I take umbrage with your analysis of the Phillies. Cliff Lee is untradeable due to his injury and huge contract. If an offer came in, Ruben Amaro would have moved him. It's not like the Phils haven't traded him before. Hamels was on the block, but no decent offer for him came either. He's a stud who would have gotten at least two top prospects. Burnett is a bum scheduled to make 15 million next year, plus he says he is retiring. Who wants him for a rental? Ruiz? Are you effing kidding me? Who wants a 36 year old catcher with another bloated contract? Utley is the heart & soul of our team. No team would make a offer for him. Why get rid of Byrd he's the only hitting right now?

You don't know the Phillies.

I think most everybody thinks the Phillies were the big loser at the tradeline, maybe the biggest loser I've ever seen at a trade deadline. This was a seller's market,they need to sell more than everybody, and they couldn't even close a single deal.

They are incredibly bloated with old expensive talent and have little reason to think it's going to improve over the next couple years. That organization needs a complete teardown and Amaro did the club no favor by doubling down on that bad strategy in the offseason.

There were several big deals made for Starting Pitching (Lester, Price, Smardzjia, Lackey, Peavy) and the Phillies couldn't even offload Burnett. That's crazy. They need to restaff their internal scouting if they couldn't come up with even one acceptable deal. Or be willing to pay some of those salaries. They have been talking about cutting Ryan Howard. Getting at least something for these guys even if it's crap has to be better than just cutting them outright.

But it's not too late, they may be able to take advantage of the Waiver wire moves now.

I really like what the A's have done, it's interesting to see them switch gears so hard by putting all their chips on the table for 2014. Makes me wonder if they are going to make another play for a new stadium.

An well the Modern day Redsox seem to have a magic touch with whatever they do. Would not surprise me to see Lester there back next year, which would mean they Cespedes for basically Johnny Gomes. And who wouldn't make that deal?

I'm a Yankee fan and I was pretty happy with how they made out yesterday. They weren't really in the position to make any big moves but Cashman definitely did all that he could.

I found the Red Sox's moves to be pretty strange. They don't seem willing to enter a full rebuilding mode, trading for guys like Cespedes and Craig instead of big prospects who they'll have control of for a long time. Maybe they're banking on Lester signing back. And I actually like the Price trade for Tampa Bay. They're not completely giving up on the season but at the same time, getting a return for someone who clearly did not want to be there anymore.

Putting all this aside, there's a pretty clear big two in the American League right now and it's Oakland and Detroit. It's hard to really see anyone beating those two teams.

Now if only they could win games

No such thing as an untradable contract anymore. If a guy is still productive, he can be moved. Cliff Lee didn't come down with the injury until the day of the deadline (which goes to show they probably had no intention of trading him anyways). I know he had been scuffling since returning from the DL, but to state no one inquired or made an offer is probably a bit ludicrous if you ask me.

Plenty of people were interested in Burnett. Him retiring next year may have actually been a good thing for some teams.

Ruiz would have been a tough sell, but there are teams in need of a C (Cards, Baltimore, M's) who would have certainly been interested, assuming Philly was wiling to pay a portion of his salary.

Byrd hitting should be more reason to trade him. Both him and the Utley comment make me think you're appealing to your own personal fandom by not letting go of this year. I'd be stunned if the Giants and Jays said "we don't want to trade for Utley because he's the heart and soul of the Phillies." That's not how it works, and by not letting go of players like Utley and Rollins (the later would be the tougher sale because he seemed pretty set on staying) the Phillies are just going to continually get older and their players will lose value after every year.

As @slag stated, this team needs a complete overhaul. They are old. Bloated with bad contracts. And most worryingly, they have a below average farm system. Not making any deal was surprising, and it looks like a complete blunder. I'd still be shocked if they didn't move some pieces at the waiver deadline.

I definitely agree with your assessment on the Phillies.

I love the players the A's got, but I'm a little worried about what they gave up. They really need to make a deep run in the playoffs for everything to pay off for them. Luckily they have OF depth on their team so filling the whole left by Cespedes wouldn't be as difficult as it would be for other teams, but he'll certainly be missed.

