RJ back to Dbacks?

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ASUCHRIS

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No kidding...if we are going to give up good young pitchers, let's get a young starter with upside. It's ridiculous that we would rather pay Johnson a ton of money instead with little upside. What happened to the ten million to spend in the offseason?
 

Evil Ash

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No kidding...if we are going to give up good young pitchers, let's get a young starter with upside. It's ridiculous that we would rather pay Johnson a ton of money instead with little upside. What happened to the ten million to spend in the offseason?

They're only giving up one good pitcher and thats only if they're giving up Owings. The rest are mediocre
 

boondockdrunk

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http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/03/sports/professional/padres/22_25_571_2_07.txt

SAN DIEGO ---- The possibility remains that the Padres will have two future Hall of Fame pitchers in their starting rotation next season.

While media reports have pegged the Arizona Diamondbacks as the likely destination of New York Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson, who's on the trade market, the Padres are "definite players" for the 6-foot-10 left-hander, said a major-league source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.



The Padres have made their final offer for Johnson and are awaiting a decision by the Yankees, who are expected to unload the pitcher by the end of the week. The source close to the trade discussions wouldn't identify names but confirmed Tuesday that the Padres are offering a combination of major- and minor-league talent for Johnson. One major-leaguer is believed to be reliever Scott Linebrink, who has been dangled in potential deals since the middle of last season.


The Yankees were reportedly close to a trade last week that would have sent Johnson, a Phoenix resident, back to the Diamondbacks, the club he pitched for from 1999-2004 and led to the 2001 World Series title. But those talks appear to have hit a financial snag. In exchange for waiving his no-trade clause, Johnson is reportedly seeking a one-year extension beyond 2007, when his contract expires, but the two teams can't agree on the structuring of the extension or how much of Johnson's $16 million salary the Yankees might be willing to eat.

The economics of the deal are "no hurdle" for the Padres, according to the source, who said those issues were ironed out before Christmas, when the Yankees began shopping Johnson. It's not known whether the Padres are offering a contract extension.

Free agent David Wells, another aging lefty, remains the a option if the Padres aren't able to acquire Johnson.

The 43-year-old Johnson, a former USC star, would combine with offseason addition Greg Maddux to give the Padres a pair of starters with 613 total victories (333 for Maddux, 280 for Johnson) and nine Cy Young Awards (five for Johnson, four for Maddux). Maddux and Johnson are the only pitchers in history to win four consecutive Cy Youngs, with Maddux winning from 1992-95 and Johnson from 1999-02.

Johnson would also give the Padres the two tallest starters in the majors, joining 6-10 right-hander Chris Young.

Besides his height, Johnson is known for the scorching fastball and nasty slider that have enabled him to lead the league in strikeouts nine times and record 4,544 career strikeouts, third on the all-time list behind Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens.

He began to show his age during two seasons in New York, with his strikeouts slipping from 290 in 2004 to 172 last year while his ERA rose from 2.60 to 5.00, the highest figure of his career. Johnson, however, won 17 games and logged at least 205 innings in both seasons.

He had surgery in October to repair a herniated disc in his back.
 

devilfan02

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Chris Coraggio of CBS channel 5 just reported that the RJ trade to AZ is nearly done. He said many major league sources said they expect the deal to be done by the end of this week and that money is holding it up. Said that NYY and AZ hasn't agreed on how much the Yanks will throw our way and they are also trying to restructure the deffered payments. We've all already heard that.....

Here's where I fell off my couch laughing (typical PHX media- worthless)- Coraggio said the teams have agreed on players and they will be either Greg Aquino OR Brandon Lyons and both Nippert and Owings. Thats right, the same Greg Aquino who was traded to the Brewers for Doug Davis. WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS! How do they expect us to take them seriously when they can't get the most basic things correct. Truly pisses me off
 

coyoteshockeyfan

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Here's where I fell off my couch laughing (typical PHX media- worthless)- Coraggio said the teams have agreed on players and they will be either Greg Aquino OR Brandon Lyons and both Nippert and Owings. Thats right, the same Greg Aquino who was traded to the Brewers for Doug Davis. WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS! How do they expect us to take them seriously when they can't get the most basic things correct. Truly pisses me off
Haha, that's awesome. At least they didn't claim that the Dbacks were trading Adriano Rosario.
 

boondockdrunk

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http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=119

Big Unit a Big Bargain

by Nate Silver

Merry Christmas, everyone.

