No team is going to give up a Major League ready starter with significant upside for Span. They're just not going to do it. Young, cost-controlled starters with upside are the
most valuable commodity in baseball. So Ryan went and got a slightly raw guy (but not too raw, he could end up in AAA this season) for Denard. Almost every baseball analyst not named Dave Cameron thinks this was a neutral trade or a slight win by the Twins and Ryan. You can go ahead and put your stock in Dave Cameron (who has been laughably wrong on some of his analysis over the years) and I'll put my stock in everybody else.
Ryan wasn't going to get a good young starter with upside for Span. Denard, while a quite good player, has all sorts of health issues surrounding him and while he's pretty cheap, he's not pre-arbitration cheap over the next three seasons. Ryan had over six months to work out a trade for Span and he sat on it until the right moment when Rizzo looked to be panicking after the Braves snatched Upton off the market. Ryan couldn't have done much better for Span than he did and he absolutely gouged the Phillies front office in the Revere deal.
So we have one good trade and one very good/outstanding trade. Yet Ryan is somehow failing to do his job. Ridiculous expectations much?
And next time you quote the Holy Grail that is Dave Cameron, read this article about the Figgins signing first. ROFLCOPTER. That's all I have to say about that.
http://www.ussmariner.com/2009/12/04...-sign-figgins/