Past the halfway point in the MLB season

[Failed Bridge 0]

With the season over halfway in the books now I thought we could all discuss what we would like to see our teams do. Realistic moves of course.

 

With the Red Sox all I think they need is another quality bullpen arm and some bench depth. Wily Mo needs to be moved on and I don't wanna see Joel Piniero anymore. I've read that a couple of guys being looked at are Reggie Sanders and Dan Wheeler. I'd be fine with that.

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

For the Red Sox, a righty bat off the bench and another power arm in the pen is all they need to acquire at the deadline. The time has passed for Wily Mo to be a productiver member of this squad. He just doesn't offer anything right now that is useful to the team. He, along with the prospects that have no future here (Moss, Murhpy, Gabbard, Hansen, etc.) should be the cornerstone for future acquisitions.

 

If they have the opportunity to acquire a power corner infielder of catcher for the future without selling off the farm, they should do it. It might cost them less to do it at the deadline than it would in free agency. I don't know how realistic that is though.

 

Overall, this team has weaknesses and I am not sure they have a champsionship caliber squad in place. But there are no quick fixes to be had. If the stars aligned right, Coco and Lugo bounce back in a big way, Schilling becomes the answer for the back end of the rotation, Buchholz fleshes out the bullpen and Ellsbury steps in as a productive fourth outfielder. It's going to take a lot of good karma for that to happen.

[tominator89 0]

Phillies need pitching.

[devo 0]

To be honest, the Mets don't need a whole lot in terms of new players right now. The rotation's shaped up quite nicely, the bullpen could possibly use one more consistent arm but is otherwise fine, and the lineup simply needs its main contributors to play to their potential or just get healthy. I think the clock's finally struck midnight on Jose Valentin, so the more playing time Ruben Gotay gets in the second half, the better. Beltran's scuffling a little bit, but I think he'll eventually turn it around as, unlike 2005, he's not playing hurt (as far as I know). I've given up on Delgado performing anywhere near his norm, but at the same time, I don't think a line along the lines of .260/.330/.480 is out of the question either. Not great, but good enough.

 

It's going to hinge a lot on when Moises Alou and Pedro Martinez come back and in what kinda shape they're in, but I'm confident that, given their current roster, the Mets will be just fine.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Phillies need pitching.

The Phillies lead the league in runs scored and are last in runs allowed, so that's certainly a fair assessment. The rotation at this point is Hamels, Moyer, Eaton, Kendrick and Durbin. Kendrick can not maintain his success with his peripherals. Durbin's control is awful. The Phils really need another starter to compete this year. Given the market, I doubt they can do it unless they deal Aaron Rowand.

[Brett Favre 0]

The Yankees need a bench, first baseman, and a reliever.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

The Yankees need a bench, first baseman, and a reliever.

 

 

Call up the Rangers and ask for Teixeira, Sosa, Lofton, Otsuka and Gagne. It's like a match made in heaven.

[Brett Favre 0]

Eh, they want Chamberlain for that. I heard they wanted Chamberlain and Tabata for Teixeira alone.

[vivalaultra 0]

The Astros need Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, JJ Hardy, CoCo Cordero, Derrick Turnbow, Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Hill, Ryan Theriot, Albert Pujols, Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips, Aaron Harang, Tom Gorzellany, Jason Bay, Woody Williams, and Morgan Ensberg to all get suspended 50 games for PEDs.

 

No, but, seriously the Astros have little to no shot of winning the division or WildCard this season. They can still, however, finish at .500. They should trade Jason Jennings, Mark Loretta, Morgan Ensberg, Dan Wheeler or Chad Qualls, and Luke Scott for prospects. They should cut Orlando Palmiero. They shouldn't, and won't, trade Lidge or Oswalt. They should call up LHP Troy Patton, IF Johnny Ash, OF Mike Rodriguez, and RHP Paul Estrada, move Biggio to the bench and have Chris Burke start at 2B for the rest of the season and go with a modified youth movement for the rest of the season, sign a catcher over the offseason (or promote JR Towles from AA) and make no other big signings. The team's got a good core of talent with Berkman, Oswalt, Lee, Pence, and Lidge; they just need to not be so hesitant to cut ties with guys that aren't contributing. A line-up of

 

2B Burke

CF Pence

1B Berkman

LF Lee

3B Lamb

RF Rodriguez

SS Everett

C Towles

P Oswalt

 

is fine. A rotation of:

 

Oswalt

Sampson

Wandy

Albers

Patton

 

wouldn't be great, but it wouldn't be horrible and at least it would be relatively cheap.

