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A bare market for trades isn't a bad thing: the lack of deadline activity is another sign parity is on the upswing

Sporting News, The, August 12, 2005 by Ken Rosenthal

The nonwaiver trading period was a lot more fun last season, when stars such as Nomar Garciaparra and Carlos Beltran got flipped like baseball cards. Although the lack of major deals this season is disappointing to fans who crave action, it actually is good news for Major League Baseball.

It means that low-revenue teams no longer are saddled with contracts that required dumping. It means those clubs are keeping their young players rather than trading them. And it means that baseball is indeed moving closer to its goal of greater competitive balance.

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Through Sunday, 23 of the 30 teams were within 7 games of a postseason berth, up from 19 on the same date in 2004, 17 in '03 and 15 in '02. Revenue sharing is one likely reason for the increased parity. Better team-by-team management is another.

This year's trade market suffered because so many clubs were bunched together, unable to identify whether they were in or out of contention. There also was a shortage of quality players available, in part because teams are becoming more aggressive in locking up their best young players long term.

Several executives complained that four of the seven noncontenders--the Devil Rays, Royals, Reds and Pirates--were difficult to deal with, setting unrealistic values on players. But those teams feared losing 110 games and further alienating their fan bases. Outside of the Reds' Adam Dunn and the Royals' Mike Sweeney, few impact players were available from those teams, anyway.

In previous years, the Brewers almost certainly would have traded someone such as righthander Ben Sheets, who was eligible to become a free agent after 2006. Instead, the Brewers signed Sheets to a four-year, $38.5 million contract in April. Even the Devil Rays, the team with the game's lowest payroll, recently signed outfielder Carl Crawford to a long-term deal.

Though waiver trades remain possible before the August 31 deadline for setting postseason rosters, the refusal of low-revenue clubs to deconstruct should make for a better product in the final two months. No longer can contenders expect to suck up easy wins against skeletal opponents. The Tigers want to secure their first winning season since 1993, the Brewers their first since '92. And recent doormats such as the Mets, Orioles, Blue Jays and Nationals are much improved.

Several general managers favor an August 15 nonwaiver deadline, saying that the introduction of the wild card has rendered July 31 obsolete; the later date would allow teams to better determine their status as buyers or sellers, spurring activity. Other G.M.s like the system just the way it is--the A's Billy Beane speaks often of how he divides the season into thirds, the first to assess his team, the second to make upgrades, the third to watch the entire puzzle fit together.

The current system isn't bad; the game simply is healthier this year. For that, a less frenzied trade market is a small price to pay.

speed reads

The Astros' Phil Garner and the A's Ken Macha should be leading candidates for Manager of the Year awards. Both the Astros and A's were 15 games under .500 in late May. Only one team that fell that many games under .500 has rebounded to make the postseason--the 1914 Miracle Braves, who won the World Series.

The Phil Nevin-for-Chan Ho Park trade was a masterstroke in one sense: It put both players in home parks better suited to their talents. Nevin, who hated hitting in San Diego's spacious Petco Park, should benefit from home games in hitter-friendly Ameriquest Field. Park, a fly-ball pitcher who flopped with the Rangers, should improve comparably at Petco.

The Red Sox need to operate more ethically or teams no longer will trust them. Last week, they angered the Rockies by backing out of a deal for outfielder Larry Bigbie. There have been other instances in which the Sox have flouted the rules. The pattern is disturbing.

KEN ROSENTHAL

kenrosenthal@sportingnews.com

A bare market for trades isn't a bad thing: the lack of deadline activity is another sign parity is on the upswing

Sporting News, The, August 12, 2005 by Ken Rosenthal

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