R.J.

How about Middlebrooks or Carpenter this round

They at least finish this round I think, but can't start a round after 7:30. Or maybe I made that all up.

Arrieta is a nice pick this late.

Probably would have liked someone different with that pick.

There goes Russell... so I'm back to pining after Middlebrooks.

is Kyle Russel off the board?

Middlebrooks will probably go 148 and I'll smash my skull through this monitor. I really wouldn't mind yet another pitcher if the right one is there.

Next pick at 149... Who do you want to be there?

Thank you Angels for sparing us the embarrassment of passing on Harvey

Either the Mets sulk away and sign a guy like Jeff Weaver or they go out armed and prepared to make a crazy trade for an upper tier pitcher. If they're willing to part with an assortment of Milledge, Pelfrey, Heilman, and/or Humber, let's keep the pitching sale a-goin'.

Great trade. Gload is a solid bench guy but an underwhelming option as a late inning pinch hitter, and though I loved having the guy on our team I was never happy when he got a rare start. Sisco is indeed the perfect Coop reclamation project, because he came so cheap. Let's see what he can do. Now maybe sign a guy not unlike Erubiel Durazo and see if he'd be of any value in Gload's old role.

I don't think it's fair to say that we improved our ballclub just by inserting McCarthy into the rotation. We already knew we'd have McCarthy in the rotation, the objective was to improve the club in 2007 (or the future) by using a pitcher as a trading chip. We didn't address any needs for this season. We instead banked on a fallen-from-grace prospect who has never seen an ounce of major league success. And that's where my statement about "promise" comes in. Though poorly worded, my point is that Gavin Floyd has seen the major leagues and has looked completely overmatched. There's reason to believe that he'll get better, he's young and needs work, but a guy like Danks (or prospects of the like) at the very least have yet to fail. Don't tell me you're counting on Floyd as a top pitching prospect. The guy can't even handle AAA. That's the point i'm trying to make. He was promising when he was an 18 year old taken fourth overall in 2001. He doesn't look very promising now that he's shown he can and will get hit hard. Gavin Floyd's last promising season was 2004. If you're thinking this guy is the reason we made this deal you're very optimistic about him. He's a project. He's your typical "FIX HIM DON COOPER!" pitcher. The centerpiece is Gonzalez, who we obviously regretted dealing (rightfully) and who we think is a top 15 pitching prospect, instead of a top 30 (as most scouts rate him). To say that Williams didn't explore all his alternatives would be to say that he didn't do his job. It may be warranted to speculate on how much shopping around he did before pulling this trigger, but I'm not saying he didn't do enough talking. I'm not saying he didn't do his job, but I'll say I think he did his job poorly. I feel like, as many people suggested, if maybe we waited until the pitching market cooled off, once Schmidt and Zito were signed, once the Blue Jays or Cubs or Astros or Rangers etc. were looking for a #1 or 2 starter and were left with the Jeff Suppans of the world, we'd be in a better position than we would have now. And I don't think there were a lot of teams knocking on the door to get Floyd. The money issue is a fair one. I just think that there are so many teams who are throwing their payrolls out the window that a handul of them wouldnt have been afraid to acquire a proven starter knowing they'd have to pay him some money next year. My only contention is that everything leading up to this point had me hoping for much more than what we are left with. That's not Williams' fault, but it's just a disappointing outcome that should have been averted.

Its probably already been said in the thread somewhere, but the Braves get RAFAEL SORIANO for HORACIO RAMIREZ, and this is the best we can do for Garcia? We look pretty bad right now. (So does Bill Bavasi, but still). EVeryone saying that Floyd has all this upside and that maybe he can turn it around and he has a good arm with plus stuff - you're all right. But he's not the pitcher you look to acquire in this market. The reports that we were lokking/asking for guys like Ervin Santana and John Lackey and John Danks and so forth were closer to what you want: someone with a lot of upside and promise. Floyd is all upside with no promise. He's damaged goods at retail price. It's just sad that Kenny Williams was placed in a position where people would be "stunned" if he didn't "win" a trade for one of our starting pitchers, and I'm sitting here looking at prices for pitching and other deals being made and I'm just seeing that we didn't get enough for our property. Garcia isn't fantastic. We all saw him lose his stuff last year. We all knew that we were better off with McCarthy in 2007. But that doesnt change the fact that MEDIOCRE starting pitching is demanding a king's ransom in the free agent market and Garcia, by reputation, is ABOVE AVERAGE. You can't tell me there are all these teams willing to dish out $12M a year to Gil Meche but they're not willing to acquire Garcia because they don't want to pay him his next contract. I just find it hard to believe that this was the best offer we received, or that we didn't construct a bidding war between two of the dozen or so pitching hungry teams. Either that, or I'm disappointed that Williams saw this deal as the best one on the table when all the information the press is putting out lead us to believe otherwise. And I love Gio Gonzalez. But this feels like an offer you can top if you have a market thin on pitching.

