Wait, it gets better

I realize that my standards are low after years with Stand Pat at the helm, but flipping Ron Villone to Florida for another high quality starting pitching prospect (Yorman Bazardo) plus another AA middle-relief project (Mike Flannery) is another excellent, excellent deal.

It is STILL the case that the jury is out on 2006 for the Ms, but we're going in a clear direction--one that offers a fair amount of hope.

These are exactly the kind of deals that the team should be making at this point in its rebuilding cycle. I hate to be so openly optimistic, if only because it invites some sort of karmic retribution, but this is the best I've felt about the M's at the trade deadline in quite some time.