Seth's 50 Centers

It’s being discussed even outside the tri-state and the metroplex — aka Cincinnati and Dallas-Fort Worth.

The trade of Josh Hamilton of the Reds for Edinson Volquez — and a short reliever named Danny Herrera — of the Texas Rangers, the one that brought national criticism of former Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky almost immediately, has so far proven a stalemate, equal parts good for the offense of the Rangers and the ever important pitching of the Reds.

This deal has me all mixed up inside. Those who know me know I purchased a new authentic Reds jersey last summer — the Reds changed the uniform prior to the 2007 season, adding long abandoned Mr. Redlegs back to the jersey sleeve — and I quickly purchased a kit with the name “Hamiilton” and his number “33″ for the front chest and back. My mom used her considerable sewing skills to sew the kit onto my new jersey and I had what I thought would be a solid piece of memorabilia/fan gear for years to come.

Hamilton’s story is one that’ll be made into a movie if it remains a positive. The guy had his demons, and by most accounts likely still does deep down, thus the need for Johnny Narron as a personal baby sitter, both last year in Cincinnati and now in Texas. But despite only playing 90 games last year — ironically the most he’s ever played in a baseball season due to his drug issues and injuries — the guy is a natural. He doesn’t have 49 RBI already for nothing.

My anger over having my jersey become null and void after just part of a season didn’t overshadow the fact that Volquez didn’t do much in a few different chances at pitching in the big leagues. In fact, the Rangers thought so little of him that even after he had already played for them, they shipped him down to A ball. The trade seemed like a desperate attempt to land arms, which admittedly isn’t all that easy.

But even then I had to wonder, why would the pitching starved Rangers give up on a 24-year old pitcher who can throw 95-mph plus and has been compared to Pedro Martinez? That made me question further whether there was something wrong with Volquez, not so much admitting what I have seen for years with the Rangers, that they don’t care enough about pitching — believe it or not they were the ones who drafted Aaron Harang!

Now it’s admittedly been a great trade for both teams, although both struggled to win games early in the season, that is until the Reds have won six their last six to climb to within two of the .500 mark.

But Hamilton will obviously put butts in the seats as long as he’s healthy because let’s face it, the casual fan will always gravitate to an everyday player who can hit for power and make the “web gem” play in the outfield over a guy who takes the mound every fifth day.

That said, Volquez took over the Major League lead in ERA with a masterful performance against the Cleveland Indians Sunday — and is 7-1 on the season with 62 strikeouts and that ERA at 1.33 — edging the previous leader Cliff Lee in what was thought to be a great head-to-head match up — Lee gave up five earned runs and was chased from the game far earlier than normal.

Should both remain healthy — Hamilton didn’t start Sunday with ailments listed including “shoulder, hip and calf” — it’ll hopefully turn out well for both players and teams. I’d love to have that Hamilton jersey 20 years from now and remember the early exploits of a hall of fame career.

But now that Hamilton’s gone, I’d just as soon watch Volquez battle only Johnny Cueto and Harang for pitching supremacy in the National League for the next decade!

Let me know your thoughts on the trade. Which team is better off because of it and will both continue to shine this year and beyond? Click the “Contact” button at the top of the page.