Wow! What a game last night between the Braves and Pirates, huh!

Multiple story-lines... a ferocious comeback... and a dramatic ending - all in 15 innings.

The thing that stuck out the most to me though was the Nate McClouth trade and its effect on the outcome. McClouth played a spectacular game... he hit a home run, scored multiple times, and played great defense. Now to a layman, this whole deal looked like a steal by the Braves. They get an all-star caliber player for a solid prospect and couple average ones, right?

Au contraire!

Maybe the Braves did get a bargain from their perspective, but the Pirates made a great move too. If I was a fan or player for the Bucs I'd be pissed - and of course - they were. This trade does not help them in the short-term, but it very well may eventually.

With McClouth now out of the line-up, we saw the electric Andrew McCutchen just tear it up last night. It felt like he hit every ball on a line, and his speed is just frightening. Oh yea, and he's just 22 (McClouth is 27). Gorkys Hernandez and Jeff Locke are both just 21 and have already been named by Baseball America as among the best prospects in the Braves system - they've both been named all-stars in their respective leagues too. Add to that another 25 year old kid with some major league experience (Charlie Morton) and it looks like a pretty solid deal for Pitt.

I mean, the Pirates need to completely re-build in order to win championships.

Wait a second, who got the better end of this again?
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Oh, and I promise to post more often... this time I'm not lying... hopefully :)