D-Day Is Here

The deadline day has arrived. There are a lot of nervous players and GMs burning up the phones lines today. At 4 PM today, the official trade deadline hits, and teams can only make deals after that by going through league waivers, which can be a difficult, but not impossible, way of making a trade.

Tha Yankees traded for both Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle yesterday from the Phillies. Count me in the category of people who don't think the sky is falling because the Yankees did this. If the Yankees had landed Jason Schmidt or John Smoltz, I would be very unhappy about that. Abreu is having an off-year, with only 8 HRs and a .277 BA. He does improve the outfield defense, and the short porch in right will help him. Lidle is a hot-and-cold pitcher. He can eat up innings and is a definite upgrade over Sidney Ponson (any warm body is an upgrade over him).

I love the way the New York media is congratulating the Yankees for their "steal" of a trade. (Pass the barf bag, please.) They made a good trade, and didn't have to give up their prized prospect Philip Hughes to do it. They sent four minor leaguers, none of which is looked upon as any big deal down the road (three are at Single A right now). The Phillies were just looking to dump Abreu and Lidle's contracts and did it. Originally they wanted players like Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Scott Proctor, but the Yankees waited them out. It also tells me a number of other things.

I don't think any other team, including the Red Sox, were serious bidders for Abreu, especially since that was the best the Phillies could do in terms of return (I think they were more happy just to get rid of Abreu and his contract more than anything else). They got the Yankees number one pick from 2005, SS C.J. Henry in the trade. His stock has fallen since he was drafted. What does this trade tell you about the Yankees farm system also? It tells me that they still have one of the worst systems in baseball. Their drafts over the last five years have been absymal. I still believe that this team will collapse one day due to their barren farm system. It's not a matter of "if," but "when." Count on it.

It's about 12:30 PM as I write this, I heard all different kinds of rumors about the Red Sox. I've heard trades involving Jon Lester, Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp and Mark Loretta. There's a lot of false rumors and fiction out there. On this day, I don't believe anything until I see it confirmed on ESPNews or some place like that. Trot Nixon may have suffered a serious bicep injury last night, so that will further complicate matters today. I'd love to see them add another starting pitcher or veteran pitcher in the pen. David Wells makes his return tonight, and a good outing from him will calm down a nervous fan base.

In four hours, the deadline will arrive and be gone. Stay tuned...