Blanton or Bedard or Bust?

[TheBigLebowski]

Sure looks that way...

Judging by the price the Backs paid for Haren, I doubt we'll make much of a push for Bedard.

What we'll likely see now is an acquisition of Mark Hendrickson or Livan Hernandez to fill out our rotation and we'll see Bailey at the end of said rotation with Cueto hopefully in short relief.

Honestly, I'm fine with that.

I was exercising on the treadmill when Sportscenter broke the news - "Dan Haren Traded" Had to stop running because I was sure he was going to follow with "to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league OF Jay Bruce and P Homer Bailey and 3 minor leaguers."

The idea of having a guy like Haren or Bedard is nice but I'm very content to keep our young studs.

[Bip Roberts]

How good are the guys the Backs gave up?

[fadetoblack2880]

I'd hate to see any of those guys go, but I would also like to see Bedard in a Reds uniform. I say go after him.

[Terps]

How good are the guys the Backs gave up?

4 of their top 5 guys according to this:

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/fantasy/story/10351336

plus Chris Carter who was ranked 8th on BA's list.

[TheBigLebowski]

Brett Anderson and Carlos Gonzalez are a lesser version of Homer Bailey and Jay Bruce. According to most, the Backs gave up 5 of their top 10 prospects, although 5 of their top 10 is nowhere near as impressive as it would be had they gotten 5 of our top 10.

I think we may make a play for Blanton now, come to think of it.

[Bip Roberts]

4 of their top 5 guys according to this:

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/fantasy/story/10351336

plus Chris Carter who was ranked 8th on BA's list.

im not sure its the same chris carter

[Terps]

im not sure its the same chris carter

It is. The BA list came out on Dec. 7th. The trade with the Nats was in August. So either there are 2 Chris Carters, or they somehow got him back.

Edit: Just did some research. There are indeed 2 Chris Carters. Both First basemen. The first one, the Dbacks traded to the Red Sox in the WM Pena deal. The 2nd one, the DBacks just acquired in early December from the White Sox for Carlos Quentin. The 2nd one is the one that BA lists as their #8 prospect, and is the one being traded to OAK.

[Bip Roberts]

It is. The BA list came out on Dec. 7th. The trade with the Nats was in August. So either there are 2 Chris Carters, or they somehow got him back.

Well you would think by me saying "i dont think its the same chris carter" it would mean i think there is 2 Chris carters

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/playe...Carter-5.shtml is the one the Dbacks jsut traded

[Bip Roberts]

People with the same names are confusing

[fadetoblack2880]

People with the same names are confusing

I agree.

[Terps]

Well you would think by me saying "i dont think its the same chris carter" it would mean i think there is 2 Chris carters

see my edit

[757690]

The Diamondbacks did not actually give up that much. Only Gonzelaz was ranked in MILB's top 50 list. The Diamondbacks just had a rush of prospects make it to the majors, so their top 10 list is thinner than most years.

TheBigLebowski said it best. "5 of their top 10 is nowhere near as impressive as it would be had they gotten 5 of our top 10."

It basically is like trading Votto and Maloney and a bunch of lower prospects.

It looks like the A's were looking for quantity over quality. the D-Backs could give up quantity, since they have so many prospects already in the bigs.

But I do think that this means the Reds could get Blanton or Harden without giving up any of the big five.

[HokieRed]

Well we've dodged the Haren bullet; now if somebody will just come along and make the Orioles an offer they can't refuse.

[schmidty622]

Bedard or Bust in 2008? I choose bust.

[TheBigLebowski]

Pros and cons to each.

Pros for Bedard:

The better pitcher of the two

A lefty; possibly would be the only lefty in our rotation

Misses bats - a potential Cy Young candidate

Cons for Bedard:

More expensive, speaking from a salary standpoint as well as what it would take talent-wise to land him

Only signed for 2 more years

Pros for Blanton:

Very capable pitcher, instantly our #3, probably a good fit for GAB

Less expensive, speaking from a salary standpoint as well as what it would take to sign him

Cons for Blanton:

Nowhere near as dominant as Bedard

Unsure about his current contract status - hopefully someone can educate

Does not miss bats


They're both good pitchers and I'd be happy with either but if the choice was mine, I'd go with Blanton. We could probably get Blanton for Cueto or Hamilton +, whereas Bedard would cost possibly both of those and maybe even Bailey. I'd like to see a deal with Hammy and a lesser prospect for Blanton and let Cueto/Bailey develop into the studs I think they will both be. We can compete and possibly win next year with a guy like Blanton in the rotation and we don't completely compromise our farm system.