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warshawlawThe Nu-Cards Scoops (1961) card on Merkle is a comedy classic. The cards are mock newspaper headlines. Merkle's reads "Merkle Pulls Boner". Needless to say, American slang has changed over the years.
I'm not sure you can class getting rid of Hornsby as a per se bad move. The guy was the Albert Belle of his day, had open aspirations to manage, and Mac probably could not stand him once he got him. Bear in mind that St. Louis traded him before the Giants, at or near the height of his skills, so Mac was by no means unique in finding that the man was toxic.
Boston's dump of Tris Speaker over a salary dispute was probably a dumb move. I've always found Speaker to be an intriguing personality. We all know abot how he and Cobb agreed to fix a game in the late 1920's, costing both men their managerial jobs and sending both on odysseys that had them in Philly in 1928. There is much agreement that he was a vehement racist in his early days (many say he was a KKK member), yet he had a close relationship with Larry Doby and Doby credited Speaker specifically for teaching him to play the outfield in Cleveland.
How about the Dodgers giving up on Pedro Martinez? Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? The Roger Maris trade(s)?