http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/n...nt_id=598056&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb It looks like the trading season got started pretty early. As a Phillies fan, the deal looks pretty good on the surface. The closer position was a huge weak point of the Phillies last year. Now if we could trade 2003 Pat Burrell for 2002 Pat Burrell.
He's in his walk year, so if you guys don't go all the way you pretty much pissed away three players for one pitcher who may only stay there one season. I presume Houston has someone else in mind (perhaps AL Rolaids winner Keith Foulke?).
Exactly. And neither of those guys are making $8 million this year and likely $12-15 million next year. Plus, they're at least getting something for Wagner now, which they wouldn't if they let him walk after next season. But they're essentially saying that Wagner was right when he called Astros management cheap a few weeks ago.
I am so glad to get Duckworth outta Philly, and more importantly we didn't give up Gavin Floyd or Ryan Madsen who are the two gems in the farm system right now. I love this trade. In Jayson Stark's piece on ESPN about this trade he quoted an unamed NL scout saying, "If the Phils had Wagner this season the Marlins wouldn't have won the World Series, because they wouldn't even have won the wild card." Couldn't agree more.
I can appreciate the truth in that statement, but is that a whole hell of a lot of insight to say a team that blew 15 (? or thereabouts) saves last year would have been drastically better with a dominant closer? A very nice pickup. It will be interesting to see how that division shapes up over the offseason. Sheffield may or may not be back in Atlanta, same with Javy Lopez. Atlanta's pitching is nowhere near what it used to be and that was exposed in this postseason. Florida are champs and the Phils are making a strong statement this early in the postseason.
NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!! They ditched Wagner because they had to drop the salary because the Astros are going to make a BIG run at Andy Pettite. (at least that's what the NY papers have been saying since after the WS.)
Even if that's the case, at this stage in their respective careers, I'd take Wagner. Pettite is a great big game pitcher, but the Astros don't figure to be playing in any of those in the near future.
I'm not saying I agree, I'm just giving the known rationale for the move. Quite frankly, neither Wagner nor Pettite will help them make the playoffs. and hang - the quote should have read "If the Phillies didn't have Jose Mesa..."