There's A New Sherrill in Town...

It's been awhile since my last post so I figured I'd weigh in on my take of the Bedard trade and MacPhail's comments in the press conference afterward.

It wasn't the 31st when it was made, but a deal was struck after all and that's ultimately the most important.

First the deal itself, LHSP Erik Bedard for CF Adam Jones, LHRP George Sherrill, RHSP Chris Tillman, LHSP Tony Butler, and RHRP Kam Mickolio.

This is a great trade for the Orioles, it's not a spectacular knock-it-out-of-the-park HR trade, because we weren't able to get one more stud position prospect, but it's a great trade.

Jones has been compared to Torii Hunter, Mike Cameron and Vernon Wells. I think he has a chance to be better than all three of those guys. He is the definition of a stud prospect and should take over as one of the leaders of this franchise for years to come. I see him taking over Roberts role in the community as the face of the franchise for Baltimore's citizens.

George Sherrill, was a lights out LH setup guy for Seattle, and although he was dissappointed leaving the Emerald City, he should get a crack at the vacant closer role and should remind some of BJ Ryan. There are a lot of people that want to flip this guy, but I'm not one of them. Sherrill is under team control for 4 more years and the Orioles do not have a young LHP that is coming up through the ranks that could take Sherrill's place, so Sherrill is a must have for when we do compete starting in 2010 when he'll only be 32. Jamie Walker is 36 and had a large number of appearances last year, so the chances of him declining are pretty significant. So if the Orioles are going to deal a LH pitcher for say a middle infielder, Walker should be the one they trade.

Now the younger pitchers in this deal - Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio. Tillman was the Mariners' Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2007. He more than held his own in a hitters park and is very comparable to Brandon Erbe, only scouts like him better. Butler was hurt earlier in the year but came back to pitch quite well. He has some control problems and some mechanics issues, but could be a steal if he gets them corrected. Mickolio is a 6 foot 9 inch RHP that is a work in progress, but it is thought he could challenge for a late inning bullpen role starting as soon as this season.

So looking at that haul, it easily tops the Haren and Santana returns, and gives you confidence in Andy MacPhail and the future of the Orioles. However, it is clear now from MacPhail's comments, that Angelos is still involved in the baseball decisions, but it seems MacPhail has a great working relationship with Angelos, unlike past GMs and has been able to do everything he wants. For Oriole fans we hope it stays this way because as long as it does MacPhail looks like he'll be able to steer us well clear of the iceberg and into safe harbor...