Waiting

Yes, that's me.

I can't help but keep looking at Ken Rosenthal's articles, at ESPN.com, at MLB.com, and at MLBTR because I want to know so badly. Where will Peavy land? So far, we've heard the Braves, the Cubs, and the Dodgers, not to mention the Yankees or the Angels. This all started October 17th, but it feels like it's been months. I keep getting up in the morning wondering whether or not he's been traded. I would love to see that the Braves got him, but more importantly, I just want to know. It's similar to liking a girl. You can dream all you want about being with her, but the idea will kill you until you do something about it. Maybe she says no, but at that point, at least you know. It's the not knowing that kills me.

The problem is that I can't trust the "journalists". There have been so many reports back and forth, declaring someone in the lead in this horse race. Each seems to make sense, and they all have their "sources". The thing is that none of them have really materialized. Then, Towers, for whatever reason, says that there are three teams left in the bidding. Now, I think a deal is close either way. You just don't limit the number of teams unless the remaining teams have given acceptable proposals, so Towers saying it's down to three makes me think something will happen in the next few days. But will it? I don't know.

I feel like this whole situation is totally irrational. Literally, everything about it is ridiculous. First, the Padres want to trade their ace pitcher, who is 27 and under control for at least the next four years and at a below-market price. Second, Towers has been so open about it. The five teams on the no-trade list that were acceptable were announced the day after the Padres announced they were trading Peavy. Why would you tell people that? I realize he would refuse to go to Seattle, but you can't let the actually interested teams know that. Third, there have been so many different proposals that I can't keep them straight. Everyone just keeps speculating on what the proposals are without actually knowing anything. Fourth, my mood for the past two weeks has almost exclusively been predicated on what the newest rumor is. If the Braves are in the lead, I'm excited. If they aren't, I'm worried. In the grand scheme of things, how does it matter? It doesn't, but that doesn't keep me from getting on the internet every hour to look at like 8 different sites to see what they're saying now. I look at Dave O'Brien's blog to see if he has anything new ... Nope, not since this morning. I literally stayed up until 2 o'clock the other morning after looking up more rumors for about two hours straight. I don't know why. Again, this whole thing is completely irrational.

It's not as if the Braves can't find other pitchers. Ryan Dempster, AJ Burnett, Ben Sheets, Jon Garland, and/or Javier Vazquez may very well end up in Atlanta. There's just something about Peavy, though. He just seems like the perfect guy. But do you give up Tommy Hanson, who most now consider one of the top two or three pitching prospects in the league? Do you give up Jason Heyward, who could turn a Jay Bruce or Justin Upton next year? Do you give up Freddy Freeman, who actually had better stats than Heyward while both are the same age? Do you give up Tyler Flowers, who is evidently just mashing the ball in the AFL and led Keith Law to wonder why more teams haven't tried to talk to Atlanta about him? Do you trade any of the young lefties -- Scott Diamond, Cole Rohrbough, Jeff Locke, and Steve Evarts --, who also have a lot of promise? I can't imagine being Frank Wren, and apparently, he's getting a little impatient. Can't say I blame him. He's probably been jerked around a few times, not least by Barry Axelrod and Peavy himself.

All of it feeds my addiction. I have to know. If there's nothing new, I automatically assume something is going on, but I don't what. And it kills me. On one hand, I'm glad the situation has been open (I hate surprises), but on the other hand, it being open hasn't been so great (the winner of the Peavy Derby is still going to be a surprise).

And then, you have to wonder about Peavy not wanting to come to Atlanta if Escobar leaves. No one knows if that's true or not, but it's just another step in this process. It's kind of like the Jason Bay trade last season. The Braves made a deal with the Pirates only for it to be shut down by the stupid owner (I say stupid out of frustration). The Braves could make a deal only to be undone by that deal. Granted, they could just convince Peavy that they'll have or have an alternate solution for shortstop, and everything can be alright.

Then, I hear the Twins might want to talk to the Braves about Escobar, but would the Braves stop their frustrated talks with the Padres and get a straight-up Escobar for Young or Slowey deal? Then, you have to wonder if it would just be better to have Slowey than Peavy. Would it be better to just give up Escobar for Slowey and not give up the other guys? Ugh. I just want it to end.