I don't particularly want to give up Duchscherer; I drafted him as a sleeper and needless to say he's paid off, so he's like a prodigal son to me at this point. However, I think I have a chance to really upgrade my hitting so it might be a case of "if you love someone, let him go." I proposed a somewhat lowball of a deal to a leaguemate: My Duchscherer, Garza, Votto, and Weeks for his Cain, Carmona, and Morneau. The other owner balked at the Votto/Weeks combo but also said "I want to accept your trade because I need pitching."

My original target in this trade was Cain, but now that I see that I have a chance to get Morneau I really want to get this thing done. The only hitch is I'm no longer convinced that Cain/Carmona won't be a noticeable downgrade, so getting Morneau at a discount is a must. Here's my team -- what's the most I should offer instead of Votto/Weeks to snag Morneau? He's got a hole at middle infield and is shallow in the OF.

12-team mixed, 27-man roster, points league
C- Doumit
1b- Prince
2b- Cano
3b- ARod
ss- Aviles (w/ Tulo on the DL)
1b/3b- Votto
2b/ss- Weeks
OF- C. Lee
OF- Dunn
OF- T. Hunter
OF- Swisher
OF- M. Cameron
UTIL- B. Francisco
SP- Webb, Duchscherer, Pettite, Garza, Wolf (blech), and I'm holding Liriano, Snell, and G. Gonzalez
RP- Rivera, Torres, Broxton

Duchscherer and Garza should be enough for Morneau and Cain (or Carmona) and it's a trade I would do. Do you need more? You could throw in Weeks, because you have Tulo and Weeks has lost a bunch of value with the addition of Durham. I suppose you could toss in Gonzalez. Honestly, you don't have a lot of parts you can move. I mean, you could move a lot of players (like Swisher) but the other team's not going to want him.

And this is why I'm fighting to get out of 9th place. Bad/unlucky draft killed my pitching staff (Smoltz, Myers, Francis). I don't particularly want to move two pitchers to get one in return, even if I'm getting Morneau, because my pitching is shallow to begin with. I'll tinker with it and see what I can come up with. Thanks Grey

In an interesting turn of events, the other owner accepted my initial offer in principle, offering the trade back to me after I pulled it due to his initial rejection. Here's what is on the table:

I trade Duchscherer, Garza, Votto, Weeks.
I get Morneau, Cain, Carmona.

I have to do this, right? I think my enormous man-crush on the Duke is clouding my judgment. Someone set me straight (no pun intended -- zing!).

I like the Duke but I'll pull the trigger before I post a message here there with that offer

Yeah, you should definitely do it.