SubscribeA “Trading Deadline” primer
Because the MLB network has to fill up their 24 hours somehow, they’ve been talking constantly about potential trades as the July 31 deadline approaches. FYI, none of the JMLs — at this point — are involved in such speculation.
Because we’re still 10 days away and nothing major has happened yet, you’re hearing a lot of rumors. If you’re in New York, the talk is mostly about the Mets, the aftermath of the Madoff fiasco that has put the team’s finances in a major bind. They sent their closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers for a couple of bags of socks because he would have most likely have finished 55 games, thereby triggering a $17.5 million option for 2012.
The Mets have been warning their fans that if they’re out of the running, don’t be surprised if they raise the white flag and move players like Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes to give them some salary space next year. It almost sounds like the premise for many a baseball novel like The Natural or movie like Major League in which the evil owner deliberately sabotages the team’s chances for personal financial gain, players and fans be damned.
Problem is, like the ersatz Cleveland Indians in the aforementioned Major League, the Mets, for the moment are winning, thereby putting a crimp in the front office’s plan. They’ll have to make a decision soon, but what if things are still going well?
For those of you perplexed by the whirlwind of information, here’s a little primer that might help.
I wouldn’t say the Mets are “winning.” They are .500 and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card. They aren’t going to the playoffs this year.
Hey, don’t rain on my parade. No one expected them to do this well. I consider that a “moral” victory. And with Wright coming back, and maybe (maybe) Santana before the end of the year, well, all I can say is, stranger things have happened. Remember what the Phillies did in 1964.