Scott Rolen traded to the Reds

[LoganBuck]

Originally Posted by HokieRed

About 90% of the criticism on this board amounts to faulting Walt for being unable to walk on water or doing its baseball equivalent: trading 4 and 5 starters with ridiculous contracts like Harang and Arroyo for top quality prospects at exactly the spots we need and getting the other teams to take on all their salaries in addition. If he hasn't done this, the claim is he's not proactive. The Rolen trade is a real deal, the kind that actually gets made, where both sides take calculated risks for returns they think make sense for them. We get one of the top 20 third basemen who's ever played; they get a replacement they need to sell to their fans and two decent prospects. Seems an even, realistic deal to me. I see no evidence in it that Walt's not proactive or that there is no plan or anything to support any of the other high-level inferences here.

Zach Stewart is a special arm. Not a "decent" arm, Josh Roenicke is a decent arm. I am not opposed to trading guys, but as Doug said, how did the Phillies get Cliff Lee without including one player at Stewart's level?