WOULD YOU TRADE HUGHES & JOBA FOR COLE HAMELS?

Crazy? I’m not sure.  One of my buddy’s told me that he heard the strangest rumor this past weekend… and he’s a Phillies fan so, I cut through the South Philly accent and the anger in his voice… “Did you hear this crap about Cole Hamels for Phil Hughes & Joba Chamberlain?”  I was honest, “nope.”  “They must be on crack,” he said to me.

I stood there wondering, who’s “they?”  Where the hell did he hear that from, and is it true? He told me one of his friends read it on a blog.  I got home and looked and I couldn’t find it anywhere..hence, it’s trade rumor season.  Then I thought about Joba in a Phillies uniform and it just didn’t seem right to me.  Look, it's Rumorville USA right now. 

Everyone is out there trying to top the next person and everyone and I mean EVERYONE has some combination or scenario in their minds that they would try to pull off if they were a General Manager...not to mention "sources" from teams and who God knows who else.    My bud was pissed.  He loves Cole Hamels.  He’s convinced the Phillies will in fact sign him to a contract extension before the trade deadline.  But in the back of his mind, he’s worried. This, in turn gets him pissed at me, because I’m a Yankee fan.    I needed to tell him straight…I don’t see it happening. 

Then I got to thinking about Brian Cashman and the moves he pulled off over the years that no one saw coming. Those late night signings of Johnny Damon, or stealing Jose Contreras from the Red Sox…or Mark Teixeira for that matter. 

(In Photo: Melky Cabrera)

Even when Melky Cabrera went to the Braves, it came out of nowhere.  He’s stealth, he’s a genius like that and he’s wiiling to take chances.  Sure, some work out and some don’t but I’m just not so sure about this rumor of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain for Cole Hamels…it doesn’t sit right with me...probably because it's no where.  But this is the way my world works. Instead of me just blowing it off, I'm trying to figure out where it came from in the first place. It's bizarre.

The New York Yankees organization and all us fans love Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain and have since they were kids in the minors.  We believe because the Yankees believe and you know what, there have been struggles and injuries and these guys are still young, still fighting hard and maturing before our eyes.  No one said Phil Hughes would be a 25 game winner at 24 years old.  We did hear that he was a sensation, the next Roger Clemens (Read HERE) and someone to watch.  The point is, the Yankees have invested a lot of time in these guys, and I believe they want to at least see a return on their investment before they try to unload them.  Look, I love Cole Hamels, but if you’re my bud growing up in a tough South Philly neighborhood, you know parting with a guy like Cole Hamels is like swearing at your mother…it ain’t happening.

But, would the Yankees pull off a trade like this? Should they? Do you want Cole Hamels on the New York Yankees down the stretch and can the Yankees even afford sign him and still think about signing guys like Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson long term?  A lot of questions, but no easy answers…but I'll tell you what, comment. Tell us if you heard this rumor anywhere and what you would do. We want to hear from you.

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