2 comments According to Bleacher Report (Well, Mostly Buster Olney) These Waiver-Deadline Deals Must be Made!

Bleacher Report has an article posted about one waiver-deadline deal each contender must make to secure a playoff berth. The author doesn't tell us what happens if every contender made the suggested move. Obviously all 18 of these teams can't make the playoffs, so a few of these deals wouldn't work to get that team in the playoffs. This is fortunate since half of the waiver-deadline trades involve Cliff Lee or Stephen Drew. The author takes ideas other baseball analysts have had (Buster Olney, etc) and then writes an article around these. To his credit, the author cites who he got the idea from, but to his non-credit why write an entire slideshow summarizing another person's idea? Isn't this sort of pointless? What's even better is the author includes contenders that don't need to make a move to get in the playoffs and he states they don't need to make a move. So stating some of the teams don't need to make a move in order to make the playoffs sort of betrays the title and purpose of putting these teams on this list, no?

With the addition of the second wild card this season, there are many more teams in contention for a playoff spot this year.

I'll say a lot of negative things about this author, but I will never say he doesn't have a firm grasp on math and probabilities.

Let's start the slideshow!

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees made two deals prior to the 2012 MLB trade deadline, as they brought in Ichiro and Casey McGehee. With these two moves, New York is already in a good position to make the playoffs.

I'm glad they are on this list of teams who need to make one move at the waiver-deadline to make the playoffs when they in fact don't need to make a move at all. I'm going to write a column entitled "Five Ways the USA Men's Basketball Team Can Improve" and then just not write anything on any of the slides. I'm pretty sure Bleacher Report would publish it.

Baltimore Orioles

Josh Johnson could be on the trading block according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider required).

Get used to see "according to Buster Olney..." after each of these ideas. It seems like the author has access to ESPN Insider and isn't afraid to use it.

Johnson may be expensive, but he would be a great addition for the Orioles as they try to make the playoffs.

Warren Spahn may be dead, but he would be a great addition to the Red Sox pitching staff.

Boston Red Sox

Cliff Lee could potentially be available in an August trade according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider required).

Toronto Blue Jays

Josh Beckett has been identified as a possible August trade target by Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider required), and the Blue Jays should consider going after him.

See the trend here? This author reads a Buster Olney column and basically regurgitates Olney's ideas and just adds words around the idea. He's not even citing different Buster Olney articles. Hell no. Just the same article over and over. It's a ready-made slideshow!

Chicago White Sox

Gordon Beckham has done a decent job at second base for the Chicago White Sox this season, but any improvement would bode well for their chances at making the playoffs.

Jed Lowrie could be on the block in August and he is a big improvement over Beckham

I wonder whose idea this was originally or where this trade rumor came from?

(h/t Buster Olney of ESPN). Houston would consider dealing him, but he will not be cheap.

Yes, "hat tip" to Buster Olney for thinking of this idea and then writing his very own column about it, upon which this author for Bleacher Report could write an entire slideshow based upon the Buster Olney column and the ideas contained within that column.

I'm pretty sure "hat tip" needs to be used in situations where one person has contributed part of a column for another writer. For example, if someone points out a fact that is wrong in one of my posts, has something I find worthy of adding to a post or points me in the direction of a bad piece of journalism, then that is a "hat tip" situation. If another person writes a column and I take the ideas from that column for my own column, that's above and beyond a "hat tip" and moves more in the direction of "thanks for the ideas I built my entire column/slideshow around."

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers had two needs heading into the 2012 MLB trade deadline: a second baseman and a starting pitcher. They were able to fill both of those needs by trading for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante.

So the deadline deal the Tigers need to make is to not make one at all. Then why the hell are they on this list entitled "One Waiver-Deadline Deal Each Contender Can Make To Secure a Playoff Berth" if they don't need to make a move?

Texas Rangers

Adding Ryan Dempster really helped the Rangers improve their starting rotation. However, Dempster was not the ace that they were looking for. Cliff Lee could be the key to the Rangers finally winning a World Series,

How are the Rangers AND the Red Sox going to trade for Cliff Lee? I'm intrigued by this possibility, though I am also concerned about Lee's ability to pitch for two major league teams. More importantly, whose idea was this trade?

and he is an August trade option according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider required).

