Cards Get an A's(e) in the hole...

In a move which shocked baseball fans around the world, the Oakland A's have traded a second member of the big three, Mark Mulder, to the St. Louis Cardinals less than 48 hours after trading team ace RHP Tim Hudson to the Atlanta Braves. What makes the move so surprising is that there were no rumors of a Mulder to the Cards trade going down at all after the Hudson trade, as it was widely considered that that Oakland GM Billy Beane was going to sit on the other two members of the big three and build around them. Apparently that plan is now shot out of the water. In the deal St. Louis gives up Kiko Calero, Dan Haren, and Daric Barton. Calero is a fireballin' right-hander out of the 'pen and even though he is 29, this will only be his 3rd year in the majors. This will make an already improved bullpen even better, turning what was a A's trouble spot into potentially the best bullpen in MLB. Haren is a righty who has the stuff of a staff ace, but hasn't put it to good use yet. He'll get his chance now as the A's will plug him in the no.3 spot of their rotation. Barton, one of the top catching prospects in MLB, will probably be groomed to be the replacement for Jason Kendall when his contract is up after the 2007 season. This deal combined with the Hudson one also save the club over $10 million for this season, giving Beane some more money to go out and spend or use to trade for in the season. And these aren't the only moves that are probably on the horizon either as Beane would like to trade 1B/DH Eurbiel Durazo and OF Eric Byrnes, as both of their salaries are about to move up significantly through arbitration.

Beane better hope that these two deals net them some guys who pan out, unlike their last trade of a superstar, when they dealt Mark McGwire to St. Louis for pitchers T.J. Matthews, Blake Stein, and Eric Ludwick. Only Matthews saw action in the Majors, who had only a mediocre career as a middle reliever.

Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty has made a very good move here, dealing some young guys who cannot help this team win now for the chance at going back to the World Series next year. He got the staff ace he did not have last year, and even though he paid a fairly high price, it should be worth it for the Redbirds. The only question I have of this deal is the injury factor involved with Mulder's hip. The hip has bothered him for 2 years now, much like Tim Hudson, and I have to wonder if Beane is dumping these guys because because he didn't want to commit to either of them long-term - and that these injuries will cause some serious harm in the near future. Either way it is a good gamble for the Cards, as they needed the no.1, and they got him. Outside of not bumping up their offer to SS Edgar Renteria, Jocketty has done a good job with the Cardinals this offseason, turning no.1 and 2 pitchers Matt Morris and Woody Williams for $18 million last year into no.1 and 2 pitchers Mulder and Morris this season for $8.5 million. They still have two giant holes in the middle infield, and the bullpen is spotty with the loss of Steve Kline, but this move keeps them in contention for the playoffs and puts them in a better position to win if they get there.

This trade now leaves Barry Zito, the only member of the big three to win a Cy Young Award, to front a drastically different looking A's rotation going into next season. However this is still not set in stone as there are heavy rumors of Zito being sent to Baltimore since the Orioles could not work out a deal to sign one of the major free agent pitchers on the market earlier this offseason. If Zito stays the A's will be looking at a rotation of Zito, Harden, Haren, rookie Joe Blanton, and whoever claims the 5th spot. As of right now it will probably be offered first to Dan Meyer, the LHP picked up in the Hudson deal, and if he cannot secure the spot Juan Cruz might be next in line - although there are reports that the A's have a very sweet deal on the table for him right now as well. As you can tell, their rotation will be very, very young next season with Blanton and Meyer being true rookies, Haren with less than a full year of experience, and Harden only going on full season number two, without forgetting that Zito himself is still only 26 years old. These moves could turn out to be a master stroke of genius for Beane, or an unmitigated disaster.

Frankly, I cannot see all three of these players working out, they all may eventually turn into dependable starters, but all of them developing into them in their first year? Seems far-fetched to me. Which is also why the rumors of Zito to Baltimore do not make any sense to me. Why deplete the rotation anymore, unless Beane thinks that Zito's best days are already behind him at age 26. Since his Cy Young year of 2002 both his ERA and win total have been going in the wrong direction, and did so very badly last season. Is it possible that Beane wants to sell Zito high before another bad year (for Zito) lowers his value significantly? Possibly. But then who will be added to the rotation. If they get Erik Bedard in the deal he still isn't major league ready. Maybe they'll get someone if they trade Juan Cruz, who knows. But if Zito gets a ticket out of town this will now officially be Beane's ballclub and we will be able to see just how well the Moneyballer can put a club together.

The Weasel heads to Beantown...

Last Friday Matt Clement signed a 3yr/$25.5 million deal with The Boston Red Sox, ending his illustrious career as a .500 pitcher with the Cubs. If Clement can keep his walk totals down and pitch comparably to the stuff he possesses, then this will be a good signing for the Red Sox, but if he remains mind-boggling inconsistent Red Sox nation will be calling for his head. Any type of slow start at all will make the fans turn on him there and he will be booed mercilessly when not getting the job done. But congrats to Clement who got the money he wanted thanks to a streak over pitcher overpayment being enjoyed by franchises this offseason. Will the Clement/Wells combo be able to fill the shoes of the Pedro/Lowe combo they will be replacing? Probably not, but all they need to do is win some games here and there till the Sox go out at midseason and get someone like Ben Sheets, who most likely will be available. The Clement signing will be official after he takes a physical sometime this week.