Ugly. Absolutely ugly. Maybe it was Kenny's intention to deflate the market for good starting pitching. This is pretty depressing in that it doesn't help out our biggest problems: -No help in left or center field -No help in the leadoff spot -No help for the bullpen -No rotation insurance And if this is all we get from Garcia then how can we expect to get anything more for Buehrle, Vazquez, or Garland? Yuck. We can't keep trading for these failed first rounders and just hope that Cooper can "fix" them.

We could pull off a Vernon Wells trade if we really wanted to. Wells is going to make sooooooooooo much money in 2008.

If Crede, Garcia, and a yawner of a prospect was all it'd take to pry A-Rod out of the Bronx he'd be gone by now. Joe Crede trumps Alex Rodriguez in one category out of 60 or so: better defense at 3rd base. To suggest that Crede is in A-Rod's league offensively should warrant the loss of your right to discuss player values. The big stinker in this deal, as mentioned, is that A-Rod doesnt have to go anywhere he doesn't want to, and he does have an out clause if he wants it, and god knows what he and that monster of an agent have planned. I'd still pounce at the chance if it were ever presented.

Offer them Uribe straight up, but keep a good poker face. If they still won't budge, throw in Heath Phillips.

Gagne is a huge risk and a physical disaster at this point. If he could be had at a cheap (incentive based?) price, he'd be worth a try, but any team counting on him for innings or god forbid saves next year is going up against some pretty steep odds. Not to hijack the thread, but what is Dotel asking for? He might be a better bet (but possibly more money?)

This move has disaster written all over it.

If I'm the Yankees... First of all, they're going to try to trade him. They're going to have to given the situation that theyve been presented with. But nobody is stupid enough (except maybe that one guy) to forget that Alex Rodriguez was the MVP of baseball just one year ago and plays like one every year, at least offensively. He's still got years left and he's versatile in that he can play 3rd or short, both quite well. Ok, I hear you squawking that he sucked at 3rd base this year. My god, yes he did. But the level which it was blown out of proportion is pretty considerable. And yes, guys get older and lose some range and who knows if he can even play SS anymore? Well, with his offensive production, he's worth being a mediocre shortstop or a 3rd baseman who makes errors. The numbers don't lie. New York lies to you. So, this is a pretty valuable commodity, even if his name has been dragged through the mud all over New York. The asking price starts with Crede, McCarthy, and a prospect. A good one. Sweeney might not fit them, and Broadway is solid but doesnt wow anybody. It could be either though. Don't kid yourselves into thinking that the Yankees want Freddy Garcia. He had 17 wins? Sure. But I watched him pitch in all 17 of them, so you're not fooling me into thinking he had a good year or that he has many good years ahead of him. Garcia has trade value, but not A-Rod trade value. McCarthy does. We've all soured on McCarthy (a little?), but come on. He's got a nice future. Not as a releiver, we saw, but he's got a hell of a lot of talent. And he's 1000x more valuable to a team than Garcia. Crede is a must. He's the one coming off the breakout year. His name has got the buzz. He's got that sure handed defense at 3rd that A-Rod lacks. The Yanks would love to have him and he wouldn't be a bad replacement for the "mess" that A-Rod has become for them. Fields will not get the deal done folks. He's not a sure thing, at all. Don't want to deal our precious babe Brandon McCarthy? Well, ok. Then we're going to have to get creative. I already said Garcia isn't impressive enough to get the Yankees biting. They already know what Contreras and Vazquez can do and they're not getting back on that boat. But Buehrle... Buehrle would be interesting. They need starting pitching. Everyone does. Buehrle is coming off of his worst year, and yeah he looked worse than Garcia at times during that stretch, but I'm more apt to believe that he'll turn it around before Garcia does. Freddy lost his fastball .... velocity doesnt come back to you too often. Buehrle is a crafty left hander, and crafty left handers run into trouble a lot, but they get through it. I think the Yankees and most teams in baseball would jump at the chance to get Mark Buehrle, down year or not, based on reputation. So Crede, McCarthy or Buehrle, and a prospect. Yankees send Rodriguez and maybe, maybe, some money. I don't think we can do much better for them, and I don't think they'll accept much less. Remember: the Yankees can't upgrade from A-Rod at 3rd base. And unless you've got something special to give them, they can go right out and buy a guy who's similar or better. Crede, McCarthy or Buehrle, and a prospect. That brings you one of the best players in the game. But does it make us a better team? I don't think it does. It doesnt fix our leadoff problem, it doesnt fill that gaping hole in left field, it doesnt strengthen our pitching staff, the life blood of the team, or get Uribe and Anderson's bats going. I could be convinced to sell on Crede for the right player. (A-Rod IS, you betcha.) I'm less happy about the certainty that to get a guy like A-Rod you're going to have to toss in Buehrle (who despite that disgusting second half, is still rock solid most of the time) or McCarthy (who I'd REALLY like to see get his shot.) A deal like that for A-Rod leaves us with a (still) solid top-to-bottom pitching staff, but one less guy who is capable of stepping it up and pitching like an Ace. Is it still worth it?

