Cincinnati Reds On Mission To Collect Every Reliever Known To Man

Yeah, about that trading deadline. That doesn't mean trades stop happening. And those wily Reds are taking full advantage of that truism.

After clearing waivers, Scott Schoeneweis was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for either a player to be named later or some cash. Think of Schoeneweis as shareware: the Reds will try him out for 30 days, at which point the Reds will dig around their pockets and find some prospect to complete the transaction.

Schoeneweis is not that great of a pitcher, nor is it any fun to type out. He's 2-2 with a 6.51 ERA, but he's another reliever. In the last few months the Reds have done nothing but trade for relief pitchers nobody else seems to want. It's kind of like that spaced out dude walking around the neighborhood with his metal detector picking up items from the sidewalk, then running away laughing.

And for some reason, an episode of The Simpsons comes to mind. You know, the one where Homer finds a giant pile of sugar and guards it with his life.

Anyway, the Schoeneweis trade was probably in direct response to veteran reliever Kent Mercker's elbow surgery, which will put him out for the season and perhaps end his career. Mercker's arm is effectively a piece of cranberry jelly, but anyone who threw a no-hitter and owns a World Series ring in their career did pretty well for themselves.

Over the last few months, the Reds have traded for Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, Eddie Guardado, Kyle Lohse, Rheal Cormier, Esteban Yan, Ryan Franklin, and now Schoeneweis. Sure, it's a list of major league relievers. But it's not anything spectacular. However, the Reds are mired in gridlock for both the National League Central and NL Wild Card races. When every other team just wins every other game, a goofy collection of spare parts just might vault the Reds to their first playoff appearance since 1995.

Who's crazy now?

Article Author: Matthew T. Sussman

Sussman is the sports editor of BC Magazine and the executive editor of Technorati. He also writes for Deadspin and Toledo Free Press. He and Tuffy can be heard hosting the Treehouse Fort, Sundays at 12 noon ET. Plus, he Twitters. …

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