The Detroit Tigers shipped catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for reliever Kyle Farnsworth today.
This one is a head scratcher.
Why would the Yankees, whose bullpen already pretty shaky as it is, ship off one of its more dependable set up men for offense from a position that the Yankees don't really need? Heck if I know.
Perhaps in light of the season-ending surgery to Jorge Posada, maybe Yanks' GM Brian Cashman thinks Pudge's surefire Hall of Fame credentials as a catcher will repair what ails the Yanks pitching staff: consistency. Maybe. And maybe he thinks Pudge's bat will give them a tad more production. But Pudge's offense ain't what it used to be, and it's clearly showing in his numbers this year.
I think the Yanks are robbing themselves here. Pitching is always a premium need for competing teams at the trade deadline. And when you don't really need hitting, but give up pitching to get it anyway, then it's a mistake.
Farnsworth, on the other hand, is desperately needed by the Tigers if they want to have any shot of getting to and competing in the post season. Farnsworth has the stuff to possibly stabilize a rocky pen situation in Detroit.
Winner in this trade: Tigers.
Permalink | Send To A Friend | Linking Blogs | Digg this!
Filed under:
MLB
Comments (1)
My theory is Pudge is a Tig... (Below threshold)1. Posted by epador | July 31, 2008 9:09 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
My theory is Pudge is a Tiger spy. Either that or he's being punished for an unpublished sin.
1. Posted by epador | July 31, 2008 9:09 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 31, 2008 09:09