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Deadline winners, losers
It's stretch time. The players you have are the ones you'll win or lose with because picking up major help after the deadline is almost impossible. Here are the teams who did the best job of filling holes, and the ones who didn't.
Are you experienced?Obviously, Denny Neagle and David Justice make the Yankees rotation and lineup better. One National League general manager told me that he loves the Yankees moves because they brought in two players with a combined 88 games of postseason experience and a history of playing on winning teams.
Go WestMost of the general managers I talked to said the best single move was Arizona's trade for Curt Schilling.One American League GM told me he didn't think the Diamondbacks would have even made the playoffs without pulling off the deal. They have a rock solid 1-2 punch with Schilling and Randy Johnson, but Arizona still has to figure out a way to turn around an offense that ranks in the bottom half of the league in runs, batting average and on base percentage. Speaking of the NL West, the Giants really didn't make any significant moves, but one GM told me they might not need to. He said you have to consider Dusty Baker's ability to get it done with whatever he has.
Chicago hope?The big surprise was how many GM's didn't think the White Sox did enough to get ready for the posteason. The guys I talked to still don't think a pitching staff with exactly zero postseason appearances will be enough in October.
Leaving the nestThe unanimous choice for biggest loser in the trade season was the Orioles. They dumped plenty of salary and got 13 players, but none of them are what you'd call "can't miss."Ozzie Smith, a 15-time All-Star, is a baseball analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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