Gassed.

When news broke on Wednesday that Texas and Baltimore were zeroing in on a trade that would move Kevin Millwood for Chris Ray, I got emails from nearly 100 of you, more than half of which delivered a message fitting into one of these categories:

1.   How could we trade our ace for a middle reliever?
2.   How does it make sense to trade our one established starter if 2010 is supposed to be “the year”??
3.   This is nothing but a salary dump! Rarr!

In nearly every instance, partly because I don’t have much time during the day to respond to non-work emails, I replied by saying, simply: “Let’s wait and see what we do with the saved money.”

Didn’t have to wait long.

Wednesday was the busiest day of the Winter Meetings for Texas, and a busy day for me at the office, and so you’ll have to forgive me if today’s report – on the Millwood-Ray trade and the imminent signing of Rich Harden and reportedly imminent trade of Max Ramirez for Mike Lowell – doesn’t go all nine. I know it’s the stretch run, but I’m a little gassed.

In fact, you know what? I’m scratched today.

Tomorrow I’ll get to the heavy slate of moves, and in the meantime I’ll throw you a flash with news of the player Texas has Baltimore select with the third overall pick in this morning’s Rule 5 Draft, which, as always, closes the Meetings.

Thanks for your patience.

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