Not THAT Wily Mo Pena!

The Diamondbacks won a heartstopping game against the Indians. The Tribe had a wonderful comeback in the 9th but with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th up stepped Wily Mo Pena.

Yes.
Wily Mo Pena.

I never hated Wily Mo Pena. I just hated the trade. There was no reason to trade Bronson Arroyo for a backup outfielder. I said it then and I say it now.

Ah well... so Pena went from the Reds to the Red Sox to the Nationals... then out of the bigs in 2009 and 2010... off to Buffalo and Columbus and independent Bridgeport... then to Portland and Reno.

Now at 29 years old he is in Arizona and watch him become the very player Theo imagined when he shipped off a decent starting pitcher who has given the Reds some All Star numbers and a lot of innings eaten.

Just saying.

Vazquez won't flop as a fish

I’ve written some nasty things over the last few years about Javier Vazquez… and got an anonymous reader to lash out at me every time I did.

I got on his case when he was with the White Sox and I made the easy prediction that he was going to be a flop when he returned to the Yankees.

So you might think I am going to kill the Marlins for spending some of their revenue sharing by forking over $7 million to a guy who pitched himself out of a Yankees rotation that desperately needed an innings eater and off a playoff roster that screamed for bullpen depth.

It’s tough to get excited about someone who posted a 5.32 ERA for the season. A guy who posted a 5.96 ERA in August and a 8.84 ERA in September.

Yes, that first number was an 8… and yes he pitched in more than one game.

But truthfully, it is an ideal move for both the Marlins and Vazquez.

Florida should always be an ideal spot for pitchers to revive their reputations. Remember how Todd Jones became an All Star caliber closer in Miami?

Even the perennially awful Armando Benitez found his grove in the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie.

Every once in a while, Vazquez puts together a terrific season that makes everyone think he is an ace. He’s not. He’s a .500 pitcher who throws a lot of innings and lets up a run about every other inning he throws.

He’ll probably go 16-5 next year… his ERA will be in the mid 3’s… he’ll be among the league leaders in innings pitched.

And his one year contract will be up and a team like the Mets or the Angels will overpay him and they’ll be stunned when he doesn’t post those numbers again.

And the back of his baseball card will get more and more cluttered… and he’ll have made over $100 million over his career.

$7 million will be well spent by the Marlins.
Good luck (and thanks again for both of Johnny Damon’s ALCS homers in 2004.)

I always get in trouble when I criticize the Pirates, but...

You can never accuse Pirate fans of being apathetic... at least not the ones who read what I write. As I've said before, I like the Pirates and want them to do well. And I hope that Neal Huntington helps assemble a winner and Clint Hurdle manages them back to the post season.

But whenever I point out that their trades have left something to be desired or the team doesn't look that good for next year, MAN do I get hate mail.

My article for The Hardball Times got a FLURRY of people trashing me for insinuating that the Pirates weren't in great shape and that GM Neal Huntington's trades have been a mixed bag at best.

So I tip toe cautiously in pointing out something bad again... but I can't help it.

Zach Duke was designated for assignment. He's gone. If they get anything in a trade for him, it will essentially be the equivalent of a bag of donuts.

Andy LaRoche is also heading out the door. Now I understand the economy of baseball (and the economy for that matter) and that Huntington had to clear some roster spaces.

But man I couldn't help but think of one trade that was made and one that wasn't... and more missed opportunities to make the Pirates better.

In 2008, Jason Bay was a prime trade chip. The Red Sox thought highly enough of him to make him Manny Ramirez's replacement.

The Dodgers thought highly enough about Ramirez to deal for him and sell lots of tickets and Dreadlock wigs.

And the Pirates got LaRoche... a young right handed third baseman who did exactly nothing in the bigs. They also got Brendan Moss and Craig Hansen, both busts and Bryan Morris who hasn't exactly impressed in AA.

All for Bay.

Meanwhile Duke, who looked like a young potential ace in 2005, had his ups and downs. But by 2009 he was eating up innings and pitching to a good ERA. He was a 26 year old left handed pitcher on the All Star team.

If he wasn't going to be a cornerstone for the franchise, I bet he would have been a good trade chip.

I wonder if any team could have used a young left handed starter in the 2009 stretch run. Are teams EVER looking for young left handed starting pitching?

Oh yeah. ALL the time.

So instead of dealing him... or making him part of their long term plans... they did neither and will get gotch for him.

This reminds me of Matt Capps, the Pirates reliever who Pittsburgh let walk away at age 25.

The got absolutely nothing for him.
But 1/2 a season later, the Nationals were able to flip him for Wilson Ramos... a catcher who is just about ready for the bigs.

So once again, I shake my head at the praise of Neal Huntington.
He blew the Jason Bay deal.
He botched Matt Capps.
And he wasn't able to turn Zach Duke into anything.

