Shapiro's hangup
According to several reports in Pittsburgh, the hangup on the Jason Bay-to-Tribe trade is Cliff Lee.
The Pirates don't want him in the deal. They want Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers instead, and Shapiro has said no.
Bay and Paulino for Gutierrez, Shoppach and Laffey or Sowers, is what the Pirates would do.
It is dead for now, but so was the Pirates trade to get Adam LaRoche for Mike Gonzalez at this time last year. It took until the middle of January to get that one done with the Braves.
Even with Bay (another guy who even when he is playing well strikes out a ton), the Indians lineup is not on par with the Tigers and Yankees, but the Indians pitching is better.
The funny thing is that only 3 of the 4 (Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers and Indians) get to make the playoffs, and if the Rangers are horrible, there is a chance that two teams from the West, Mariners and Angels, could make playoff runs.
This I do know: At least, one very good team is not making the playoffs.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
If Shapiro trades Aaron Laffey, he needs to pack his bags and get outta town. Aaron is the best of those three pitchers, hands down, followed by Sowers. Cliff Lee was totally smoke-and-mirrors. Pittsburgh ain't no dummy…they don't want our trash. It was a horrible evaluation of talent and contract extension for that dude!
KEEP YOUR FREAKIN' JASON BAY. We've got enough strikeouts in the lineup with Sizemore, Hafner and his lodge brothers. Hope you all enjoyed this year's postseason, because the Tigers showed you how to make BOLD, LINEUP-ENHANCING MOVES this week. They are again the division winners. Their lineup was tough ENOUGH to face last year! Now they've beefed it up MORE?
I'm with Alan…trade CC now and get some great value in return. Enough with the losing-players-for-zilch-in-return.
ONCE AGAIN, SHAPIRO, DO NOT…NOT…NOT trade Laffey. He will be the surprise starter of your rotation, you know…the rotation with two or three guys too many, so you have to send them to Buffalo instead of making a trade to improve this lifeless offense.
December 8th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
The Tribe just signed utility infielder Jamey Carroll, Common Sense2. What more could you want?