Usually, trade rumors have a life cycle similar to bubble gum. They start out strong; fans get excited. The flavor fades quickly; fans realize the trade isn't going to happen. Finally, your jaw starts to hurt from chewing on a flavorless lump.
The Bobby Abreu for Jose Contreras deal is the mythical stick of gum with never-ending flavor. A timeline:
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December 16th -- The first mention of Abreu on this site. I was blindly throwing out trade partners for Jon Garland, proposing what they might expect in return. Abreu had been rumored to be on the market, so I built a deal around him.
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January 7th -- BrentBrookHouse posts a diary saying Bruce Levine has confirmed the internet chatter of a proposed deal.
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January 19th -- Ken Rosenthal denies there was ever a deal proposed.
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January 20th -- Jayson Stark calls the Abreu for Contreras deal "the latest buzz."
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January 22nd -- The Philadelphia Enquirer makes mention of a deal, but says the Sox are unable to take on the additional payroll. I show that, with Dye included in the deal -- none of the major news outlets are even mentioning Dye -- the Sox wouldn't be taking on any additional payroll in '06.
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January 30th -- MLBTradeRumors.com lists an unfounded rumor with the Sox getting Gavin Floyd in addition to Abreu for Contreras and Dye.
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January 31st -- MLBTrade rumors crunches the numbers -- Hey don't worry guys, you're only a week behind me -- and cites a "very solid source."
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February 3rd -- The Philadelphia Daily News calls the deal the "hot Internet trade rumor du jour."
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February 4th -- Kenny Williams, through a team spokesman, denies the rumors. Again. Not to be denied, that other site brings up Houston.