 line and a pedigree that far exceeds anyone involved in the trade. No sense continuing to stone Troy for this, but the fact that a first round pick needed to be added for Jason is simply ludicrous.
For Jason, well, it was a brilliant bit of negotiating in which he rid himself of a player eating a bench spot and didn’t lose very much at 3B with Gordon. Weaver has a 1.79 era and 0.95 whip, which is dazzling, and makes the uproar following the Justin Upton (for CHart and Weaver) deal over the winter seem a little silly by comparison. Weaver is a flat out stud and will provide some consistency to hedge against the volatile Morrow, Lewis, Lowe, and Wandys of the roster. He’s a surefire keeper for many years to come. Oh and Jason gets a first rounder next year. He’ll be having wet dreams about this for months.
The league has had some doozies over the years, but this might be the most lopsided of them all.
Trade Review - Cowhide and Prestige
Cowhide Joyride receive:
Ryan Howard, Steve Chishek, Frank Francisco, Carl Pavano, and a 9th and 13th round pick
Prestige Worldwide receive:
Madison Bumgarner, Ricky Nolasco, Jonathan Papelbon, and Drew Storen
Following his packing it in email, Dave got pretty good value for four players that will definitely help out Lars. Howard is obviously a great player and is a quality sixth keeper to go with Fielder, Weeks, Zimmerman, Andrus, and Lincecum, though it may behoove Dave to upgrade another position since he already has a hulking homer-hitting firstbasemen. The picks are middle of the draft, which is all right, nothing spectacular, but all right for what he was giving up, which was no one incredibly special.
While not incredibly special, they definitely address a problem area for Lars, which was pitching and only thins a position he already has AGon at. His offense is loaded, but bullpen has definitely been a problem and he got two mainstays who will keep him competitive in the saves category. Outside of Chacin and Price, Lars’ starters were a whole lot of mediocrity. Bumgarner is having a great season and is definitely an asset, while Nolasco can be brilliant or a complete mess. Unfortunately for Lars, he has a number of volatile pitchers who will occasionally make a mess of his ratios. But the trade was a good one overall and I highly doubt the loss of Howard will hurt this team going forward this season.
Overall, the trade was pretty even and addressed areas of concern for both owners.
Ryan Howard, Steve Chishek, Frank Francisco, Carl Pavano, and a 9th and 13th round pick
Prestige Worldwide receive:
Madison Bumgarner, Ricky Nolasco, Jonathan Papelbon, and Drew Storen
Following his packing it in email, Dave got pretty good value for four players that will definitely help out Lars. Howard is obviously a great player and is a quality sixth keeper to go with Fielder, Weeks, Zimmerman, Andrus, and Lincecum, though it may behoove Dave to upgrade another position since he already has a hulking homer-hitting firstbasemen. The picks are middle of the draft, which is all right, nothing spectacular, but all right for what he was giving up, which was no one incredibly special.
While not incredibly special, they definitely address a problem area for Lars, which was pitching and only thins a position he already has AGon at. His offense is loaded, but bullpen has definitely been a problem and he got two mainstays who will keep him competitive in the saves category. Outside of Chacin and Price, Lars’ starters were a whole lot of mediocrity. Bumgarner is having a great season and is definitely an asset, while Nolasco can be brilliant or a complete mess. Unfortunately for Lars, he has a number of volatile pitchers who will occasionally make a mess of his ratios. But the trade was a good one overall and I highly doubt the loss of Howard will hurt this team going forward this season.
Overall, the trade was pretty even and addressed areas of concern for both owners.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Grumpy Munchkins receive:
8th and 9th round picks
Anal Hershiser receives:
Josh Collmenter, 10th and 12th picks
A pretty ho-hum trade, so I won’t ramble, but one that makes sense. For Anal, he gets a guy who has performed well but relies on deception and control, is playing well above his head, and is due for some regression here. That said, he really didn’t give up much, so no real loss. For Casten, he continues to work the system in a way many other “punters” should. He now will be finished drafting in the 9th round (that’s nine rounds before the rest of us are done, in case you’re wondering), which should please him greatly since he’s always the one whining about how late the drafts go. In case you’re curious, the 9th round yielded guys like IKennedy, CBeltran, IDavis, JHanrahan, and TStauffer. If that is the worst player on the Munchkins next year, Brandon’s gonna be tough to beat… on paper. The ugly side of the 9th are guys like JUribe, JKubel, Arroyo, FFrancisco, TSnider, and the immortal EEncarnacion. And my guess is Casten isn’t done yet with guys like Trumbo, Boesch, Jennings, McCarthy, Lyles, Harang, and Luebke all useful pieces for someone making a run at it. You can argue he’s stupid for giving up on a season while he’s in the playoff race, but you can’t say he’s going about it halfass.