The prevailing reaction to the news that Randy Johnson is on the trading block is indifference: many Yankee fans treat him as though he’s nothing more than a fourth starter. And maybe that’s understandable; Johnson’s tenure in the Big Apple never did get off to the best start.

But the key thing to notice is that Johnson’ ERA in 2006 was not an accurate reflection of his pitching ability; his peripherals translate to an ERA much closer to 4.00 than the 5.00 he posted. The reason for the disparity is that Johnson pitched very poorly with runners on base, yielding an ugly .321/.363/.564 line as compared to .206/.271/.324 with the bases empty.

Now, those sorts of splits aren’t always about luck. There could be something about pitching out of the stretch that is driving that discrepancy, perhaps something related to Johnson’s balky back or his heavy use of his slider. But let’s take a deeper look at the numbers:

* Johnson struck out 20.6% of batters with the bases empty, and 19.8% with someone on base. Not much difference there.
* He yielded an unintentional walk to 7.1% of batters with the bases empty, and 9.9% with the bases occupied. That difference is a little more substantial, but it’s also a natural adaptation that a lot of veteran pitchers like Tom Glavine make: there’s more incentive to challenge a hitter when there’s nobody on base, leading to comparatively lower walk rates.
* Johnson’s BABIP with the bases empty was .239. With runners on, it was .369. This is almost certainly a matter of luck.
* So perhaps the big difference is that Johnson was getting hit up for extra bases more often with runners on base? Well, this is true: his home run rate was nearly twice as high with runners on (4.6%) than with the bases empty (2.5%). But the funny thing is that Johnson was actually doing a better job of keeping the ball on the ground with runners on. His groundout-to-airout ratio was 1.09 in those situatuons, as opposed to 0.78 with the bases empty. In other words, more bad luck.

I’ve got news for you: the Yankees might not be trading their #4; they might be trading their #1. Johnson’s ERA PECOTAs out at 3.52, which is the best in the Yankee rotation by some margin. You can take that PECOTA with a certain grain of salt because it’s so hard to find appropriate comparables for Johnson. But the names that PECOTA does come up with — Roger Clemens foremost among them — are a reminder that you shouldn’t bet against a great pitcher until you absolutely have to.

Personally, I find this article to be ridiculous. First off, it is not luck that his BABIP is higher when runners are on. This is because the infield is shifted when runners are on base, (i.e. if a runner is on first, he will usually be held on by the 1st baseman). So, it is not bad luck but situational. Also, he may have had problems pitching out of the stretch compared to when he didn’t. This has troubled some pitchers and while it probably did not do this to RJ before, he could have had problems with his back that caused this to happen.

In addition, this idea follows suit with his fourth point about home-run ration when runners are on base. Does anyone else recall Melvin's thoughts whenever Russ Ortiz got shelled: "the batters hit them where we weren’t"? That may be so, but they seemed to do it too much to be all luck. The fact of that situation was that it did not matter if it was a fly-ball or a groundball; it was still going to be hit hard to where the fielders were not situated.

Of course, we can all recognize the most blatant lie that this writer begins his article with: "many Yankee fans treat him as though he’s nothing more than a fourth starter." Sure, a fourth starter... that is why they are asking for two top-pitching prospects, a good young reliever, and for us to take on that huge contract?

Perhaps the most convincing thing of all against this article is the fact that Randy is getting older. It is not a matter of a 30-year old pitcher having a bad year, but a 40+ year old who has regressed each of the last two years. This is not based upon luck but the general collapse of an athlete who has worn down after a long, great career.
 

devilfan02

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Coraggio just made another RJ report. Said that CBS 5 just learned in the last 30 minutes that the Yank want 2 of these 4 pitchers- Ohlendorf, Owings, Nippert, Medders (shocking news, we've known this for a week). He said Medders is a lock and that Nippert is the one the Yanks want the most.
 

boondockdrunk

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Still a Yankee for now
By Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports
January 3, 2007

Tim Brown
Yahoo! Sports

Randy Johnson remains in pinstripes for at least a few more hours.

The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks went into Wednesday night haggling over players and financial details of a trade that would return the five-time Cy Young Award winner to the Diamondbacks, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

"They are still working on the players to be involved," the source said.

