It seems the late-afternoon Knobblings evolved into a full scale swap, as the Reds and Indians did indeed exchange players, including the aforementioned Drew Stubbs and Shin-Soo Choo. But the eager Diamondbacks horned in on the action, getting their desperately needed shortstop and some bullpen support. The full deal is as follows:
| To Cincinnati | To Cleveland | To Arizona |
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Everybody loves Brandon McCarthy. He’s great on twitter and understands and/or embraces advanced statistics and seems like an all-around swell dude. He just signed a two-year, $15 Mil deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks and every team blogger is super bummed, as 28 other teams wished their team will brought McCarthy into the fold.
After a horrific injury cut his season short in 2012, Brandon McCarthy represents a good cheap buy for an opportunistic GM like Kevin Towers in Arizona. Considering McCarthy pitched to a 2.86 FIP in 2011, signing him for the same dollars and years as Joe Blanton looks like a major bargain. Except for one, unavoidable thing: he is a huge risk for any team.
The Arizona Diamondbacks could end up undergoing a major facelift this winter. The Diamondbacks, it appears, are willing to engage in trade talks involving young talent. Having already moved Chris Young in a deal last month, their 2013 outfield may also be without Justin Upton. His name took its spot on the hot stove on Wednesday afternoon, as did that of a highly touted young arm.
The Oakland Athletics have acquired Chris Young from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Cliff Pennington and Yordy Cabrera, who was immediately shipped to the Miami Marlins in exchange for reliever Heath Bell. The Diamondbacks also receive cash considerations from the Marlins.
Kirk Gibson is an old school guy. His old school ways worked wonders in 2011, leading his ragtag bunch of Desert Snakes to the playoffs. While the contributions of Justin Upton greatly contributed to this dream season, we can safely assume it takes a village to raise an underdog, but without a mayor that village will degrade into anarchy. (It’s an old Scottish mysticism.)
The 2012 Diamondbacks are kind of bad. Not entirely coincidentally, Justin Upton is kind of bad in 2012, too. He isn’t hitting for power and now trade rumours swirl around him. For the power to all but disappear from a 23-year old player is slightly concerning for most people, but Kirk Gibson? He isn’t worried. He knows Justin Upton can contribute in other ways, just like Alfredo Griffin used to do. Wait, what?
MLB umpire James Hoye found himself at the centre of a controversy on Friday night, although, it’s a wonder that he found himself at all. Hoye missed an obvious call at first base while taking a brain break, which led to a rare reversal after the umpiring crew held a quick conference.
Hoye appeared to be daydreaming in last evening’s game between the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamonbacks when, in the bottom of the third inning, Paul Goldschmidt hit a dribbler a few feet in front of the plate. The ball looked to be going foul before it made its way back into fair territory, at which point Buster Posey picked it up and flicked it to first base for the put out. Or at least what should have been an easy out call.
I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said:
But in this world, nothing can be certain except for death, taxes and winter-time rumors of Justin Upton’s departure from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
We’re still a couple of months away from crowning a World Series champion, but rumors as to young Mr. Upton’s availability this off season are already beginning to spread. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, rival executives once again expect the Diamondbacks to try to trade the right fielder at the conclusion of this season.