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

As a Reds fan I'd say pitching, but what else is new. We have Matt Belisle sitting on a 5.02 ERA in the starting rotation and a bullpen that's just been shredded this season. For example, you've got Mike Stanton (5.34 ERA), Todd Coffey (4.75 ERA), and Kirk Saarloos (6.58 ERA) throwing stuff that isn't too fancy out there.

 

I expect some kind of sale by the Reds as we near the trade deadline. We keep getting Griffey rumors but as the trade deadline approaches I keep hearing fewer and fewer of them. I think Adam Dunn is probably gone, though. Might not hurt the Reds to also look into getting another catcher because Darren Ross has had declining numbers since he arrived in Cincinnati and this season is only batting .196 with an anemic .247 OBP.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Fewer injuries. FEWER RUNNERS STRANDED.

 

And, most realistically, the BoSox need to stumble.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Viva, did you sneek into Keith Law's chat today? Some crazed Astros fans said that they should deal Brad Lidge to the Red Sox for Ellsbury and Lester. I almost fell off my chair laughing.

 

On a sidenote, I hate Keith Law. Every pitching prospect is a future no. 1 or a fringey middle reliever.

[vivalaultra 0]

Viva, did you sneek into Keith Law's chat today? Some crazed Astros fans said that they should deal Brad Lidge to the Red Sox for Ellsbury and Lester. I almost fell off my chair laughing.

 

That was probably some of the same crazed Astros' fans that have been suggesting dealing Oswalt to the Mets for Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfry or, on the other end of the ridiculousness spectrum, Jennings to the Braves for Saltalamachia. I know I've been frustrated with Brad Lidge on occasion and might have even said that the Astros should trade him, but, my God, people, he's easily the best relief pitcher the Astros have. A 2.15 ERA and a 50/17 K/BB ratio in 38 innings is absolutely excellent, be it for a closer, a setup man, or a mop-up guy. The closer is an overrated position, but when you can get stats like Lidge has for any reliever, you don't trade him, especially when you look at the stats of the rest of the Astros' bullpen by comparison.

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Lidge is the best reliever the Astros have, but they should deal him at the deadline. Teams always overpay to a ridiculous amount for relievers, especially ones that can close or set-up. The Astros have mishandled him to a ridiculous degree this season. They could have gotten quite the package had they been willing to part with him last offseason.

 

And no, you aren't trading him to the Red Sox for Beckett, Buchholz, Ellsbury, Lester or any other pipedream you may be thinking about.

[vivalaultra 0]

I don't think they should deal him at the deadline; not so much for the rest of this season, but for next season. I'm not convinced the Astros should go into complete rebuilding mode; they should do more of a retooling, keeping around the productive veterans (Berkman, Lee, Oswalt, Lidge) and complement them with younger productive players (Pence, Burke, Sampson, Qualls, minor league prospects). If you trade Lidge, that gives the 2008 bullpen one good arm in Qualls and some unproven rookies. Not trading Lidge at least keeps the core of the pen solid and allows you to complement Qualls and Lidge with prospects. Because relief pitching is so overvalued, I'm sure that the Astros couldn't get a relief pitcher that could step in and perform at Lidge's level by trading away Lidge or any of the other expendable players on the team. And despite the Astros mishandling of Lidge this year, he's still been excellent and has come out publicly saying that he has no desire to leave the Astros and he wants to pitch in Houston for the rest of his career. And there have been several articles in the last week or so where Tim Purpura and Drayton McClane have said plainly 'We are not planning on trading Brad Lidge nor do we have any desire to trade Brad Lidge.'

 

Of the triumverate (Qualls, Wheeler, Lidge), I'd like to see Qualls (94 mph sinker with ridiculous movement) and Brad Lidge stay. A 'Wheeler to Boston' trade for some AA prospect (RHP Justin Masterson, RHP Michael Bowden) would be fine with me.