OTHER teams can pull off trades, but the Pirates can't for some reason.
OTHER teams can get talent back, but not Pittsburgh.

Now I will no doubt get a ton of negative comments for this post and I am expecting it.

And I'll get a lot of revisionist history.
"Bay has been a flop with the Mets!"

Yup. But nobody knew that in 2008... and Bay wasn't a flop in Boston.

"Duke fell apart after the 2009 All Star Break."
But nobody knew that in 2009 when he was young, left handed and pitching to an ERA in the 3's.

Unfortunately like before I have facts on my side.

I want to see the Pirates succeed. And maybe Huntington will build a good team through the draft.

But wouldn't it help if he made a good trade or two?

Maybe I'm wrong.

I wonder how Wily Mo Pena did today

Evidently Wily Mo Pena is playing for the Padres' AAA franchise in Portland... a big step up from Independent Bridgeport.

Who knows? If he keeps hitting, the Padres could call him up and he might see some post season action.

I wish him well.

Meanwhile, Bronson Arroyo won again (win #14) and logged his 174 1/3rd inning of the season. And seeing he didn't let up a run all game, he lowered his ERA to 3.82 as he helped the Reds maintain their lead in the NL Central.

I always feel the need to check on Wily Mo when Bronson wins... seeing how the Red Sox side of the trade is doing.

Why?

Because I am petty.

WILY MO PENA UPDATE

Old friend Wily Mo Pena is hitting .311 with 6 homers for the Bridgeport Blue Fish.

Meanwhile Bronson Arroyo won his 9th game, going 8 strong against the Mets with 1 earned run well on his way to yet another double digit win season with 200+ innings for the Reds.

Just felt like pointing that out.

Not to sound too much like Mike Francesa but...

I kinda miss Bronson Arroyo... especially when he won again for the Reds.

Keep in mind Wily Mo Pena, the right handed slugger for the future that the Sox got in that deal, is now with the Independent Bridgeport Blue Fish.

Man that trade ALWAYS sucked.

I said it then and I'm saying it now.

If Vazquez is a horse, you had better call the glue factory

Another game for Javy Vazquez… another day the Yankees bullpen needs to work in overtime.



The Yankees have 6 losses this year and three were thrown by Vazquez.



Remember him? The guy who people were saying was a horse. The guy people kept saying was a Cy Young candidate?



He has an ERA of 9.00 so far.

That’s an earned run an inning.

And he also averages 5 innings a start. Wasn’t he a bulldog innings eater?



As of this writing, an average Vazquez start is leaving after 5 innings with 5 runs on the board.



The Yankees needed to trade away Melky Cabrera and prospect Arodys Vizcaino for that? How could signing Jarrod Washburn be worse?



This trade stunk in December, it stunk in spring training and it stinks now for the Yankees.



And I get a certain amount of glee pointing that out.

Get used to it Yankees fans

Every 5 games Javier Vazquez is on the mound for the Yankees.

Every 5 games is an opportunity for me to blog that bringing him back to the Yankees was a TERRIBLE mistake... and I said so when then trade was made.

Just remember, if Javier Vazquez was truly an ace caliber pitcher and one of the elites in the game... why would he have been traded 5 times in the last 8 years?

Read that again.

In the last 8 years, he was traded away FIVE TIMES!

Each team celebrated like they stole an ace when they got him.
And each one snickered like a Used Car dealer who sold a lemon when he was shipped off.

I am guessing when 2010 ends it will be 6 traded in 9 seasons... and when he gets picked up, the media in the new city will announce "He has electric stuff... he is ONE OF THE ELITE PITCHERS IN THE GAME!"

Enjoy it, Yankee fans.

Every 5 games.

Nobody knows who the big trade deadline winner is!

The trade deadline came and went and of course it is always one of the coolest days of the year for a baseball fan.

It's the sports equivalent of Randolph and Mortimer Duke trying to corner the frozen concentrated orange juice. And of course rumors flew, trades were analyzed, and some stunning deals took place.

Some teams decided to go for it, like the Mariners when they acquired Jack Wilson and Ian Snell.

Other teams decided to cash it in, like the Mariners who dealt Jarrod Washburn?

Confused?

So was I when I saw the Rangers had stockpiled prospects and were within striking distance of the AL West and the Wild Card...and stayed pat.

So was I when I saw the Yankees with a glaring need for a starter and a lefty reliever saying "We're fine with Jerry Hairston."

So was I when I saw the White Sox say "We don't care if he is hurt and clearly doesn't want to play for us... we NEED Jake Peavy!"

So was I when I realized the Red Sox felt they didn't have ENOUGH first basemen.

So was I when I saw Riccardi say "Nah... we think it's best to deal Roy Halladay when his value dips!"

