Miles, Fox Trot To Oakland

The real world took us away from the computer almost as soon as we heard Jake Fox and Aaron Miles were being shipped to Oakland for the prospects behind door No. 3.
And that gave us a lot of time to do some thinking.

After being unsure of how I felt about the deal, I've come to the conclusion this is a win for the Cubs.  I know it's irresponsbile to make such a ruling hours after a trade is made, but a careful overview of the deal shows the Cubs with the early advantage.

Sure, for the second straight season Hendry traded a fan favorite.  Boo frickin' hoo.  How much attachment can you have toward a player who posted a .259/.311/.779 slash line in 2009 with 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in?  It's not as if Fox was going to start at either corner outfield or corner infield position next season, so Cubs fans need to quit acting like they just traded the second coming of Ron Santo.

Besides, it is not as if the Cubs traded away Megan Fox.  That would be something to jump off a high ledge because of.

It's time to give kudos to general manager Jim Hendry for dealing a player while his value was at its highest.  And if Fox becomes a valuable designated hitter in Oakland, so be it.  I'm not too worried about it, especially when taking into consideration Oakland's Coliseum is where home runs go to die.  Playing in Oakland turned everyone's free agent savior Matt Holliday into a mere mortal.

Again.  Why am I supposed to be upset over this trade?

Oh, because they traded Aaron Miles, too.

Wait.  That's a good thing.

Miles was given $2.2 million this season to hit .185/.224/..244/.466.  The diminutive dipshit collected 29 base hits, eight walks and five RBIs cementing his legacy as the worst free agent signing of the Jim Hendry era.

The only way Hendry can possibly screw this up is by not having a player in mind to replace Fox's production off the bench.  Replacing Miles with a cardboard cutout of Cindy Crawford would likely yield an upgrade in production.

In return, the Cubs received a wee-bit more than a bag of dirty towels, Jason Giambi syringes and copies of the original Moneyball script.  They got Jeff Gray ...  and prospects.

Though, I'll admit, had Beane sent a copy of Aaron Sorkin's script, I would have been overjoyed to accept that for Fox, Miles and $1 million.  To get warm bodies in exchange for that package is like making a dollar out of a penny slot.