Game 108, The Most Important Game

Vitals:

COLORADO ROCKIES (48-60)	RHP Aaron Cook (13-6, 3.46 ERA)
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (50-57)	LHP Zach Duke (4-8, 5.04 ERA)
Game Time	7:05 PM
XM	XM 185
TV	FSN

The Most Important Game:

Game 108 may be the most important game in the last 15 years for the Pirates.  This one game could determine the future of the Pirates franchise.

How could one game between two teams with losing records be the most important in recent memory for the Pirates? 

Simply put, this game will be the last one for either team before the trade deadline hits on Thursday.  With a win the Rockies may still consider themselves buyers.  Effectively two of the larger names on the radar for many teams will be removed in Fuentes and Holliday. 

With the trade of Texeira to the Angels, many teams will be looking for a big move to match the Angels acquisition.  No Holliday gives the Pirates the upper hand in listening to offers for Jason Bay.

No Fuentes means John Grabow could be considered the 3rd best reliever available.  More power to Huntington.

Suddenly Jack Wilson may have a little more worth for a team looking to solidify their team in preparation to make a run with the Angels for October glory.

Pirates players who want to keep the team together will need to win to keep the faces of the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

A Pirates win Wednesday will dilute the market and lower both Grabow's and Bay's worth.

Wednesdays game will determine what the Pirates will look like in 2009 and beyond.  Neal Huntington has to be on pins and needles and restless as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  If his team loses, he has a ton of bargaining power.  If his team wins, he loses the upper hand at the deadline and likely keeps the team together with the exception of possibly Grabow.

This may be the first time a GM not named Littlefield rooted for his team to lose a game.

 

Visit the BTW Forum to discuss this post, I am now allowing anonymous posts.  I want to know if I am off the mark with this post.

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