Reliever George Sherrill, for instance, appeared to be losing value during a two-week slump in which he blew three saves in dramatic fashion. But he enhanced his credibility as a big-time closer with a terrific performance in the All-Star Game, and his name had to come up in the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office after the team had to shut down closer Takashi Saito for at least six weeks with an elbow sprain.
"As far as trading for a closer, it's a lot like trying to acquire a shortstop," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told reporters at the All-Star Game on Tuesday. "It's a premium position, and most teams don't carry an excess."
The Dodgers have closer-in-waiting Jonathan Broxton, 24, to move into the role, but you can bet manager Joe Torre would prefer to have a more proven option to help him keep his long streak of playoff appearances alive. And the Dodgers have the kind of young talent that would make it easier for MacPhail to deal away a major component of the Orioles' bullpen.
It likely would take a similar situation to create a decent market for Aubrey Huff, though he has been another pleasant surprise this season. He leads the Orioles in home runs and RBIs and has made a lot of people forget his offseason transgressions, which should make him attractive to a team that needs a solid left-handed hitter and might be willing to take on some of his salary. To rate any significant return in talent, however, might require a team to develop a greater sense of urgency.
I'm pretty sure MacPhail isn't sitting in his office pushing needles into various Major League Baseball-licensed voodoo dolls and trying to hurry along the process, but he has been around long enough to know that opportunity comes in many forms - not all of them pleasant.
Nobody around here is happy that the uplifting first half has given way to this kind of speculation, but it has created a certain clarity of purpose for the front office.
Everybody knows what he should do now. Getting it done might be another story.
peter.schmuck@baltsun.com
Listen to Peter Schmuck on WBAL (1090 AM) at noon most Saturdays and Sundays.
