Pulliam: It’s high anxiety while on deadline

This is one of my favorite times of the year.

No, not summer or the start of football season.

It’s MLB trade deadline time.

When I was younger, I turned on the TV to ESPN to check if any teams had made major moves. Next I would grab a newspaper and look in the transactions section to see if they were any minor moves ESPN failed to discuss.

The trade deadline has always grabbed my attention and this year is no different.

With the American and National Leagues wide open, one trade could make a difference. In the past, I watched the top teams in the league make deals to make them better but in the end failed to do so.

For example in 2009, the Detroit Tigers acquired starter Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners for Luke French and minor leaguer Mauricio Robles. The Tigers thought they had received a steal, but Washburn went 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA with the Tigers down the stretch. That was Washburn’s last season in the majors.

However, the trading deadline is about much more than the trades. For me, it is about the trades that are not made despite the rumors swirling around the media, especially now with Twitter.

Baseball is a funny game. Boston, which won the World Series last year, has already traded starter Jake Peavy to the San Francisco Giants. Rumor is a few others could leave the Red Sox.

Where will they land? American League or National League? So many teams are involved.

To me, that’s the beauty of it.

Waiting to see if your team is a buyer or a seller at the trade deadline is like waiting to see if that beautiful girl you took out last week will call you back.

A lot of teams are afraid to pull the trigger on a major trade. The Indians, who are just a few games back of the division-leading Tigers, have been rumored to acquire Tampa Bay’s David Price. Price is a prime-time pitcher whose impact would be huge. But are the Indians willing to give up three solid prospects to try and a win the division this year or stick with the squad they have?

Tough call. I say they won’t.

Every year, general managers make these calls. No matter what they choose, there are fans who will be skeptical of them.

If your team is first place, do you want to try and fix something that may not be broken? Or if they are a few games back, do you risk the future to win now?

The trade deadline separates the realistic thinkers and the dreamers. The dreamers want the big name player who may be gone after one postseason run. Realistic thinkers say stick with what has worked for your team so far or use the deadline to build for the future.

No matter the way you believe, one thing is certain.

The wait before the deadline is filled with anxiety.

Like checking if there’s a second date on-deck.

Write Vindicator sportswriter Curtis Pulliam at cpulliam@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @pulliam_vindy.