Much like we have already seen in terms of competition this Major League Baseball season, the July 31st midseason trade deadline has proven that "parity" seems to be the overall theme this year.
The midseason trades this year were less blockbuster and more conservative than in past years. We did not see as much unloading of players, but saw more strategical trades which might prove profitable for many clubs still in the mix down the stretch run for division titles and wildcard bids.
The obsession with the potential trade for Randy Johnson proved to be nothing more than a distraction from teams' overall needs to continue to improve their clubs. In the end, the most-hyped potential trade of the season allowed all of the other trades to take place under its radar.
Of the 13 trades, there were 34 players involved with almost 50% of them minor leaguers, as an eye on the future was also a key consideration. Many clubs fortified their lineups, trading more "like" players for each other, and some for team chemistry reasons.
Two teams, for example, which hope they have improved their chances for contention this season, are the N.Y. Mets and the Chicago Cubs. The N.Y. Mets, although miserably slipping in the National League East standings this week, still have hopes to make a run for it. They won the pitching prize second only to Randy Johnson by way of starter Kris Benson from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will give them what they hope is added punch to their starting rotation which they could very much use. Now all they need is to do is start hitting and playing defense.
The Chicago Cubs, still hoping to contend for the wildcard berth in the National League, now have shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who has yet to get really hot since coming off the DL in Boston on June 6th.
Garciaparra was reportedly extremely unhappy since this past offseason when he was part of Boston's almost done deal in its failed acquisition of Alex Rodriguez. Some questioned whether his near half-season long stint on the DL was part holdout due to his dissatisfaction with management. For a player of his caliber and competitiveness, that would be hard to believe.
And because he has lost so much time this season, Garciaparra has yet to find his stride, giving the Cubs a chance to catch him just when he starts to get hot. Additionally, the Cubs did not sacrifice starting pitcher Matt Clement in the deal, keeping their powerful rotation in tact. Kerry Wood and Mark Prior just need to remain healthy, while the Cubs have a lot of ground to make up.
Also of note, the Yankees dismissed starting pitcher Jose Contreras who has struggled for most of the two years he has been in New York, after his fleeing from the shores of Cuba in 2002. He was traded straight up for Esteban Loaiza of the Chicago White Sox. Loaiza, while not having the stellar season he had in 2003, finishing second in voting for the AL Cy Young Award, is a proven commodity which the Yankees needed given the uncertainty of their starting rotation all year, mainly due to injuries.
The Yankees were also able to pick up John Olerud, former all-star first baseman, recently released by the Seattle Mariners. He will be a good addition to try to make up for the hole in their lineup from the ailing Jason Giambi, who is not expected back for a while. While Tony Clark has been a formidable fill-in, he could use some rest now, too.
There will be endless articles written, prognostications made, and much fodder among the experts concerning all of the various trades made this week, not touched upon here. But the clear issue remains that there are possibly 20 teams out of 30 not yet mathematically eliminated from postseason contention and those wanting to prove that their records have significantly improved from last year.
And that means that the MLB season will continue to gel and remain exciting. This next couple of weeks is also very important for MLB to pick up more fans, as it is an exclusive time .The NBA season is over, the NFL and college football training camps just started, and the 2004 Summer Olympics have not yet begun. The sports headlines will thereafter have limited ink for MLB.
So MLB needs to shine right now, print its changed rosters, and put its focus between the lines again. The past couple of weeks have been too much about money ball, but now it's simply time to play ball!
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