Who is at fault for the "state of the rotation" in 2009? So the solution to an already bad problem is to make it worse? (your idea of jettisoning Suppan) Not sure what the point was of demoting Hardy and giving Hall away for nothing when the team was out of the race They got the best available deal for Hall. I guarantee you Melvin had been working for months to unload that contract, & finally found something he could stomach. As for Hardy, they kept him in AAA to increase his service time. Doing this actually increased his trade value, because it gives his new team (obv. now MIN) more salary control of him. A one-week stretch of palatable offense really wouldn't have done anything to increase J.J.'s value. Like I said, some people just do anything to find fault with Melvin -- nevermind that he's widely regarded as one of the best GMs in the game. Every GM makes mistakes, but one like Melvin just doesn't make nearly as many as the rest of his peers. I posted the same thing at the time of the purge in August and people countered with "Bill Hall has no value", etc., etc. Apparently the Red Sox feel that he does. Yes, they feel he has value because they're hardly going to have to pay him a dime, and they are in dire need of a cheap IF backup since Lowell won't be able to contribute much in 2010. Like BREWCREW5 noted, the M's are also sending a minor leaguer & cash along with Hall. If anything, this is Zduriencik turning a redundant player into one Seattle can actually use in Kotchman.