Monday, May 23, 2005

Yahoo! Sports - MLB - Inside Dish: Astros could get plenty in return for Lidge

Yahoo! Sports - MLB - Inside Dish: Astros could get plenty in return for Lidge

What was unthinkable until Yahoo posted this article has come to pass - Brad Lidge is now tainted with Traderumoritis.

This afflication usually takes two forms. The first is the annoying trade offer where the acquistion-minded team asks for the newly ill player and offers a a utility infielder or 7th inning reliever and a DL player for the afflicted player. An example for Lidge would be Scott Linebrink and Jeff Bagwell.

The second is the even more annoying rebuttal to a fair trade offer - "He could be traded!". This inevitably leads to the first form in the guise of a counteroffer.

A corollary of traderumoritis is the hyperinflationary effects on the afflicted player's back-up. Whether it is Jason Ellison (he of the shockly low RBI total of three in 90+ ABs and 2 HRs!) or Chad Qualls, these back-ups have taken on values that make them unobtainable at almost any price.

As we head towards Memorial Day, be prepared for an epidemic of this illness.

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