Do you suppose the Nationals regret shutting down Stephen Strasburg last year?

I had a thought this morning when I was looking at the updated Major League standings: Man, the Washington Nationals sure are a disappointment this year.

Washington got a lot of respect in the preseason predictions. I just pulled out my 2013 season preview from Sports Illustrated, and sure enough, the Nationals were their pick to win the World Series.

At that time, that didn't seem like a bad choice. How can you not like a 1-2-3 punch like Stephen Strasburg (pictured), Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann at the top of the rotation?

Bryce Harper is one of the best young talents in the game. Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche are proven run producers. A young middle infield featuring Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa appeared to be coming of age. Denard Span was added to the roster to fix a perceived hole in the leadoff spot. Another successful season was considered a given.

Instead, the Nationals are 50-54 entering play on July 27. They are 8.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. They are in second place, with only Atlanta to catch, so they still have a puncher's chance in that division. But it's clear they will be falling well short of the 100-win success that was forecasted for them during spring training.

What went wrong?

Well, Harper has missed time with assorted injuries. Espinosa stunk it up so bad he got sent back to the minors. He's been a combination of injured and bad all year. LaRoche is hitting about 30 points lower than he did last season. Span's contributions have been modest at best. Dan Haren, the presumed No. 4 starter, has been a disaster. Relief pitcher Drew Storen, who had 43 saves two years ago, has an ERA of almost 6. There are a number of things that have gone wrong for that team.

Here's my point: When you have a chance to win, you have to go for it. The opportunity to win a championship is precious and very fleeting. Even when you have a good-looking roster, you're not promised anything. Guys get hurt. Guys have bad years. You just never know.

Last year, the Nationals were a 95-win team. They had the best record in the league. I thought they had a great chance to get to the World Series and win it. Instead, they shut down Strasburg, their ace, because they didn't want him to pitch too many innings in one season. They were trying to keep him healthy for the long haul because it was "the right thing to do for the franchise."

Ugh.

I hated the move at the time. Yes, Strasburg was coming off Tommy John surgery the previous year. But, the Nationals had a great team last season. Everybody was healthy. Everybody was playing well. When it's all going your way, you have to strike while the iron is hot, health consequences be damned. You can't be playing for next year, or the next five years, because the opportunity to compete for a championship in the future is not promised to you.

I'm sure if Nationals GM Mike Rizzo read this blog (and I'm sure he doesn't), he'd be indignant about what I'm about to write. But oh well.

Washington kicked away its best chance to win a World Series last year when it decided not to pitch its ace in the playoffs. The Nationals lost in the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals, and it doesn't look like they are going to make it back to that level this season.

Alfonso Soriano headed back to the Yankees, reports say

Reports indicate the Cubs will soon be sending veteran outfielder Alfonso Soriano back to the team he started with -- the New York Yankees.

The Cubs will be receiving 21-year-old right-hander Corey Black in the trade. Black, who has been pitching at Class-A Tampa, is 3-8 with a 4.25 ERA in 19 starts this season. Never heard of him before today. I'm sure the Cubs will be sending him to either Kane County or Daytona soon enough.

The trade is reportedly awaiting the approval of MLB commissioner Bud Selig. Soriano, 37, is owed $24.5 million on his contract which runs through the end of the 2014 season. Reports indicate the Cubs will send $17.7 million to the Yankees as part of the deal. That seems like a lot, but hey, it's sunk cost at this point and the Cubs are actually saving about $7 million. Best of all, they make Soriano go away and open up a spot in their outfield for a younger player who might be part of their future plans.

Soriano waived his 10-and-5 rights to accept the deal. In many ways, this is the official end of the Jim Hendry Era for the Cubs. Soriano was the last player on the roster with full no-trade rights.

As GM, Hendry handed out no-trade clauses like candy. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez,  Ryan Dempster, Carlos Marmol, Soriano, they were all exceedingly hard to get rid of, in part, because they had no-trade protection in their contracts.

The new regime on the North Side isn't big on handing out no-trade clauses, and they'd be wise to keep it that way. Now that Soriano is gone, any player on the Cubs roster can be traded at any time without their consent. That's obviously a more favorable situation for management.

