Winners or Losers?

The Major League Baseball trade deadline passed yesterday afternoon with a flurry of minor trades. Everything I have read today says that the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers and the Cincinnati Reds were the big winners while the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets were the big losers.

While I agree that the New York Mets should have traded Lastings Milledge for Barry Zito if the Oakland ace was really available, I have my doubts that he was out there. I find it hard to believe that the A’s were going to deal Zito with first place looking easily attainable in a pretty mediocre American League West. Other than Zito, I really did not see pitchers such as Jon Lieber, Kyle Lohse, and these other journeymen pitchers being worth anything more than a fringe prospect. As for the ridiculous New York Yankees and their free spending ways, I don’t even want to comment on their latest purchases. And yes, you read that right, purchases, not trades.

Now for the real cause of my anger...the way that every so called baseball expert has just killed the Red Sox for their inactivity. All I have read is that the Sox have to keep up with New York, how they can’t let the mighty Yankees out maneuver them. Supposedly, general manager Theo Epstein has gone from boy wonder to mediocre in one day. Just reading through various newspapers and blogs today I have seen Tony Massarotti, Buster Olney, Woody Paige and Skip Bayless rip the Sox. The only possible deal that I heard rumored that I would have even considered is the three way trade that would have sent Craig Hansen, Jon Lester and Coco Crisp to the Atlanta Braves, Andrew Jones to the Houston Astros and finally bringing Roy Oswalt to Fenway. Everyone keeps saying, "How do you know these kid pitchers are going to amount to any more than the next Wes Gardner, Shawn Chacon, Joe Mays or any other of the mediocre pitchers that have been overhyped by their ball club?"

Honestly, the answer to my previous question is that you just don’t know, but I would rather take my chances over the next decade with the prospects that Theo has brought into our franchise then the junk these other clubs are offering. Lest anyone forget the Sox did win the World Series two years ago, tied for the division crown with the Yankees last year and are in first place this year. That sounds like a pretty strong resume and one of a man in whose opinions I trust the future of my favorite ball club.