Deadline day in review

Deadline day in review

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Think back for a second to the end of July. The Red Sox were still in the playoff picture, the Cubs were ahead of the Astros in the standings and the Twins were sitting atop the AL Central. Barry Bonds was still dozens of homers shy of 70 and the Mets couldn't even sniff second place in the NL East, let alone a playoff berth. The AL wild card race was too close to call and it even looked like the Yankees would have to fight their way into the postseason.

My, how things have changed.

Since then, the Yankees have clinched the AL East, Boston has imploded, the Indians have all but wrapped up the AL Central and Oakland buried the pretenders in the wild card race. In the National League, the Mets have somehow moved within four games of the division lead, the Cubs have virtually fallen out of contention and Barry Bonds is four swings away from history. How did all this happen?

Again, think back to late-July for a moment. There are two words that dominate the game of baseball at that time of the season every single year. Two words that actually shift our focus from the games on the field to the games in the front offices. Two words that signify a potential playoff run for some teams and essentially the end of the season for others.

Those two words? Deadline deals.

With all the excitement surrounding Bonds, the Mariners' run at 117 wins and the National League pennant races, many of you may have forgotten about all those last-second trades that were pulled off at the end of July, trades that were all consummated with the belief that certain teams were getting the final, vital pieces to their playoff puzzles. You heard it on TV and the radio, read about it on the Internet and in the newspapers: "By trading for so-and-so, this team now has what it takes to make a serious playoff run." Of course, when those comments are made in July and August, nobody really knows for sure who actually won and who actually lost in those deadline deals. 

But it's almost October now and the regular season is winding down. So who made out and who struck out with their July trades? Let's take a look at a few key deals that looked at the time to have major playoff implications, and another that slipped under the radar.


The deal: The Oakland Athletics, needing some right-handed power behind Jason Giambi, traded for Kansas City rightfielder Jermaine Dye on July 25. Dye, who at the time was hitting a mere .272 with 13 homers and 47 RBI, was coming off a Gold Glove, All Star performance in 2000 (.321/33/118). 
Stats since trade: .301, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 37 runs, 109 total bases, .377 OB%, .556 slug% in 52 games (196 at bats).
Team record since trade: 40-11, clinched wild card berth with second-best record in baseball.
Hindsight: Not shown in the above stats is that Giambi, with Dye sitting behind him in the Oakland lineup, hit .370 in August with eight homers and is currently hitting .348 this month. Jose Ortiz, a quality prospect at second base who the A's had to give up in this deal, will likely be a star in Colorado (it was a three-team deal), but it's obvious Oakland made a smart move by picking up Dye, who's on the verge of registering his third-straight 100-RBI season and helps make Oakland a playoff favorite in nearly everyone's book. 


The deal: Hoping to solidify a struggling rotation, the Twins traded outfielder Matt Lawton to the Mets for starting pitcher Rick Reed on July 30. At the time of the deal, Reed owned an 8-6 record with a 3.48 ERA and had allowed only 136 base runners in 134.2 innings of work.
Stats since trade: 4-4, 4.89 ERA, 8 HR allowed, 35 strikeouts and 87 base runners in 57 innings pitched.
Team record since trade: 20-27, falling seven games behind division-leading Cleveland.
Hindsight: Many people were ready to hand the Central crown to Minnesota when this trade was announced. Not so fast. While he hasn't been very effective since the deal, Minnesota's collapse can't be blamed on Reed -- the Twins owned a 5-14 post-All Star break record before Reed's arrival, and it's only gone downhill from there Of course, for a lineup that already had a hard time scoring runs, trading away perhaps its most consistent hitter in Lawton may not have been a smart move, and the loss of shortstop Cristian Guzman, who missed 30 games with a shoulder injury, didn't help much.

Incidentally, since this deal the Mets have gone 29-17, moving to within four games of the Braves in the NL East. Of course Lawton, who has only hit .255 with three homers, 12 RBI and eight steals since donning a New York jersey, hasn't helped out all that much, although he's been getting on base at a 37%-clip.


The deal: The Cubs, needing a left-handed power hitter to protect Sammy Sosa in the lineup, sent a few stiffs to the Devil Rays for first baseman Fred McGriff on July 27. McGriff, who initially invoked his no-trade clause only to later accept the move, was hitting .318 with 19 homers and 61 RBI in Tampa Bay.
Stats since trade: .280, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 24 runs, 79 total bases, .384 OB%, .527 slug% in 43 games.
Team record since trade: 22-28, falling eight games behind the Astros in the NL Central and 4.5 behind St. Louis in the wild card race.
Hindsight: McGriff has done a fine job for the Cubbies since his arrival, giving Sosa the lineup protection he so desperately needed -- Sammy hit .385 with 17 homers in August and is hitting .323 with six more dingers this month. Instead, Chicago's trouble has been on the mound, where Cubs pitchers have allowed better than five runs per game since August 1. 


