Blockbuster – It’s Just A Video Rental Store Chain These Days

By Taryn "The Coop" Cooper
Posted Tuesday, November 20, 2007

On December 10, 1984, Mets general manager Frank Cashen orchestrated what was called a "blockbuster trade" to bring Gary Carter, perennial all-star catcher from the Montreal Expos, to the Mets, in return for a sort-of veteran Hubie Brooks, rookie catcher Mike Fitzgerald, and two minor leaguers named Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans. We all know what happened to the Mets once Carter joined…they won two NL East pennants and a World Series.

On November 2, 1993, Darren Turcotte and James Patrick were traded to the now-defunct Hartford Whalers by the New York Rangers for Nick Kypreos, Steve Larmer and Barry Richter plus a sixth round draft pick. The Rangers went onto an historical year, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years.

What do these trades have to do with one another? Besides the fact that they were done by my two favorite New York teams that bred championship and competitive years afterward, they had not much in common really.

But it does beg the question – do blockbuster trades get made in baseball anymore?

A few years back, I remember reading an interesting article on home-grown players. Remember back in the day, when Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek – both Minnesota lifers – were the heart and soul of strong teams in the Midwest? Or when BJ Surhoff and Robin Yount were known simply as Milwaukee Brewers and nothing else?

Now, we’ve seen a distinct trend shift from home-grown lifers to mercenaries like Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez – players who are not known for the team they play on but rather than gaudy stats they bring with them. Not to mention the high salaries they command for bringing their gaudy stats from team to team. And with that trend we see more youngish phenoms in the making (Johan Santana, to name one) not being able to stay with their home teams simply because the home teams will not be able to afford them once their contracts are up. Or we see Roy Oswalt and Carlos Zambrano sticking around with contract extensions, to stay close to home.

Are we in the midst of another trend shift from hiring overpriced me-guys to home grown team players with a sense of pride?

That’s my argument today, folks, as we have not seen a good old fashioned blockbuster trade in quite a while. And not just for the Mets, but for other teams as well.

Back in the baseball offseason prior to 2004, I would venture to say that the only blockbuster deal made was the one that brought A-Rod to the New York Yankees and sent Alfonso Soriano over to the Texas Rangers.

Other than that, more than a few notable deals have fallen through that would qualify for blockbuster statis. Such as the Manny Ramirez talks at the 2005 trading deadline, only to have the teams pull out, and the Roy Oswalt almost-could-have-been in 2006. What do these have in common? The Mets would have been at the receiving end of those superstars had those trade gone through.

The worst part in conducting a three-way trade is that someone is unfortunately going to think they got the proverbial short-end and all three teams need to feel the deal is fair. While it may seem fair, we can’t discard the idea of a crazy Peter Angelos nixing the deal or a GM who was used to fleecing the Mets for talent thinking he can do it all the time.

So what’s my point? The point is in order for the Mets to improve , they need to make a trade. Although our fearless leader is known for making smaller moves, like Kris Benson for John Maine and El Duque, Mike Cameron for Oliver Perez and…Oliver Perez, Minaya has failed to make a giant move that changes the landscape of the team.

Granted, he netted Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca in the 2005 offseason. Delgado failed to turn it on miserably in 2007 and LoDuca looks like he’s leaving on the same train Ray Knight left on in 1986. But I mean, help where the team needs HELP. Not so much spare parts in the offense or middle relievers that grow on trees. But solid pitching. A decent second baseman. Guys that you need to give up guys for. Easier said than done, but that’s my point.

People point to the Yankees in their solid teams but they made their mark in signing overpriced free agents. Now in a twist of irony, it appears as though Alex Rodriguez has been making headway with his demands without the use of his bombastic agent Scott Boras (not exactly known for making reasonable contract demands). Not to mention with the rising of Philip Hughes, Robby Cano, Melky Cabrera, Joba Chamberlain and others, they have lots of young talent and may be going back to old format of baseball teams.

I think that teams cannot afford not to use this model of integration. With solid farm systems, supplanting teams with free agents or trades should be secondary, not a primary resource. After all, wasn’t that Branch Rickey’s model for success with the Cardinals, Dodgers and the Pirates?

So today (ed note. as of this writing) is the official second full day of Hot Stove talks and Omar Minaya has not made a move.

Gasp! Shock! Horror!

Relax folks. I’m not all that concerned…yet. But save a blockbuster trade for Jarrod Saltamacchia, Jon Garland, Brian Roberts, Joe Blanton…I’m afraid I can’t get too worked up.

And why is that? Blockbusters are a thing of the past. We are seeing more owners holding onto to their prospects for better or worse, hopefully increasing their trading value or at the worst, not doing much and keeping them aboard.

Look at what the Mets have done with Lastings Milledge. Apparently, the rumor was that Billy Beane asked for Milledge straight up for Danny Haren. DANNY HAREN! If I’m Omar, I do that move. I doubted it was ever on the table though. On the flip side though, if there was a chance for that move, it looks bad now because Danny Haren may just cost a Beltran or a Milledge and a Reyes. Nope, not kidding!

Conversely, this is the same formula that has made Billy Beane successful. Holding onto his prospects and letting them go when he needs to. Like when he traded Mark Mulder (perennially injured) and Tim Hudson (injury prone, but decent enough).We’re going to see a lot of this. Why? Teams cannot afford to do much else. Baseball is a business, more than ever, and owners like profits. We just have to like the guys we are given. Kind of like the old days.

The bright side is, we can rent the videos on the old days at Blockbuster video. That’s about as blockbuster as we get these days.