8th and 9th round picks
Anal Hershiser receives:
Josh Collmenter, 10th and 12th picks
A pretty ho-hum trade, so I won’t ramble, but one that makes sense. For Anal, he gets a guy who has performed well but relies on deception and control, is playing well above his head, and is due for some regression here. That said, he really didn’t give up much, so no real loss. For Casten, he continues to work the system in a way many other “punters” should. He now will be finished drafting in the 9th round (that’s nine rounds before the rest of us are done, in case you’re wondering), which should please him greatly since he’s always the one whining about how late the drafts go. In case you’re curious, the 9th round yielded guys like IKennedy, CBeltran, IDavis, JHanrahan, and TStauffer. If that is the worst player on the Munchkins next year, Brandon’s gonna be tough to beat… on paper. The ugly side of the 9th are guys like JUribe, JKubel, Arroyo, FFrancisco, TSnider, and the immortal EEncarnacion. And my guess is Casten isn’t done yet with guys like Trumbo, Boesch, Jennings, McCarthy, Lyles, Harang, and Luebke all useful pieces for someone making a run at it. You can argue he’s stupid for giving up on a season while he’s in the playoff race, but you can’t say he’s going about it halfass.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Trade Review - Montezuma and Colon
Colon No Like Salad receives:
Grady Sizemore
Montezuma’s Revenge receives:
Rajai Davis
After a rather stunning silence in the trade department over the last week and a half, Russ and I made this exchange in a pretty low key move compared to most recently. For Russ, Sizemore represents name recognition and high value when healthy. He had spurts of dominance mixed within three trips to the DL for various issues not related to the surgically repaired knee. If he comes back and has an excellent last month, there’s some keeper potential to be had here. If not, he didn’t give up very much to get him. Smart, low risk move.
The move is more significant for my team, which seems to have accumulated more injuries again. The Revenge have been pretty woeful in the speed department with the second lowest total in the league with 60 total. The add of Davis immediately gives my team a legitimate threat in that category. He’s played better as of late, but is still sporting a .267 obp. A good bench player to have.
In summary, Russ got a potential piece to move and I got a one dimensional bench player who should provide a boost.
Grady Sizemore
Montezuma’s Revenge receives:
Rajai Davis
After a rather stunning silence in the trade department over the last week and a half, Russ and I made this exchange in a pretty low key move compared to most recently. For Russ, Sizemore represents name recognition and high value when healthy. He had spurts of dominance mixed within three trips to the DL for various issues not related to the surgically repaired knee. If he comes back and has an excellent last month, there’s some keeper potential to be had here. If not, he didn’t give up very much to get him. Smart, low risk move.
The move is more significant for my team, which seems to have accumulated more injuries again. The Revenge have been pretty woeful in the speed department with the second lowest total in the league with 60 total. The add of Davis immediately gives my team a legitimate threat in that category. He’s played better as of late, but is still sporting a .267 obp. A good bench player to have.
