Xnay Sounds Off

Oakland GM xnay recently pulled off perhaps the trade of the year, luring 7-time All-Star Douglas Carpenter from Cincinatti for a trio of major-leaguers. Here's what he had to say about the deal:

"Well, I felt that I needed to add one more big bat to the middle of our lineup and Carpenter definitely gives us that. We gave up some solid pieces and losing Ming definitely hurts but we do have some solid young pitchers who should be ready to contribute down the stretch. Even with the trade, I still think the Rays are the team to beat in the AL (yeah, right) but at least this gives us a fighting chance."

Thus far, Carpenter has been getting days off to house-hunt and recharge for the stretch run.

Crabman On the Becker trade

"This trade finally gives this franchise the ace pitcher it severely lacked. We obviously are making a push to get into the playoffs and if we do make it, having Kordell as our #1 should help us out tremendously. Its tough to lose Felix Turner, but we feel Jamie Faulk will help lessen the blow to the offense, while being an upgrade defensively."

So far, the deal is not reaping dividends for the Birds: Becker is 0-2, 6.19 and Faulk is hitting just .200 in 65 AB's. It's a mixed review on the Rays' end: Hutton has been knocked around to the tune of a 7.53 ERA, but Turner has contributed 18 RBI in 16 games.

Inside the Big Baltimore/Tampa Bay Trade

The Orioles and Rays have pulled off the season's biggest trade, swapping a pair of highly-paid pitchers and a pair of highly-drafted 3B's.

Baltimore gets Kordell Becker, the second piece of Tampa Bay's monster Season 10 FA spending spree; Jamie Faulk, Season 5's number 1 overall pick, and SP Donn Sisler. The Rays get Felix Turner, Season 7's #4 overall, James Hutton, Baltimore's own contribution to the Season 10 "FA credit bubble," and OF Andrew Holdridge.

Driving the deal: the Rays' impending budget bomb. "With many of our players reaching arbitration and their first long-term contracts, we were going to have to trade 2 or 3 big-salary guys next season," said Tampa Bay GM blanch13. "We saw an opportunity that made sense to speed up that timetable."

From Baltimore's end, the allure of getting a staff ace outweighed the huge contract that comes with him and the loss of Turner. The Orioles have turned into a bit of a surprise contender this year, thanks largely to the contributions of some fairly low-budget FA pitchers. But that pitching has slipped lately, and the Birds seized the opportunity to grab an ace starter.

Reactions around the league were mixed. Yankees' boss overeasy bemoaned the strengthening of a division rival: "I liked the Orioles better when they didn't have any good starting pitchers." White Sox GM jnewfry commented on the long-term implications: "And i liked the Rays better when they were completely stuck salary wise." And Texas GM akgsports provided a clear analysis of the talent merits: "I like Baltimore's end of it :) Faulk is underrated and just having a down year offensively. Becker is still top notch. I don't think Turner will be a consistent 900+ OPS hitter with a BE of 53."

Julio hit #500!

Home Run King

Orber Julio

It was the top of the 7th with one man on base and the Phillies were trailing the Astros by 1 run when Julio blasted a pitch from Chris Puckett into the left field bleachers of Minute Maid Park. With that home run, the Phils took a one-run lead and Orber Julio became the first player to hit 500 career home runs. While the Astros came back to win the game, the feat will be forever remembered as the ball was sent directly to the Hall of Fame.

Divison Round Matchups

We're down to 8, with the #5 seeds upsetting the #4's in both leagues. Here's the breakdown:

National League

#5 Cubs vs. #1 Expos: Both clubs tended to win with offense this year - Cubs were #3 in runs and Montreal was #5 - and both were middle-of-the pack pitching-wise. The Frenchies did lead the league in fielding percentage, with the Cubs at #14 (57 more unearned runs than the Expos), so watch how the errors play out. They split their season series.

#3 Padres vs. #2 Braves: Classic offense/defense matchup: the Braves led the league in runs scored, while the Pads, with their "waves of relievers" strategy, allowed the fewest. But while Atlanta's pitching is also pretty impressive (3.98 ERA), San Diego had to scrap for every run (14th in scoring). Atlanta took the season series 6-4.

American League

#3 Boston vs. #2 Tampa Bay: The Rays took the season series 7-3 this year. The teams are just about dead-even on offense - Tampa Bay has a slight edge in pitching and posted the league's top fielding percentage. Player to watch: Donatello Bollea has been a deadly Ray-killer in previous years (0-1 in 2 starts this year); if he can revert to his Season 9 and 10 form (against the Rays, at least) for 2 starts (likely against Santos Lorenzo), it could be an early out for the defending AL champs.

#5 Rangers vs. #1 Athletics: Oakland was a statistical powerhouse this year, finishing 2nd in runs scores, first in Team ERA, and 3rd in fielding percentage. Texas was right behind the A's in scoring but will need to step up the pitching and play flawless defense to have a shot in this series. Oakland won the season series 7-3.

Poll Results - Who will hit more home runs?

#1 Vote Getter

Travis Murphy

Thanks to a young start to his career and more time to benefit from the steroid era, Travis Murphy was the top vote getter with 6 votes. Just behind with 5 votes, single-season record holder Dee Dee Hutton was another popular choice. While he has been very impressive in his short career, Vic Gonzales garnered only 3 votes.

All-Decade Team: Middle Reliever

Middle Reliever

Victor Lima

While he spent part of the decade as a starter, part of it as a closer, and part of as a middle reliever, he spent the entire decade thoroughly dominating hitters. His superb performance at wherever his manager wanted him was what earned his place on the All-Decade Team ahead of some very good middle relievers who spent the entire decade in that role. The final voting tally was as follows (20 votes):
Victor Lima (9) - 62 pts
Alfonso Trajano (4) - 55 pts
Turner Mordecai (2) - 24 pts
Wes Roosevelt (3) - 23 pts
Julio Romero (2) - 16 pts

Around the AL With 9 To Go

North
The Tigers have put together a nice 14-2 run since 6/17 PM2 to get to within 3 of the White Sox (8-7 over the same period). These teams hook up for a 3-game set to end the season. It's probably win the division or nothing for Detroit - despite their streak they're 5 games out of the second wild card.

East
Yanks have stumbled badly since the Pickford injury, suffering 7 and 5-game losing streaks recently. The Red Sox have capitalized, opening up a 4-game lead, with the two teams meeting in the final series.

South
Tampa Bay has clinched and will get one of the top 2 seeds. Kansas City, Texas and Charlotte are all solidly in the wild card picture...could be the second straight year with 3 playoff teams.

West
Oakland clinched awhile back and is a game up on the Rays for the #1 seed. Anaheim is still in the wild card hunt be needs to right the ship...the current L7 isn't helping.

Wild Card
Lots of juicy possibilities. The Royals have a leg up with a 3-game lead, but still have series with Tampa Bay and Texas. The Rangers, Knights and Yankees are all at 82-71...Charlotte and Texas have a series left. Anaheim is just a game back of those 3 and might have a slight schedule edge. The Tigers aren't toast yet but they better win most of their remaining games to stay in it.