The Pivetta deal was not viewed as anything speacial.
Schwarber got some buzz, and the injury was a concern, but he was a major offensive player then, too.
The Abreu-Valdez trade was actually criticized by the "WIN NOW" posters, but was a very nice trade at the time, too. Yes, some liked Valdez more, and he has nice OPS numbers, but so what? It doesn't make Abreu chopped liver. Most baseball people knew Wilyer was the prize.
The talk here in HOU was about "losing Abreu" for a catcher the manager wouldn't even make the FT guys over a .180 hitter.