[fuzzy_patters]

Trading Aparicio

With the trade deadline approaching, I have decided to trade Aparicio. He is 35 years old, and I want to get some value for him while I still can. My goal for this trade is to acquire a starting pitcher who can help us next year or the year after at the latest. I think that starting pitching is our biggest weakness.

After spending hours on the phones with other general managers, I have determined that there are many starting pitchers that I could get for him. Of them, the following are the most interesting.

Michael Hebert (23), BAL- Hebert doesn't stand out in any one area in the scouting report, but he has very good numbers this year at the major league level (7-1 3.04). My biggest concern with him is that Baltimore has amazing defense, so I worry that he wouldn't be as good for us. He is also said to be a very hard worker.

John Curtis (22), BOS- Curtis projects to be a very good overall pitcher with four very good pitches. The problem with him is that his movement and control are not close to being major league ready yet, which has led to a high 3.87 ERA at AA Pawtucket. I worry that he won't reach his potential, and being a finesse pitcher who doesn't throw very hard makes that even more of a concern. He has to be able to throw strikes with movement.

Mike Garman (20), BOS- He is very average all the way around. If he reaches his potential, he will have no strengths and no weaknesses. He would be a good fourth or fifth starter.

Steve Dunning (20), CLE- At just 20 years old, he is already pitching in the majors and doesn't project to improve much, which is okay since he is 8-6 with a 3.88 ERA on a team that isn't all that great. He will never win a Cy Young award or anything, but he is interesting.

Rich Hand (22), CLE- He has three above average pitches, but I'm not sure that his movement and control will ever quite be there. Like Dunning, he is already pitching in the majors for the Indians, but he has been terrible this year. He should probably be in AA.

Dick Tidrow (23), CLE- Like Curtis, he is more of a finesse pitcher, and he also throws sidearm, which makes me worry about how well he would do against lefties. He does project to have pretty good movement and control, though, but he isn't close to polished, yet, which is worrisome since he is a little older than some of the other guys. He also isn't supposed to be much of a team player.

Mike Kilkenny (25), DET- He is a polished major leaguer in his prime with good stuff and outstanding movement. The problem is that he has poor command, and it isn't expected to improve much. He has a 5.11 ERA this year thanks to nearly 5 walks per 9 innings pitched.

Denny McLain (26), DET- He is a shadow of his former self. He won back to back Cy Young awards the last few years, but he has seen a slight drop in his strikeout rate and a big increase in his walk rate this year. My scouts seem to think he is still developing, which is interesting.

Jim Hughes (18), MIN- This guys is interesting. He already has plus stuff with a great fastball and curveball and is an extreme groundball pitcher. He projects to have even better movement. Yet, it looks like control will always be a problem for him. He is certainly interesting.

Donald Schroeder (21), NYY- He is 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA with the big club. He is another guy with good stuff and movement that doesn't show much control potential. He has walked over 5 batters per 9 this year.

Larry Gura (22), CHC- Gura is another finesse pitcher who should have good movement and control when he develops.

Wayne Simpson (21), CIN- Here is a really interesting guy. His record for Cincinnati is only 2-8 this year, but that comes with a nice 3.55 ERA. The scouts think he should have slightly above average stuff and movement with slightly below average command. He has just about reached his potential already at a very young age. He could pitch in our rotation immediately.

Wade Blasingame (26), HOU- Wade is a very well-rounded pitcher who is pretty good at everything and great at nothing. He does have some mental issues, though. My scouts don't think he's too bright.

Tom Griffin (22), HOU- He has a 4.93 for Houston this year and has been demoted; however, he was at 3.54 last year, when he was just 21. He still has a lot of room left for growth and is said to be a team leader. If he reaches his potential, control could be a slight issue.

Alan Foster (23), LAD- He is 8-3 with a 3.56 this year, and projects to be pretty balanced overall. He will never be great for very long, but he won't be bad either.

Charlie Hough (22), LAD- His overall scout rating isn't very good at all, but his knuckleball and good overall balance make him intriguing.

Eddie Soloman (19), LAD- Yet another finesse pitcher who won't have great stuff. Baltimore has a slough of these guys, and they might win it all this year. These guys are interesting because they could always become the next Jim Palmer.

Ernie McAnally (23), MON- He is another high movement and stuff groundballer who might have control issues. He is pitching at AAA, but with improved control could be in the majors next year.

Bill Champion (22), PHI- He is a steady groundballer who excels at nothing but has no real weaknesses either.

Lowell Palmer (22), PHI- His stuff is off the charts. The question is whether he will ever have good enough control.

Gene Garber (22), PIT- He should develop great control, but he may not quite have good enough stuff.

Reggie Cleveland (22), StL- He is another good movement and control with finesse pitcher.

It seems like I have three types of guys to choose from. They either have good stuff and movement with less control, good movement and control with less stuff, or they are just kind of average at everything. If money wasn't an option, I would probably go with McLain, but he makes $60,000 per year, which is by far the highest on this list. However, it is $40,000 less than Aparicio makes. I have some thinking to do.