In another Red Sox note Peter Gammons was reporting that the team was on the verge of totally revamping their roster when they offered 3B Adrian Beltre the same deal for which he signed with Seattle. Apparently if the Sox had signed Beltre they were going to ink Edgar Renteria (which they did) and then trade Manny Ramirez to the Mets followed by the signing of J.D. Drew to replace him in the OF. But when the Beltre choose to stay on the west coast, everything else fell out of place and the Sox just went with the signing of Renteria.

Palehosers about to add another starter...

There are only two hurdles left in the three-way deal between the Yankees, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks which would have Randy Johnson going back to the AL - getting Shawn Green to waive his no-trade clause to join the D-backs, and the commissioners office approving the deal since there will be more than $1 million in cash changing hands between the teams. Once these two obstructions are thrown to the wayside, it appears that the White Sox will end up with RHP Javier Vasquez. There are very strong rumors that the Dodgers will immediately turn Vasquez around to the Sox to fill their vacant spot in the starting rotation, although there hasn't been much mention of what the Sox would give up in the deal. If the Dodgers do turn Vasquez it will be a very puzzling move for LA and might signal that Owner Frank McCourt is in more trouble financially than he is letting on. The Dodgers did make one move today signing former Sox SS Jose Valentin to a one year deal to play 3B against RHP's.

If this move goes through, based only on the talent addition alone and not on how much of the contract the Sox will have to pick up or who they'll have to give up, it will be a very good addition to an already solid starting staff. Dropping Vasquez into the no.3 spot in the rotation, and getting him out of New York where he clearly didn't like the spotlights on him, could let him ease back into the pitcher he was for years previous to his going to the Yankees.


Six-fingers ahoy...

After failing a physical, the Florida Marlins took a 2yr/$4.5 million deal off the table from RHP Antonio Alfonseca. Don't cry for him yet however as the he signed a new deal with the Marlins for the major league minimum, $300,000. The new contract calls for a possible $1.7 million in incentive and a $2 million option year for the former Cubs pitcher, but maybe if he didn't have all that extra cartilage on his hands the discs in his back would quit blowing out. After two mediocre to bad seasons with the Cubs he had a revival last year in Atlanta, but odds are that was more Leo Mazzone and less of a rebound of his career.


Yankees done spending?

In another move giving hope to the Cubs obtaining Carlos Beltran this offseason, it appears that for the first time since being created, commissioner Bud Selig is ready to use the little talked about 60/40 clause for MLB teams. The 60/40 clause was re-inacted in 2002 and states that any team cannot have debts of 60% or more of the franchise value, with debt being any guaranteed contracts plus expenses for the upcoming year, basically any guaranteed outflows. With the estimated value of the franchise reportedly around $1 billion, that would put their threshold at approximated $600 million. Here comes the problem, before adding any of their signings this offseason, they have approximately $540 million in guaranteed salary alone. This means that the Yankees will either be reprimanded by the league offices or any contracts they sign be voided by the commissioners office.

This could also mean trouble for the Yankees if the league can prove they undervalued their TV station, the YES network. Proving that the station is worth more will get them out from the 60/40 rule, but it will also make them most likely pay tens of millions of dollars - if not more - to MLB for redistribution to the lower-class teams in the league. MLB has been suspicious of this since the network was founded but can finally make the Yankees prove or disprove the rumors with the possibility of the 60/40 rule exposing them.


Cubs notes...

- In a move which could show whether or not GM Jim Hendry thinks a deal with the Mets for Sammy Sosa can happen or not, the Twins are either expected to trade LF Jacque Jones today or if they cannot find a take non-tender him, thus making him a free agent. The Cubs were reported to have high interest in Jones but a deal with the Mets would bring them Cliff Floyd, and you cannot have two LF's. However at a renewing of the vows wedding ceremony between Sosa and his wife last weekend, GM Omar Minaya was there meaning there still might be a possibility of him ending up with the mets.

- The Mets may not be the front-runners in a deal for Sosa either as Baltimore could be the leaders with an offer of closer Jorge Julio and a OF or IF to be a backup for the Cubs. Nothing is supposedly close to happening but some telling moves, like what happens with Jones, could be showing where the Cubs think things are heading.

- With the signing of Matt Clement by the Red Sox, the Cubs will receive their 1st round pick as compensation.

- You gotta love how Todd Walker came out on an ESPN feature Sunday and bashed Sosa in not so many words, then at the end of the interview throw in that apologies could possibly make the situation go away. I cannot think that the team would let him go on and say these things unless they are about to move him somewhere. Former color-man Steve Stone was interviewed as well and among other things had this to say, "If you create Frankenstien, you cannot be real surprised if he eats the village, it's your own fault, you created him." Words too true from a man thats going to be sorely missed in the years to come.