by In an emergency meeting of baseball executives held yesterday, owners made the decision to extend the July 31st trade deadline to mid-August.
With the deadline quickly approaching, owners realized the difficulty they had in trying to deal overpaid players and had struggled to find trading partners. One of the most sought after players at the deadline, Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt, exemplifies the difficulty that general managers are having in late July. Houston GM Ed Wade is struggling to find takers for Oswalt and $32 million over two years that the pitcher is owed.
General Managers in both big and small markets, complained endlessly about their under-preforming players with gigantic contracts until MLB Commissioner Bud Selig had heard enough. The extension was instituted in hopes of helping out owners save a little money in a rough economy. Selig stated that he hoped the difficulty of moving overpriced players serves as a future lesson to GMs come this off-season. However, GMs are pressing and their phone lines keep ringing.
“Its not fair that we only have ’till July 31st,” Wade said. “I just need more time, man, just give me two more weeks.”
Regardless of the two week extension, players like Oswalt, Adam Dunn, and Prince Fielder, still may end up with their original clubs after the new mid-August deadline rolls around.
Likewise, in Chicago, Cubs GM Jim Hendry is trying desperately to move struggling outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and the nearly $12 million he is owed next season.
“Ya know I don’t even know why we signed this schmuck in the first place,” he said. ” We really need some more time, its so hard being a GM.”
