It's tempting to feel sorry for Seattle, but let's not forget how they screwed us last year at the trade deadline

Last year, around this time, we had a deal in place to obtain Cliff Lee. We would trade Jesus Montero, infielder David Adams and a third prospect to Seattle. Then they pulled the rug. They prefered Justin Smoak from Texas -- trading within their own division -- and merrily dealt Lee to the Rangers, laughing at how they stuck it to the mighty Yankees. Ha ha ha.

At the time, the 20-year-old Montero was hitting .253 for Scranton. Now, he's had a full year of seasoning at Triple A, improved his catching skills markedly, he's hitting about .290 and he's hot. Since returning from a minor injury, he's hit four HRs in 14 games. If stays hot, as he did last summer, Montero could be our DH in the month of September.

Right now, Smoak is horrible. He might turn it around, or he might be the kind of star that never ascends, destroying the young team that counted on him. Seattle made the choice. No sympathy here. Sweep the bastards, and send them on their way.