You remember it well. I was driving across Arkansas, going home for an extended Christmas break, listening to ESPN Radio when it came out that the Astros had traded five players to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada. Of course, the next day the Mitchell Report came out, which implicated Tejada's use of PEDs. What happened to those five other guys?
Dennis Sarfate: Cut from Major-League camp and will likely open 2010 in Triple-A
Mike Costanzo: Released today
Troy Patton: Assigned to Triple-A after having shoulder surgery in 2008.
Matt Albers: May make the Opening Day roster out of the bullpen
Luke Scott: The most successful of the group so far, he has hit .258/.338/.479 with 48 homers and 142 RBI in 276 games for the Orioles.
Did it work out? Well, kind of. The Astros got an All-Star shortstop for two seasons, while the Orioles just got him back. The off-season that MacPhail had in 2007 - trading Tejada for five players, and Bedard to Seattle for six players (including George Sherill and Adam Jones) - should rank as one of the all-time fleecings in recent GM history. Losing Luke Scott paved the way for Hunter Pence to make the team, but so far, it hasn't been as lopsided as it may seem.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
