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To trade or not to trade… that is the question.
“To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub.”
I dream of the lineup that could be assembled with Sanchez in right field and a smile comes to my face. But I also dream of Chip Davidson winning 200 more games in a Louisville uniform (he is only 24 years old) and accepting his Hall of Fame plaque in a Colonels cap. Like Hamlet, indecision and delay are the visible symptoms of my internal conflict.
“Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…”
Yes, I have the best pitching staff in the league. I suppose it could be described as “outrageous fortune” to have a pitcher at 11-0 in AAA (with no room in the rotation for him) and another quality starter in the bullpen just in case.
“Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?”
In this case, my “sea of troubles” is a week in which we scored 11 runs in 6 games and were shutout twice. My way to end those troubles would be to “give arms” (in this case Davidson’s) in return for the Patriot League’s leading hitter. That’s right, Eduardo Sanchez is batting .347 this morning, just ahead of Charlotte RF Jake Mullet at .343. By the way, Mullett’s on-base percentage is .376 because he never walks. Sanchez is at .425 because he has a very good eye. If he doesn’t swing, it’s a ball. He is 11 of 12 in the stolen base department, so a walk is as good as a double for him. Byrne would turn him loose.
Adding to the dilemma are concerns over future budgets and playing time. Ordonez needs a place in the rotation next year; Westaway and Davidson are blocking him. Hartman will be back (presumably) next spring; Dominguez and Sanchez would block him. Don’t forget that future superstar CF Rafael Valdez is toiling in AAA also. These are nice problems to have, but they will need to be resolved. Sanchez will command a big salary via arbitration in 2009, and that is precisely the time that my budget will be crushed by other arbitration cases such as Dominguez, Rodriguez and Hernandez.
I must abandon the indecision and put a plan in motion – at least for the short run. I am demoting Juan Cortez to AAA and installing a platoon of Pablo Guzman (L) and Juan Gonzalez (R) in right field. If I am not going to get much offense from the spot, I can at least put my best defensive alignment on the field every day. I will recall Jeffrey Jackson to pinch-hit from the left side of the plate. Ordonez will continue his march to the AAA Outstanding Pitcher Award while accumulating no major league service time.
I remain in daily contact with Philadelphia GM John Evans, whose situation is getting more desperate with the injury to their emergency starter. Evans is like me, ready to do the deal one day and undecided the next. Unfortunately, we have not been of like mind on the same day so far. During the all-star break, I will either make the deal or kill it for good. I don’t intend to drag this out to the trade deadline because there are other deals to consider. There is still the opportunity to trade closer George King to a contender in the other league, perhaps Charlotte. The right offer has not been made, but these things tend to heat up during the last week of July.
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