K-Rod to Milwaukee the start of Mets firesale?

In fear of losing their All-Star slugger Prince Fielder to free agency this upcoming offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers went out and made a trade that they think will help their chances of winning it all this season just hours after watching Fielder take home All-Star MVP honors. In need of some help to fill the back end of their bullpen, the Brewers acquired Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, better known as 'K-Rod' along with cash in exchange for two players to be named later. At the start of the season, the Brewers were chosen by many to not only run away with the division, but to contend for a World Series title after acquiring two All-Star caliber arms in Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.

Since then, the Brewers have been one of the best teams in the league at home (33-14), second to only the Philadelphia Phillies (34-15) who also own the best record in the Majors at 57-34. However, they've been unable to separate themselves from the division rival St. Louis Cardinals who they headed into the All-Star break with, tied for first place. While the Brewers have had one of the more potent offenses in the NL for years now with Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks to accompany Prince Fielder, their relief corps has been an issue, ranking 10th in ERA among National League bullpens. Aware of that stat, Brewers GM Doug Melvin addressed that area by dealing for a 3-time AL Saves leader and 4-time All-Star.

With a dominant closer already established in the bullpen for Brewers manager Ron Roenicke in John Axford, the closer role will be shared as K-Rod will primarily be used as a set-up man. Not only does sharing the role of the closer make sense when considering the job Axford has done (23 saves in 25 save opportunities), but also because having Rodriguez finish 21 more games this season would mean his expensive $17.5 Million option for 2012 comes into play. Though he's been among the games elite closers since 2005, the transition to the set-up role won't be an unfamiliar one as he served as a set-up man for Angels closer Troy Percival from 2003-2004 before getting the full-time closing job in '05. Having converted 23 saves in 26 opportunities with a 3.16 ERA though the first half of the season with the Mets, Rodriguez is 3 years removed from his record-setting 62 saves in 2008 which helped him land a 3-year, $37 Million contract in the Big Apple.

The first thing that comes to mind regarding the Brewers' mid-season acquisition, is the move they made in 2008 to bring C.C. Sabathia over from the Cleveland Indians. The trade for C.C. jump-started Milwaukee down the stretch as Sabathia single-handedly carried the Brew Crew to a Wild Card berth, helping them capture their first Postseason appearance since 1982. Although Rodriguez won't have as much of an impact Sabathia did, he certainly bolsters their bullpen which has been their biggest concern.

The deal could also spark a fire sale for the Mets who are also rumored to shop All-Star's Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. With both players in the final year of their contracts and expected to test free agency this December, the Mets are looking to shed as much salary as possible. For months, Jose Reyes was rumored by many sources as potentially being traded to the San Francisco Giants. Those talks have cooled down since then, with the stove now heating up on Beltran. With a lackluster offense that's been piggybacked by a dominant pitching staff thus far, either player would be the perfect piece to San Francisco's postseason puzzle in hopes of winning back-to-back World Series titles.

While Reyes who's six years younger than Beltran would make more sense for the long-term, Beltran's presence for the remainder of the season could also provide a significant jolt to the Giants' postseason campaign given he had one of the best series' in postseason history in '04 while a member of the Houston Astros. With All-Star's Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum along with blue chip prospects Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner officially all off limits, who exactly could the Giants deal to pry Reyes/Beltran out of New York's hands, Jonathan Sanchez?

New York Mets under Friendly Fire

If anybody has the right to criticize a ball club and its players, it's the team owner. And with what looks to be another disappointing season in Queens, Mets owner Fred Wilpon is doing just that. After signing a string of players to lucrative contracts and little success to show for mainly due to injury, Wilpon has expressed publicly just how harsh he's being on not only the players he signed, but also himself for investing in them.

Referring to Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran who had a historic Postseason while a member of the Houston Astros in 2004 where he belted 8 home runs tying a single Postseason record before signing with the Mets, Wilpon told The New Yorker magazine, "We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He's sixty-five to seventy percent of what he was." Following his impressive run in Houston which ended after losing in the World Series to the Chicago White Sox, Beltran garnered the attention of Wilpon as a free agent who signed him to a 7-year, $119 Million deal which at the time was the richest contract in franchise history. Little did he know, much of Beltran's tenure with the ball club would be plagued by injury as he's missed portions of both the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Making matters worse, Beltran underwent knee surgery last season which the Mets claim was without their consent.

However, Beltran wasn't the only player targeted by Wilpon, as he also had some not so nice things to say about third baseman David Wright who's been the face of the Mets franchise since being called up in 2004. "David Wright is a really good kid, but not a superstar," Said Wilpon. As for Mets shortstop Jose Reyes who like Beltran is in a contract year and has also had his share of injuries, Wilpon told The New Yorker, "He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it." For Reyes who's currently in the final year of a four-year extension signed back in '06, the 27 year old speedster is hoping to return to form as he's been among the elite at his position when healthy.

Despite going public with his strong disinterest in how his team has performed over the past few years, Wilpon does have something to be mad about. Coming into the 2011 season, the Mets owned the seventh highest payroll in the league with much thanks to the recent spending of players like Johan Santana, Jason Bay and Francisco Rodriguez. While both Santana and K-Rod have performed as expected thus far in a Mets uni, Bay has so far failed to meet expectations as his name will most likely be added to Wilpon's list in the near future. To avoid overspending and falling in a similar hole, Wilpon says he plans to slash the Mets payroll by as much as 30 percent next season. Luckily for them, first base will be among the few positions they won't need to address as they've got a promising young talent in 24 year old Ike Davis.