WHAT A SHOCK! This is Buster Olney's idea.

I'm not sure it would have been better to simply not say where he got the idea from or continue to cite Buster Olney and one specific article Olney wrote. Not mentioning where the idea came from is devious, while continuing to cite a Buster Olney column where the ideas come from is fairly embarrassing.

Los Angeles Angels

After trading for Zack Greinke, the Los Angeles Angels have put themselves in a very good position to reach the playoffs in 2012. If they cannot edge out the Texas Rangers for the American League West title, they should be able to pick up one of the wild cards.

The Angels could pursue bullpen help in August, but they might be set.

Yet another team who needs to make a move in order to make the playoffs by not actually making a move.

Oakland Athletics

They pursued Stephen Drew prior to the trade deadline, but they could not pick him up (h/t Buster Olney of ESPN).

Now Buster is giving third hand advice for this column through his Twitter account. It's clear the author thinks a lot of Buster Olney.

Washington Nationals

Washington will need to find someone who can replace Strasburg in their rotation,

So the Nationals should just go find a pitcher who is one of the best pitchers in baseball. This shouldn't be hard to do at all. Now all they have to do is just pick the ace pitcher they want to trade for. Outside of finding another ace, and we all know there are 3-4 aces currently available at the waiver-deadline, it seems the Nationals won't be able to make the playoffs. That is the premise of this article after all.

but they could likely still make the playoffs without making an August deal.

Good thing this slideshow isn't about moves teams need to make in order to make the playoffs, otherwise to include teams who don't need to do anything in order to make the playoffs would seem silly.

Atlanta Braves

Finding a power bench bat could be a big addition for the Braves. Jason Giambi has struggled a bit this year, but he could be available

Where, oh where, did the author find this information?

(h/t Buster Olney of ESPN). Not only would Giambi provide some power off the bench, but he would also provide more of a veteran presence.

The author gets his information from the exact same fucking article he has been taking nearly all of these trade ideas from. "Hat tip" to Buster Olney. Thanks for all your ideas.

Also, a team with Chipper Jones in the everyday lineup needs a "veteran presence." Sure, that makes a ton of sense in that it doesn't make much sense at all.

Cincinnati Reds

The author says the Reds are set. Notice that if the author isn't using Buster Olney's ideas from that one column Olney wrote then the author either says the team is set or doesn't provide a specific player a team needs to trade for. It's almost like all of his ideas are taken from Buster Olney's article.

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis' bullpen has been an area of concern this season and the team picked up Edward Mujica to try to shore it up. The Cardinals would be wise to look into acquiring another reliever in August.

Yes, but which reliever?????????? We never found out. If only there were a Buster Olney column that told the author exactly which reliever the Cardinals should trade for and because Buster Olney didn't specify a particular player the author is incapable of providing a reliever the Cardinals should acquire in order to make the playoffs.

San Francisco Giants

Brandon Crawford has done a decent job at shortstop this year, but adding Stephen Drew would give the Giants a boost. Drew may be available in August

This is the third team the author has suggested Stephen Drew should be traded to. It seems that if every contending team traded for Stephen Drew and Cliff Lee they could make the playoffs this year. Take a guess where this waiver-deadline idea came from. You'll never guess.

according to Buster Olney (Insider required).

This column should have been called, "Hey everyone, read this Buster Olney column. It has some really good ideas." Instead the author decides to take Olney's ideas, slightly expand on them, and try to pass it off as an original slideshow.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers certainly do not need to make any more moves at this point. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has suggested that the Dodgers try to go after Cliff Lee since he has been put on waivers.

Yes, but this would be Cliff Lee's third team he gets traded to. He would be very tired if he had to pitch 3-4 times per week.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona is in a position where they could look to add a bench player to their roster. Juan Pierre could provide some speed and veteran leadership to the Diamondbacks.

Great, original idea...

Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider required) has mentioned that Pierre could be traded in August.

by Buster Olney. I think I've decided it may be worse just to continuously cite the same Buster Olney column as the source for your ideas. If you are going to take another writer's ideas and put them in one column, perhaps at least try to hide it a little bit. This is basically a summation of a Buster Olney column with a few words placed around his idea to make a slideshow. Typical Bleacher Report.