Cubs trade Matt Garza for a package of ifs and maybes

We interrupt the ongoing Theo Epstein love fest in Chicago to point out none of the players the Cubs acquired in the Matt Garza trade have accomplished much of anything in professional baseball.

The long-rumored Garza deal finally went down Tuesday. The Cubs sent the veteran right-hander to Texas for Triple-A infielder Mike Olt, Class-A right-hander C.J. Edwards and right-hander Justin Grimm, plus either one or two players to be named later.

As most people are aware, I'm one of those evil people who prefers proven talent to prospects. Accordingly, I really like this deal for Texas. Garza has been pitching well this year. He was 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA at the time of the trade. Those are impressive numbers with a losing Cubs team playing behind him. I watched Garza pitch earlier in July against the White Sox, and he appears to have refined his changeup. He's always had a good fastball and good, hard breaking ball. Now that he's got another off-speed pitching working for him, he's especially tough to hit.

Garza's presence in the rotation makes the Rangers much more dangerous in a short playoff series. They can stack up Yu Darvish, Garza and Derek Holland now. Those are three pretty good arms.

But if you read the Chicago papers this morning, nobody is really talking about that. The tributes to the Cubs front office are flowing. "Theo" has done it again. He's fleeced another team and acquired a "haul" for a player who wasn't part of the Cubs' future plans anyway. I can agree that Garza wasn't part of the Cubs' future. They probably weren't going to sign him to an extension. But that's about as far as it goes for me.

I don't see how anyone can say whether this was a good or bad trade for the Cubs. We won't know for two or three years.

Olt, a 24-year-old third baseman, is ranked as the second-best prospect in the Texas system. However, he's having a tough year. He was hitting .213 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Round Rock. I assume the Cubs will convert Olt to a corner outfield spot. The team just used its first-round pick on third baseman Kris Bryant. The organization has high hopes that Bryant will advance to the big leagues quickly, so surely they don't plan to have a guy like Olt blocking his path. In the short run, Olt needs to report to Triple-A and try to find his swing.

Edwards, 21, was 8-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 93.1 innings for Class-A Hickory. Intriguing prospect? Sure. Close to making the majors? Nope. We'll reserve judgment.

Grimm, 24, made 17 starts for the Rangers this season, going 7-7 with a 6.37 ERA. His last start was July 12 against Detroit. During that outing, he gave up seven runs before leaving in the fourth inning with forearm soreness. I've seen Grimm pitch a few times, and he's basically fodder for the back of the starting rotation. I wouldn't think of him as a building block for the future.

So, I'm struggling to figure out why people are so in love with this trade from the Cubs' perspective. Over the last two summers, the Cubs have traded four big-league starting pitchers -- Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, Scott Feldman and Garza. All they have to show for it is a bunch of promises for the future. Cubs' brass has consistently said, "We'll be contenders by 2015." Chicago media seem to have bought in hook, line and sinker. Well, who is going to be pitching for the Cubs in 2015? We know it won't be Garza.

If I'm a reporter covering the Cubs, the theme of my column today would be along the lines of "You guys better be right with this deal." Starting pitching is what wins in Major League Baseball. If you're going to trade a guy like Garza, you damn well better get "a haul" in return. In two years time, we'll know more about the outcome of this deal.

Chris Sale gives MVP-worthy performance in All-Star Game

With teams on both sides of town languishing near the bottom of the standings, Chicago sent just three players to the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which was played Tuesday night in New York.

Pitchers Chris Sale and Jesse Crain represented the White Sox. Pitcher Travis Wood earned the lone All-Star nod for the Cubs.

Crain did not pitch because he is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Wood also did not participate, having just pitched 48 hours earlier in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

That left Sale to represent the city, and you can make a good case his performance was the most impressive in a pitching-dominated game.

Sale tossed two scoreless innings and retired all six batters he faced, earning the win in the American League's 3-0 victory.