The deals: With first baseman J.T. Snow struggling, the Giants sent a bunch of minor leaguers to the Texas Rangers for 1B/DH Andres Galarraga, who himself had been scuffling, hitting .235 with only 10 homers and 34 RBI in Texas. The Giants then traded Armando Rios and a reliever to the Pirates for starter Jason Schmidt on July 30.
Stats since trades: Galarraga: .285, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 15 runs, 71 total bases, .333 OB%, .518 slug% in 42 games; Schmidt: 6-1, 3.25 ERA, 2 HR allowed, 61 strikeouts and 81 base runners in 61 innings pitched.
Team record since trades: 32-20 since Galarraga deal; 27-20 since Schmidt deal, moving to within 1.5 games of the division-leading Diamondbacks and three behind the Cardinals in the wild card standings. 
Hindsight: Galarraga, who was brought in to platoon with Snow at first base, has been given more playing time than originally expected. As for Schmidt, he's been even better than the Giants had hoped, winning two very important games against the Diamondbacks while also notching wins against the playoff-contending Dodgers and Braves. 


The deals: Hoping to add some experience to a young rotation, the Astros traded Scott Elarton and a player to be named to the Rockies for pitcher Pedro Astacio, who owned a 4.26 ERA away from Coors field. The Astros also made a deal with Pittsburgh, sending pitcher Tony McKnight for reliever Mike Williams, who had been the Pirates closer, converting 22 of his 24 save chances. Both deals were made on July 31.
Stats since trades: Astacio: 2-1, 3.14 ERA, 1 HR allowed, 19 strikeouts and 34 base runners in 28 innings pitched; Williams: 4-0, 2.45 ERA, 2 HR allowed and 23 base runners in 18.1 innings pitched.
Team record since trades: 32-14, taking control of the NL Central by 3.5 games over the Cardinals and eight over the Cubs.
Hindsight: Unfortunately for the Astros, Astacio only made four starts in a Houston uniform before being diagnosed with a torn labrum, knocking him out for the rest of the season. Williams, however, has done exactly what was needed -- he's given closer Billy Wagner a formidable set-up man. While the rotation, led by Wade Miller and rookie Roy Oswalt, still is very young, Houston looks like a tough team to beat.


The deal: With a depleted starting rotation, the Dodgers sent a trio of minor leaguers to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher James Baldwin, an inconsistent starter who has enjoyed moderate success throughout his career.
Stats since trade: 2-5, 4.41 ERA, 8 HR allowed, 47 strikeouts and 92 base runners in 65 innings pitched.
Team record since trade: 22-28, falling 4.5 games behind the Diamondbacks in the NL West and six behind the Cards in the wild card standings.
Hindsight: Baldwin really was never going to help the Dodgers forget about season-ending injuries to Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Darren Dreifort, but he really never did much of anything to at least help ease the pain. With three of their top four starters on the shelf and Chan Ho Park currently battling various injuries, the Dodgers are finished.


The deal: The Indians, knowing centerfielder Kenny Lofton's skills have been slipping the past few seasons, traded prospect Zach Day to the Expos for young outfielder Milton Bradley.
Stats since trade: One run and one steal in three games played (no at bats).
Team record since trade: 27-20, taking over the AL Central lead by seven games over the Twins.
Hindsight: This is one of those deals that had much more immediate impact than anyone ever expected. Knowing full well that Cleveland considers Bradley to be his replacement, Lofton has been on a tear since the deal went down, hitting .324 with 7 homers and 28 RBI in 45 games. In that time span, Lofton has raised his average from .243 to .268, his OB% from .303 to .331, and his slug% from .355 to .409. Like most teams, Cleveland is so much more dangerous when the leadoff man reaches base and Lofton has been doing just that, accumulating 20 of his 40 walks, 57 of his 132 hits and 45 of his 89 runs since the Bradley trade.


While pulling off a deadline deal certainly won't guarantee anything in terms of postseason success, making the right moves can light a match under any team. Oakland, San Francisco, Houston and Cleveland all seemed to push the right buttons on deadline day while the Cubs, Twins, Dodgers, Red Sox (traded for closer Ugueth Urbina) and Braves (traded for shortstop Rey Sanchez) all have struggled despite their respective additions.

So who are the winners? We'll soon find out. 


In the Bullz-Eye

Buffalo Bills QB Rob Johnson. The Bills are 0-2 and receiver Eric Moulds, who last year notched 94 receptions for 1,326 yards, has only three catches for 48 yards and no scores in two games. Johnson better look for his top receiver more often in the coming weeks, though, as last season Buffalo was 5-3 when Moulds had at least 90 receiving yards.