[Guest]

A bat. I don't care what we have to give for Teixeira, that's a move that needs to get made. Well, I wouldn't give Kershaw, so that's a lie.

 

I know the team will trade to get the players they feel they need, I just hope they're the right players. No Julio Lugo's this time.

[Annabelle 0]

king: you sure you'd let go of loney for texeira?

 

the tigers don't really need much. the additions of jose cappelan & macay mcbride are working out nicely. once fernando rodney & zumaya come back, they'll knock the dead weight of jason grilli and bobby seay off the team.

 

if i wanted to get greedy, i'd suggest an upgrade at first base although casey is still hitting near .300 even if his power has completely disappeared. i'd want one more reliever, but even that may have been answered already. and possibly an outfielder but thames has come close to stealing monroe's job.

[Guest]

Maybe. We just don't have the power that Teixeira would bring to the team, so it would be really hard to pass up.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

That was probably some of the same crazed Astros' fans that have been suggesting dealing Oswalt to the Mets for Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfry or, on the other end of the ridiculousness spectrum, Jennings to the Braves for Saltalamachia. I know I've been frustrated with Brad Lidge on occasion and might have even said that the Astros should trade him, but, my God, people, he's easily the best relief pitcher the Astros have.

 

You know, there could be some sort of crazy three way trade there that sends Oswalt to Atl, Jennings/Lidge to NYM and Salty & Milledge to Houston. Never going to happen, but those teams have some pieces that match up. If Houston can add a quality arm, power bat, catcher or a shortstop at the deadline in an Oswalt or Lidge deal, they should do it as quickly as possible.

 

Of the triumverate (Qualls, Wheeler, Lidge), I'd like to see Qualls (94 mph sinker with ridiculous movement) and Brad Lidge stay. A 'Wheeler to Boston' trade for some AA prospect (RHP Justin Masterson, RHP Michael Bowden) would be fine with me.

 

 

Masterson and Bowden aren't untouchables, but they're guys who'd fit into a Teixeira deal, not one for Dan freakin' Wheeler.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Loney already has a higher OPS this season than Teixeira, albeit in limited playing time.

 

 

[Mik 0]

A stadium.

[vivalaultra 0]

That was probably some of the same crazed Astros' fans that have been suggesting dealing Oswalt to the Mets for Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfry or, on the other end of the ridiculousness spectrum, Jennings to the Braves for Saltalamachia. I know I've been frustrated with Brad Lidge on occasion and might have even said that the Astros should trade him, but, my God, people, he's easily the best relief pitcher the Astros have.

 

If Houston can add a quality arm, power bat, catcher or a shortstop at the deadline in an Oswalt or Lidge deal, they should do it as quickly as possible.

 

 

I don't see the sense in trading one of the top 5 SP in the National League and one of the best relievers in baseball, especially when both are signed to extremely reasonable contracts, considering the inflated market for pitching in baseball. If you trade Oswalt and/or Lidge, that pretty much takes contending away for the next 3-4 years. Why give up a power arm for a power arm, especially when the first power arm is a perennial Cy Young candidate signed to a relatively cheap contract or a guy who has 105 saves the last 5 seasons and an ERA almost a run and a half below the league average? Trading Oswalt or Lidge would make Wandy Rodriguez the ace of the 2008 staff or a guy with an ERA over 4 the 2008 closer. As a Red Sox fan, that might not seem like a big deal, but down in Astroland, that's not a sacrifice I'd like to see made. I don't think the Astros need a power bat per se; they already have Berkman and Carlos Lee. What they need are complementary players who will get on base at a higher clip than Biggio, Ensberg, and Luke Scott. I don't see a big need to trade for a catcher, as bringing up a catcher from the Astros' minor leagues will at least be an improvement over Ausmus and let the Astros be league average in that department. And I'm fine with Everett at SS, presuming the Astros upgrade 2B, 3B, and RF to at least league average-which they can do by promoting some minor leaguers and without a trade of the Ace of the staff or Brad Lidge.

 

PS: I like how all of these 'How would you fix your team?' or 'What are your team's greatest needs?' topics turn into threads with a distinct Astros' focus, at least betwixt I and cheech.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

PS: I like how all of these 'How would you fix your team?' or 'What are your team's greatest needs?' topics turn into threads with a distinct Astros' focus, at least betwixt I and cheech.