I also think the Red Sox took advantage at the deadline. Lester has already publicly said the trade would not affect his decisions to return to Boston which gave them the opportunity to trade him. Cespedes and Craig are great adds, and their lineup is much more dangerous now than what it was at the start of the year.

I have been following the Rays comeback through my Google Now updates. It is a shame that I don't go to or watch any of their games so I guess I am like most Rays "fans." But why did they feel the need to trade away such a great pitcher?

@flacracker: I don't go to many games mostly thanks to traffic. Last game I went to there was construction on the way home. We spent more time, in traffic, than it took to watch the game. Seriously, 3 hours.

Price only had a year left on his contract, an expensive (and deserved) year. He already wasn't going to stay because the Rays simply couldn't afford him. So why let him leave when you could get something for him?

Unfortunately they didn't get his value returned. I didn't look up the full deal but without any draft picks or real prospects this seems like something done last minute and hurried.

@ajamafalous: They will eventually. Probably not next year, but things should change in 2016.

I almost put the Yankees into my winners section. They're in a pretty unique position of being able to take on pretty much any salary, but the deals they made still made a lot of sense. Kelly Johnson was deadweight and needed to go. Drew is a better defender and can spell Jeter at SS when needed. Martin Prado is one of my favorite players and he's always been able to hit, no matter what team he has been on. Their lineup is always rotating so having a guy who can play pretty much every position is a plus too. I still think their pitching isn't good enough, but things could change if Tanaka returns.

Boston already has a pretty solid farm system. Their a team that is still in position to win for next year, so their moves made a ton of sense to me. The Price deal doesn't add up. Sure they got major league ready talent, but Smyly is already 25 and he's certainly not enough for price. I understand they still want to win this year, but they needed to get a better haul than what they got.

@finaldasa is right. It all comes down to money with many small market teams. Price will go through his last year of arbitration next year, and his salary is expected to increase about $5 million or so. The Rays must have felt the pressure to unload him now, instead of trying to trade him at next year's deadline.

I was really hoping the Red Sox would do some kind of sign and trade with Cespedes, sending him to Miami with Miller and Lackey for Giancarlo Stanton. The Red Sox will be incredibly lucky if they're able to re-sign Lester, and it was a good move to send him to a team who likely wouldn't make an off season push to sign him.

I'm surprised the Rays moved Price, they've been the hottest team in baseball since the All Star break, I figured they would hang onto him and try to make a more serious playoff push considering they type of outing he consistently provides.

As an A's fan I like the deal for Lester, I liked Cespy but he is only a .250 hitter that is prone to get hurt. He is pretty clutch though and he has a cannon for an arm. I liked that Billy Beane went all in.

@patoday: I agree with the Red Sox move, seems strange to trade so much away and clearly declare you're letting some talent go in hopes younger talent (or the off season) fills up roster spots. So why bring in a star bat?

As for the Rays, we're still 7+ games out in the division and have plenty of young pitching (and thankfully the bullpen stepped it up). I just wish they had gotten some return on Price otherwise it seems they're just hoping we get in via wildcard.

I think the A's valued Cespedes less than the rest of the league. As a resident Oakland A's fan (Jeff too), I've watched Cespedes hundreds of times and he is in no way the most feared hitter in the lineup. His OBP is terrible, and throw anything high or below the letters and he's an easy out. Yea Beane kind of screwed us for the future with all the moves this season, but as an A's fan who's tired of getting knocked off the first round (the last two have been particularly crushing), I'm willing to lose everything at a chance to win the World Series.

What I am trying to wrap my head around though is how relatively little Price was given up for to the Tigers. Had the A's not dealt Russell and McKinney for Samardjzia, they could have landed not only Price, but Lester as well. However, hindsight is 20/20 and at the time we dealt for the Shark, our rotation was pressing quite a bit.

Oh, and also,

fuck the Giants.

@finaldasa: The Red Sox have such a deep farm system, the Lackey for Craig move makes zero sense to me, their outfield depth right now looks like Jackie Bradley Jr, Cespedes, Nava, Brock Holt, Mookie Betts. I'm not even putting Victorino into the equation because he's been hurt for most of the season and just went back on the DL today.

