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i could well be misremembering, but i seem to recall the rhetoric around here being of the nature that Sandy should move Byrd before the deadline, since he'd have more leverage (which he would have had) at that point. And for all we know, Sandy could well have passed on a decent offer waiting for a better one, before finally ending up with the Bucs prospects. We're just looking at the outcome after the fact and saying "yea, Sandy!". And yea indeed (though Black could easily end up Kyle Farnsworth and tiny Dilson Herrera could get blown away by a stiff breeze and never get a sniff of Queens). But only Sandy knows whether he got the maximum value by doing it that way. Unlike Hairston, Byrd was having not just a good year but a great year and Sandy may have figured he had the luxury of waiting because he felt he could ultimately get SOMETHING for Byrd going down the stretch. As it turned out, there was an organization that finally was in a pennant race after not being in the post-season for 20 years, and so was willing to risk overpaying for the short-term gain. And it worked out for the Bucs, as the move helped get them into the post-season. But it could just as easily have gone the other way, just like it did with Hairston, and we could've ended up with nothing, not even a bag-o-balls. That it worked out well the second time (and not the first) didn't make it the right strategy either time.
But as i said, i could be misremembering the nature of the rhetoric at that time. In any event, it still doesn't explain to me how the content of our rhetoric, good or bad, hurts our team. You think Sandy is monitoring online bulletin boards and blogs (or even the national media) in order to decide what moves to make? His understanding of the "popular opinions" of the fanbase may not go entirely unconsidered (certainly by ownership), but I don't think it impacts his moves one way or another. Now if you're talking about the public abuse heaped on overpaid, underperforming players at the ballpar, the kind that eventually rises to the level of metaphorical burnings in the public square, then maybe a GM will try to move such a fellow for his own good and to get rid of the distraction. Under those circumstances, a trade or buyout is addition by subtraction and a "bag o balls" is just a bonus. Also, when your dealing with an impending FA, particularly one with no vested history with the team, and your team is out of the running, its just a waste of resources to get nothing for him (as with Hairston) than it is to accept less than perceived "value". In such situations, waiting for "actual value" that may not materialize can do more harm to the franchise than good.
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