The deadlines have come and gone and so has my little summer break. Since my last posting our elected assholes have solved the debt limit crisis they themselves manufactured, giving us a shitty law that will probably cause more of us to join the ranks of the unemployed and to further depress both the housing markets and consumer demand. The best part of the debt crisis going away - for the time being - is that Congress is not in session and I don't have to listen to the politicians blowing smoke up my ass. How nice it would be if they just stayed on their summer recess and never came back. That would mean that none of the big issues of the day would be dealt with, but they wouldn't be worsened either by bankrupted ideologies of both the right and the left.
During the weeks prior to The Deal being made, many on both sides warned of dire consequences in the global markets if the U.S.A. defaulted on our obligations. Funny how things work out as the markets have been nose diving every day since the deal was struck. Yesterday's 513 point drop in the Dow Jones average was a sight to behold for someone who once worked as an investment broker. Thank God my phone wasn't ringing off the hook by panicked clients wanting me to tell them that everything would be OK, and a double thank God that I didn't have to tell them that this might be the greatest buying opportunity of a lifetime. A bit of advice, when your broker tells you to send him/her more money during a selling panic - DON'T DO IT!
The more important trading deadline has also come and gone with the result that the pennant races have now begun in earnest. The big boys all got bigger and badder, the pretenders all made moves to try and stay involved (see Pirates), and the teams with no shot at winning anything gave up the ghost, trading many of their decent players for prospects and suspects. Teams like the Astros were able to reduce their payroll while giving their fans less of a reason to attend their games. I mean, why would I want to pay good money to come see the Astros play games that they have no reasonable chance to win, and why would I spend good money to buy MLB jerseys and hats with Astros on them which tells all who see me that I am a fan of losers?
Given the latest gift from former Phils GM Ed Wade, if Wade isn't enshrined on the Phillies Wall Of Fame it will be a major injustice. Thank you Ed Wade for giving the Phillies the right handed bat they needed. Since leaving us you have been the gift that keeps on giving and, if it were up to me, you would be given a spot of prominence in the event that we here in the greatest city in the world get to have a parade.
You may remember that the LSF was not a backer of bringing Hunter Pence here as the final piece of the puzzle. My fear was that Ruben was going to have to give up Dom Brown and or Vance Worley to make the deal happen and I thought that would have been too much for Pence. I forgot that Ruben was dealing with Ed Wade and, in the end, given that Pence was acquired for prospects only, I now am of the opinion that Ruben has indeed pulled off another good trade. The Astros have become the modern version of the old Kansas City A's and their trading relationship with the Yankees. More on that after a brief word about the candystripers.
The Phillies are playing great baseball as we head into August. They have started to hit the ball and are getting contributions from everyone in the line up. Every night seems to bring us another hero, whether it be the previously given-up-for-dead Raul Ibanez, the I'm-in-my-contract-year Rollins, the my-knee-is-fine Utley, and most especially Superstar (The Moat Man). Howard has been hitting home runs like he knows what he is doing, is showing more discipline at the plate than he has since his MVP year, and even hit his first homer of the season against a lefty. Hopefully, Howard and his teammates will continue to find ways to keep winning and help the team cruise into the playoffs. While the LSF is certainly encouraged by what he has been watching, he has been burnt too often to be ready to drink the Red Kool-Aid. It is far too early for me to give the Phillies my heart again, but will certainly chug the shit when the team is one strike away from winning the World Series. I still worry that the Gods of Baseball may be setting us up for a big fall, so I'll stay the voice of reason and clarity while the rest of you lose your souls over the team.
It seems that whenever the Phillies need a player, the Astros are the go-to team to fulfill the need, and to get rid of guys that are no longer needed or wanted (Brett Meyers, J. Happ, Michael Bourne, etc). As good as the Astros have been to the Phillies, their contributions to our cause pales in comparison to the contributions made to the Yankees by the K.C. A's from the mid 50's to 1961. In that period, the teams consummated sixteen trades involving 62 players and wads of cash. Let's rev up the Wayback Machine so that we can get a close up view of the trades these two teams made.
