August 6, 2004

DEADLINE DEALS FAIL TO INJECT EXCITEMENT INTO PENNANT RACES

      The Los Angeles Dodgers were in first place at the trade deadline but obviously felt that the roster they had constructed wasn’t strong enough to make it to the World Series.  The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs were solid wild card contenders in their respective leagues but each organization felt a major upheaval was needed to ensure playoff participation.  Only the Florida Marlins, defending Series champions, were in a state of desperation and needed to make changes to avoid falling out of the race.  All told the deals made at the deadline will fail to have the major impact on divisional races that the names involved are supposed to accomplish.  In the aftermath nothing much has changed.

       Let’s first analyze the moves made by the Dodgers.  The trade with Florida was obviously a pre-cursor for a deal with Arizona for Randy Johnson, but after the deal was consummated the D’backs insisted on upping the ante and forcing the Dodgers’ hands.  The Dodgers, however, refused to part with the prospects demanded by Arizona and were left with half a deal.  The dealing of cornerstone catcher Paul LoDuca as well as dominant set-up man Guillermo Mota left sizeable holes in their roster—holes they were unable to fill.  The Dodgers insisted that they needed a quality starter and a productive bat to compete in the playoffs and when Toronto’s Carlos Delgado nixed any type of deal L.A. was left to scour both leagues for a viable bat.  They decided that Arizona’s Steve Finley would be that bat.  They tried to make a monumental deal for both Finley and the Big Unit but needed the pieces provided by the Marlins to finalize the trade. 

      Acquiring Brad Penny gave them the young starter Arizona coveted, but when the Johnson trade failed to materialize the Dodgers massaged the trade offer and managed to secure Finley.  The Dodgers hope that the catcher they picked up, Brent Mayne, will be able to replace LoDuca, and that incumbent reliever Darren Dreifort will make up for the loss of Mota.  If so then the acquisitions of Penny, Finley and first baseman Hee Seop Choi will be more than enough to give the team a fighting chance at making it to the World Series.  In reality, the Dodgers gave away their heart and soul (LoDuca) and their fireballing Gagne-insurance reliever (Mota).  Finley and Penny fill other holes, but is a team really improved when it creates two holes to fill two others?

       The Marlins, on the other hand, dealt from their strength to plug their weaknesses.  They had plenty of young starters, but needed a catcher and some help in the bullpen in order to make a run at the Atlanta Braves.  Acquiring LoDuca was a masterstroke, but getting Mota and serviceable outfielder Juan Encarnacion thrown in as well was simply highway robbery.  The Marlins took advantage of the Dodgers desperation to solidify their line-up and their bullpen.  In addition the Marlins picked up two useful veteran pitchers, Ismael Valdes and Rudy Seanez , to more than make up for Penny’s loss.  If there is one team that made out like bandits at the deadline it is the Marlins, but the likelihood of the team catching the Braves this season is slim.  The team does set up well for next year though.

       The Red Sox decided that their defense was not of championship-calibre.  They also decided that despondent and injury-plagued superstar Nomar Garciaparra was doing more harm than good to the team.  Thus came the impetus for the major four-team trade that moved the former Sox all-star and batting champion to the Cubs.  The Sox improved their infield defense by adding former gold-glovers Orlando Cabrera from Montreal and Doug Mientkewicz form Minnesota.  The hope is that the Sox pitching staff will be able reach its lofty expectations now that it won’t have to get four and five outs an inning, and will more than compensate for the loss of Nomar’s bat.  The Sox also picked up speedster Dave Roberts from L.A. to be an effective fourth outfielder and base-stealing threat.  The additions could have a positive effect on the team only if the ghosts of Beantown don’t spook Cabrera, if the pitching staff does indeed respond to a better defense, and if the removal of Nomar and his sulky demeanour brings the team together.  Ultimately the team will have to beat out the West Division’s second place finisher for the wild card--the Yankees have been handed the East crown--and will have to hope that the changes made to the roster from last season’s squad will garner a different result when it plays the Yankees in the playoffs.

       The Cubs, on the other hand, are hoping that a reinvigorated Nomar will help ignite a moribund offense.  While certainly an upgrade over strikeout prone Alex Gonzalez Nomar does not help fill the more glaring needs on this Cub roster.  The bullpen is in shambles—Latroy Hawkins is the closer even though he has tried, and failed on other occasions in the role—and the middlemen are suspect.  Also, the Cubs line-up is laden with similar type hitters—right-handed power men with little or no speed.  While the starters are capable of getting the team into the late innings of a close game the line-up is vulnerable if it does not hit the ball out of the ballpark.  One-track line-ups rarely succeed in tight playoff games when pitchers are much tougher to hit.  Championship teams need to be able to make up their offense as they go, and not rely upon one facet to score.  In order to be of championship-calibre the Cubs still need to address their weaknesses in August or they will not last long even if they make it to October.

      The Yankees made a sideway trade by adding Esteban Loiaza and subtracting Jose Contreras.  The Yankees believe that Loiaza will be a better pitcher during the tight playoff matches in October, and also like the fact that they freed up some salary for next season’s annual shopping spree.  The White Sox believe they have dumped a pitcher unlikely to maintain his lofty standing and added a power pitcher just reaching his pitching peak.  In reality the difference for either team is minimal. 

       No other contender made any significant addition.  The Mets mortgaged some of their youth to acquire Kris Benson from Pittsburgh, but it is likely that the Mets are looking at re-signing Benson and having him as part of their rotation for many years.  The one player, Randy Johnson, that could have made a significant difference in any pennant races, was not moved at the deadline.  The Angels decided not to part with their future for any trade with the Big Unit; the Yankees failed to come up with the prospects to interest the D’backs, and the other contenders backed away from the Unit and his gargantuan contract.   

      Unless one of the players dealt rises above his current level of play or if Nomar reclaims his place as one of baseball’s best players then none of this year’s trade deadline additions will have much of an impact on the pennant races.  Meanwhile the one player that could have still plies his trade for the worst team in baseball.