The Sox ace entered in the second inning and retired David Wright on a grounder to third on his first pitch. He struck out Carlos Gonzalez on a slider and got Yadier Molina on a fly out to center field. Sale came back out for the third inning and fanned Troy Tulowitzki on another slider. He retired Michael Cuddyer on a tapper back to the mound and concluded his night when Bryce Harper lined out to third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Sale's fastball touched 96 mph, and he needed only 24 pitches (17 strikes) to retire six of the best players in the National League.

There certainly weren't any hitters in this game worthy of the MVP. Not a single player had more than one hit. There wasn't anybody with more than one RBI or one run scored, either. No home runs were hit.

It was inevitable the MVP award would go to a pitcher. Sale registered six outs, more than any other American League pitcher, and he got them in quick and dominant fashion.

But alas, this year's All-Star MVP wasn't going to go to anyone other than Mariano Rivera, the future Hall of Fame closer of the New York Yankees. Rivera is retiring at the end of the season, and the night was all about recognizing his career accomplishments.

Make no mistake, Rivera did his job as usual when he entered the game in the eighth inning. He quickly retired all three National League hitters he faced. But let's be honest, he was given the MVP as a lifetime achievement award, moreso than for his performance in this particular game.

I can understand that. It's just too bad, because Sale was pretty damn good and he would have deserved it. Sale does go down as the seventh White Sox pitcher to earn a victory in the All-Star Game. Here are the six others:

1941: Edgar Smith
1958: Early Wynn
1962: Ray Herbert
1993: Jack McDowell
2000: James Baldwin
2005: Mark Buehrle

Grady Little got a bad rap from Red Sox fans

Over the weekend, I had the chance to read Sports Illustrated's annual "Where Are They Now?" edition. The magazine comes out every July and features prominent sporting figures of the past who have fallen out of the limelight for whatever reason.

Having just turned 37, I appreciate the features a little more than I did in the past because I'm now old enough to remember watching the subjects of many of the articles.

Among those featured this year is former Major League manager Grady Little, 63, who hasn't been heard from since 2007. Little managed the Boston Red Sox in 2002 and 2003 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006 and 2007. He compiled a 385-290 career record for a respectable .552 winning percentage.

But, as the article notes, Little is best remembered for a game he lost -- Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship series. The Red Sox were leading the New York Yankees 5-2 in the eighth inning -- just six outs away from the World Series -- when Little was faced with a choice: Should he leave in ace Pedro Martinez, who was at 100 pitches and had just navigated a tough seventh inning? Or should he bring in left-handed reliever Alan Embree? Little stuck with Martinez, who gave up three runs in the eighth and surrendered the lead.

Boston lost the game 6-5 in 11 innings on Aaron Boone's famous home run off Tim Wakefield. The Yankees went to the World Series, and Little lost his job. He was never forgiven by the New England fans and media.

As I read the article, I got to thinking: Had Little really made a bad move? The more I thought about it, the more I believe he did the right thing.

Yes, that's right. He did the right thing, even though the Red Sox lost the game.

Think about it. It's Game 7 and the World Series is on the line. Martinez was 14-4 that season with a 2.22 ERA. He was among the best pitchers in the game. For a stretch of about eight years in the late 90s and early 2000s, he was a dominating force. So dominant that many people, including yours truly, believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame. He won three Cy Young Awards and finished second in the voting on two other occasions.

Embree? Well, he was a journeyman who played for 10 teams and had a career ERA of 4.59. In 2003, his ERA was 4.25. Was there any point in Embree's career where he could have been considered a sure bet to shut down an opponent? Not that I can recall. He was a mediocre reliever by any standard.

The Red Sox had bullpen troubles all season in 2003. They had a great lineup with Johnny Damon at the top, setting the table for the likes of Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. The rotation featured a solid top three in Martinez, Derek Lowe and Wakefield. The Achilles' heel was the relief corps. I wouldn't trust Embree, Mike Timlin or Byung-Hyun Kim very far.

So who are you going with in that spot? Martinez or Embree? Or somebody else from that bullpen? If it were me, I'd go with the future Hall of Famer, just like Little did.

