I'll miss Ludwick, but the Cards did need another starting pitcher. I think the way Jay has played helped this move. Kid has been the best hitter in the lineup since he got called back up. Jay is now a member of my fantasy team as well!
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MLB Trade Deadline Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Eephus
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ericttspikes
Footballguy
Don Cooper and Kenny Williams were, so that is good enough for Sox fans. Harrell looked better last night than Hudson ever did up here. Reminds me of all the experts saying the Sox were dumb to get rid of Brandon McCarthy for Danks. That worked out pretty well.Really? You're ready to write off a 23 year-old with a sterling minor-league track record after 34 MLB innings?
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick. 
Limp Ditka
Footballguy
32 year old, one year wonder who's more likely to have 2 DL stints a year than none?Tough loss.As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick.
Northern Voice
Footballguy
Gregg and Downs have been gone from the Jays bullpen for a half hour or so...
Northern Voice
Footballguy
Also, Wallace is hitting cleanup for the Astros tonight.
Chiwawa
Footballguy
WHERE'S WALLACE?Balfour to the DL for 4-6 weeks with an "intercostal" strain. I think that means he hurt his penis, but I'm no doctor.Theriot and Rirry to the Doyers, too.
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
LOL. Can't wait to read fangraph's analysis and see if it coincides with your opinion.32 year old, one year wonder who's more likely to have 2 DL stints a year than none?Tough loss.As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick.
Limp Ditka
Footballguy
He's a viable starter who's likely to spend time on the DL. He's not a difference maker on a team with real OFers. In the case of SD, he certainly helps, but who wouldn't when you're talking about the likes of Will Venable and Chris Denorfria losing time because of his presence. There's also no upside when you're talking about a 32 year old baseball player. You pretty much know what you are getting. Throw him into Petco, and you're getting even less which means his WAR as a Padre is going to be <2.LOL. Can't wait to read fangraph's analysis and see if it coincides with your opinion.32 year old, one year wonder who's more likely to have 2 DL stints a year than none?Tough loss.As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick.
Premier
Footballguy
Balfour out until September. Pretty big loss for the Rays. Qualls has been awful this year, but his BAPIP is something ridiculous like .430 and the Rays have a killer defense. He should certainly be better.I saw something on rotoworld about Qualls. Which begs the question why?
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Dodgers just got Dotel.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Ankiel and Farnsworth to Atlanta
r0llin_game
Footballguy
Batista to SF
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
His WAR was 4.5 just 2 years ago, and WAR is park neutral, so moving to Petco has no affect. His OPS+ is 120, replacing Venable's 102. Righty power bats play well in Petco and now the Padres can sandwich Gonzalez's LH bat in between Tejada and Ludwick hitting from the right side. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hyping Ludwick as a superstar, but for two non prospects he's a very good get, and exactly what the Padres need at this point. With this move, the Padres have to be the favorite to either hold onto the West, or win the wild card. Had they not moved for Tejada and Ludwick, I think a playoff birth was a coin flip at best. And even if they made the dance, they were first round sweep material due to a lack of sticks. Now they have a fighting chance.He's a viable starter who's likely to spend time on the DL. He's not a difference maker on a team with real OFers. In the case of SD, he certainly helps, but who wouldn't when you're talking about the likes of Will Venable and Chris Denorfria losing time because of his presence. There's also no upside when you're talking about a 32 year old baseball player. You pretty much know what you are getting. Throw him into Petco, and you're getting even less which means his WAR as a Padre is going to be <2.LOL. Can't wait to read fangraph's analysis and see if it coincides with your opinion.32 year old, one year wonder who's more likely to have 2 DL stints a year than none?Tough loss.As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick.
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
Ted Lily, too.
r0llin_game
Footballguy
Apparently Batista deal fell through.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
The Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have? Seems to me he's always one curveball away from actually cumbusting on the mound into a cloud of dust.
Berkman is meh right now although I guess the idea is, you aren't giving up anything - even money it looks like which is crazy - so why not. He can't be much worse then that spot in the lineup when it's not Jorge. Which also brings up the question - does Jorge catch more now? If so how does the rotation take less Cervelli?
And Kearns? He's the Jerry Hairston of this team I guess. Only not a versitile. Or, you know, good. :(
Wierd moves to me. But I do hope they all work. I'm liking not having to give up a ton of excellent chips to get these guys so in the end I guess it's all good.
