Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I suppose it was inevitable

...that we'd get headlines for post-deadline deal announcements like "Dunn Deal" and "Free Byrd". The Byrd deal is pretty straightforward; Theo doesn't trust A)Charlie Zink B)Clay Bucholz C)the rest of his options, and wants a body he can throw into the rotation so he can keep Justin Masterson in the pen for the playoffs. Of course, if the Sawx blow too many more ten run leads, it may be Jim Mora time.

The Dunn deal is both more interesting and sadder. It wasn't that long ago that the Reds were blessed with a surplus of extremely talented outfielders: Ken Griffey Junior, Wily Mo Pena, Adam Dunn, and Austin Kearns. It was conventional wisdom that how the Reds dealt with this surfeit of talent, and the return they got for carefully trading one away, would go a long way toward determining the future of the franchise.

Now, they're all gone, and for pennies (or less) on the dollar. We still don't know the shape of the Arizona trade, but even as a salary dump, it's pointless; the Reds are paying too much of Dunn's remaining deal to get any real relief. Plus, it's not like they had any outfield prospects coming up behind him whom they needed to make room for; the world has seen more than enough of the Hairston & Patterson show already. The haul for all four outfielders? Not even a handful of magic beans.

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