MLB HOT STOVE THOUGHTS
-The recent trade between the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox has me confused. So the Braves are willing to give up top notch prospects for Javier Vasquez
but not Jake Peavy? Vasquez is 33 years old and is on the way down the spiral staircase of his career. He was 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA last season for a pretty good White Sox club. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, crazy asshole that he is, stated that Vasquez was simply not a big game pitcher. The Braves need to figure out a plan and stick with it. Trading Tyler Flowers (a catcher who was going to be blocked by Brian McCann but could play first or third) was stupid. You could have gotten more for Flowers. He hit 12 homeruns in 20 games in the Arizona Fall League. He is coming into his own and is young. Vasquez is neither. Now apparently the Braves are willing to offer A.J. Burnett a 5 year contract. Burnett is a really good pitcher but the guy has proven he can't pitch a whole season(with the exception of last year). Getting rid of Mike Hampton was smart but acquiring too high priced question marks in Vasquez and Burnett is neither logical nor frugal. Braves GM Frank Wren is way over his head. Either stick with the youth you have coming up in the next few seasons or go all out. None of this nitpicking shit.
-The St. Louis Cardinals acquired 
SS Khalil Greene for two relief pitchers according to various reports that I am too lazy to link to right now. If this is true then this is a great buy low trade for the Cardinals. Greene was awful last year for the Padres with the bat but his glove is gold and in 2007 he hit 27 homeruns along with 44 doubles at the cavernous PetCo Park. Getting out of San Diego is just what he needed and I think he will have a good season in St. Louis. He is a free agent after the 2009 season so if he has a really good year he could earn Type A or B status and if the Cardinals lose him they still gain a draft pick. Solid trade for the Cardinals here without much risk. These are the type of trades I wish the Orioles would make. They need a shortstop more than any other MLB club but were not willing to give up young lefty Garrett Olson for Greene. It could come back to bite them in the ass as I doubt Olson will ever have much success in the bigs and Greene would mash at Camden Yards.
-The Giants are close to signing SS Edgar Renteria to a 2 year deal reportedly worth $18.5 million. Curious move here for the Giants. They have a young shortstop in Emmanuel Burriss who looks like he can play. In 95 games last year he held his own during his rookie year and managed a .357 on base percentage. Renteria is of course a former All-Star and could be a great addition. The guy can still play and he needed to get out of Detroit. It could become interesting to see what the Giants do with Burriss now. Trade bait for the Orioles?
-The Red Sox gave AL MVP(haha) Dustin Pedrioa a 6 year, $40.5 million dollar contract extension. Good move by the Red Sox. Pedrioa is still young and will be productive for at least the next 3-4 years and you got him signed to below market value in terms of value.
-Still no movement or much talks in regards to the big free agents. You have to wonder how these players are going to get huge contracts when the economy is doing so bad right now. I know a lot of people talk that it shouldn't effect baseball salaries but honestly how could it not? Less people will be attending the games because they simply can't afford it. This has to drive down salaries. Plus more companies are cutting down advertising budgets and one of the first to go will be ballpark and television ad campaigns. Of course none of this matters to the agents. Agents like Scott Boras will still insist the game has never been stronger in terms of revenue and the ballplayers he represent are better than Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson combined. It's true, he has the 300 page book to prove it statistically.
I'm interested in knowing what you guys think about the transactions so far in the slow Hot Stove season. It should heat up next week as the GM Winter Meetings will be held so hopefully there is more news and substantial rumors to be reported. As always if you are looking for the most up to date news on MLB trades and rumors go to Tim Dierkes MLBTRADERUMORS.COM site. It's better than any site out there including ESPN or SI and it's completely free.
