Trades? We don't need no stinking Trades.

So I faced a terrible situation after the draft wrapped up. I had multiple pitchers in the first 10 rounds, I had 3 Braves on my team, and I basically had no 3B and no 2B. I could justify running Kelly Johnson out there at 2B every day for a couple of reasons. 1-he is no longer a Brave. 2-He can't actually be as bad as he was last year, right? 3-I have Jose Reyes as my middle infielder and Hanley Ramirez as my SS. So let's cross that problem off the list.

I must offer a little background. I am quickly approaching 27 years of age. The last time the Pirates were good, we lost to the Braves in the NLCS(circa 1992 for those of you still in High School who have no recollection of the Pirates being good.) Being a Pirates fan I have many teams that I love to cheer against--anyone who has had a winning season in 18 years--but the Braves have a special place in my mind for ripping out my heart with the dreaded Sid Bream rounding 3B on two surgically repaired knees(back when surgery on knees was a death sentence) and Barry Bonds rolling the ball halfway up the first base line to Mike "Spanky" Lavalliere. I was 9 years old at this time, and I can not get the images out of my head. Here's to 2012 bucco fans.

So back to my team. Right now I have too many pitchers and Chipper Jones at 3B. And the pitchers included are Tommy "wunderkind" Hanson and Jair "fresh off a breakout" Jurrjens. Notice the Braves theme? So I am in a position to start building a 3B, right?

The first trade included Chipper and Jair for Mike Young and Rick Porcello. I made this move mainly to get rid of a 3B who would likely play 120 games if I was lucky, and to take upside on the pitcher portion. I clearly lose the Jair/Porcello portion on the front end, but I also feel Jair's value will not be higher unless he repeats his 2009 performance. I put this at about a 33% possibility.

This thinking could be a direct result of my Braves hatred, but it hinges on the idea that shoulder soreness has already shown its ugly face, he does not have a history of stats to support his breakout(drastic drops in BABIP, drastic increase in LOB%, and did I mention--he is a Brave)--Honestly I expect i pretty good year from Jurrjens, but I wanted to give Porcello a try while he was not on the short leash the Tigers had him on last year. I expect his K numbers to increase as he looks to get guys out on his own rather than pitching to contact due to pretty strict pitch restrictions.

The Mike Young for Chipper portion was basically a quick easy and justifiable way to get rid of the face of the Braves franchise for all the years that they could have been the Pirates and vice versa if it was not for that one sequence. I get consistency and possibly give up a little on power upside, but both these guys have left their best years in the past.


So now, I have a slight upgrade at 3B who supplies average, hits in a good park and has a solid supporting cast. A younger pitcher(hard to do with my staff) with more upside who is poised for a true fantasy breakout to follow up a sparkling real-life rookie campaign. And the guy plays for who else, Jim Leyland. But I have to ask myself, is Mike Young going to be my everyday 3B?

I made several stabs at perennial first/second rounders Evan Longoria and David Wright with varying levels of interest and decided to table my search. I was not particularly happy with the idea of moving Felix right after he melted fantasy hearts last year and the defense in SEA is going to make any pitcher better than they are. So after a day or two sitting on my options, someone offers a trade. Tommy Hanson and Mike Young for David Wright and Scott Baker.

This trade caught me totally off guard. I had to actually go look and see who Scott Baker was. It turns out, he is one of the most underrated SP out there. His ERA is not great. His win total is not great. His Ks are not great. but he goes out there, pitches within himself and will be the perfect compliment to my younger more erratic arms. I worry about Wright and his power numbers but feel he is a shoe-in to hit 300 and get close to 100 RBI and Runs even on an off year, and I gain about 15 Steals. Wright had an historic breakdown last year and still went for .307 88 10 72 and 27. I take the deal.

As soon as I take the deal, I hate myself for trading away a pitcher who has the promise of a Tim Lincecum in 2008. Could he run off several Cy Young's in a row? Could he be the man in ATL for years to come? Could he single-handedly make me regret trading(I swore off trading a few years ago, but then decided to do it again because I hate being that guy?) Check back in June, and I will let you know how I feel, but I am generally happy with my team. Now I need pitching.