Boston didn't get Bret Saberhagen, and the New York Yankees didn't get David Wells. The Orioles lost a game to Toronto, but when midnight struck, they could breathe easy.
It was a good night.
Wells went to the Cincinnati Reds, and the Red Sox's only pickup was left-handed reliever Mike Stanton. Trades will become more difficult now that the waiver deadline has passed. And the Orioles have made their big moves.
In fact, they did as well as any American League club in the recent trading frenzy, adding a quality starting pitcher (Scott Erickson) and proven slugger (Bobby Bonilla).
The only team that improved itself more was Cincinnati, which acquired two starting pitchers (Wells and Mark Portugal) and a Gold Glove center fielder (Darren Lewis).
The Red Sox? They lost out on Saberhagen to Colorado. They didn't get Kevin Tapani, Mike Morgan or Jeff Fassero. They acquired Stanton from Atlanta, and that was it.
New York Mets GM Joe McIlvaine apparently wanted Ken Ryan and a minor-league slugger for Saberhagen. He landed Alex Ochoa and Damon Buford for Bonilla. But faced with a similar quandary, the Red Sox wouldn't bite.
To think, they wanted to acquire two starting pitchers, but instead they'll stick with a rotation of Tim Wakefield, Jeff Suppan, Erik Hanson, Zane Smith and Mike Maddux.
They don't pitch (their 39 wild pitches rank second in the American League), and they don't catch (their 78 errors rank first). Former Oriole Juan Bell, of all people, is their backup middle infielder.
Repeating, for those who missed it.
Boston is cooked.
What a night. What a week. Right up until midnight, the trades kept coming. Good thing Bonilla got his first hit as an Oriole, or he might have been traded again. Remember Andy Benes? He's now a Seattle Mariner.
The Orioles, fresh off the acquisitions of Erickson and Bonilla, actually inquired about Wells, Morgan, Fassero, Andy Benes and Sammy Sosa in recent days.
Three trades in a month?
Why not?
Imagine an outfield of Sosa, Brady Anderson and Bobby Bonilla -- the Orioles would have been just like Cleveland, only with better pitching. Wells instead of Rick Krivda in the rotation? Manager Phil Regan would have settled.
None of it happened, of course, but Saberhagen, Bonilla, David Cone, Ken Hill and Jim Abbott all changed teams in the past week. The summer fleecings were better than the winter meetings, not that such a thing exists anymore.
Say what you want about the wild card, but the flurry of trades was the most interesting thing to happen in baseball this season, and it took place because more teams are in contention than ever before.
Yes, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, and the New York Yankees are Cone's fifth team since 1992. But those are problems for Donald Fehr and Bud Selig to resolve, if they ever return to the negotiating table.
Let's get to the standings.
The wild-card standings.
Texas and New York are tied for first. The Orioles dropped a half-game back with last night's 6-3 loss to Toronto. Seattle and Kansas City are one game back, Milwaukee 1 1/2 .
More contenders, more trades, more action.
This is bad for the game?
Wild-card fever isn't exactly gripping the nation, but that's only because it's new concept in a game. The fans will get used to it before long. And the clubs that earn wild-card berths will rightly consider their season a success.
If it's the Orioles, you think Camden Yards won't be packed?
Under the old system, the Orioles would trail Cleveland by 16 1/2 games. Under this one, they're a legitimate contender for either a division title or a wild-card berth.
We know the owners created the three-division format and expanded playoffs out of greed. We know they'd rather crush the players' union than revive the sport.
But let's get a few things straight.
The wild-card team isn't going to be some sad-sack .500 club. It probably will be the second-place AL East finisher -- the Orioles or Yankees. Both teams are capable of winning a short series.
The bigger danger in the expanded playoffs is a mediocre club winning a division, the way Texas would have last season in the AL West. It will happen eventually, but it's not going to happen every year, or even most years.
For the most part, the division winners will be deserving, and the wild-card team will be exactly as advertised -- the best second-place club. Only if the owners expand the playoffs further will baseball start to look like the NHL.
We're not there yet.
Face it, the wild card is fun.