Seems to me he's always one curveball away from actually cumbusting on the mound into a cloud of dust.Berkman is meh right now although I guess the idea is, you aren't giving up anything - even money it looks like which is crazy - so why not. He can't be much worse then that spot in the lineup when it's not Jorge. Which also brings up the question - does Jorge catch more now? If so how does the rotation take less Cervelli?
And Kearns? He's the Jerry Hairston of this team I guess. Only not a versitile. Or, you know, good. :(
Wierd moves to me. But I do hope they all work. I'm liking not having to give up a ton of excellent chips to get these guys so in the end I guess it's all good.
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
Berkman move is questionable for me as well. Montero is raking in Trip-A, so I was looking forward to seeing him get some ABs, but in the postseason I can understand why a proven veteran bat is preferable.The Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have?Seems to me he's always one curveball away from actually cumbusting on the mound into a cloud of dust.Berkman is meh right now although I guess the idea is, you aren't giving up anything - even money it looks like which is crazy - so why not. He can't be much worse then that spot in the lineup when it's not Jorge. Which also brings up the question - does Jorge catch more now? If so how does the rotation take less Cervelli?And Kearns? He's the Jerry Hairston of this team I guess. Only not a versitile. Or, you know, good.
Wierd moves to me. But I do hope they all work. I'm liking not having to give up a ton of excellent chips to get these guys so in the end I guess it's all good.
Txns8
Footballguy
Thanks for the tip. I just added him.
crewmember
Footballguy
Still, the Sox traded for a pitcher they really didn't want. The Nats told teams they wanted Jackson, reports are Sox are quite upset that they backtracked. Why they didn't make it a 3 way deal, I have no idea. Reports also say they would have given up Flowers and Jackson for Dunn but Nats wanted Jackson and Viciedio. So it may be a blessing in disguise that a deal didn't happen with the Nats. Hudson and Flowers for 2 months of Dunn with a gaping hole at your #4 spot in rotation would have been way too much to give up. Not sure how they didn't get a bat, they didn't need someone as good as Dunn to improve the team. Hopefully they strike again during waivers this year.
shadyridr
Footballguy
Berkman is a better hitter than Posada anywayThe Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have? :X Seems to me he's always one curveball away from actually cumbusting on the mound into a cloud of dust.Berkman is meh right now although I guess the idea is, you aren't giving up anything - even money it looks like which is crazy - so why not. He can't be much worse then that spot in the lineup when it's not Jorge. Which also brings up the question - does Jorge catch more now? If so how does the rotation take less Cervelli?And Kearns? He's the Jerry Hairston of this team I guess. Only not a versitile. Or, you know, good.
Billy Bats
Footballguy
####!!! Im assuming you mean Bautista and you just gave this AL only owner a ####### heart attack!
Smack Tripper
Footballguy
You are really taking a half empty approach here. Berkmans shown recent life and he sees more pitches and has a better walk rate than anyone in baseball. He's Nick Johnson with pop, and while that might not be vintage berkman, for the money and the players, he's a no brained upgrade over Colin Curtis. Kearns is a FAR superior hitter to hairston, although I liked jerrys versatility. However, kearns is a legit tremendous rh ph bat. Perfect compliment to neutralize lhp, given grandys inconsistencies. Great great piece for the role they'll use him in. He reminds me of Chad Curtis without the speed. And wood, you are banking on lightening in a bottle but once again, he's taking chop's place. He could smear a poop moustache on the steinbrenners memorial and be an upgrade over himThe Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have?Seems to me he's always one curveball away from actually cumbusting on the mound into a cloud of dust.Berkman is meh right now although I guess the idea is, you aren't giving up anything - even money it looks like which is crazy - so why not. He can't be much worse then that spot in the lineup when it's not Jorge. Which also brings up the question - does Jorge catch more now? If so how does the rotation take less Cervelli?And Kearns? He's the Jerry Hairston of this team I guess. Only not a versitile. Or, you know, good.
