Ramsay to Surenos

The division-leading Oakland Surenos made a move to apply a foot to the throat of the NL West today, acquiring ace SP Gary Ramsay from Cincinnati for 3 minor-league hitters.

Oakland gets:
SP Gary Ramsay - has 126 wins and a 3.45 ERA over 9 seasons, plus 4 playoff wins in the Indianapolis (then Charlotte) World Series season (Sea 9). Ramsay will appreciate both Oakland's league-leading offense and its spacious outfield, and becomes a needed stopper to a staff that's sporting a 4.89 ERA.

Cincinnati gets:
OF/1B Stephen Bland - big power guy with shaky contact skills has been stuck in AAA behind Oakland's big bats for 6 seasons. Now he's probably stuck in AAA behind Cincinnati's big bats. If he does get a chance he'll likely put up good enough HR numbers to make the Waste Managers forget his K's and OBP.
1B Martin Munro - #18 overall pick in Season 11, he's a solid all-round hitter who projects to be a very good, although maybe not top 1B. Could easily have an occasional All-Star season, though.
LF Al Solano - Season 11 IFA makes great contact and has a good eye; needs to improve against RHP but has the time to develop. If he can max his vR, he could be a .320 hitter with 15-20 HR power.

Analysis:
No-brainer for Oakland - they've put together a great offense and are favored in their division, but have to improve their pitching to get deep into the playoffs. Ramsay was the best arm likely to be available - the Surenos simply HAD to get him. From Cincy's end, it'll take a couple of seasons to evaluate - they might even have to trade a couple of hitters to sort this one out. All in all, though, I think the Waste Managers did pretty well. Ramsay's a free agent after one more year (not a sure thing that he'll declare, but players of his caliber usually do after their first contract). While it would've been nice to get some young pitching, they got 3 good hitters - a way better haul than free agent comp picks.