Is it ever really a bad move to sink or swim with your best pitcher when the alternative is a journeyman left-hander? Not in my book. 100 pitches? Who cares? It's Game 7. There was no tomorrow and nothing to save Martinez for.

You see, in baseball sometimes a manager can make the right move and it still doesn't work out. Sometimes, too, a manager can make a move that makes no sense at all and have it come up aces. That's just the nature of the game.

I don't think a move that doesn't work is by definition a bad move. That's something they don't get up in Boston, and that's the reason Little has been lampooned as a bad manager up there through the years.

The real goat from Game 7 was Martinez. He was a great pitcher who had a bad inning at the worst possible time. It was a simple as that.

White Sox trade Matt Thornton to Red Sox

I mentioned earlier this week the time was right for the White Sox to trade Matt Thornton. Indeed, the rumored deal with the Boston Red Sox came to pass Friday night. The South Siders sent the veteran left-handed reliever and cash considerations to the Red Sox for outfield prospect Brandon Jacobs.

Thornton, 36, was 0-3 this season with a 3.86 ERA in 40 appearances. He ranks first in White Sox history in all-time relief appearances with 512. In those games, he went 31-35 with a 3.28 ERA. He recorded 486 strikeouts in 463.1 innings. There's no question Thornton was an effective bullpen piece for the Sox for a long time.

But, as we noted, because of age, declining performance and contract status, it was time for a change. The Sox made a move that makes sense for all parties involved.

Thornton is going to a contending team in Boston. The Red Sox lead the American League East by 4.5 games entering Saturday's play. He'll be reunited with Juan Nieves, the former White Sox bullpen coach who now serves as the pitching coach in Boston. He'll be able to fill a role as a situational left-handed reliever, a hole the Red Sox needed plugged after losing Andrew Miller for the season.

The White Sox, meanwhile, got some salary relief out of this deal. Reports indicate the team shipped about $750,000 to Boston as part of the trade, which will almost cover the buyout for Thornton's contract at the end of the season. Including buyout, Thornton was owed about $3.5 million for the rest of his deal. So, the Sox get a savings of roughly $2.75 million.

They also acquire the right-handed hitting Jacobs, who is an OK, but not great prospect.

Jacobs, 22, is hitting .247 with 11 home runs, 44 RBIs, 46 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 84 games this year with Class-A Salem and Double-A Portland. He hit .421 with six doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs over his final 11 games with Salem before being promoted to Portland on July 10.

Scouting reports indicate he lacks the arm strength to play right field, so the Sox will probably assign him to Double-A Birmingham and park him in left field. Baseball America ranks him as the 13th-best prospect in the Boston system.

Some White Sox fans have griped about the team not getting enough for Thornton, but to be honest, this is about what I expected out of this trade. Realistically, Thornton will probably make 25-30 appearances for Boston the rest of the season. He'll probably provide about 25-30 innings pitched as well, and then the Red Sox will buy him out and let him walk at the end of the year.

How much is 25-30 innings of aging Matt Thornton worth on the trade market? Well, it's worth a second-tier prospect and some salary relief. And that's what the Sox got for Thornton. 

Does trade value really increase or decrease based upon one game?

White Sox right fielder Alex Rios had a helluva game Tuesday night. He went 6 for 6 with two RBIs, two stolen bases and a run scored as Chicago routed the Detroit Tigers, 11-4.

Rios is the first Sox player to collect six hits in a game since Lance Johnson in 1995. He also became the first player to total four hits in a single game against Detroit ace Justin Verlander. 

This morning, I read articles and heard several comments about how Rios "increased his trade value" with the performance.

Really?

So what happens if Rios goes 0 for 5 in Wednesday's game? Does that mean his trade value goes back down? And if so, by how much?

Rios has been in the American League for 10 years. I would guess most scouts are well-acquainted with his capabilities. Teams that are interested in acquiring an outfielder in a midseason deal no doubt have been watching Rios for weeks. Are scouts really going to make a recommendation based upon one game?

I just don't buy the idea that a player's trade value is subject to day-to-day fluctuations. I think teams make evaluations by looking at long-term trends, not one-game snapshots.

Am I right or am I wrong?