No Whammies, No Whammies!

    The trade deadline has come and gone, and now that the dust has settled on the busiest day of the baseball season, managers and executives around the league can only wait and see if the moves they made, or neglected to make, will pay off at season's end.

    I can't help but make a quick comparison of yesterday's deadline: From 1983 until 1986, a game show called "Press Your Luck" featured contestants who used a graphics board and a buzzer to try to win money. While monetary gain was the primary goal, contestants would do their best to avoid "Whammies" that were also strategically placed on the board. A Whammy was a fictional creature, created just for the show. Should a contestant land on a Whammy, all of the money that they had accumulated up to that point would be wiped away, and they would have to start over again from zero. Thus, during their turn, contestants, without fail, would say "No Whammies, Big Bucks, No Whammies!" before they pressed the buzzer and discovered their fate.

    That being said, who were the winners and losers of yesterday's trade deadline? Which teams will see positive results after their deadline moves? Which teams' hesitation during the deadline will cost them? Finally, which teams that did make moves will regret those moves and discover that they've landed on a Whammy and must start over?

Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers 

    Since the Dodgers are in a dead heat for first place in the NL West with the San Francisco Giants, they knew that they had to make some moves at the deadline if they were going to bolster their offense and make a playoff run. Earlier in the month, the Dodgers acquired SS/3B Hanley Ramirez and reliever Randy Choate from the Miami Marlins. Then, at the deadline, the Dodgers were busy acquiring outfielder Shane Victorino from the Philadelphia Phillies for relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and another minor league pitcher.They also worked out a deal with the Seattle Mariners for relief pitcher Brandon League in exchange for outfielder Leon Landry and righty pitcher Logan Bawcom. Ramirez and Victorino will certainly help boost a struggling Dodgers offense and League and Choate will add some depth to the bullpen. Even though the Dodgers failed to acquire their guy Ryan Dempster, they still seem to be the overall winner after the trade deadline.

Loser: Philadelphia Phillies 

    Even though the Phillies inked starting pitcher Cole Hamels to a new deal, making him the highest paid athlete in Philadelphia sports history, it came at a price. Their last place standing made them sellers at the deadline, but they sold away two-thirds of their starting outfield when they traded Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino to the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers respectively. In return for these two big name trades, the Phillies recieved nothing more than Nate Schierholtz, who will probably be a back-up outfielder, and a slew of minor league prospects. Losing two good starters in exchange for almost nothing puts them at the bottom of the trade deadline totem pole.

Winner: Texas Rangers

   The Texas Rangers have one of the top offenses in baseball, but after losing both Colby Lewis and Neftali Feliz to injury and moving Roy Oswalt temporarily to the bullpen, the Rangers knew what they needed to obtain at the deadline if they had any hope of making it to the World Series for the third straight season. At the last possible minute, they acquired Ryan Dempster from the Chicago Cubs to help their starting rotation. Not only that, but in a separate deal, the Rangers also acquired catcher Geovany Soto from the Cubs-Dempster's starting catcher in Chicago. The pitcher-catcher tandem coming to Arlington together will make the transition to the American League easier for both. It appears that the Rangers got just the help they needed to possibly reach the Fall Classic again.

Loser: Oakland Athletics   

    The Oakland Athletics' surprising season would have taken another turn for the better if they could have gotten a big name at the deadline to help them make a run for a playoff spot in the second half of the season. They badly needed a shortstop in place of Cliff Pennington who was just placed or the 15-day disabled list and/or a starting pitcher, as A's ace Brandon McCarthy is also temporarily down with an injury. Sadly, the only move the A's were able to make was a low key trade for 29 year old backup catcher George Kottaras- a far cry from the big name they hoped for and needed. I wouldn't be surprised that, if you see the Athletics miss out on the playoffs, they would look back on the trade deadline and say, "if only, if only..."

   Only time will tell if these moves will help or hurt their teams, but until then, let's sit back and enjoy the rest of the season and see if these players respond well in their new environments. See ya 'round!