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Who's making these trades?

It's time to check the IQs of Major League Baseball's general managers.

Seriously.

Jim Bowden of Cincinnati, Gord Ash of Toronto and Randy Smith of Detroit need to have their heads checked. In three successive trades, they have really gone out and shot themselves in the foot.

Bowden picked up Dante "What? Me hit well outside of Coors Field?" Bichette from the Rockies, Smith traded away half his talent to get Juan "Grumpy" Gonzalez and now Ash picked up Raul "Grumpier than Juan" Mondesi in exchange for the immensely better Shawn Green.

Good moves, guys!

In an off-season when teams are feeling the pinch due to the weight of the potential 2,000 free agent bonanza, GMs are scrambling like mad to make deals as soon as possible.

Bowden's move was due to Greg Vaughn's free agent status this year. Figuring he couldn't resign Vaughn, Bowden picked up Bichette in exchange for the oft-injured Jeffrey Hammonds and aging reliever Stan Belinda.

If Hammonds stays healthy, which is a big if, the Reds could look really stupid. Bichette has had a .268 average on the road during his time with Colorado. He'll be lucky to hit 20 homers and drive in 80 runs in a Reds uniform.

Then there's the Tigers, who sold everything but the kitchen sink to get a marquee player to open their new ballpark. Sure, Gonzalez is that, but who's surrounding him from the team that only won 69 games last year? And is he really going to stay in Detroit after the season?

The Tigers' rotation of Brian Moehler, Dave Mlicki and Jeff Weaver looks abysmal, and they still don't have a leadoff hitter.

Texas made a great move in getting five players who will fill five key positions where they've needed help for a long time.

Adding to this uneven series of trades was yesterday's blockbuster which sent Green to the Dodgers for Mondesi and a couple others.

Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers actually swindled someone. While Green might not be worth $84 million over six years, he's a lot better player than the moody Mondesi.

Mondesi makes Gonzalez look like an angel, and now he's off to be a cancer in Toronto's clubhouse. L.A., on the other hand, actually gets a good person who's also a good player and should help immediately.

Pay attention, Pat Gillick, before you ship off Griffey and Alex Rodriguez. There have been far too many steals this year, but nothing will compare to what might happen to you with those two guys.