azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
We wanted Randy Johnson to retire as a Diamondback.
We wanted him to pitch his final game at Bank One Ballpark. We wanted him to tip his cap to the fans as he walked off the mound and straight into the Hall of Fame. But that's not what Johnson wanted.
And that's why he looks like he's about to become a New York Yankee (Arizona is working on a three-way deal with New York and Los Angeles).
There's little place for sentiment in professional sports. What we know in our gut is right — Johnson finishing his career in Arizona — is a romantic ideal in a practical world.
Wayne Gretzky was traded. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was traded. And now Johnson might soon be gone, taking his five Cy Young Awards, his perfect game, his 4,000 strikeouts to, of all places, the evil empire that's the Yankees.
I never wish a person harm, but if George Steinbrenner tripped over his stacks of money and sprained an ankle, I wouldn't shed any tears.
Waves of anger will wash over the Valley when the trade is finalized. Who's to blame? How could this happen? Isn't there anything the Diamondbacks could have done?
Know this: Arizona wanted to keep Johnson. In fact, the Diamondbacks recently offered him a contract extension through the 2006 season.
But Johnson made it clear he wanted out. He wanted to pitch for a team that had a viable chance to win the World Series, and he didn't believe the Diamondbacks could be that team.
His decision left Arizona with two options: Hold onto Johnson next season — the final year of his contract — and get nothing in return when he became a free agent, or broker the best deal now, knowing there's no way to get equal value in return for one of baseball's most dominant pitchers.
Moving Johnson at the trading deadline next year was not an option; Johnson, who had a blanket no-trade clause, said wherever he started the 2004 season was where he would finish it.
It makes sense, then, to trade Johnson. The Diamondbacks are not going to win a World Series next year, their recent free agent signings — Troy Glaus, Russ Ortiz, Craig Counsell, Royce Clayton — notwithstanding. Better to get two or three players who will help Arizona down the line.
The question is, in the proposed deal, would Arizona get more in return for Johnson than it did for Curt Schilling, which was a whole lot of nothing?
Considering the handcuffs Johnson placed on the Diamondbacks — he's determined to go to New York because he wants to try to one-up Schilling — the Diamondbacks would do well to acquire outfielder/first baseman Shawn Green, starter Brad Penny, reliever Yhency Brazoban and a Dodgers pitching prospect.
Green, 32, is not the player he was a few years ago, but he still hit 28 homers for Los Angeles in 2004, and he would fill a hole at either first base or in right field.
Penny, 26, is an established major league starter, and Brazoban is 24 years old with closer stuff. He and Greg Aquino, Arizona's closer last season, could be a formidable back-of-the-bullpen combination.
Now, there are troubling issues with Green and Penny. Green will make $16 million in 2005 and then be eligible for free agency. The rent-a-player thing didn't work out too well with Richie Sexson.
But if Green does leave after one year, the Diamondbacks could use the $16 million to be an aggressive player in the free-agent market next winter.
Penny, too, can be a free agent after the ’05 season, but the Diamondbacks would try to work out a long-term deal for their former farmhand.
More troubling is the biceps tendinitis that sidelined Penny late last season. If he's healthy, he'd be a solid starter for years. If he's not, Arizona would have some explaining to do.
It's never easy to trade a superstar and, more often than not, the team that does so winds up looking foolish. Johnson, however, has backed the Diamondbacks into a corner.
It's sad that it had to come to this. But 2001 was a long time ago, and memories don't win championships.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=33285
We wanted Randy Johnson to retire as a Diamondback.
We wanted him to pitch his final game at Bank One Ballpark. We wanted him to tip his cap to the fans as he walked off the mound and straight into the Hall of Fame. But that's not what Johnson wanted.
And that's why he looks like he's about to become a New York Yankee (Arizona is working on a three-way deal with New York and Los Angeles).
There's little place for sentiment in professional sports. What we know in our gut is right — Johnson finishing his career in Arizona — is a romantic ideal in a practical world.
Wayne Gretzky was traded. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was traded. And now Johnson might soon be gone, taking his five Cy Young Awards, his perfect game, his 4,000 strikeouts to, of all places, the evil empire that's the Yankees.
I never wish a person harm, but if George Steinbrenner tripped over his stacks of money and sprained an ankle, I wouldn't shed any tears.
Waves of anger will wash over the Valley when the trade is finalized. Who's to blame? How could this happen? Isn't there anything the Diamondbacks could have done?
Know this: Arizona wanted to keep Johnson. In fact, the Diamondbacks recently offered him a contract extension through the 2006 season.
But Johnson made it clear he wanted out. He wanted to pitch for a team that had a viable chance to win the World Series, and he didn't believe the Diamondbacks could be that team.
His decision left Arizona with two options: Hold onto Johnson next season — the final year of his contract — and get nothing in return when he became a free agent, or broker the best deal now, knowing there's no way to get equal value in return for one of baseball's most dominant pitchers.
Moving Johnson at the trading deadline next year was not an option; Johnson, who had a blanket no-trade clause, said wherever he started the 2004 season was where he would finish it.
It makes sense, then, to trade Johnson. The Diamondbacks are not going to win a World Series next year, their recent free agent signings — Troy Glaus, Russ Ortiz, Craig Counsell, Royce Clayton — notwithstanding. Better to get two or three players who will help Arizona down the line.
The question is, in the proposed deal, would Arizona get more in return for Johnson than it did for Curt Schilling, which was a whole lot of nothing?
Considering the handcuffs Johnson placed on the Diamondbacks — he's determined to go to New York because he wants to try to one-up Schilling — the Diamondbacks would do well to acquire outfielder/first baseman Shawn Green, starter Brad Penny, reliever Yhency Brazoban and a Dodgers pitching prospect.
Green, 32, is not the player he was a few years ago, but he still hit 28 homers for Los Angeles in 2004, and he would fill a hole at either first base or in right field.
Penny, 26, is an established major league starter, and Brazoban is 24 years old with closer stuff. He and Greg Aquino, Arizona's closer last season, could be a formidable back-of-the-bullpen combination.
Now, there are troubling issues with Green and Penny. Green will make $16 million in 2005 and then be eligible for free agency. The rent-a-player thing didn't work out too well with Richie Sexson.
But if Green does leave after one year, the Diamondbacks could use the $16 million to be an aggressive player in the free-agent market next winter.
Penny, too, can be a free agent after the ’05 season, but the Diamondbacks would try to work out a long-term deal for their former farmhand.
More troubling is the biceps tendinitis that sidelined Penny late last season. If he's healthy, he'd be a solid starter for years. If he's not, Arizona would have some explaining to do.
It's never easy to trade a superstar and, more often than not, the team that does so winds up looking foolish. Johnson, however, has backed the Diamondbacks into a corner.
It's sad that it had to come to this. But 2001 was a long time ago, and memories don't win championships.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=33285
