Silence breeds insanity

The last of the year is perhaps the only week of the year that baseball is closed for business. Sure, there are some deals consumated but they're primarily lower-level deals. The principals spend the holidays away from the office just like the rest of us so little of significance takes place.

In a frantic hot stove season the relative silence from the baseball offices gives rise to insanity. There are more rumored deals now than ever. Frustrated players like Miguel Tejada make comments about their frustration and instantly he becomes the face that launched a thousand rumors. Not surprisingly the deals are generally quite one-sided.

Another thing that happens is that rumors merge and distort. A perfect example of this is a new 4 team deal involving the Red Sox, Orioles, Mets, and D'Rays. It basically takes parts of separate proposed deals that involved various combinations of these teams individually. The basics of this deal has the Sox landing Tejada and Garthright; Mets get Manny; Orioles get Clement, Lugo, and Benson; D'Rays get lots of young arms. There are simply too many moving parts to this deal for it to happen. Every corner would love to see it (except perhaps the O's).