Baseball News - Big 3 no more; Hudson dealt



The 'Big 3' of the Oakland Athletics is no more. With the acquisition of star Tim Hudson by the Atlanta Braves, the A's will have to look elsewhere for the third man of their 'Big 3'. On Thursday afternoon, Hudson was sent to Atlanta in exchange for two relievers, Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer, and up-and-coming leftfielder Charles Thomas.

All in all, it was a good deal on both sides. The Braves desperately needed a pitcher after losing both Russ Ortiz and Jaret Wright to free agency. As well, Hudson also gives the Braves a proven ace, something they haven't had since Greg Maddux. Because of Oakland's financial woes, the Big 3 had to be split up. Mark Mulder was not going to go, Barry Zito was being shopped around, but no deal could be reached, which left Tim Hudson, or "Huddy", ripe for the taking. 2004 was one of Huddy's best seasons, as he posted a 12-6 record with a 3.53 ERA. In his career, he has a 92-39 record and a 3.30 ERA. Tim will join a rotation of Horacio Ramirez and John Smoltz. Hudson will be sorely missed in Oakland's rotation, but the rise of young Canadian star Rich Harden has A's fans thinking a new Big 3 could be in store. We shall see. Juan Cruz, a former Cub, was outstanding last season, going 6-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 50 relief apperances. He will bolster the front end of the Athletics' bullpen. As well, the A's also acquire another young reliever in Dan Meyer, who only made 2 relief appearances in 2004, but both were solid, as hitters were scoreless against him. However, the biggest surprise of this blockbuster deal, is the letting go of rookie Charles Thomas, who was expected to replace the departed J.D. Drew in the outfield. However, that appears as if not to be the case. In his first Major League season, in 2004, Thomas batted .288 with 7 HR, 31 RBI, and 3 SB. As well, he committed just one error all season long in the outfield, an added bonus to an already Gold Glove Oakland outfield.

Yes, trading a guy like Tim Hudson is tough, but picking up three guys all under the age 27 makes the deal a little easier to swallow, especially when 2 out of those 3 acquired are already quietly rippnig it up in the Majors. A 14th straight division title for the Braves looks that much more promising, now with a proven ace in their rotation. There will be no excuse for a "lack of pitching" this time around.




More Stories - < Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 Next >