Breaking down the trade: Ken's side

Corey Hart's injury might have been the best thing to happen to his fantasy owners.

Likely to be traded, Hart would have been taken out of Milwaukee's powerful top of the lineup and Milwaukee's hitters' park.

But now, with a wrist injury, Hart is less likely to be dealt, and his fantasy value remains the same in Milwaukee. Ken is hoping for that, as he traded Clayton Kershaw for Hart and Derek Lowe.


"First of all very excited about the deal," Ken said. "The team has been struggling lately and needs a wake-up call that we can not afford losing streaks after our initial one."

This much is true. Ken is fighting dearly for a wild-card spot after an 0-5 start. Subbing Lowe for Kershaw is obviously a downgrade, but he should be able to survive with Cliff Lee, Johan Santana and C.J. Wilson on the roster.

"I was not planning on keeping Kershaw and was attracted to Hart, who will give me some extra pop that I need," Ken said.

Very true. The one thing we've said about Ken's team all year is that it's missing power. Adding Hart, assuming he gets healthy, is a huge get.

A nice job by both teams in this trade to address some issues while not trading away too much.

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Breaking down the trade: Shea's side

Is there any doubt as to why Shea made a trade for Clayton Kershaw? Clearly, he wanted his twin on the team, right?

Ken, the other manager in this trade, even said Kershaw was a guy that "Shea only wanted because he's in love with himself anyway."

Aside from the striking resemblance, Shea got a pretty good arm when he traded Derek Lowe and Corey Hart for the Dodgers' young pitcher.



Kershaw is 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 138 strikeouts. Lowe is 10-8 with a 4.48 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 81 strikeouts. Clearly, it's a huge pitching upgrade.

"With (Andy) Pettitte going down and some of my guys being inconsistent it was important for me to find a strikeout guy in a pitcher-friendly park," Shea said.
With names like Rodriguez, Cabrera, Morneau and Ortiz, Shea clearly could afford to part ways with Hart, who was a midseason pickup.

Hart, currently battling an injured wrist, might be traded from the Brewers by the end of the week. If he goes to a team like San Diego, his power numbers most definitely will decrease.

On the surface, it looks like a nice trade for Shea, who is just a half-game out of first place in his division.

"I'll miss Hart especially if his thumb is OK," Shea said. "But overall this is a great move for the crew!"

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