 

Well the teams who actually need stuff are the Angels, Mariners, Twins and Indians and there aren't really any fans of those teams on this board, at least to my knowledge.

 

Besides viva, you know I love me some Astros talk.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The Os need some teams to be really desperate at the trade deadline and want to make deals for Steve Trachsel, Kevin Millar and Jay Gibbons. Im not going to advocate trading the whole team as theres no need for that, although if they get offers that they can pass up for other players they might as well go for it.

 

Im actually pretty sure Trachsel is gone since hes one of the names getting thrown around and theres a lack of available pitching. That lack of available starting pitching has me thinking they might get an offer they cant pass up for Cabrera and take it as well. But Millar and Gibbons are going to take some desperation to get rid of.

 

I think its possible that the Os still could have a shot at .500 (39-30 to finish the season) and I was shocked to see them included in ESPN's wild card picture (13 GB) but a .500 finish would be nice..

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

PS: I like how all of these 'How would you fix your team?' or 'What are your team's greatest needs?' topics turn into threads with a distinct Astros' focus, at least betwixt I and cheech.

 

Well the teams who actually need stuff are the Angels, Mariners, Twins and Indians and there aren't really any fans of those teams on this board, at least to my knowledge.

 

Besides viva, you know I love me some Astros talk.

 

You must be blind then. There's plenty of Twins fans here. I'd say what the White Sox needs but it's a laundry list, and no sense in listing them all since realistically that can't get all done in one trading deadline.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I think a number of teams will be in on Kevin Millar, including the Yankees and Red Sox. He's a competent bat off the bench, as long as he keeps his attitude in check.

 

They'll probably field offers for Trachsel as well. It's too bad that Tejada has been injured because they could probably deal him to a contender looking for a power bat.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Tejada's coming back July 27th, supposedly.

 

 

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Tejada's coming back July 27th, supposedly.

 

 

Even if he returns before the trade deadline, that's not enough time to showcase him for a trade. He wasn't having his best season before the injury and there aren't many teams who'd be interested in giving up a ton for a guy with question marks. If they are going to trade him, they need to get back full value. Now is not that time.

[NYU 0]

To be honest, the Mets don't need a whole lot in terms of new players right now. The rotation's shaped up quite nicely, the bullpen could possibly use one more consistent arm but is otherwise fine, and the lineup simply needs its main contributors to play to their potential or just get healthy. I think the clock's finally struck midnight on Jose Valentin, so the more playing time Ruben Gotay gets in the second half, the better. Beltran's scuffling a little bit, but I think he'll eventually turn it around as, unlike 2005, he's not playing hurt (as far as I know). I've given up on Delgado performing anywhere near his norm, but at the same time, I don't think a line along the lines of .260/.330/.480 is out of the question either. Not great, but good enough.

 

It's going to hinge a lot on when Moises Alou and Pedro Martinez come back and in what kinda shape they're in, but I'm confident that, given their current roster, the Mets will be just fine.

 

If anything, the Mets desperately need to fix up their bullpen because if they try to go with what they have now, it's bound to fall apart once they get down the stretch. Mota hasn't looked good all year since he got off the roids. Heilman is good for giving up at least two runs every time he gets in the game. Schoeneweis has almost become as talented at blowing a game as Heilman has. And Joe Smith, Aaron Sele, and Mike Pelfrey aren't going to be enough to keep the pen going. They need to get one or two strong bullpen arms, if not more.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

PS: I like how all of these 'How would you fix your team?' or 'What are your team's greatest needs?' topics turn into threads with a distinct Astros' focus, at least betwixt I and cheech.

 

Well the teams who actually need stuff are the Angels, Mariners, Twins and Indians and there aren't really any fans of those teams on this board, at least to my knowledge.

 

Besides viva, you know I love me some Astros talk.

 

You must be blind then. There's plenty of Twins fans here. I'd say what the White Sox needs but it's a laundry list, and no sense in listing them all since realistically that can't get all done in one trading deadline.

The list is easy. They just need offense and pitching. If I were the Sox I'd throw Jim Thome's name out there.