I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with Flaherty being the only pitcher acquired but the facts are the facts.
We do not know what the Orioles offered or who they went after, and I'm certainly not taking up for Angelos because for all I know he would not let Elias take on the contracts of Scherzer, Verlander or Montgomery even if the prospects were agreed upon.
We also don't know how the young rotation will hold up in the playoffs. So if I had my druthers, I would feel better with the Orioles having any of them instead of Flaherty in starting rotation right now.
But saying all of that, the Orioles have been better than every one of the team that were mentioned and while all three of those guys have out performed Flaherty so far, the records of the teams are what they are since the trad deadline.
Now I will admit, when the playoff starts, that's when we'll know whether Elias' conservative approach (whether his decision or Angelos') at the trade deadline worked or not.