Cowhide Joyride receive:
Carlos Villanueva, and 3rd and 5th round picks
Anal Hershiser receive:
Ryan Howard and two 13th round picks
Anal did a nice job here. Giving up high picks isn’t easy, but it’s a lot easier when there’s significant long-term value like that of Howard. With Verlander, Haren, Konerko, Bruce, Morse, Rollins, and Strasburg, there will be plenty of options to choose from when he has to pick six. The impressive debut is likely to include a playoff spot, but there’s still pretty big holes here that could stand to be filled. Valencia, Helton, Ruiz, and Reddick are all mediocre starters, while some of the SPs (Moseley, Colmenter, Humber, and Dickey) are playing a bit over their heads. Despite that, very nice showing for an inaugural season.
Dave continues to pile up picks and, with this trade, has his last pick slated for the 12th. If he trades that last pick, it’ll be the 10th for his last pick. His draft also includes four 5th rounders; last year’s 5th round had a ceiling of JShields/Hellickson/Kuroda/Chacin/Axford and a basement of IDesmond/RFurcal/VGuerrero—so they’re solid picks. The 3rd was a solid round as well, but nothing spectacular with Soria/Feliz/RRomero/Markakis/Buchholz/Nolaso/Dempster and the Hudson pitchers. So was the combination of picks worth one of the top power hitters in the game? If you get Shields and Dan Hudson, sure. If you get Furcal and Lilly? No. I think Dave should’ve at least gotten a first rounder for Howard, but I can’t really blame him as he’s liquidated in impressive fashion thus far.
So, while Dave has done well pulling in the picks, in a vacuum I like Andy’s side of the trade.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Trade Review - Donkey and Billy Chapel
Donkey Punchers receive:
Mariano Rivera, Jaime Garcia, Tim Hudson, Jeff Karstens, and Matt Harrison
Billy Chapel receive:
Ian Kinsler, Brandon Beachy, Jordan Zimmerman, Kyle Lohse, and Jake Arrieta
A great trade for both teams. In a rare trade for Chris, he took advantage of the pickup of Ackley and will slot him in Kinsler’s spot in the lineup, while addressing a significant weakness in his starting pitching staff. Zimm and Beachy were both going to be subject to innings limits, while Lohse’s useful life has come close to and end, and Arrieta has been sporadic at best. He acquired stability, which will be key in the playoffs. Not sure what he needed Mo for, other than that he expect Heath Bell to be traded. If he’s still a closer come Sunday, then there’s a bit of an unneeded logjam here. But he could always trade off a piece. This team isn’t top heavy, with Marcum probably the best on the staff, so it was smart to make sure those behind him are less volatile.
Troy followed up the Weaver disaster with a nice trade that brought it a quality keeper in Kinsler. Can’t remember a time Mo wasn’t on his team. He’s still got a few more parts that could be traded off for draft pick upgrades or better keepers, including Beachy, who I was surprised to see be part of the trade since he’s more valuable than Harrison due to his K potential. Zimmerman has a strict innings cap, but he could still help someone. Right now, Troy’s keepers look like Beltre, Morales, Victorinio, and Kinsler, so there’s still some work to do for Troy to get a quality group to start next season with.
Nice move for both teams. Hopefully Troy doesn’t stop there.
Mariano Rivera, Jaime Garcia, Tim Hudson, Jeff Karstens, and Matt Harrison
Billy Chapel receive:
Ian Kinsler, Brandon Beachy, Jordan Zimmerman, Kyle Lohse, and Jake Arrieta
A great trade for both teams. In a rare trade for Chris, he took advantage of the pickup of Ackley and will slot him in Kinsler’s spot in the lineup, while addressing a significant weakness in his starting pitching staff. Zimm and Beachy were both going to be subject to innings limits, while Lohse’s useful life has come close to and end, and Arrieta has been sporadic at best. He acquired stability, which will be key in the playoffs. Not sure what he needed Mo for, other than that he expect Heath Bell to be traded. If he’s still a closer come Sunday, then there’s a bit of an unneeded logjam here. But he could always trade off a piece. This team isn’t top heavy, with Marcum probably the best on the staff, so it was smart to make sure those behind him are less volatile.