Bluesbomber
Footballguy
Supposedly Kenny Williams wanted to keep Jackson and still get Dunn. But fortunately KW ussually keeps his real beliefs to himself until the deals are done. Maybe KW is mad Nats didn't own up to a previoiusly arranged deal maybe not. I know he was talking about some young GM's acting shady. Even so I am not sure Dunn is the missing piece. With their bullpen and defense and 4 solid starters they might have enough to make some noise as is. Admitedly a little light on the LH side of the plate and no real shutdown starter but the the bullpen and bench is very deep.Still, the Sox traded for a pitcher they really didn't want. The Nats told teams they wanted Jackson, reports are Sox are quite upset that they backtracked. Why they didn't make it a 3 way deal, I have no idea. Reports also say they would have given up Flowers and Jackson for Dunn but Nats wanted Jackson and Viciedio. So it may be a blessing in disguise that a deal didn't happen with the Nats. Hudson and Flowers for 2 months of Dunn with a gaping hole at your #4 spot in rotation would have been way too much to give up. Not sure how they didn't get a bat, they didn't need someone as good as Dunn to improve the team. Hopefully they strike again during waivers this year.Don Cooper and Kenny Williams were, so that is good enough for Sox fans. Harrell looked better last night than Hudson ever did up here. Reminds me of all the experts saying the Sox were dumb to get rid of Brandon McCarthy for Danks. That worked out pretty well.Really? You're ready to write off a 23 year-old with a sterling minor-league track record after 34 MLB innings?
Chiwawa
Footballguy
I don't like this trade at all for STL, although Duncan often has great success with GB pitchers, so Westbrook should thrive under him. But he's got a + bat and plays a great RF, I don't think Jay is proven enough (his BABIP is an insane .440 on a 16% line-drive rate, so a big correction is due) and Rasmus hits lefties well enough to take out Ludwick for a mediocre sinkerballer.Power hitters are still valuable in pitcher's parks. I'd even hazard a guess that they're more valuable, the classic case being Bonds' insane PED-fueled run at AT&T. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.Great move by SD, standard for Clevo, and terrible work by STL.He's a viable starter who's likely to spend time on the DL. He's not a difference maker on a team with real OFers. In the case of SD, he certainly helps, but who wouldn't when you're talking about the likes of Will Venable and Chris Denorfria losing time because of his presence. There's also no upside when you're talking about a 32 year old baseball player. You pretty much know what you are getting. Throw him into Petco, and you're getting even less which means his WAR as a Padre is going to be <2.LOL. Can't wait to read fangraph's analysis and see if it coincides with your opinion.32 year old, one year wonder who's more likely to have 2 DL stints a year than none?Tough loss.As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick.
Chiwawa
Footballguy
Harrell struck out one and walked five, against the A's.Still, the Sox traded for a pitcher they really didn't want. The Nats told teams they wanted Jackson, reports are Sox are quite upset that they backtracked. Why they didn't make it a 3 way deal, I have no idea. Reports also say they would have given up Flowers and Jackson for Dunn but Nats wanted Jackson and Viciedio. So it may be a blessing in disguise that a deal didn't happen with the Nats. Hudson and Flowers for 2 months of Dunn with a gaping hole at your #4 spot in rotation would have been way too much to give up. Not sure how they didn't get a bat, they didn't need someone as good as Dunn to improve the team. Hopefully they strike again during waivers this year.Don Cooper and Kenny Williams were, so that is good enough for Sox fans. Harrell looked better last night than Hudson ever did up here. Reminds me of all the experts saying the Sox were dumb to get rid of Brandon McCarthy for Danks. That worked out pretty well.Really? You're ready to write off a 23 year-old with a sterling minor-league track record after 34 MLB innings?
