Deadline duds: Big-ticket trades yield October sorrow
ST. LOUIS -- You can't drive along Major League Baseball's postseason highway these days without trying to dodge those orange barrels and carcasses lying in the middle of the road.
They're the remnants of gaudy trade deadline moves that have gone horribly wrong.
The Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers, lauded just 10 weeks ago for their brilliant moves at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, are sitting at home, failing to win a single playoff game.
The starting pitchers who were supposed to lead them to the World Series, Jon Lester of Oakland and David Price of the Tigers, failed their teams when they needed them the most.
Stepping on the mound Monday for the St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium it's John Lackey's turn to be under the glare of the bright lights.
If the Cardinals win Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the NL Division Series, and Lackey is the same big-game pitcher he showed during last year's World Series run in Boston, the trade will be viewed as widely successful.
If they lose, leaving the Cardinals on the brink of elimination in this best-of-five series, down 2-1, the trade could be judged a failure.
It's grossly unfair, of course.
But, hey, it's baseball.
It can be a cruel game.
"The pressure isn't anything new for John Lackey,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says. "It's part of the reason why we're excited to watch him pitch Game 3. This is a stage he's been on, and we've watched him excel on this stage.
"This is why he wanted to be over here, too.''
Lackey, who will turn 36 during the World Series, said chasing another World Series title is the only reason he keeps pitching. He has two World Series rings, winning the clinching game each time, and has gone 6-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 19 games during his postseason career.
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Yet, to acquire a pitcher with Lackey's postseason experience, the Cardinals paid a steep price. They traded two of their most popular players, first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig and pitcher Joe Kelly, leaving a clubhouse fuming.
It was certainly nothing against Lackey, who's become popular in their clubhouse, but the Cardinals' players were hoping to trade top prospects for help in the stretch run.
It was no different than the resentment in the A's clubhouse when they traded cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes for Lester.
Or the quiet anger among the Detroit Tigers players when they had to include popular center fielder Austin Jackson in a package for Price.
A's general manager Billy Beane tries to tell us that they wouldn't have reached the playoffs without Lester, but considering they went 16-30 down the stretch, it's hard to find a soul who believes him. And even though the A's qualified for the playoffs, Lester himself made sure it didn't last more than one fleeting night, coughing up six runs in the wild-card loss to the Kansas City Royals.
The Tigers will try to fondly remember Price's gem on the final day of the regular season that helped them win the AL Central, but his loss Sunday was his fifth defeat in five postseason starts.
The Cardinals, who clinched the NL Central on the final day of the season, are unsure whether they would have won the division without Lackey. He was 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA in his 10 starts, and was rested down the stretch, pitching just twice since Sept. 10.
"He brought an edge to us. He brings leadership, and then goes out and performs too.''
And when you look at the remaining playoff landscape, most of the teams standing are the ones who did nothing, or made under-the-radar moves.
The Baltimore Orioles, four victories away from their first World Series appearance since 1983 after sweeping the Tigers, didn't bother acquiring a starter at the deadline, but instead grabbed lefty reliever Andrew Miller. There's been no better trade-deadline acquisition, with Miller going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA during the regular season, and dominating the Tigers in the Division Series.
The San Francisco Giants grabbed Jake Peavy off the scrap heap, and watched him save their season. He went 6-4 with a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts, helping secure the final playoff berth, and then won Game 1 of the NL Division Series against Washington.
And, of course, there's the Los Angeles Dodgers, who pulled off the best move at the deadline by not trading outfielder Matt Kemp. Kemp is hitting .355 with nine doubles, 10 homers and 28 RBI in his last 28 games, and won Game 2 with his homer.
"If we don't have him,'' Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis says, "we're probably home watching baseball.''
Or maybe hanging out with the A's and Tigers, who've got nothing but a whole lot of free time themselves these days.
'"This postseason has been amazing,'' Ellis says. "Anything can happen.''
Indeed, it's October, where those hyped trade deadline deals often are left to die.