So the big news coming down over the weekend is that vaunted hurler C.C. Sabathia is being traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brewers had to give up a very highly touted prospect to rent Sabathia for a few months (let’s face it. Nobody wants to live in Milwaukee, so the chances of Mr. Crooked Hat staying there are pretty slim).

The trade deadline deal is a constant sort of intrigue for me.  I love the fact that a team can swing its fan’s perspective all in one fell swoop.  But does it ever work?  I attempted to go back in the past few years and look at the “big” trades that happened to see if they ever lead to that hallowed ground of October baseball.

Since I am a Cubs fan, I will start there.  The big one that I remember is the trade for Nomar Garciaparra back a few years ago.  Obviously, this didn’t work as the Cubs didn’t make the postseason and paid Nomar a lot of money to be injured.

Last year’s big deals were all colossal failures (if judged by playoff wins).  The big deal was Mark Teixeira going from the Rangers to the Braves.  I think this one will work out much better for the Rangers than the Braves (I believe the Braves are shopping Teixiera as we speak).  The Braves finished 3rd in their division, and are currently 6 games under .500 for 2008.  Deal grade a year later: Dud.

In a laugh riot, the Rangers traded Eric Gagne to the Red Sox.  If you pay any attention to baseball, you know how this one turned out (not because it was a big story, but Boston gets more love from ESPN than Tony gets from Jessica.  That is another rant for another time, but you know this trade didn’t work out well for the Sox.  Yes, they still won the World Series, but this had more to do with how deep their roster already was than whether Gagne succeeded or not.

Trade number three was Kenny Lofton to the Indians for a couple of minor leaguers.  This trade was ALSO executed by Rangers GM Jon Daniels.  The Indians won their division, went to the ALCS, which they lost in 7 games.  Lofton batted .222 and OPS’d .657 in the series.  Not a complete loss, but nothing that would constitute a winner of a trade.

So, we have three big trades, none of which had an impact on winning the World Series.  Gagne’s trade might have even hurt the Red Sox.  As always, we have to have a “wait and see” attitude for the Sabathia trade, but I would be willing to bet that it doesn’t end up helping get over the hump.

In a related sidebar, look at what the Rangers picked up in those three trades: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Max Ramirez  and David Murphy, all of which are contributing to the big league club right now.  I know that 2 months ago, Jon Daniel’s job was in severe jeopardy, but taking a look at what has happened in the last month or so, he may have gotten the good end of every single trade that he made in 2007.