Trades

The trade deadline is approaching. I started thinking about all of the ridiculous proposals I've seen on blogs and message boards. You know, the "let's trade Blackburn and Punto for Pujols" type deals. Swapping a starting pitcher with an ERA around 4.00 and light-hitting defensively challenged middle infielder for an MVP seems completely ridiculous. Of course, Blackburn's ERA is nowhere near 4.00 this season. Blackburn would have to pitch out of his mind to match his numbers from '08 and '09. But Matt Garza is on pace to finish the season with about 200 innings and an ERA of 4.00- just like Blackburn has done twice. Jason Bartlett is hitting even worse than Punto. Currently, Pujols is hitting .306 with 19 HRs and 59 RBI's. Delmon Young is hitting .296 with 9 HR's and 54 RBI's. In addition to the advantage in power, Pujols is also drawing more walks with about a .100 point OBP advantage. Young is certainly not Pujols, but he's certainly playing well enough that it actually makes sense to compare the players. I swore to myself that I would never again evaluate this trade, but when I noticed how similar it looks to some of the absurd suggestions- at least for the moment- I had to acknowledge it.