Did the Pirates give up on Oliver Perez too early?

The trade deadline has past and the Pirates were one of the busiest teams out there. Despite being the busiest team they were a seller which is an usual theme this time of the year Here are the moves as follows..

1.First baseman Sean Casey was dealt to the Detroit Tigers for minor-league pitcher Brian Rogers, who was 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 37 appearances at Class AA Erie. Casey goes from worst to first and it couldn’t have happened to a better guy. The addition of Casey is a solid move for the Tigers who are running away in the American League.

2.Left-handed starting pitcher Oliver Perez and right-handed reliever Roberto Hernandez were sent to the New York Mets for outfielder Xavier Nady, who batted .264 with 15 doubles, 14 home runs and 40 RBI in 75 games this season. Perez has gone from being an untouchable during the off-season to the minors by mid season. Perez may be shot but i just think he needs a change of scenery and hopefully he reaches his potential in the Big Apple. The addition of Xaiver Nady is David Littlefields best move of the day. Nady can play the outfield, first base and will give some protection for Jason Bay.

3.Outfielder Craig Wilson was sent to the New York Yankees for right-handed starting pitcher Shawn Chacon, who was 5-3 with a 7.00 ERA this season. The Yankees had one of the best days picking up OF Bobby Abreu, pitcher Cory Liddle and now Craig Wilson. Shawn Chacon is the wildcard of the deal. He has been awful this season but is a former all-star and had a great year in 05

4.Right-handed pitcher Kip Wells was traded to the Texas Rangers for minor-league reliever Jesse Chavez, who was 2-5 with four saves and a 4.43 ERA in 39 appearances between Class AA Frisco and AAA Oklahoma. No comment on this trade. Wells as we know has great stuff but just doesn’t have the guts to be a premier pitcher in the majors.

Centerfielder Chris Duffy has been recalled from the team. With the trades of Wells,Casey,Wilson,Perez and Hernandez the Pirates have saved over 19 million in payroll. Randa 4.5 million and Burnitz 6.5 million likely won’t be resigned and the Pirates will save another 11 million from their contracts. The downfall of these moves are the Pirates are red hot and now that is all down the drain. Overall this was normal Bucco deadline selling off potential free agents for other teams bums but the trade for Nady was a good one. Getting rid of Perez will bite them in the butt. The guy under performs in Pittsburgh then all of a sudden becomes a 20 game winner with another team. (ala Jason Schmidt) I’m a big Perez fan who is only 24 but did the Pirates really have any other choice.

Trade Dealine winners

Cry Cry Yankee haters…. The reason many people hate the Yankees is because they buy thereselves into the postseason and they are at it again. The additions of Abreu,Liddle and Wilson have all guarnteed the Yankees a 9th straight AL East title. Abreu makes 16 million a year so once again the rich get richer….
Imagine their starting lineup when September hits
1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Jason Giambi, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, LF
6. Gary Sheffield, DH
7. Bobby Abreu, RF
8. Jorge Posada, C
9. Robinson Cano, 2B
Then theres Bernie Williams and Craig Wilson coming off the bench.

Winners
1. Yankees – The Rich get Richer
2. Tigers – Pick up Casey and the White Sox, Twins don’t do much
3. Reds – bolster their bullpen and are the favorites to win the wildcard.

Losers
1. Red Sox – The Yanks got better and the Sox stood pat
2. Angels – The Angels lack hitting and missed out on Soriano and Tejada. Result: Athletics win the AL West not the Angels.
3. Astros – The Astros offered starter Roy Oswalt to Baltimore for Tejada and had disscussions about trading closer Brad Lidge. Good move keeping their best pitcher in Oswalt but now you have a pissed off pitcher who is vital to their post season chances

Depaoli’s quick hits….

The more i hear Santonio Holmes speak the less i respect him. The Steelers could not be happy with his interview Saturday about how he has no reason to be sorry for the nagative press and he proclaims that Ben Roethlisberger did not call him one time like Ben said he did a few weeks ago. Regardless of his off field actions and personality issues, Holmes is a explosive playmaker who will have a impact this season. Through the first two days of training camp Hines Ward has taking Holmes under his wing. Cedric Wilson is the #2 reciever for right now but Holmes will replace him by week 6.

Real Esate tycoon Sam Fingold has signed to letter of intent to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has 30 days to close the deal or the bidding opens back up. Now what happened to Mark Cuban saving the team? Cubans group has said they met the Penguins price of 170 million and thought they were going to awarded the letter of intent. I just had a feeling from day 1 that Mario didn’t want to work with Mursteins group and that may be true. Remember back to 1999 when Mario first bought the team. I do not trust Fingold at all. Ever since the bidding began the guy was saying it’s Isle of Capri or Kansas City. Recently he has changed his tune but it’s all a act. What is he going to say; Im buying the team and have no intentions of keeping them here if Isle of Capri doesn’t work. Business is business and Mario has to make his money but if Fingold who has no Pittsburgh ties doesn’t keep the team here while Cubans group made it clear they had all intentions of keeping team here, Mario will go down as the villian in the team leaving.

Dom Hasek signs on for a third stint with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings have had bad a rough offseason with the retirement of Steve Yzerman, loss of Shannahan and lack of cap space to land a #1 goalie. With Hasek the Wings don’t know what their going to get out of him. When your up against the cap, taking a chance on a difference maker like Hasek who will 500,000 plus incentatives is a risk worth taking.