Post#36 » by rappa » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:44 pm
This is an absolute steal of a trade and for these reasons..
1. We block our rivals from getting Marte, especially the Red Sox who were hot after him and now will have to probably pony up some big prospects in order to fulfill their biggest need, which is bullpen. With Delcarmen going down last night, they are going to make a move and we all know other teams are going to ask high as they are desperate.
2. Xavier Nady is a gritty player. Reminds me a whole lot of Paul O'Neill. I used to watch him play for the mets all the time and he was a personal favorite. As most of you can remember, the dynasty we didn't have superstars, we had very good gritty players that gave it their all. Xavier will do this and he's a righty.
3. The only significant prospect we gave up was Jose Tabata. Just a few months ago, this kid was about to ask for his release because he couldn't hack it. Does he have talent? Yes but he has yet to show any type of power since hitting the states and is going to still take a few years to even make it, if he even does. How many times were there young stud prospects who flamed out? COUNTLESS.
4. Ohlendorf, Kontos, and Coke are B-level prospects. To get a top lefthanded reliever whos cost controlled till after next season and a good, not great right handed hitter for this kind of package is just amazing. When I first saw the trade, I figured we were giving up more then one A-level prospect but was delighted to see that we didn't get fleeced. One thing people also must realize is none of these guys would be starters for the yankees. All would be bullpen arms and we have tons of them who are all higher regarded (Melancon, Cox, Sanchez, etc)
5. When we were a dynasty, our biggest strength was our bullpen. I don't care what anyone says but when we had nelson, stanton, mendoza, wetteland, rivera, the games were pretty much over after the 6th. Adding Marte to our already very very good bullpen just makes it so much stronger. Depth is a huge key to having a good bullpen and now we have it with Ramirez, Robertson, Veras, Rivera, and as of late Farnsworth. Add Marte to that list and it becomes very good.
6. Our team is playing very good lately and adding these players will just build some more momentum. It was the perfect time to make a trade and the yankees should reap the benefits instantly. We get killed by lefties and now we can use gardner as a pinch hitter-runner/4th Ofer instead of an everyday player which I don't feel he is. On that note, I got one more thing to say.
Lets Go Yankees!