Uh... I don't want Neifi or Nevin on my team. Where they go from there shouldnt matter.

It was nice to see that the kid is human, and that he'll at least go through a month or 2 of growing pains. Still, he looks like a good bet going forward.

I don't think anyone is declaring that Matt Garza will always be a better pitcher than Lance Broadway, because such a statement would be ridiculous and speculative. But come on, if there was a draft tomorrow, who in their right mind would draft Broadway ahead of him? Not a soul. I like Broadway and you can NOT blame the Sox for drafting him ahead of whoever - hindsight is 20/20, how many teams passed on Pujols, etc. etc. - the draft is not an exact science. But is Broadway the kind of pitcher you can get excited about? If he is, not on the level of Garza, at least not until he stumbles a little bit. The Twins, if they can get a rotation of Santana/Liriano/Garza/Perkins/Someone Else should try and use their other "lesser" pitching prospects to acquire another bat or two (for 2007 and after) to try and put them over the top.

Garza is scary. The real concern here is this: We all know that the Twins are being carried by their pitching and need their bats to stay this hot to make the playoffs. And that's what they are - HOT - they're playing above their heads. Except for Mauer, who could do this every year, and Morneau, who the jury is still out on, most everyone else shouldn't be this good. It's chemistry, hey, that's cool. The White Sox fed off of it last year and the Tigers and Twins have it going now. BUT, if they do make it to the playoffs, who would want to face them? There's not a team that would look forward to going into a 5 game series and knowing you'll have to see JOHAN SANTANA in games 1 and 4 and FRANCISCO LIRIANO in games 2 and 5. That's a horrifying thought. Even if you know you can torch Radke in that third game, you have to find a way to beat those guys who are filthy when they're on and just slightly less filthy when they aren't. Now, Garza looks ready to pitch in the majors. Slot him in for game 3 and 6 and this team's odds of winning the Series go way, way up. Yeah, yeah, I understand that pitching prospects are unpredictable and there are no sure bets and Garza could come up and stink up the place for 2 starts before getting a bus ticket back to Rochester and hoping he can make some waves in 2007. I say that's at least partly wishful thinking. Even if Garza isn't ready right now, it'll be awful for the central division if they have all 3 of those guys on top of their game in '07 and beyond.

I know there will be a lot of alternative scenarios tossed around now that it appears McCarthy will stay in Chicago for the next 6 years like we all hoped, but what that is, folks, is a deal breaker. The odds of us acquiring Soriano without McCarthy -- well, it's a long shot.