Before the Clock Strikes 12

When the 2013 Major League Baseball Trade Deadline passed, what I remember most is that it was not memorable at all. that is not the case in 2014. A flurry of 11th hour trades with some All Star caliber players were dealt at the last minute this afternoon. These transactions are certain to impact both pennant races and may be the moves that tip the scales in favor of the eventual 2014 World Series champion. The following are the highlights of the day.

JON LESTER TO THE A's FOR YOENIS CESPEDES

The Oakland Athletics eliminated any doubt to whether they are employing a "World Series or bust" strategy in 2014 with the trade of two-time Home Run Derby Champion and 2014 All Star cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes (.256, 17 HR, 57 RBI) to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for their ace, Jon Lester (10-7, 2.52 ERA, 149 Ks). The A's are getting a veteran leader in the prime of his career with loads of postseason experience and two World Series rings. The Red Sox are getting another budding superstar from the recent Cuban invasion of MLB who will provide a desperately needed infusion of power into the batting order. The A's also received Red Sox left fielder Jonny Gomes (.234, 6 HR, 32 RBI).

Cespedes had another year remaining on his contract and Lester is all but certain to be a two to three month rental for Oakland. The A's would probably not have been able to resign Cespedes after 2015, but they could have had him for another year.On the other hand, Cespedes was one of the highest paid members of the A's with a $10.5 million salary. His defection (and that of his salary on a financially frugal, small market team) in exchange for a bona fide ace pitcher who help could win a World Series is not the worst subtraction from the roster.

Grades:

Red Sox: A
Athletics: B-

1

JOHN LACKEY TO THE CARDINALS FOR ALLEN CRAIG AND JOE KELLY

The Cardinals have employed hired guns before, but seldom at such a steep cost. In Lackey (11-7, 3.60 ERA, 116 Ks), the Cards are getting a solid starter who, at his best, plays at an All-Star caliber level. They also have a dirt cheap option that they are likely to exercise on Lackey in 2015. The cost was steep, however. Joe Kelly (2-2, 4.37 ERA) has shown he can be a solid starter, but Lackey will replace him in the rotation. Allen Craig, however, was thought of to be the future of the franchise and now he is gone. Craig (.237, 7 HR, 44 RBI) has had a down season and has a disastrous July, but his potential is evident. The Red Sox need hitters and gambled on his evident upside.

Grades:

Red Sox: B+
Cardinals: B-

John Lackey 2

DAVID PRICE TO THE TIGERS

To quote the Fallout Boys, it ain't a scene, it's an arms race. The Tigers dumped the weak link in their rotation, Drew Smyly (6-9, 3.93 ERA) and centerfielder Austin Jackson (273, 4 HR, 33 RBI) while picking up the former Cy Young award winner in David Price (11-8, 3.11 ERA, 189 Ks) from the Tampa Bay Rays. This was a three team trade that also involved the Seattle Mariners. While Detroit still has some exploitable pressure point in its bullpen, its starting rotation now looks almost bulletproof, especially for a postseason run in which as few as three pitchers could be rotated.

Grades:

Tigers: A
Rays: C
Mariners: C+

David Price pitched 7 innings in his final game as a member of the Rays. 3

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

1) Image from www.whdh.com
2) Image from www.baseballhq.com
3) Image from www.businessinsider.com

Something in the Air

Four games down…up to three remaining. The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals are tied at two games apiece in the 2013 World Series. That the teams with the best regular season records in their respective leagues are tied after four games is not surprising. How these well managed, veteran teams got to this point is.

Games 1 and 2 of the series were steered to their outcomes by a bevy of costly errors by the Cardinals and Red Sox, respectively. Game 3 went to the Cardinals on Saturday night after Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia overthrew his third baseman, Will Middlebrooks, in an attempt to tag out Allen Craig of the Cardinals. After the error, Middlebrooks picked his legs up; Craig momentarily tripped over them but continued running toward home plate. The throw reached Saltalamacchia in time to tag Craig by multiple steps, yet Craig was called safe by means of an obstruction call against Middlebrooks by third base umpire Jim Joyce. 

Craig was already "safe". 1

Game 4 ended with Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran, one of the best postseason hitters of all-time, at bat with the Cardinals trailing by two runs with two outs and pinch-runner Kolten Wong on first base. The threat of Wong stealing second base or scoring seemed inconsequential, as there were two outs and Beltran represented the tying run. Yet Mike Napoli continued to cover first base as Wong took his lead, leaving a larger gap between the second baseman and Napoli in the infield. It ended up deciding the game as Wong was caught napping after taking a huge lead and was picked off by Red Sox closer Koji Uehara.

Wong's choice was wrong. 2

WHAT’S NEXT?

Game 5 of any playoff series tied at 2-2 in any sport is pivotal as the winner usually goes on to win the entire series. After the first two games were heavily influenced by careless and/or hyper-aggressive errors by the losing teams, Games 3 and 4 were ended under very unusual circumstances. These two teams played the best regular season baseball in their leagues, so the fact that the series is close was likely expected by many. The fact that the slightest change in circumstances late in games is deciding games is not surprising either. It’s is almost Halloween. We should expect the unexpected in the remaining games of the World Series.    

It's that time of year. 3

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls! 

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info. 

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/. 

1) Image from www.cbsnews.com
2) Image from www.nytimes.com
3) Image from www.fangraphs.com