Trade that should happen

The Colorado Rockies send 3B Ian Stewart and C Chris Iannetta to Cincinnati for P Bronson Arroyo.

The Reds fire sale continues as Arroyo is an appealing piece for pitching-starved teams, especially with Buehrle off the market. The Reds could use a younger catcher as David Ross and Javier Valentin are both older than 30, while Ian Stewart is incredibly talented and very ready for the Major’s but is stuck behind Garrett Atkins in Colorado. The key for the rockies to send Iannetta as well though would be the previous acquisition of a strong catcher to either back-up Yorvit Torrealba or take over as a new starter.

For the Rockies, Bronson Arroyo becomes an immediate impact player in their shaky rotation and helps to stabilize the Rockies main weakness, which is their rotation. Every other team in the division has deep pitching staffs but is lacking in offense. Colorado is the polar opposite with their fantastic offense and impotent pitching rotation. A move like this would not mortgage the future for them, yet would help them to be more of a real threat to the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Padres.

Opposite Directions

Two teams going in two different directions lost their managers on Sunday. One was asked to leave, while another simply and rather abruptly resigned. The Reds fired Jerry Narron, while the Mariners Mike Hargrove essentially walked off the job.

While Narron’s is sadly to be expected, Hargrove’s was a bit of a shock to Seattle fans, media and certainly the players. The Reds have the lowest record in baseball this year under Narron and have never made a playoff appearance during his tenure with the club. The Reds loss Sunday left them at a dismal 31-51 with right around half the season to go yet, and well on their way to a 100 loss season. The expectations were much higher for the Reds this year than they had been in previous years due to a notable increase in payroll, yet the team had long since disappeared from the playoff radar.

The Mariners meanwhile are a completely different story. While the Reds were on their way to the 1st overall draft pick in next years draft, the Mariners are gunning hard for the Angels, who are leading their division. After sweeping Toronto over the weekend and winning 8 straight, Seattle is now only 4 games back in the AL West.

Both teams have promise but only one of them has put it together so far this year. While both clubs search for new managers, they will each have interims, John McLaren in Seattle and Pete Mackanin for the Reds. Good luck to both men.

Trade that should happen

Cincinnati sends Scott Hatteberg and Ken Griffey to the Bronx Zoo for Joba Chamberlain and Melky Cabrera. That's a trade that should happen.