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My contention isn't that Broussard and Perez should be expected to hit .850...my contention is that jemanji argued that Broussard and Perez were a legit attempt at an .850 OPS DH platoon and that such a thing was well worth trading Choo and Cabrera for. I think even if Broussard and Perez had hit .850, we would still be whining about both of those deals in tandem becaus they handicapped our ability to build the roster younger and make use of some of the AAA prospects for longer than half a season (or in Broussard's case...about a full season).
I am also NOT saying I ASSUME Branyan is gone after 2010...what I'm saying is that because Z can't know whether Branyan will be back in 2011...this trade must be evaluated ONLY ON WHAT IT GUARANTEES...Branyan here...for 3 months...on a lost cause team...at the cost of a prospect who might have been battling for a job in 2011...for no apparent reason.
If Branyan stays beyond 2010, then the move that gets him to stay will probably be a good one (i.e. another short term contract to keep him around while we wait for real prospects to show up for first base)...but this trade isn't that move...that move will have to be evaluated SEPARATELY...beacuse this move does not guarantee you Branyan in 2011. The fact that I've seen at least 5 different dedicated fans here and elsewhere say Branyan is "under contract for a year" just further annoys me, because he's NOT UNDER CONTRACT...he has an option.
G...you agree that this is a dumb trade if Branyan is here just for 2010. Well you have made my point for me. This is a dumb trade even by your standards...because simply acquiring him does not make it any easier to acquire him again for 2011...we'd have to go through the same negotiation that we'd go through in 2011 after the Indians turned down his option (which they were going to do anyway with Laporta on hand)...he's not going to accept 5 mil...we're going to have to talk numbers with him in either case. I'm not buying Doc's housing argument....sorry, but a negotiation is a negotiation and we're going to have to come up some from 5 mil to get him to sign after what happened this off-season.
So if he's here in 2011...I'll be very glad that he's here...and I'll cheer Z...for signing Branyan AS A FREE AGENT...a separate move from this trade. This trade is dumb...end of story. There is not 2011 in this trade. It's 3 months of Branyan for a team that's already buried in the cellar with no hope of contention.