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| Miguel Batista | Roger Clemens |
| 9 - 5, 4.65 | 2 - 4, 2.45 |
OK. Let's see if I got this straight. The trade of Tejada to the Angels has stalled because Miggy doesn't want to play third base.
And, well, he may not want to leave Baltimore at all. But if he is moved,
. . . the Houston Astros have emerged as one of the favorites for Tejada's services, according to a team source. The Orioles rejected the Astros' initial offer, which was believed to include shortstop Adam Everett and third baseman Morgan Ensberg, but the two teams were still talking late last night, a source said.
And now comes the report from Jose de Jesus Ortiz that the Rangers have offered Hank Blalock (straight up?) for Brad Lidge.
And he says we're also in the running for Soriano, and maybe the Tigers want Lidge, too.
Just what we needed, another third baseman. Maybe both deals happen or neither deal does. Maybe Ensberg and Everett and Scott get shipped to Baltimore for Tejada, Blalock comes over, Huff goes to right, and it's CloserDan.
Maybe.
Ensberg's initial rehab game at Round Rock really confuses things, I think, because it reopens the possibility that Morgan can return to form. Perhaps writing Morgan off would be premature after all. And if so, Morgan's upside is greater than Blalock's, while Huff and Blalock are the same freaking player.
Or maybe you think Morgan CAN return to greatness, but that the astonishingly large effect on his game that small injuries incur make significant additional downtime in the future for Mo inevitable. And maybe you don't wanna deal with that.
I will say that I don't think you're likely to get more for Lidge at this time. Blalock is almost a surprisingly strong offer for a closer with a 5.62 ERA who is suspected by many to have a fragile psyche. But is it possible that even if you were inclined to part ways with Brad that you might be able to get even more after the season?
And would we maybe prefer to deal Lidge to Detroit if only for the fact that if Lidge DOES come all the way back, it'd be painful to watch him do it in Arlington?
Could you get the Tigers to overpay for Lidge? Love the upside on that Zumaya kid. . . .
I wonder.
And, most importantly, what does Roger think about all this?