But now EVERYONE is writing up their "Winners and losers of the trade deadline" articles. And the funny thing about every one of those write ups is they are all meaningless now.

We don't know!
Sure, it looks like the Phillies are a big winner with Cliff Lee throwing a complete game victory in his first game for the Phils. But what if he slumps? Or what if he doesn't throw well in Philadelphia?

I made fun of the Yankees picking up Jerry Hairston, but what if he gets some big hits down the stretch?

Sometimes what looks like a big time move at the deadline can look downright rotten when the season ends.

Just taking Red Sox deals as an example, in 2007 I celebrated the pick up of Eric Gagne.

There wasn't a lot of reasons to crow after the deadline.

I remember in 2002, Cliff Floyd came over to the Sox in what was supposed to be a tide turner.

And in 2003, when the Red Sox acquired Jeff Suppan and Scott Sauerbeck from the Pirates, it looked like they got the pitching depth they desperately needed.

How did those turn out?

And in 2004, who noticed the Red Sox picked up Dave Roberts? NOBODY! And now he is a beloved Red Sox icon.

We don't know how any of these trades will pan out and we won't for a few years.

When the Tigers traded for Doyle Alexander on August 12, 1987, Detroit was 1 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays.

He went 9-0 for the rest of the season for the Tigers.
Not only did he win all 9 decisions (and the Tigers clinched the division on the final day of the season, so needed every win) but he pitched remarkably in crucial games.

He beat the eventual World Champion Twins twice. He outdueled the eventual Cy Young winner Roger Clemens. He got a no decision pitching into the 11th inning of a 13 inning win against the Blue Jays on September 27th. And finally on October 2nd, he pitched 7 strong against the Blue Jays as the Tigers tied them for the Division Lead... only to clinch 3 days later.

The Tigers got all of that production and did have to sacrifice a single player from their major league roster.

And this writer calls THAT trade one of the worst of all time FOR THE TIGERS.

Of course that's because the minor leaguer the Tigers parted with was John Smoltz.

But the trade won the division... and what else can the GM do besides give the manager the horses he needs to get into October.

Writers should be banned from analyzing this years trade deadline and instead breakdown the deadline from 5 years ago.

I'd do it, but I need to go to bed.
Perhaps tomorrow.

NLeast

I saw the Mets had Johan Santana dealing against Tampa Bay today and I thought to myself "Well, he's found his stuff again."

I went out to do some work today and then came back... saw Tampa Bay won.

I shook my head thinking "Man oh man, the Mets just can't catch a break."

Then later...

I made dinner for my kids and I saw the Phillies came from behind to take the lead against the not exactly world beaters known as the Orioles.

I fed them dinner, gave them desert, cleaned off their plates and checked the scores.

Some how, some way the Orioles won in the 9th. The bullpen let up TWO 9th inning homers?

Doesn't anyone want to win this Division?

With the Marlins winning again, I wouldn't be too complacent if I were the two presumptive favorites.

Better take Lincecum out!

Hey Bochy!
You don't have Trevor Hoffman in the pen anymore.

Here's a tip. When you have the Cy Young winner throwing 8 innings of shutout ball with no walks and 13 strikeouts... let him pitch the 9th.

Let him at least start the 9th!

The nanosecond I saw that Lincecum wasn't pitching in the 9th, I knew the Giants were going to lose.

I bet my dad did too!

Hey! Wily Mo Pena is available!

Remember him?

The back up outfielder who the Red Sox loved so much that they torpedoed their pitching staff in 2006 to get him?

Hey, if it was worth making a stupid trade to get him, why not sign him on the waiver wire?

Don't you remember? He has GREAT POTENTIAL!!!!
He'll be like Big Papi!

Let's give a shot to a guy who couldn't win a job ON THE NATIONALS!!!!!

Hey Cubs... Braves... bet you are glad you didn't make the Peavy trade NOW!

You know that cliche about how sometimes the best trade you make is the one you DIDN'T make?

Boy oh boy does that ring true for the Cubs and Braves! Remember how the Padres were asking the Cubs for Félix Pié, Garrett Olsen or Jeff Samardzija in a Peavy deal?

Remember how the Braves were being tempted to part with prospects Jordan Schafer and possible ace Tommy Hanson?

Peavy isn't looking too good right now, is he?

Granted it's the WBC and not games that matter or anyone cares about. But when terms like "Mercy Rule" are employed, you had better see Walter Matthau managing the team... not with a Cy Young winner on the hill.

If the Padres stalled the trade talks they are probably kicking themselves pretty hard now.

On the bright side for Peavy, if he stays in San Diego and gets 15 wins, he'll be the all time victory leader in Padres history.

Then again, the way he's been pitching, 15 wins might be a stretch. Heck, just throw 15 innings!