The Non-Waiver Trade Deadline Has Come and Gone.....

and JB Sez he was right!!! Well, kind of right. Two days ago I posted that the Boston Red Sox should trade disgruntled Left Fielder Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in an attempt to get an outfielder and prospects in return. Well, Boston traded Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles as part of a three way trade which sent Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder Jason Bay to the Sox and a bunch of players, including Brandon Moss, to Pittsburgh. As part of the trade, Boston agreed to pay the remaining $7 million of Ramirez's salary for the year. The Dodgers did not have to give up any of their very talent young prospects, and the Pirates, well the Pirates will suck with or without Bay.

Now, most people would argue that a contending team should try to improve their team at the trade deadline. From a statistical standpoint, Boston did not get better. Although their numbers are similar, Jason Bay is not Manny Ramirez. He's a quality outfielder that will do his best to fill the void by Man Ram, but it won't quite be what Manny gave to Boston. Now, on the contrary, Manny was being a pest. He was angry. He was rude. He was lazy. He was causing chaos amongst the Red Sox locker room and Red Sox management was tired of it. They had no choice but to trade Manny. Four years ago Theo Epstein made a huge trade to send an unhappy Nomar Garciaparra out of Boston. The Red Sox ended up winning the World Series thanks to that trade. Will this be deva vu all over again? We shall see, but in the end, the Yankees and Rays can breath much easier knowing that Manny won't be in a lineup to face them the rest of the regular season.

Quick question. Tell me, where Ken Griffey Jr will start in the Chicago White Sox lineup? Um, he won't? Yep, right answer. The White Sox made a deadline deal this morning acquiring the 600 homerun man and in all likelyhood, Junior will be a bat on the bench. The White Sox already have an outfield that consists of Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye, and Nick Swisher. Not to mention, Jim Thome is serving as the designated hitter and Paul Konerko plays first. Now, Swisher is struggling at the plate this year and you may see Junior fill in at center once in awhile. Keep in mind that Junior is no longer a defensive presence in the outfield and is more likely a defensive liability. The bottom line is that Junior will not have a chance to win the World Series, something he has never won, yet along participated in one.

And as Shaquille would say, Hey Milwaukee, tell me how our ass tastes. Sincerely, The Cubs.