Jon Lester threw a no-hiter versus the Kansas City Royals last night. The only thing I could think about was how well the Boston Red Sox did by not trading for Johan Santana and how much worse the Yankees look for not doing so. Lester was one of the key pieces demanded by Minnesota as was CF Jacoby Ellsbury.
Lester is now 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 66 innings. Jacoby Ellsbury has a .377 OBP with 18 SBs. The Yankees have Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy who have a 8.70 ERA in 50.2 combined innings, Jeff Marquez has a 6.16 ERA in 9 AAA starts and Melky Cabrera has a .317 OBP. Meanwhile, Santana is 5-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 60 innings for the Mets and exactly what the Yankees need.
This certainly makes it appear that the Red Sox front office was a lot smarter than the Yankees front office by holding on to its prospects while the Yankees look foolish for doing the same. Will this be the same burr-in-the-saddle for Hank Steinbrenner that it would have been for his father?
If so, then do not expect GM Brian Cashman to make it through the season. Why let Cashman trade prospects for major league help? Didn't he just demonstrate he could not properly evaluate them when he failed to deal Hughes, Kennedy and Marquez for Santana?