This for That

The White Sox have traded away Tanner Banks; Erick Fedde; Michael Kopech; and Tommy Pham for a bunch of prospects I’ve never heard of. Since these Sox are so much like those Mets, it’s worth citing Casey Stengel here: in another ten years, these guys have a good chance of being ten years older. I mean, the Sox traded Tanner Banks with his career 3.89 ERA and three saves to the Phillies for 19-year old William Bergolla, the team’s eleventh-best prospect per MLB.com. Either the Phillies have a mediocre minor-league system; the Sox pulled off the deal of the century; or it was a trade of like-for-like. Which do you think? In case it matters, Mickey Mouse’s team lost their sixteenth straight last night, 4-3 to the Royals. That happened against a background of reports that a Mouse-mandated team meeting right after the All-Star break didn’t go well, with Mouse allegedly putting the blame for the team’s godawful record squarely on the players. Mouse denies it, of course. In case it matters, the Sox are now two games ahead of the ’62 Mets in the race to 120 losses in a season. I see no reason for things to change anytime soon.