Recapping the deadline

Have you ever seen a trade deadline unfold quite like this?

In the past two days alone, three players with a combined 38 All-Star selections -- Ivan Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, and Manny Ramirez -- were all dealt. The reigning A.L. Cy Young winner, the league's best switch hitter, and the 2004 NL Rookie of the Year also changed addresses. As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark put it, that sounds more like a Hall of Fame ballot than it does a list of guys on the trading block.

Now that this topsy-turvey period of wheeling and dealing is behind us, let's recap who fared the best -- and the worst:

Winners:

Los Angeles Dodgers
In one of the biggest steals you'll probably ever see, Joe Torre's squad gave up absolutely nothing of any worth to them this season for one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time. Yes, Manny's probably a rental, and yes, he's a royal pain in the ass. But if you look at talent alone, Ramirez has the ability to change the balance of power in an NL West race where nobody has separated from the pack. Plus, now that Manny's assured of being a free agent at the end of this season, you have to figure he'll be motivated to go out and earn the $100 million contract he apparently feels entitled to. It's also safe to assume that Torre, a master at managing clubhouses, will find a way to play 5 outfielders without anyone getting too disgruntled.
Grade: A+

Los Angeles Angels
A simple check of the linescore would have given you all you needed to know about why the Angels were swept by the Red Sox in last season's ALDS; the team scored a ghastly 4 runs in 3 games and hit just .192. L.A. should have no such problems this season after acquiring first baseman Mark Texeira from the Braves and giving Vlad Guerrero the protection he has been without his entire tenure with the Angels. The move fills the best team in baseball's one glaring hole and makes it the favorite to win the World Series. The only downside -- and this is nitpicky -- is that L.A. is really banking on 2008 to be their year, since Texeira is almost certainly a rental and K-Rod, John Lackey, Garrett Anderson, and Guerrero could all become free agents in the offseason. (The latter three have club options for 2009.) Most definitely a worthwhile gamble, though.
Grade: A

New York Yankees
Two weeks ago, the 7, 8, and 9 spots in the Yankees' batting order belonged to Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina, and Brett Gardner. By the evening of July 30, those spots were being occupied by Xavier Nady, Ivan Rodriguez, and okay, Melky's still here. It's a drastic upgrade for the Bronx Bombers, and that, too, at a relatively cheap price, as the Yanks traded from areas of surplus: minor league pitching and power arms out of the bullpen. Still, they couldn't make a deal for a back end starting pitcher, so unless they find something on the waiver wire, they'll be relying on Darrell Rasner, Sidney Ponson, and a couple mediocre options in Triple-A to win some big games for them down the stretch. Nonetheless, when you compare what they did to what the teams in their division did (or, in Tampa Bay's case, didn't do), the Yankees emerge from the deadline as big-time winners.
Grade: B+


Losers:

Boston Red Sox
Yes, Boston emerges from the whole Manny fiasco with its dignity in tact, and yes, there is such a thing as addition by subtraction. But it's hard to make the argument that giving up $7 million and three major leaguers -- Manny, Craig Hansen, and Brandon Moss -- for Jason Bay is a good baseball decision. It's an even harder to rationalize when you consider that the Red Sox are trailing in the AL East race and that the hard-charging, third-place Yankees got better at the deadline. And by shipping Moss out to Pittsburgh instead of Kansas City for Ron Mahay, the Manny trade also cost Boston a chance to get the middle reliever it badly needs. No one would dare count out a team that's won 2 of the last 4 World Series crowns, but in a cutthroat American League East race, the defending champs are, at the least, looking very vulnerable.
Grade: D+

Arizona Diamondbacks
Their tandem of Webb and Haren is as good as it gets, and they did land a valuable bullpen piece in Jon Rauch. But the D-backs missed out on a chance to get the big stick they desperately need, balking at Atlanta's demands for Teixeira. As a result, Arizona is stuck with the same offense that struggled in last season's NLCS against the Rockies and that's ranked 25th in the league with a .252 average. Oh, and Manny went to their division rival.
Grade: D+

Houston Astros
The Astros are a whopping 14 games out in the Central and a distant 9 back in the Wild Card. But apparently, that's close enough for Ed Wade and Co., who made the appalling decision to make a run at a playoff spot. Forget about a trade, there wasn't even a single rumor out there that any of their desirable assets -- Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, and Miguel Tejada -- were on the trading block. Instead, Houston traded for veterans, albeit worthless ones in Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins. A rebuilding process that should have begun last year is only further delayed.
Grade: F

Florida Marlins
The Fish began the day rumored to be the favorite to land Manny. They ended it with Arthur Rhodes. Florida's inability to make pry away a future-Hall of Fame slugger from a team desperate to trade him is yet another black eye for an organization that, for all its success, has made a litany of questionable personnel moves over the years, and there's no doubt now that this overachieving bunch will soon fade into oblivion in the NL East race.
Grade: F


Wait and see:

New York Mets
You can't necessarily blame the Mets for not wanting to tinker with a team that's won 16 of its last 22 games. Still, the Mets are entering August with an overachieving Fernando Tatis in right field, a revolving door of bench players in left, and Damion Easley at second. That might be good enough to win the NL East, especially since the Marlins couldn't pull off a Manny trade and the Phillies couldn't do better than Joe Blanton to upgrade their horrendous starting pitching. But by standing pat, the Mets have hinged their World Series hopes on the continued success of their super scrubs, and when it comes time to face C.C. Sabathia and Carlos Zambrano in the postseason, that might be a bit too much to ask.
Grade: C

Chicago White Sox
If this were the mid-90's, maybe we'd be singing a different tune about the South Siders' acquisition of Ken Griffey, Jr. But Griffey hasn't been motivated, healthy, and -- most importantly -- good since the waning days of the Clinton administration, and that makes you wonder what the 38-year-old has left in the tank. If he's got anything to offer -- and that's certainly a possibility if he gets rejuvinated joining a team in a playoff hunt -- it'll be a tremendous help to a White Sox squad that has seen Nick Swisher hit .200 in the month of July and Paul Konerko collect 5 RBIs since returning from the DL on July 8. If Griffey career is indeed down the toilet, the White Sox's season might go right with it.
Grade: C-