Idiots Write About Sports

Well, Tim Hudson won’t need to travel so far from his Florida home for spring training next year. I don’t hate this deal with Atlanta nearly as much as I hated the proposed two-player deal with the Dodgers that was being kicked around over the weekend. Charles Thomas looks like a good addition to the outfield (perhaps his arrival could hasten the trade of Spazzy Spazzerzon). And last year’s Baseball Prospectus had cautiously pleasant things to say about the other two guys now in Oakland’s employ.
But I’m not wild about the deal. Why should I be wild about losing a perennial Cy Young candidate? I mean, I understand he was probably going to ankle Oakland at the end of the year and trading him away now gets the A’s bodies in return plus the payroll flexibility that El Cheapo Grande demands. But “now we have the money to avoid arbitration with Durazo and Dotel” is hardly much of a rallying cry, is it?
I’ll miss Huddy. I really will. Not only is he a fabulous pitcher with many good years ahead of him, he was also a good citizen. A player’s community involvement often gets overlooked under the cold, unflinching eye of statistical analysis, but Huddy did a lot of stuff around the East Bay during his tenure with the team. That might not be reflected in the win-loss column, but it does make you feel a little more connected to the team you root for.
He’s going to be a hard guy to replace, and not just in the rotation.