Admittedly I don't know much about farm systems outside of the red Sox organization, so I don't know what they have for developing talent, but it seems like the demand for Price would have been higher once Lester was off the market. I don't know why there wasn't more of a return.

I like the looks of Austin Jackson for sure. My first reaction was to turn up my nose at Chris Denorfia, but his hitting is actually not bad by current Mariners standards. When you've got Corey Hart pretending to DH, anything looks good.

We're not making the postseason, but we can still have a respectable second half. Maybe Felix has a shot at another Cy Young if we can get him enough wins.

That Tigers pitching lineup is looking similar to the 90's Braves and like the Braves, they can't seem to win in the postseason. Still, it's looking like a Tigers/A's ALCS.

Pretty much agree. The Yankees didn't make any blockbuster trades, but they did address their infield issues with Headley, Prado and Drew. Pitching is still an issue, but it's more of a health issue than talent. That pitching staff, when healthy, is one of the better rotations in the league. Boston... they got rid of some dead weight like Peavy, but unless the Red Sox have some great pitching prospects coming up through the system, I don't see how they can improve. Then again, the Red Sox have had a strange few years going from shit to champs to shit this year.

@dalai: Ranaudo looks pretty good going against the Yankees tonight for the Sox and they have Henry Owens, who has top of the rotation stuff likely finishing out the season in Triple-A and possibly making the major league roster out of spring training next season.

I dunno man, I think if you are an A's fan you have to love that for once they are giving it everything they've got to win now. If you are a small budget team like the A's you can't have both depth and talent. I don't when the window of opportunity will ever be open wider for the A's, both the Yankees and Red Sox are non-factors this year. If there is any year to go all out, it's this year.

After years of Moneyball and trading away top talent to continually hope for tomorrow, tomorrow is finally today for the Oakland A's. No trade is going to be perfect and nobody is going give up a top tier difference maker talent like Lester for a scrub player, but if this move gets them a ring? Totally worth it. Who knows if it it will work but I think it's the right kind of move at the right time for them.

Cespedes is a little overrated imo anyway.

There is nothing I'd like more out of this season than to see the Mariners break out of their mediocrity. It's always a case of steps forward followed by steps back. Hopefully they can put something together and at least gun for the wild card.

Also, fuck the A's.

The M's are legit good this year, and Austin Jackson is a very quality pickup for a lineup that is struggling offensively and all they gave up was a guy they weren't going to play there anyway now they have Cano.

I think they have a very strong chance of getting the second wildcard this year, pretty much they just got to beat out Toronto which is very doable.

I liked the Lester move by the Red Sox, obviously the ideal scenario would have been signing Lester to an extension but it is tough to look at big extensions to pitchers in their 30s and say it would be worth. Cespedes is a power bat in the outfield which is getting harder to find now.

I'm not sure about the Lackey trade, I'm just not sure I ever see Allen Craig returning to form. And with a Red Sox system stacked with pitchers better than Joe Kelly I don't see how he ever ends up doing much.

The Yankees/Red Sox trade is weird. The Yankees and Red Sox shouldn't trade. Laughing at the Yankees acquiring a great defensive shortstop and keeping the statue of Derek Jeter still at shortstop.

Yeah, you could make an argument for Donaldson, but the ball jumps off Ces' bat in a way that it rarely does off of other hitters'. He's also been great in the postseason (albeit a small sample size). I don't hate the trade by any means, because Lester is legit and there are few guys I'd take over him right now. He's arguably having the best season of his career. It's just tough to replace a guy like Cespedes though, but Oakland does have plenty of guys that they can platoon. They're in a position that not a lot of teams are in. This also allows them to give more playing time to Vogt, who's been great this year.

The Price deal is still baffling to me too. It just doesn't make much sense.

@patoday Stanton's a rare talent. I never expected the Fish to trade him, and I think the package you proposed wouldn't have gotten it done. He hasn't hit arbitration yet, so they have plenty of time to get an unreal package for him, assuming they wish to trade him.

@white_sox: One can hope. The first time Stanton was ever talked about in a trade was in 2008 to the Red Sox for Manny, which shows the caliber of player they knew he was back then. If that trade had been completed...oh doctor.