The A's hadn't even played a month in their new home town when they did their first deal on May 11, 1955. In this deal, the Yankees were able to unload the fading Johnny Sain and Enos Slaughter for a guy named Sonny Dixon and cash - Kind of like Ed Wade sending the Phillies cash in the Pence deal. 1956 would bring three deals including the one made on 8/25/56 that had Slaughter (a future HOFer) back to the Yanks for the waiver price. Sending Slaughter back to the Yanks was the first case of several where the Yankees would park a player in K.C. only to get him back when needed. In October of '56, the Yanks sent Bob Cerv to the A's for cash. The deal was made so that Cerv would get to play everyday, honing his skills until the Yankees wanted him back. The deal to bring Cerv back to the Yankees was made in 1960.
The teams made a major deal on 2/19/57. The Yankees needed another lefthanded pitcher, so the A's sent them former AL MVP Bobby Shantz, Art Ditmar, and Clete Boyer in return six players the Bombers no longer needed. Boyer had been signed as an eighteen year old bonus baby in 1955 and the rules then required that such a player be on the big league roster for two years. The Yankees had scouted Boyer, had wanted to sign him, but didn't want to use a roster spot for him until he was ready for the bright lights. The A's were more than happy to sign the younger brother of HOFer Ken Boyer, and were just as happy to send him to The Bronx when the Yankees were ready for him to play everyday. The Yankees believed that the best playing days were behind Billy Martin so, on 6/15/57, they sent him to K.C. in exchange for relief pitcher Ryne Duren, outfielder Harry Simpson, and a few other players not worth mentioning. Duren would help the Yankees win a couple of World Series, and Simpson would play a reserve role until he was no longer needed when he was sent back to K.C. on 6/15/58.
In 1958, the Yankees were smarting from their '57 World Series loss to the Braves and believed that they needed more pitching. They got the A's to send them Murray Dickson, a crafty veteran pitcher who had spent most of his career with the Pirates and the Cardinals, for what amounted to a bag of donuts. Dickson did indeed help the Yankees beat the Braves in the '58 fall classic and, on 5/9/59, was sent back to the A's for the waiver price.
1959 saw several trades of importance between these two teams. Having sent Dickson back to the A's, the Yankees were short pitching and reacquired Ralph Terry from the A's. Terry had been part of the 1957 deal for Ryne Duren and spent a couple of years in K.C. before being recalled to the Yankee staff. The big deal of 1959 happened on 12/11 when the A's gave the Yankees a Xmas present by sending them Roger Maris and Hector Lopez in exchange for 4 players, including Don Larsen and Marv Throneberry. Larsen had done nothing since his 1956 World Series perfect game and Throneberry was still a few years away from being part of the hapless 1962 Mets, where he acquired the nickname of Marvelous for his overall lousy play.
The Yankees finished second to the White Sox in 1959, so they reacquired Bob Cerv on 5/19/60. Cerv helped the Yankees return to glory in '60 & '61.
The last trade made between these two clubs was made on 6/14/61 when the Yankees sent Art Ditmar back to the A's for a guy named Bud Daley.
Throughout the period when the A's & Yankees were doing their business the rest of the teams cried foul and the A's fans were pissed and very unhappy that their team was basically acting like a farm club to the New Yorkers. Despite smelling like day old fish, the teams were not breaking any rules and Commissioner Ford Frick didn't have the power to stop the deals for the good of baseball as Bud Selig could do today. Sometime in 1960, A's owner Arnold Johnson died and new owner Charlie Finley wanted no part of being a feeder team for the Yankees. Finley had grand ideas for the A's - grand ideas that came to fruition after he moved the team to Oakland, but that's a story for another day.
So, as good to the Phillies as Ed Wade has been, he has a long way to go before equaling the largess of the late 50's A's. I don't think that Ruben wants Meyers or Happ back and, with Michael Bourne now a Brave, there may not be anyone left on the Astros that is worth stealing.
I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the incredible activity shown by the Eagles since the lockout ended. I'll speak to all of their moves in a later post but, before you order your Super Bowl tickets please remember that, with all of their moves, Fat Andrew is still the guy managing the clock on gameday and I'm sticking to my belief that the Eagles will never win a title with the Lord of Lard at the helm.
Have a great weekend!
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