Dreaming of Holliday

The pending trading deadline and the deals that go with it seem to be the hot topic these days. The Cardinals were among the teams thought to be interested in the services of Matt Holliday, who of course was the anchor of the Rockies terrific stretch run to the World Series last year. The guy should have been the NL MVP for 2007 and certainly would have had my vote. But like many small market teams are apt to do at this time of year, Holliday might get dumped off on a contender for prospects. It's actually one of my least favorite things about Major League Baseball in its current state.

The 1992 Padres were the first to really irritate me. They had built up a team of high-priced Free Agents to try and make a playoff run, only to come up short and dump off anyone of worth in the middle of the following season. I'm not even sure why I latched onto the Padres that year. I believe it was the year that they ditched their hideous uniforms for the pinstripes. There's also been the well-documented World Series campaigns of the Marlins, and the ensuing fire sales during the offseason. It seems like the last thing a small market, non-"power" team needs is to lose its primary drawing power. But that's how Johan Santana ends up in New York and Alex Rodriguez ends up wherever he feels like.

These deadline deals, on the other hand, are something else altogether. Cleveland is a mess, and so their Cy Young winner gets shipped out. Mark Teixeira, who I just assumed was named after his own franchise, became Brave Tex. What's next for him now, Red Tex? Bronx Tex? (Oh, wait, the Yankees don't do that anymore.)

As a Cards' fan, however, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't mention that my team has benefited greatly from these types of deals, though the McGwire, Walker and Will Clark "shot in the arm" acquisitions all came in the recently ended Walt Jocketty regime. So I suppose I can dream about Holliday patrolling left field at Busch later on this summer, as many others debate the ups and downs of mortgaging your future for a shot in the arm.