In summary, Russ got a potential piece to move and I got a one dimensional bench player who should provide a boost.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Trade Review - Colon and Angry Pirates
The Angry Pirates receive:
Mike Stanton, Gio Gonzalez, Max Sherzer, Phil Hughes, 8th rounder
Colon No Like Salad receive:
Felix Hernandez, Cole Hamels, Rajai Davis, David Freese, 6th rounder
Kyle took a considerable risk here in trading two solid keepers for one good one (not sold on Gio yet). Hamels has really been undervalued in recent years for no real reason other than a mediocre 2009 season. He’s young and a high K, low rate guy, pitching in the NL east and has been more valuable in 2011 than Felix, who is still the prize of this trade from a keeper perspective. Not to mention that earlier this season, Felix cost Kyle Carlos Santana, Brandon Phillips, BJ Upton and two 3rd rounders (he received a 6th and a 12th). Make no mistake about it, Stanton is a young, stud home run hitter in a time when those are hard to come by, but these are two of the top five keeper pitchers in the league. He’s also barely old enough to drink, which means volatility is likely and his peak is still five years away (though, those peak years could be fun). All that said, if you looked at this trade at the beginning of the season, you could make the argument it favored Kyle because Scherzer and Hughes were both considered quality second-tier SPs. If those two turn it around and the Pirates make a serious run, you can hardly blame Kyle. But it might hurt more going into next season than it probably could’ve because I think he could’ve gotten more.
For Colon, I like the move. For some reason, this team isn’t performing to the level of the competition. There are still some great offensive players without Stanton, who could provide a push to the playoffs. Meanwhile his staff surpasses Peirce’s for best in the league (at least, on paper) with Halladay, Felix, Kershaw, and Hamels leading the way. It’s a move that allows him to look for next season without giving up on this season, which is brilliant for the current structure and standing of this team. If it does fall apart, there’s an excellent opportunity to upgrade keepers, which also includes CarGo, Cano, and JHamilton. Oh and lets not forget Wainright has been sitting in the DL spot the entire season. It would not shock me if Roy, Felix, Clayton, Cole, and Adam W were the top five fantasy pitchers in the league in 2012, so whether its players or trades there’s a lot to play with here. And I think it would’ve taken some convincing to get someone to take Gio in a trade with full confidence they were receiving a keeper, for no other reason than lack of name recognition.
All in all, it’s a risk that could pay off big for Kyle and a smart, calculated decision by Russ that puts him in great shape going forward.
Mike Stanton, Gio Gonzalez, Max Sherzer, Phil Hughes, 8th rounder
Colon No Like Salad receive:
Felix Hernandez, Cole Hamels, Rajai Davis, David Freese, 6th rounder
Kyle took a considerable risk here in trading two solid keepers for one good one (not sold on Gio yet). Hamels has really been undervalued in recent years for no real reason other than a mediocre 2009 season. He’s young and a high K, low rate guy, pitching in the NL east and has been more valuable in 2011 than Felix, who is still the prize of this trade from a keeper perspective. Not to mention that earlier this season, Felix cost Kyle Carlos Santana, Brandon Phillips, BJ Upton and two 3rd rounders (he received a 6th and a 12th). Make no mistake about it, Stanton is a young, stud home run hitter in a time when those are hard to come by, but these are two of the top five keeper pitchers in the league. He’s also barely old enough to drink, which means volatility is likely and his peak is still five years away (though, those peak years could be fun). All that said, if you looked at this trade at the beginning of the season, you could make the argument it favored Kyle because Scherzer and Hughes were both considered quality second-tier SPs. If those two turn it around and the Pirates make a serious run, you can hardly blame Kyle. But it might hurt more going into next season than it probably could’ve because I think he could’ve gotten more.
For Colon, I like the move. For some reason, this team isn’t performing to the level of the competition. There are still some great offensive players without Stanton, who could provide a push to the playoffs. Meanwhile his staff surpasses Peirce’s for best in the league (at least, on paper) with Halladay, Felix, Kershaw, and Hamels leading the way. It’s a move that allows him to look for next season without giving up on this season, which is brilliant for the current structure and standing of this team. If it does fall apart, there’s an excellent opportunity to upgrade keepers, which also includes CarGo, Cano, and JHamilton. Oh and lets not forget Wainright has been sitting in the DL spot the entire season. It would not shock me if Roy, Felix, Clayton, Cole, and Adam W were the top five fantasy pitchers in the league in 2012, so whether its players or trades there’s a lot to play with here. And I think it would’ve taken some convincing to get someone to take Gio in a trade with full confidence they were receiving a keeper, for no other reason than lack of name recognition.
All in all, it’s a risk that could pay off big for Kyle and a smart, calculated decision by Russ that puts him in great shape going forward.
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