What is there left to say at this point?

Dayton's the most reliable man in baseball right now. We started making jokes about his position player ideas two years ago, and the hits just keep on coming. As the cliche goes, it would be funny, if it wasn't so sad.

Many will want to believe that the Anderson trade signals some future move to come. Of course, the same thing was said about the Ryan Freel acquisition. I guess the upside of this move is that tomorrow morning, we get to wake up and read about a terrible Mark Teahen or David DeJesus trade. I hear Pete Orr has really turned the corner in AAA.

Yes, Anderson is a minor move, a minor player in a mythical rebuild. Yes, he's free. He's also a reflection of the same broken model, the same process of player overevaluation and tools worship that's done nothing to lift the Royals out of the cellar. We're now in year three of Dayton's quixotic quest to solve a problem that doesn't exist, his hunt for an old-school patented "speedy centerfielder". And of course, he's a failed former Brave. Like Moore.

Moore says he doesn't understand defensive statistics -- which would tell him that just sticking Maier in CF and DDJ in LF and getting ready for 2010 is the simplest thing to do if he really wants defense -- but that's a bit of a trick on his part. His real aim appears to be building his defense around Baseball Tonight "web gems" and steals. Go figure.

The seasons change, we grow older, the offense grows worse. One day, Dayton will run out of sub-.300 OBP guys to acquire. Until then, I guess we only have the option of making hay while the sun shines.

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Consider this your Trade Deadline Eve  Open Thread.