He's got a solid 2:1 GB/FB ratio in the minors, but against the backdrop of 6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9, I don't see how he ever becomes anything more than a spot-starter. Hudson had a nice debut in Rookie ball (3.36 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 4+ K/BB) in 2008, and then shredded A ball, A+, AA, and had a pretty solid stint at AAA in 2009. And he was doing fine at AAA this year (3.47 ERA, 3+ K/BB), but he clearly wasn't ready for MLB hitting. There's nothing wrong with that, esp. with a 23 year-old who rocketed through the minors and has only logged 220 pro innings before this year. Not to mention that Edwin Jackson is due $8mm next year. Very reminiscent, IMO, of the A's rushing Carlos Gonzalez through the minors, having him fall on his face, and then shipping him off to Colorado to rent Matt Holliday. That didn't work out so good either.And yeah, not making it a 3-way deal to ensure that they got Dunn was a no-brainer that they somehow missed. At the same time, the Nats not moving Dunn was a grave mistake. They should've taken Hudson when they had the chance.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Berkman is at 13/49 .808 OPSPosada is at 12/38 .848 OPSSimilar at best. Don't know Jorge's splits R/L but we know Lance's are horrible.Berkman is a better hitter than Posada anywayThe Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have?Seems to me he's always one curveball away from actually cumbusting on the mound into a cloud of dust.Berkman is meh right now although I guess the idea is, you aren't giving up anything - even money it looks like which is crazy - so why not. He can't be much worse then that spot in the lineup when it's not Jorge. Which also brings up the question - does Jorge catch more now? If so how does the rotation take less Cervelli?And Kearns? He's the Jerry Hairston of this team I guess. Only not a versitile. Or, you know, good.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Agreed with the last part obviously. I don't know if he is a huge upgrade over Jorge though, but you are right the price and how the roster shook out made this absolutely worth the shot.You are really taking a half empty approach here. Berkmans shown recent life and he sees more pitches and has a better walk rate than anyone in baseball. He's Nick Johnson with pop, and while that might not be vintage berkman, for the money and the players, he's a no brained upgrade over Colin Curtis.The Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have?
Fair enough. I'm happy to wrong on him. Perhaps I am biased because of cerain fantasy baseball histories I have with him........
Very much agreed. Once I saw that this was the death shot for Park I was all for it. And the theatre of seeing a pitcher combust on the mound might be worth it as well if it happens.
Smack Tripper
Footballguy
I hear ya on Kearns, he's not become the superstar he was supposed to be, and I don't know that he's even a decent starter in MLB, hence I stress his value in a role. Focusing on primarily lefties, and in a post season where you could run into Lee, Price, Lirano or Lester, I think he was a clutch pickup. He's not what we thought he was going to be, but again, he might be good enough.Agreed with the last part obviously. I don't know if he is a huge upgrade over Jorge though, but you are right the price and how the roster shook out made this absolutely worth the shot.You are really taking a half empty approach here. Berkmans shown recent life and he sees more pitches and has a better walk rate than anyone in baseball. He's Nick Johnson with pop, and while that might not be vintage berkman, for the money and the players, he's a no brained upgrade over Colin Curtis.The Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have?Fair enough. I'm happy to wrong on him. Perhaps I am biased because of cerain fantasy baseball histories I have with him........Very much agreed. Once I saw that this was the death shot for Park I was all for it. And the theatre of seeing a pitcher combust on the mound might be worth it as well if it happens.
Berkman this year as a right handed batter has 1 home run, and a .559 opsHe was in arguably the worse offensive lineup in them majors, playing on a team that is probably losing 100+ games this year.Now he is getting traded to a team with one of the best offenses in the league, and more than likely only going to need to hit against right handed pitchers. For his career, LB has a 1.014 OPS has a left handed hitter. Not saying that your comparison is awful, but it is. You just can't throw up three figures on a small sample size and say they are similar at best.Berkman is at 13/49 .808 OPSPosada is at 12/38 .848 OPSSimilar at best. Don't know Jorge's splits R/L but we know Lance's are horrible.Berkman is a better hitter than Posada anywayThe Yankee stuf confuses me. I get Wood to help in the 8th but is he that much better then what we have?
Mr. Know-It-All
Footballguy
This is all true...except (through no fault of his own) Luddy is extremely injury prone. If we can get Freese back to add another bench bat this move is great for this season and we'll then have to see what Westbrook is worth longer term.I don't like this trade at all for STL, although Duncan often has great success with GB pitchers, so Westbrook should thrive under him. But he's got a + bat and plays a great RF, I don't think Jay is proven enough (his BABIP is an insane .440 on a 16% line-drive rate, so a big correction is due) and Rasmus hits lefties well enough to take out Ludwick for a mediocre sinkerballer.Power hitters are still valuable in pitcher's parks. I'd even hazard a guess that they're more valuable, the classic case being Bonds' insane PED-fueled run at AT&T. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.Great move by SD, standard for Clevo, and terrible work by STL.He's a viable starter who's likely to spend time on the DL. He's not a difference maker on a team with real OFers. In the case of SD, he certainly helps, but who wouldn't when you're talking about the likes of Will Venable and Chris Denorfria losing time because of his presence. There's also no upside when you're talking about a 32 year old baseball player. You pretty much know what you are getting. Throw him into Petco, and you're getting even less which means his WAR as a Padre is going to be <2.LOL. Can't wait to read fangraph's analysis and see if it coincides with your opinion.32 year old, one year wonder who's more likely to have 2 DL stints a year than none?Tough loss.As a Cardinals fan, I hate losing Ludwick.
