Seth Paxton
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 1998
- Messages
- 7,585
Yeah, I can't let this one slide by. It's not what he's doing now but what he as worth to prospective new teams at the time. I know the Cardinals were going after him pretty heavily too and guess who got 'em. Don't point to the fact that he's doing bad now and say that it wasn't about the Yanks' "dominance" in the FA market.
Um, John, I also posted the comparitive numbers AT THE TIME OF THE TRADE (this wasn't a FA thing). No, not everyone wanted to GIVE UP JUST AS MUCH as they were getting, PLUS 2 prospects.
It wasn't money, it was overpaying with players. It's called a bad trade. I mean if the Yanks trade Giambi and Soriano to get Rolen back when he was "hot" (before going to the Cards), then is that money??? No.
The other teams weren't about to trade away a pitcher with equal or better stats, same age, and 2 prospects to go with it.
But when I pointed that out people went with the "yes, but wait till you see what Weaver WILL do" as if anything he HAD done showed more ability than what Lilly had shown. I mean the pre-trade numbers are there to be seen and they don't really favor Weaver at all. In fact Lilly has shown more dominance by a higher K rate.
Even straight up Lilly for Weaver looks like a push. But throw in 2 prospects and it looks like a Yankee mistake. This isn't a case of Weaver refusing the Cards becauce they were unwilling to redo his contract for millions more, forcing the Yanks into being the only team. This isn't the Yanks dumping cheap nobodies for an expensive star. This is giving up MORE talent for LESS talent.
Anyway, the reason I dug the thread up was to say that WRIGLEY ROCKED! I can't believe I wasted all those years not coming up to Cubs games. I vowed to never let a summer pass without at least one trip up to Wrigley.
The matchup was great - Wood vs Oswalt. Bags and Sosa both put balls onto Waveland, the game had good pitching and good hitting. Both SPs got kicked out. Crazy and entertaining game. Did I mention that Wrigley live is about as awesome as it gets. It was kinda like being in those friendly minor league parks, but with just a touch of MLB size. Much more comfortable than the mega-parks, though many of those are quite beautiful.
I feel good now, I've seen Cubs/Astros at both the Astrodome and Wrigley, 2 classic parks.