MLB.com has a story about the Brewers and the trade deadline. I found this non-Brewers bit to be the most interesting:
Only six of the 30 Major League teams entered play Wednesday more than 10 games out of first place, and the other 24 teams could take a public relations hit if they start dealing away core players. Melvin raises the Mariners as an example. New GM Jack Zduriencik, who took the job after a decade as Milwaukee's scouting director, was expected to be a seller this summer, but the Mariners were just 3 1/2 games out of first place on Wednesday morning.
Yes, trading off bigger names when you're only 3.5 games back can be seen as a bad thing by the fans. Like you're surrendering. Like you're, oh, I don't know, waving a white flag:
They called it the "White Flag" trade. On July 31, 1997, at the trading deadline, the Chicago White Sox dealt a trio of veteran pitchers -- Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernandez -- to the San Francisco Giants for six young players, four pitchers and two position players, all minor leaguers. At the time, the White Sox trailed Cleveland in the standings by just 3 1/2 games, yet it appeared they were giving up the chase, hence the trade's nickname. Sox fans were up in arms. But more than three years later, that trade looks different. The White Sox finally blew past the Indians in 2000, winning 95 games and the AL Central title.
Whether it's Jack Zduriencik or someone else, there are opportunities to be taken advantage of in this market if someone has the guts -- and backing from ownership -- to make it happen. With so many teams thinking they're in the hunt, the first guy to recognize that, while their team is technically in contention, they aren't in serious contention, could make out like a bandit.
Yes, fans may grouse about it. They certainly did in Chicago in 1997. But the cheers they'll offer when the team is on truly solid footing a couple of years later will drown that out.
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I absolutely agree with your point, Craig (that short term losses can be more than offset by long term gains, and fans should understand that), but I'm not sure that Sox trade is the best illustration. The trade, which I do kind of remember, was set up like this: Alvarez, Darwin, and Hernandez for Brian Manning, Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Keith Foulke, Bobby Howry, and Ken Vining. It's not exactly a king's ransom that the White Sox got in return. I'm guessing that the move gave the Sox some payroll flexibility (Alvarez made $35 million over the next 5 years from Tampa Bay) which could've played a part in their rise. Plus, just because the risk involved in taking those young guys didn't pan out that doesn't mean the risk wasn't worth taking.
Maybe I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth right now, I don't know... I just thought I'd point out the Sox's haul from the trade.
It is about making an adequate investment in scouting. When the phone rings and a rival GM is talking prospects for your major leaguer you need to know which of his minor leaguers is really a prospect and which are suspects. Consider the haul the Twins obtained for A.J. Pierzinski a few years ago.