Troy followed up the Weaver disaster with a nice trade that brought it a quality keeper in Kinsler. Can’t remember a time Mo wasn’t on his team. He’s still got a few more parts that could be traded off for draft pick upgrades or better keepers, including Beachy, who I was surprised to see be part of the trade since he’s more valuable than Harrison due to his K potential. Zimmerman has a strict innings cap, but he could still help someone. Right now, Troy’s keepers look like Beltre, Morales, Victorinio, and Kinsler, so there’s still some work to do for Troy to get a quality group to start next season with.
Nice move for both teams. Hopefully Troy doesn’t stop there.
Trade Review - Grumpy and Keepin it Real...
The Grump Munchkins receive:
A buncha crap and 4th, 5th, and 6th round picks
Keepin it Real receive:
Geovany Soto, Mark Trumbo, Brandon McCarthy, Aaron Harang, Carlos Carrasco and three 9th round picks.
Interesting. The type of trade you’d never be able to see in the old system, prior to being able to trade picks. If nothing else, its kept more people involved where they might not have been otherwise. But you have to wonder about the impact the change has had on the competitiveness of the league. With rosters such as Brandon’s depleted to the core, it’s a significant advantage to those struggling to secure a playoff spot to play one of these teams during these final weeks. If these teams don’t have success, we may see less teams go this route next year, knowing that a killer draft only gets you so far. Or these teams could find great success and you might see teams call it a year even earlier and executing a two-year plan.
Anyhow, this was all about depth for Pierce. While there were a lot of players and picks involved (16 total), this is relatively minor trade. The pitchers are all middle of the road, Soto is having a waiver wire type year, and Trumbo is a nice UTIL/bench bat. But they’re definitely an upgrade because, while mediocre, the Carmona/Arroyo combo can do some damage on your ratios and spoil the efforts of an overall quality staff. McCarthy has been particularly reliable this year, outside of his injury.
While the players were mediocre, the picks were really minor upgrades and the difference between the 12th and 15th is not entirely discernable. It now make Casten’s draft one round shorter, allowing him to only have to stick around until the 8th round next year. And who know’s he could make it even shorter, with Boesch and Jennings in particular – though the meat is almost entirely pecked away from the munchkin carcass at this point.
A buncha crap and 4th, 5th, and 6th round picks
Keepin it Real receive:
Geovany Soto, Mark Trumbo, Brandon McCarthy, Aaron Harang, Carlos Carrasco and three 9th round picks.
Interesting. The type of trade you’d never be able to see in the old system, prior to being able to trade picks. If nothing else, its kept more people involved where they might not have been otherwise. But you have to wonder about the impact the change has had on the competitiveness of the league. With rosters such as Brandon’s depleted to the core, it’s a significant advantage to those struggling to secure a playoff spot to play one of these teams during these final weeks. If these teams don’t have success, we may see less teams go this route next year, knowing that a killer draft only gets you so far. Or these teams could find great success and you might see teams call it a year even earlier and executing a two-year plan.
Anyhow, this was all about depth for Pierce. While there were a lot of players and picks involved (16 total), this is relatively minor trade. The pitchers are all middle of the road, Soto is having a waiver wire type year, and Trumbo is a nice UTIL/bench bat. But they’re definitely an upgrade because, while mediocre, the Carmona/Arroyo combo can do some damage on your ratios and spoil the efforts of an overall quality staff. McCarthy has been particularly reliable this year, outside of his injury.
While the players were mediocre, the picks were really minor upgrades and the difference between the 12th and 15th is not entirely discernable. It now make Casten’s draft one round shorter, allowing him to only have to stick around until the 8th round next year. And who know’s he could make it even shorter, with Boesch and Jennings in particular – though the meat is almost entirely pecked away from the munchkin carcass at this point.
Friday, July 29, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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