Sean Casey a Pirate

Pending physicals, looks like the deal is done. The Cincinnati papers talked to him tonight.

All hail Sean Casey! I raise this Samuel Adams Black and Gold Lager to him. Nyar! If you don't have a beer in your hand, go get one. Root beer will do if you are under 21.

I'm a little giddy. Maybe it's the contrast to J.T. Snow rumors; maybe it's the Black Lager. Either way, I love the trade.

Pittsburgh has a new Mayor. You'll hear that a lot tomorrow. Welcome home, Sean Casey. This is a great move by David Littlefield. I will dedicate the next Black Lager to Dave. Good work, DL.

Casey is a great guy, as this kind of bio argues. They have loved this guy everywhere he has played. Not so much because he's a great guy who shakes hands and what not, but because he's a great player. He's been long capable of 900-1000 OPS seasons. There was a point at which he looked like a Hall of Famer. Had he stayed healthy his entire career, he'd be paid today like Bobby Abreu or Manny Ramirez. And yeah, this will be his walk year.

His power has come and gone with injuries, but even when injured, he's still been a useful high-OBP player. He hits left-handed, he wants to play in Pittsburgh, he plays first base: he's a good fit. I forget the exact details of his injuries. I've followed him, however, for fantasy sports reasons, and I don't remember his groin separating from the bone or his ankle protruding from his flesh. I'm pretty sure he'll be good to go for 2005. I'll look into all that stuff later in the week. I think he had a thumb problem one year and some shoulder surgery that he survived in good form.

I like the price. And that's a surprise: I'm ready to trade everbody so us keeping Ollie and Duke and Maholm, that's good news to me. Tomorrow we can trade them, with Kip Wells and Mark Redman and Josh Fogg, for Manny Ramirez.

One last thing. All hail Dave Williams. He'll be good for the Reds I'm sure. I'd far rather have him in my rotation than Eric Milton or Ramon Ortiz. Wouldn't you? Depending on your opinion of Aaron Harang, you might even regard Dave Williams as the new ace of their staff.

But no doubt our cup of left-handed soft-tossers runneth over. He'll help them more than he would help us. If I'm a Reds fan, I like the trade I think.