Teams learn the hard way as deadline deals fall flat

	Down the stretch in 1997, the Mariners gave up two future stars for Heathcliff Slocumb. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

With all the trade talk buzzing around baseball this month, you'd think that, once in a while, a decent swap of players might actually be made. And, to be fair, a good trade is pulled off... once in a while.

But for every Randy Johnson deal that instantly boosts a team (his 1998 trade from the non-contending Mariners to the in-the-race Astros on July 31 propelled Houston into the postseason), there are 50 more like the Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb deal that the Mariners made in 1997.

That one didn't do a whole lot for the Mariners that year. Or, for that matter, any year after that.

July has been, historically speaking, a trying month for teams trying to get better. Hundreds of deals are discussed every year before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. And many, in fact, are consummated. Out of desperation, out of greed, out of self-preservation, out of necessity -- and sometimes out of just plain stupidity -- teams flip-flop players all the time.

But a deadline deal that significantly helps a team reach the postseason -- in the year that it's made, an important distinction because that's what many of these trades are designed to do -- well, that's a real rarity. All that pre-deadline maneuvering and last-minute deal-making often ends up meaning little post-deadline.

In '96, for example, three hours after the rival Padres dealt for Milwaukee slugger Greg Vaughn on July 31, the Dodgers' Fred Claire hastily pulled the trigger on an 11th hour deal to bring in a much-needed leadoff hitter and center fielder, the Tigers' Chad Curtis. L.A. players, who reportedly were favoring a deal for the Cubs' Brian McRae or the Phillies' Jim Eisenreich, were said to be furious with the Curtis trade.

As it turned out, the Dodgers -- a half-game behind the Padres when the deadline passed -- finished the season a game behind San Diego but still nipped the Expos for the wild card, no thanks to Curtis. He hit .212 in the second half and was so far down the bench by the time the Braves swept L.A. in the first round of the playoffs, he got only two at-bats. He struck out both times.

The Curtis deal is nowhere close to being the worst deadline deal of the past decade. Still, it demonstrates how GMs sometimes can feel so much heat to swing a deal before the deadline that they end up making some real duds that don't help their teams at all.

"I think you need to be very careful. I think you see a lot of mistakes made at the trade deadline," says Padres general manager Kevin Towers. "I think teams feel like they're in the hunt and they need to do something. And they end up moving a big part of their organization for a two-month rental that backfires on them."

The pressure to make a meaningful deal before the July 31 deadline has increased tenfold since the advent of the wild card in 1995. Since then, more and more teams are lured into thinking that they actually have a chance at the postseason. This year, 19 teams are either leading their division or within five games of the lead entering Wednesday's games. Every team in both of the West divisions is within five games of the lead.

What all that amounts to is a lot of fans and owners looking for that second-half push, and more GMs itching to make a move than ever. Most of the trigger-pullers, not surprisingly, are especially hot for pitching, the holy grail of the trade deadline.

It's not easy doing a decent deal, as the history of July deals clearly shows. Here are 10 headline-making deals of the last decade, all done before July 31, that were designed to help a contender but ended up falling flat:

1996: OF Chad Curtis (Detroit) to L.A. for LHP Joey Eischen and LHP John Cummings
The Dodgers were a half-game out when they made a last-hour deal for leadoff man and center fielder Curtis. He hit .212 for L.A., the Dodgers were swept by the Braves in the playoffs and Curtis never played in the National League again.