Celph Titled
Footballguy
If Ludwick gets hurt, you have the nice insurance policy of playing Craig or Jay. Is Westbrook really that much better than dopey Hawksworth or Suppan to justify giving up a solid corner OF? Does Westbrook even make the post-season rotation? Certainly not if Penny gets back to form.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Well, with Suppan and Hawksworth mostly gagging it up two out of every five starts (although Suppan did okay last night, but it was against the Pirates), the Cardinals front office obviously worried that they might not even make the playoffs. If Ludwick kept getting hurt and the 4th and 5th starters kept giving them nothing, getting to the postseason might have been tough to do. The hope now is that Westbrook is good enough to be a solid number 4. They obviously had no plans to resign Ludwick in the offseason anyway, so trading him was a preemptive strike to losing him. I still hate to have lost him, but having thought about it for a day, this was almost a move they had to make. Penny might not be back this year, and they couldn't put all of their chips on the slim hope that he comes back.
Celph Titled
Footballguy
If Westbrook was any good, I would see the logic here.
RnR
Footballguy
As it stands, I'm almost sure Carpenter/Wainwright/Garcia/Carpenter/Wainwright/Garcia/Carpenter would be the playoff set-up. Westbrook, Penny, and Lohse probably won't factor in there unless they go Carpenter/Wainwright/Garcia/4th/Carpenter/Wainwright/Garcia. We'll see. Either way, it was a trade that doesn't look great on paper but probably had to be made.Celph Titled said:
RnR
Footballguy
Umm, ok. 1- They cannot afford Ludwick beyond this season. He's not in the budget for a long-term contract and he's a 3rd year arbitration-eligible player. There's a 90% chance they don't tender him a contract after the season anyway.2- They have an adequate replacement for Ludwick for the next two months in Jon Jay. It remains to be seen if he is the long-term solution in RF, but he's killing the ball right now and deserves a chance to continue doing so. This trade opens the opportunity for that to happen, and give the Cardinals a better chance to evaluate their in-house solutions to RF for 2011 and beyond.3- There's a good chance Brad Penny is done for the year.4- Don't count your chickens before they hatch on this Kyle Lohse rehab.5- The Cardinals are essentially tied in a 60 day race for a division crown. They cannot afford Jeff Suppan/Blake Hawksworth flubbing up two out of every five games. It leaves no margin for error for Carp, Waino, or Garcia. They'll most likely let Jake Westbrook walk at the end of the season just like they would've let Ludwick go. So the decision they were faced with was: 1- Keep rotating Jay/Ludwick in RF, keeping rolling Suppan and Hawksworth out there at 4/5 slots, and hope for Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse to both save the day.2- Grab an inning-eater in Westbrook to throw some groundballs out of the #4 spot, give Jon Jay a shot at full-time work in RF, and now only rely on one of Penny/Lohse to make a comeback. Even if they both flame out, they now only need one of Suppan/Hawksworth every five days.Like I said, not a trade that looks great on paper because Luddy's a good hitter, but probably something that helps the Cardinals' chances over the next two months.No it didn't.
