More Trade Deadline Thoughts

Picture courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Yesterday's trade deadline brought up an interesting point amongst the sports community. Would you rather have "a clubhouse distraction who performs at an elite level" or "a good clubhouse presence who performs at an occasional All-Star level"? ESPN's SportsNation polling service asked this question and of the 78,900 people polled, 64% voted for the latter. SportsNation also asked how the Red Sox will do and there isn't a definitive answer. Of the 56,878 polled, 37% say the Sox will just make the playoffs, 31% say they'll miss the playoffs, and 14% say the Sox will win the World Series. The poll is an accurate depiction of Red Sox Nation's reaction to the Manny Ramirez trade in a sense that, no one knows what will happen for the Sox. The Dodgers are getting a marquee hitter, but they now have a crowded outfield and not a whole lot of protection in the lineup for Manny. In addition, Dodger Stadium is less hitter-friendly than Fenway Park is, so his home run total can and likely will go down. The Dodgers will likely win the NL West, but lose in the playoffs' first round due to their overall lineup weakness (Prior to tonight's game, their record is .500).

As for the Teixeira trade to the Angels, SportsNation asked 40,864 people how the Angels' season will play out. 44% say they'll win the World Series, 32% say they'll lose in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Interestingly, they asked if Mark Teixeira will play for the Angels in 2009, with 61% saying yes.



Picture courtesy of the Northwest Herald.

Other trades made before the deadline included pitcher Rich Harden going from the Oakland Athletics to the Chicago Cubs, pitcher C.C. Sabathia going from the Cleveland Indians to the Milwaukee Brewers, pitcher Joe Blanton going from the Oakland Athletics to the Philadelphia Phillies, and outfielder Xavier Nady and pitcher Damaso Marte going from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the New York Yankees. Of these deals, the Cubs and Brewers made the best ones. Nady and Marte have made contributions for the Yanks, but Harden and Sabathia contributed immediately and instantly made their new teams better (much like Manny has done with the Dodgers).

I think the season will shape up like this:

American League:
West Champ: Angels
Central Champ: Chicago White Sox
East Champ: Tampa Bay Rays (the Cinderella story of the season)
Wild Card: Red Sox (barely; if not the Sox, the Yanks)
ALCS: Tampa Bay vs. Angels

National League:
West Champ: Dodgers
Central Champ: Cubs (by far the best team in the NL)
East Champ: Phillies
Wild Card: Brewers
NLCS: Cubs vs. Phillies

World Series: Cubs vs. Angels
World Champion: Angels