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3-Pointer
Point 1: NHL Lockout players, Fans lockout NHL If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? That is the question Gary Bettman should be asking himself right now. The NHL season should have been in full...
Changing Landscape of the NHL
Changing Landscape of the NHL
The changing face of the NHL is very prominent as the first regular season play begins for the 2005-2006 season. Big named players have left big named teams for the previously has-been doorstops of the NHL. It is...
Is Baseball Gear Any Safer Today?
Baseball is at 150 years old, one of the most popular spectator sports in the United States. How have such conditions like technology, economic resources, a need for higher standards for safety and protection, make the basic baseball gear better? ...
The Passion For Baseball
THE PASSION OF BASEBALL
What is something you are passionate about? Passion is contagious and feed off this positive energy. Have you ever seen two people who truly love the game of baseball talk about baseball?
I had a friend’s wife tell...
The Youth Sports Coach
Coaching youth sports is a challenge. Most of our kids are really happy to have us step up to the plate and coach and, despite the time we give up, most parents find the experience equally rewarding. However, there are some major things that every...
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Baseball Trade Review: Carlos Beltran Deal
The Carlos Beltran sweepstakes are over and the Houston Astros are the winners. After spending the offseason recruiting Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, the Astros have found themselves mired back in the pack of a tough NL Central division race.
Beltran brings a flashy glove to center field and some excitement and run production to the top of the lineup. Of course, players like him don't come without a cost. Houston sent away closer Octavio Dotel and catcher-of-the-future John Buck.
The added wild-card is that Beltran's contract expires at the end of this season. Should the Astros fail to reach the playoffs and also lose their new star center fielder to free agency, this deal could haunt them in the future.
Kansas City, Beltran's former team, sent Dotel on to Oakland in exchange for two prospects, third baseman Mark Teahan and pitcher Mike Wood. The Royals had decided they wouldn't be able to match Beltran's asking price this offseason and picked up the best value they thought they could get. Oftentimes these deals turn out very favorable for the team willing to trade current talent for high-potential minor leaguers.
The Oakland Athletics jumped in to make this a 3-way deal and filled a big need by picking
up a consistent closer. Arthur Rhodes had excelled with other teams in a setup role but hasn't fared well closing out games for the A's. Nothing is more frustrating to a starter than to pitch hard through seven or eight innings in a close game only to see a win slip away in the ninth. Oakland boasts one of the best rotations in baseball and a solidified bullpen should help them overtake Texas and maybe even make a run in the playoffs.
This trade will be seen as a success or failure for both Houston and Oakland by the end of the 2004 season. For Kansas City, however, it could be a few years before anyone knows how their 3 new players will pan out. All three teams did well in accomplishing something that made sense for their situation.
About The Author
Dustin Smiley, Owner of The Baseball Corner http://www.thebaseballcorner.com, your online site for everything baseball. (**You may reprint this column onto your site only if the following information is attached at the bottom and the link to The Baseball Corner is active**)
admin@thebaseballcorner.com
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