Mr. Know-It-All
Footballguy
Couldn't have said it better myself -excellent work.Umm, ok. 1- They cannot afford Ludwick beyond this season. He's not in the budget for a long-term contract and he's a 3rd year arbitration-eligible player. There's a 90% chance they don't tender him a contract after the season anyway.2- They have an adequate replacement for Ludwick for the next two months in Jon Jay. It remains to be seen if he is the long-term solution in RF, but he's killing the ball right now and deserves a chance to continue doing so. This trade opens the opportunity for that to happen, and give the Cardinals a better chance to evaluate their in-house solutions to RF for 2011 and beyond.3- There's a good chance Brad Penny is done for the year.4- Don't count your chickens before they hatch on this Kyle Lohse rehab.5- The Cardinals are essentially tied in a 60 day race for a division crown. They cannot afford Jeff Suppan/Blake Hawksworth flubbing up two out of every five games. It leaves no margin for error for Carp, Waino, or Garcia. They'll most likely let Jake Westbrook walk at the end of the season just like they would've let Ludwick go. So the decision they were faced with was: 1- Keep rotating Jay/Ludwick in RF, keeping rolling Suppan and Hawksworth out there at 4/5 slots, and hope for Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse to both save the day.2- Grab an inning-eater in Westbrook to throw some groundballs out of the #4 spot, give Jon Jay a shot at full-time work in RF, and now only rely on one of Penny/Lohse to make a comeback. Even if they both flame out, they now only need one of Suppan/Hawksworth every five days.Like I said, not a trade that looks great on paper because Luddy's a good hitter, but probably something that helps the Cardinals' chances over the next two months.No it didn't.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Umm, ok. 1- They cannot afford Ludwick beyond this season. He's not in the budget for a long-term contract and he's a 3rd year arbitration-eligible player. There's a 90% chance they don't tender him a contract after the season anyway.2- They have an adequate replacement for Ludwick for the next two months in Jon Jay. It remains to be seen if he is the long-term solution in RF, but he's killing the ball right now and deserves a chance to continue doing so. This trade opens the opportunity for that to happen, and give the Cardinals a better chance to evaluate their in-house solutions to RF for 2011 and beyond.3- There's a good chance Brad Penny is done for the year.4- Don't count your chickens before they hatch on this Kyle Lohse rehab.5- The Cardinals are essentially tied in a 60 day race for a division crown. They cannot afford Jeff Suppan/Blake Hawksworth flubbing up two out of every five games. It leaves no margin for error for Carp, Waino, or Garcia. They'll most likely let Jake Westbrook walk at the end of the season just like they would've let Ludwick go. So the decision they were faced with was: 1- Keep rotating Jay/Ludwick in RF, keeping rolling Suppan and Hawksworth out there at 4/5 slots, and hope for Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse to both save the day.2- Grab an inning-eater in Westbrook to throw some groundballs out of the #4 spot, give Jon Jay a shot at full-time work in RF, and now only rely on one of Penny/Lohse to make a comeback. Even if they both flame out, they now only need one of Suppan/Hawksworth every five days.Like I said, not a trade that looks great on paper because Luddy's a good hitter, but probably something that helps the Cardinals' chances over the next two months.No it didn't.
Ludwick being more valuable than a number 4 starter in the playoffs doesn't do the team any good if two of the five current (before Westbrook got here) starters stink so bad, the team can't even get to the playoffs.
Chiwawa
Footballguy
There was no way to trade a minor-leaguer for Westbrook, instead of giving up a starting OF?I'm not sure if you're really expecting Westbrook to be an improvement over Suppan/Hawksworth. He really isn't, at least to-date.RnR said:Umm, ok. 1- They cannot afford Ludwick beyond this season. He's not in the budget for a long-term contract and he's a 3rd year arbitration-eligible player. There's a 90% chance they don't tender him a contract after the season anyway.2- They have an adequate replacement for Ludwick for the next two months in Jon Jay. It remains to be seen if he is the long-term solution in RF, but he's killing the ball right now and deserves a chance to continue doing so. This trade opens the opportunity for that to happen, and give the Cardinals a better chance to evaluate their in-house solutions to RF for 2011 and beyond.3- There's a good chance Brad Penny is done for the year.4- Don't count your chickens before they hatch on this Kyle Lohse rehab.5- The Cardinals are essentially tied in a 60 day race for a division crown. They cannot afford Jeff Suppan/Blake Hawksworth flubbing up two out of every five games. It leaves no margin for error for Carp, Waino, or Garcia. They'll most likely let Jake Westbrook walk at the end of the season just like they would've let Ludwick go. So the decision they were faced with was: 1- Keep rotating Jay/Ludwick in RF, keeping rolling Suppan and Hawksworth out there at 4/5 slots, and hope for Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse to both save the day.2- Grab an inning-eater in Westbrook to throw some groundballs out of the #4 spot, give Jon Jay a shot at full-time work in RF, and now only rely on one of Penny/Lohse to make a comeback. Even if they both flame out, they now only need one of Suppan/Hawksworth every five days.Like I said, not a trade that looks great on paper because Luddy's a good hitter, but probably something that helps the Cardinals' chances over the next two months.No it didn't.
RnR
Footballguy
Seriously? When's the last time you watched Suppan pitch? The 2006 World Series?Hawksworth: 5.30 ERA, 1.79 WHIPSuppan: 5.72 ERA, 1.81 WHIPWestbrook: 4.65 ERA, 1.38 WHIP in the AL.
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