Although it was accompanied by the usual foot-dragging - the delays that are so characteristic of this team and are a major reason why we're still going to be a joke franchise for a long time - we've traded Bedard.
What we got, for the trade, was actually not a bad catch. I've always said to anyone who would listen, if there's any way we can trade with Bavasi - the only GM I think even the O's can out-think - we gotta do it.
So, we get Adam Jones. He's good, right now; he's also 22, and the O's can have him until he's 28. I don't know if he'll be a "superstar" the way everyone's been claiming, but he's going to be a contender for a few all-star teams, barring injury.
He's also supposed to be an outstanding defender - and if you read my thoughts for long, you'll know that I blame the O's woeful defense for a lot of their pitching problems in recent years. We've turned a lot of outs into hits, and having Jones won't exacerbate the problem (although it's the infield where the issue lay before, with Miggy and Mora just butchers).
Add him to Markakis - who Rob Neyer just called the right fielder he'd most want over the next five years (subscription required) - and you've got a pretty damn good young outfield. Dare I say it, you've got a potential core.
Tillman sounds like he'll be a productive MLer, a 19-year-old who just missed the top 100 prospects list. At that age of course, he isn't through the injury woods yet, but he was the Mariner's minor-league pitcher of the year, and his ceiling remains quite high. He's got the chance to be an important cog in the next winning O's team, if such a thing can still exist. And if you ignore TNSTAAPP (we've got nothing else, allow us this heresy).
The other three are mostly throw-ins, with Sherrill a potentially useful reliever this year, and Tony Butler "one of the franchises top young arms," or code for a puff-up.
Keith Law actually thinks the O's got the better end of the trade - and if the Mariners don't extend Bedard, I agree. Erik was one of the best pitchers in the game last year - I'm convinced he would have won the Cy, and flirted with 300 K, if he hadn't been injured - and, going forward, he is one of the few guys who might be able to hang with the likes of Santana.
But the M's stink. They apparently don't know that - they've been fooled by the 88 wins, and have ignored the negative run differential - so they think Bedard might help them win this year.
Ain't gonna happen. The Angels are going to walk away with the division this year, likely next year too, and then Bedard's going to walk. And by then, the O's might have Jones playing a top-5 centerfield, Tillman starting and Sherrill relieving a couple games we just might win. Yay us.
Now, it looks like Angelos wants to keep Roberts an O for the next 40 years - until he's geriatric in a wheelchair - so this is our last bit of action for awhile. But at least we got the chance to fleece Bavasi before he's out of prospects and/or out of baseball.
