It's never good when I see that a trade has been made for a guy that I didn't even know was still in the majors. And it's even worse when the only thing you had to give up to acquire that guy is Kyle Farnsworth.

But that's exactly what happened this afternoon. The Yankees, in desperate need of a catcher with Jorge Posada shelved for the season, traded away Kyle Farnsworth to the Tigers for Pudge Rodriguez.

Frankly, there's really only one way to look at this deal. The Yankees needed a catcher more than than they needed relief pitchers at the moment (even though they desperately need more relief help) and they got a guy who can at least provide solid defense. Pudge, after all, is a 13-time Gold Glove winner.

But he's not going to do an awful lot at the plate. Despite the fact that Girardi said Pudge is "hot" right now, Pudge hasn't been hot for almost 4 years.

Remember the first year Pudge was with Detroit? That was 2004, when he hit .334, had an on-base percentage of .383, hit 19 home runs, and slugged at a .510 clip.

After that season, as you probably also remember, a lot of steroid questions popped up around baseball. Pudge came back the next season and hit .276, with a ridiculously low .290 on-base percentage, hit 14 home runs, and slugged .411.

And that's been pretty much his average season since. All his power numbers are down, but what's especially weird is his on-base percentage is awful in comparison to what he had averged prior to the beginning of the 2005 season. I'm not sure what to attribute that to, other than that since pitchers know he's not juicing anymore, and is essentially just a singles hitter now, they challenge him more.

Basically, what I'm saying is that Pudge is nothing but a ghost of his former 'roided up self. Can he still play solid defense for you? No question. But is he the extra ingredient combined with the Xavier Nady deal that'll get the Yankees over the hump and past the Red Sox and Rays? Not a chance in hell.

This move for Pudge also looks pathetic in comparison to the Angels grabbing Mark Teixeira. The Teixeira trade was a move the Yankees used to make, now they're picking up washed up catchers. My how times change.

The other problem here is the Yankees could use some more relief pitching in my mind, and I have no idea where it's going to come from. Damaso Marte, whom the Yanks acquired in the Nady deal, already blew a lead in relief on Monday to the lowly Orioles.

If you want my take, these just aren't the same Yankees. While getting Nady was great, most of this team is old and the bullpen, since they made Joba a starter, is mediocre aside from Rivera. That's not a recipe for success at all.

Boston's still my pick to win the division with the Rays picking up the wild card.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention how Detroit will do by acquiring Farnsworth. Here's my answer: Who cares. They aren't even going to come close to making the playoffs anyway. Plus, if you just added Kyle Fanrsworth to bolster your bullpen, you might as well just call it a season.