The Zong

The news of the Miggy/D-Train move to Detroit for some (very promising) prospects came as a bit of a surprise to some in the baseball world, not the least of whom was Josh Willingham, who isn’t really good enough to get traded just yet.

Cabrera and Willis were the last players left from Florida’s 2003 championship team. Unable to secure a new ballpark, the Marlins keep shedding players when they are due to earn huge salaries. Cabrera made $7.4 million this year and Willis $6.45 million. Both were eligible for arbitration and likely to receive raises.

“I halfway expected one of them to get traded, but not both in the same deal. So it’s a little bit of a shock,” Marlins left fielder Josh Willingham said. “It’s deflating.”

And so we can continue to thank the Florida Marlins for assisting the grand exodus of talent from the National League. I’m not sure how good Detroit’s former prospects actually are, but their new lineup is looking kind of fucking stupid, much like the lineups of the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels. This leaves the NL looking even more pathetic and boring than it was last year, but let’s not forget to blame all the National League teams who were evidently sleeping when all this happened. I’d really like to blame Brian Sabean for this, but he didn’t really have much to offer in a trade for even one of those guys. I suppose I can blame him for bankrupting the Giants’ Farm System, and a quick look at the Yahoo! MLB Rumors page shows a couple of tidbits that make me feel a little sick. The first one is about Miguel Cabrera, something Sabean said just this past Saturday:

”I hate to speak to somebody else’s business, but you wonder if they really want to trade the player or if they absolutely, positively have to win the deal in such a one-sided fashion,” San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. “Maybe they’re not going to get something done. I don’t know.”

Maybe they’re not. Or maybe they just did. For prospects that you don’t have because you give away first-round picks all the time to save money. Glad you got a new contract out of it, brah.

Of course, there are still quality players out there. This was just posted regarding the Blue Jay’s Alex Rios:

Would the Giants trade Matt Cain for Alex Rios?

Late Tuesday, it was learned that the “interesting” proposal Brian Sabean had mentioned Monday involved Rios, the Blue Jays’ outfielder. He has three more years of arbitration eligibility before becoming eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.

The Blue Jays want Cain for Rios, according to a high-ranking Toronto official, and the Giants seem more willing to part with Tim Lincecum.

So let me get this straight: You wouldn’t trade one of the only prospects we have for the new Manny Ramirez in the prime of his young career, but now you’re talking about trading Lincecum for Alex Rios? What the hell is wrong with you?  Did you watch any baseball last season other than the fucking Home Run Derby? This smacks of the kind of desperation that might lead to a really horrible Sabean Masterpiece for the Giants. There is a precedent for this…

- M.G.