Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Pudge in Pinstripes

Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Yankees GM Brian Cashman traded Kyle Farnsworth to Detroit for Ivan Rodriguez.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Yankees traded a talented reliever who was enjoying his finest season in New York, but one with a reputation for meltdown moments in big spots, for a 14-time All-Star and 13-time Gold Glove winner.

On a personal level, however, it was tough saying good-bye to Farnsworth. In this business, there are a handful of players you can go to for a quote or just to say hello. Farnsworth was one of them. We talked baseball and talked about our children. In between, we even discussed professional wrestling.

So while Farnsworth is a Tiger again, Pudge Rodriguez fills the immese void left by Jorge Posada's season-ending surgery. Here's the 411 on the deal and how it went down, and an on-line diary that tracked the day's events before and after a deal that had everyone muttering, "Wow."

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