Morris Sent to Pittsburgh

Matt Morris got traded Tuesday, just as everyone had suspected, but I don't know if anyone could have told you he would have been going to the Pittsburgh Pirates. When I first saw the headline, "Morris A Pirate", I thought maybe, just maybe the Giants could have pulled something off here and stolen one of the Pirates many up and coming bats such as Adam LaRoche or Xavier Nady, but then I remembered that this is Brian Sabean and not John Shuerholtz. Instead of a solid young bat, or even a promising prospect, the Giants got a guy who is a little too old to be dubbed a prospect and hasn't done anything at the big league level. Rajai Davis has always been a speedster as he's swiped 40 or more bags in his 4 full seasons he's spent in the minors, but has showed little else. Sounds to me a lot like Freddie Lewis without the bat. I know the whole objective was to get rid of Matt Morris' salary and try and get what you can in return, but I just can't stop thinking about what Morris could have brought in when he was throwing well and everyone in the league had their eye on him. If you would have told me at that point that Morris would eventually be traded to the Pirates, I would have laughed. I'm getting tired of bashing Brian Sabean as it seems too much like the easy thing to do, but why he didn't deal Morris back in early June when his value had peaked and the Giants falling faster than any other team in the division I will never understand.

It was really a relatively quiet July 31'st with the Padres and Braves stealing most of the thunder. The Padres added Morgan Ensberg and Rob Mackowiak just before the deadline, but it may be the additions of Milton Bradely and Michael Barret that happened a few weeks ago that make the most difference. I think you have to put the Padres ahead of the pack in the NL west after all the things they've done to improve. Also, after looking at what the Braves have added, it's tough pick anyone against them. Mark Texiera stuck in between Jones' is going to be a hellish middle of the order for opposing pitching. Plus, adding Octavio Dotel further strengthens an already solid pen. The Braves continue to amaze me. Nobody has been as successful as they have for as long as they have. They rebuild yet they put together a winning product all at the same time and then they have the master, John Shuerholtz, add pieces where they need to be added without giving up too much. If the Braves aren't representing the NL in the World Series this year, they choked.