Come To Think of It...How Trades Have Shaped the NL Pennant Race

This year's contending teams in the National League have acquired some players that have already made a huge impact on the pennant race and will likely continue to do so for the remainder of the season.

The most significant moves made by National League contenders were the following:

• The Brewers obtain CC Sabathia.
• The Cubs answer with Rich Harden.
• The Diamondbacks get Adam Dunn.
• The Dodgers acquire Manny Ramirez and Greg Maddux.

There were some lesser moves, of course, but these are the trades that are shaping the outcome of the divisional races.  

Most of them are rentals, although the Cubs have an option year for 2009 on Rich Harden. The teams that unloaded these potential free agents wanted to get something for them before they walked away.

We can thank the Cleveland Indians, Oakland A's, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and the San Diego Padres for helping make this a more exciting stretch run.

The Maddux deal is just being finalized as I write this, and Los Angeles was the only place he would agree to go. Still, it was a good acquisition for the Dodgers, both in terms of his being a somewhat effective fifth starter, as well as for the experience he brings to the clubhouse.

Both Sabathia and Harden have pitched like the aces they are thus far. CC has even exceeded all expectations, completing five games and pitching shutouts in two of them. He is 8-0 with Milwaukee, with an ERA of 1.60.

Harden is only 3-1 since joining the Cubs, but his ERA has been 1.50, suggesting he should have an even better record. Harden is averaging around 11 K's per nine innings since joining Chicago.

Manny is showing L.A. that "Being Manny" involves more than just crazy antics on and off the field. It includes solid, right-handed power slugging as well. Manny is hitting .413./.500/.746 with an OPS of 1.246 since being acquired by the Dodgers.

Dunn's sample size is smaller than the aforementioned stars. Yet he has filled a hole in the Arizona lineup by going 7-24 with a home run and five RBI in seven games. While not quite the same impact as the others, wait until he gets hot.

It's nice to see trades, and not just free-agent signings, have such an impact on baseball's races this year. It's obvious that the Cubs, Brewers, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks all want to win now and are doing everything they can to put themselves in the best position to do so. 

It's refreshing to see such desire to win, come to think of it.