Sully Baseball Presents ANOTHER BLOCK BUSTER TRADE THAT SHOULD HAPPEN BUT PROBABLY WON’T

Bernie Taupin and Elton John said it best in “Honky Cat”… a change is going to do me good.

Sometimes a change can do a ballplayer some good. Sometimes a player is simply stuck in a bad place and changing to another team could awaken the star player within

Three World Series MVPs were players that were considered damaged good before they changed addresses and were revived. (Dave Stewart, Scott Brosius and Mike Lowell.)

Other players just have excessive expectations and can’t meet their potential until they switch uniforms and help a team to the World Series title. (Jose Contreras and Jeff Weaver come to mind.)

Which brings me to insane multiteam trade #2 of the Winter Meetings that should take place.

Earlier today I proposed a 9 team deal that basically shuffles a bunch of bad contracts around.

Well now I am suggesting that three of the whopper, gigantic, unmovable, GMs have been fired for less contracts should be swapped for each other.

The Giants deal Barry Zito
and his $83 million contract over 4 seasons to the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays deal Vernon Wells
and his $98.5 million contract over 4 seasons to the Cubs

The Cubs deal Alfonso Soriano
and his $95 million contract over 5 seasons to the Giants

The Giants bring in Soriano, a player who at one point in his career looked like an MVP candidate… but is coming off of injuries, terrible defense, and not exactly endearing himself to the Chicago faithful.Soriano gets a fresh start and could move to first base and protect Pablo Sandoval. And they wouldn’t have to give up any young pitching talent.

The Blue Jays would get Zito, a starting pitcher to fill the inevitable void left by the Roy Halladay deal. Plus Zito had much more success in the AL than the NL… go figure. And as big as Zito’s contract is, it is would actually SAVE the Blue Jays nearly $5 million a season compared to Wells.

The Cubs get Wells, a player who before his giant contract was a Gold Glover with power and was considered to be one of the good guys in the game. Maybe he would relax in Wrigley and regain his power stroke and defense. And if it doesn’t comeback, his contract is a year shorter than Soriano’s.

So once again, your pal Sully has the right idea… you can’t get out from a crappy contract. But maybe a DIFFERENT crappy contract can make the difference?

How can it be worse than seeing these guys sit miserably in their current dugouts for the next 4 or 5 years?

Sing it, Elton!!!

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Sully Baseball Presents… THE MOST INSANE TRADE THAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN THE WINTER MEETINGS

A year after being a hero in Philadelphia (thanks in part to his deal with Satan) Brad Lidge is now damaged goods in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Phils would love to move him and his $24 million deal… but that won’t be easy.

Notice I didn’t say IMPOSSIBLE!

Philadelphia needs to find some teams who are also willing to move around some salaries and bad deals… and it would help if a team has a gullible general manager, another team needs to slash payroll because of an impending divorce and yet another club has no payroll restrictions.

The Staff at Sully Baseball has devised a 9 team trade involving 11 players and a bunch of bad contracts.

In the end Brad Lidge will have found a home after being passed like a hot potato to all 9 teams and only 2 teams would see their own payroll affected more than a few million dollars.

Here’s how the trade would unfold.

The Phillies deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Reds for Francisco Cordero and his $25 million deal over 2 years.

The Reds deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Royals for Gil Meche and Jose Guillen (combined $24 million but both done after this year)

The Royals deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Mets for Oliver Perez and his 2 years $24 million deal

The Mets deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Cubs for Milton Bradley and his $21 million deal over 2 years

The Cubs deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Mariners for Carlos Silva and his $24 million deal over 2 years

The Mariners deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Angels for Gary Matthews Jr and his $23 million deal over 2 years

The Angels deal Brad Lidge for his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre and George Sherrill (combined 2 years for $27 million)

The Dodgers deal Brad Lidge and his $24 million deal over 2 years to the Yankees for Kei Igawa and his 2 year $8 million deal

What the trade means to each team…

THE PHLLIES:

Francisco Cordero for Brad Lidge

Cordero can close and Lidge is done in Philadelphia
Payroll Difference: + $1 million

THE REDS:

Gil Meche and Jose Guillen for Francisco Cordero

Cincy can sign a closer and they get a decent starter and a malcontented but talented outfielder, something Dusty Baker has some experience with.
Payroll Difference: EVEN

THE ROYALS:

Oliver Perez for Gil Meche and Jose Guillen

KC gets a talented but inconsistent pitcher. But getting Jose Guillen off the team is a plus.
Payroll Difference: EVEN

THE METS:

Milton Bradley for Oliver Perez

Getting Perez out of New York is a must. Slashing payroll is a plus. Maybe Bradley can thrive with a change of scenery. Maybe Omar Minaya will be the billionth person to think that Bradley’s talents will cancel out his baggage.
Payroll Difference: – $3 million

THE CUBS:

Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley

The Cubs would be lucky to get used toilet paper for Milton Bradley. And who knows? Maybe Silva can be a decent #4 starter with any luck.
Payroll Difference: +3 million

THE MARINERS:

Gary Matthews Jr. for Carlos Silva

Both players are damaged goods, but maybe Matthews can take advantage of the gaps in the outfield. Besides, the Mariners are clearly coveting all things Angels.
Payroll Difference: -$1 million

THE ANGELS:

Juan Pierre and George Sherrill for Gary Matthews Jr.

The Angels get a speedy outfielder who might replace Chone Figgins plus some needed bullpen depth while fleecing their cross highway neighbors.
Payroll Difference: +$4 million

THE DODGERS:

Kei Igawa for Juan Pierre and George Sherrill

This is clearly a salary dump, but with the impending nasty divorce that is brewing over Dodger land, it might be prudent to demp essentially a fourth outfielder and a set up man to free up some dough.
Payroll Difference: -$19 million

THE YANKEES

Brad Lidge for Kei Igawa

The sooner Igawa is gone, the sooner the biggest blunder in Brian Cashman’s career will be wiped from the records. Plus Lidge won’t have to close… there’s a fellow named Rivera doing that. He can just let it rip in the 8th… and maybe send Joba to the rotation forever. Yeah it is a bump in salary… but these aren’t the Pirates! These are the Yankees! They can afford it.
Payroll Difference: +$16 million

Ahhh if only the Winter Meetings were really like this!

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I swear I didn’t fall off the face of the Earth

I know I haven’t written for a while, but after my “Best Post Season Games of the 2000s” opus, I had to take a little break.

Your pal Sully is working hard to possibly make a few bucks from his baseball writing and maybe even publish a book.

But more on that when it comes true.

The Winter Meetings are in full swing and I have a few thoughts.

Just let me organize them…

Thanks

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