The deadline day has arrived.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not quite the final chance for teams to add an extra piece or two, with waiver-wire deals still on the cards until midnight on 31 August (05.00 on 1 September in the UK), but that doesn’t reduce the excitement as we head towards 21.00 BST.\u00c2\u00a0 Some deals have already been made and often the actual deadline day turns into a bit of an anti-climax with relatively few impact trades taking place.\u00c2\u00a0 This year looks like being an exception to that rule and there are ‘Manny’ rumours that, if they lead to anything, could have a significant on bearing on who makes the play-offs and how far teams go when they get there.<\/p>\n
(Sorry for the first bad pun of the day.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m sure it won’t be the last)\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n
In terms of deals that have been completed over the last couple of days, the major one was obviously the Angels’ decision to pick up Mark Teixeira.\u00c2\u00a0 This came only a couple of days after I stated that they were “under no pressure to make a move”, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I was heading down the wrong track.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes the best deals are made by teams who can go into negotiations knowing that they aren’t\u00c2\u00a0compelled to get something done.\u00c2\u00a0 If the terms aren’t quite right, desperation doesn’t take hold and you can simply walk away from the table.\u00c2\u00a0 Just as importantly, the other team (in this case the Braves) also knows that they haven’t got you over\u00c2\u00a0a barrel.\u00c2\u00a0 Had another team approached Atlanta with a better offer, I’m doubtful that the Angels would have stretched much further.\u00c2\u00a0 As it turned out, the Braves clearly liked LA’s offer more than anything else that was out there and consequently the Angels have been able to add a premium bat to their already excellent team, without giving up more than they would like to in return.\u00c2\u00a0 Hats off to Arte Moreno and Tony Reagins.\u00c2\u00a0 Their team has the best record in baseball, the division is going to be a cakewalk from here on in and yet still they’ve gone out and made themselves better.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the sign of a team that\u00c2\u00a0isn’t prepared to settle for\u00c2\u00a0making October; they want to win it all.<\/p>\n
While some times make great moves when they don’t have to, others lose all sense of reality.\u00c2\u00a0 Quite why the Astros are going out and acquiring players is a\u00c2\u00a0complete mystery.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re 10.5 games out in the Central and have no shot at the wildcard either.\u00c2\u00a0 The sensible thing to do would be to start rebuilding, but sense doesn’t come into it with Drayton McLane and Ed Wade.\u00c2\u00a0 They are seemingly more concerned about\u00c2\u00a0projecting the image that\u00c2\u00a0they are trying to win, rather than directing their efforts so that they will win in the future.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t think they are fooling many people, least of all those at Minute Maid Park.<\/p>\n
The big deal yesterday saw Pudge Rodriguez join the Yankees, with Kyle Farnsworth heading to Detroit.\u00c2\u00a0 The Yanks had to make a move as Jose Molina, while good defensively, is clearly not an everyday player.\u00c2\u00a0 Pudge will be hoping to repeat his 2003 heroics, while the Tigers get a good arm for their bullpen (possibly leading to another trade today?\u00c2\u00a0 We shall find out).\u00c2\u00a0 New York has had to deal with a number of key players hitting the DL this season, while pitchers such as Carl Pavano and Kei\u00c2\u00a0Igawa sit on the sidelines earning big money.\u00c2\u00a0 That they can simply shrug their shoulders before going out and getting more pieces (and increasing their payroll) is what makes the Yankees the Yankees, for better or for worse.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a bit like when\u00c2\u00a0David Dein, former Vice Chairman of\u00c2\u00a0Arsenal, memorably stated that\u00c2\u00a0“Roman Abramovich has parked his tank in our front garden and it’s firing \u00c2\u00a350 notes”.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, the slight difference is that Chelsea’s spending was\u00c2\u00a0(and is)\u00c2\u00a0fuelled by the extraordinary fortune of one man, while the Yankees are basically\u00c2\u00a0spending money that they generate.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s up to everyone else either to generate more income or to find ways to beat the Bronx Bombers\u00c2\u00a0despite their financial superiority.<\/p>\n
The Red Sox are not short of a bob or two either and they are the team on the verge of potentially making the biggest deal of the day.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ve heard rumours of Manny leaving Boston pretty much every year, yet this time it may actually come true.\u00c2\u00a0 An intriguing three-way deal with the Pirates and the Marlins is being discussed although it seems like no two media outlets agree on the exact details at this moment.\u00c2\u00a0 It promises to be the centrepiece of an exciting day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The deadline day has arrived.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not quite the final chance for teams to add an extra piece or two, with waiver-wire deals still on the cards until midnight on 31 August (05.00 on 1 September in the UK), but that doesn’t reduce the excitement as we head towards 21.00 BST.\u00c2\u00a0 Some deals have already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[553],"class_list":["post-528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb-2","tag-mlb-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4635,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions\/4635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}