| Trade Deadline Approaches |
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| Written by cochise | |
| Wednesday, 25 July 2007 | |
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Every season in the major leagues, teams look at their record and their standing and wonder what went wrong or what could be better. Because of the high amount of players baseball teams must regularly depend on, it is unlikely to find more than one, if any, team that is completely satisfied with their roster. Teams with terrific hitting can’t seem to lock down the opposition consistently enough to feel comfortable. And teams with stellar pitching find themselves in close matches day-in and day-out because of lineup issues.
This season in MLB should be no different. Even though there are a number of good all-around teams in the majors, such as the Tigers, Padres, and Red Sox, each and every one of them could use some help. While Detroit has the best offensive lineup and a five-man deep rotation, they lack bullpen help to close out games. Their 4.85 ERA after the seventh inning onwards is fourth-worst in the entire league. As a stark contrast, the Padres feature the best ERA in the majors but fail to back their arms up with runs. Their team batting average ranks worst among the thirty teams in the MLB. In fact, because of their offensive ineptitude, it seems almost determined that the Padres will trade for a hitter. A guy like Adam Dunn or Mark Teixeira, both of whom are available, would surely add some pop to their lineup. And although it may be tough to part with young pitching in the minor leagues, the Padres already have a terrific cast for the future. With their stellar rotation in a weak National League, one could make the case that they have legitimate World Series hopes if they were to add a big-time batter. Another team that may be looking to sell hitters is the Chicago White Sox. After winning the championship two seasons ago, the White Sox have been the epitome of disappointing. Stuck in the toughest division in baseball, Chicago’s playoff hopes are already all but over. Unfortunately for the team, they also have three highly paid hitters in Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Jermaine Dye. While neither of the three will be parted with for cheap, the right package could lure one of the big bats away from Chi-town. A number of teams, such as the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, are said to be interested. Unlike most seasons, starting pitching will not be acquirable this trading deadline. While some bullpen specialists, such as Eric Gagne and Chad Cordero, may be available, premium starting pitchers won’t. This may dash the hopes of several playoff-caliber teams that need an extra rotation guy to bolster their chances.
Overall, the trading deadline is an exciting team to be a MLB fan. There is nothing better than seeing how a big name player does in a new situation. Bobby Abreu was just one of many names that switched teams last year before August began. His addition helped propel the Yankees into the postseason as the number one seed in the American League. Pay attention to the trade deadline this year and who knows? Maybe your team will be the one making big moves to get closer to a World Series berth.
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Above all else, baseball, as with every other professional sport, is a business designed to make money. As such, losing teams in small markets often use the trade deadline to dump high-salary players for cheap prospects. After all, there is no point in overpaying for a star when fans aren’t paying to see ballgames and the team is consistently stuck in mediocrity or worse. It is common to see the worst teams in the majors dump marquee names at the end of July.
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