Two years after Johnson waived his no-trade clause (for the cost of a two-year, $32-million contract extension), the Yankees are determined to trade him away, and the Diamondbacks continue to be the frontrunners.

The San Diego Padres, who have made an offer for the 43-year-old Johnson, have not been told they are out, though the more ardent negotiations are between Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and his Diamondbacks counterpart, Josh Byrnes. Neither the Diamondbacks nor Padres formally has requested a window to negotiate a contract extension with Johnson's agent, Alan Nero.

The Padres have made David Wells, who will be 44 in May, their backup plan in a rotation that also will include Greg Maddux, who will be 41 in April.

Cashman has told both teams he would like to have a deal done by the end of this week. Cashman believes he is dealing from strength, given a rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano. The Yankees also believe they have the inside track on Roger Clemens.

Johnson won 103 games, four Cy Young Awards and a World Series in six seasons with the Diamondbacks before being traded to the Yankees. Though he was 34-19 in two seasons in New York, his ERA ballooned to 5.00 last season, and in three postseason appearances for the Yankees he was 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA.

It is unknown if the Diamondbacks would grant Johnson an extension. He would join reigning Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb in the rotation, along with Livan Hernandez, Doug Davis and, probably, Juan Cruz.

Davis, the left-hander, was 11-11 last season for the Milwaukee Brewers. He came to the Diamondbacks along with left-hander Dana Eveland and outfielder Dave Krynzel in a November trade for catcher Johnny Estrada and pitchers Claudio Vargas and Greg Aquino.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-unit010307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
 
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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseb...104b,0,1001758.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

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Randy Johnson is now on board with his trade back to Arizona. All that's left is for the Yankees and Diamondbacks to work out their minor differences, and the Big Unit's departure from the Bronx will be complete.

The Yankees and Arizona have advanced far enough in their discussions that Johnson has already agreed, in principle, to a contract extension for 2008 with the Diamondbacks, two people familiar with the situation told Newsday. The trade could take another two or three days to finish, given its complexities.




No trade is done until it's done, of course, but something would have to go wildly off course for this deal to get blown up.

Johnson, 43, who is set to make $16 million this season, has accepted -- through back-channel conversations -- a $10-million salary for 2008, in return for waiving his no-trade clause. It's possible that Johnson will help out the Diamondbacks and defer some of his 2007 salary. Ultimately, Johnson will earn a total of $26 million for the next two seasons. Arizona also owes Johnson $40 million in deferred money from the five-time Cy Young Award winner's previous stay with the Diamondbacks, from 1999 through 2004.

It has been established, furthermore, that the Yankees will receive veteran reliever Luis Vizcaino in the deal. As of last night, however, it had not yet been determined which highly regarded young pitcher -- most likely either Dustin Nippert, Ross Ohlendorf or Micah Owings -- would join Vizcaino in heading to New York.

The more the Yankees agree to pay Arizona as part of the deal, the more talented a package they will reap.

The Diamondbacks want to thoroughly examine all of Johnson's physical information. Johnson underwent back surgery earlier this offseason and might not be ready for the start of the 2007 schedule. Moreover, the Diamondbacks and Johnson still have to work out the final language of the 2008 extension, and it's possible they'll get a 72-hour window -- as per Major League Baseball's standard procedure -- to do that.

These are all issues that seem solvable, as the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Johnson all appear motivated to make this happen.

The Yankees are intrigued by the idea of unloading Johnson's large salary in return for prospects, further strengthening their farm system as they did with the trade of Gary Sheffield to Detroit. And Vizcaino, a 32-year-old righthander, would give the Yankees more bullpen depth. Last season, Vizcaino recorded a 3.58 ERA in 70 appearances for the Diamondbacks.

The Yankees also plan to pursue Roger Clemens to replace Johnson, although they would go after Clemens even if Johnson were staying.

The Diamondbacks, with arguably baseball's best farm system, can afford to deal some of their young talent and gamble that Johnson, back in the National League, will pitch well enough to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, if not necessarily the superstar of his prime.

Johnson, who never has seemed comfortable in New York, gets to spend half of the regular season with his family. Johnson first indicated to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman a few weeks ago that he wouldn't mind going back near his Paradise Valley, Ariz., home.

The deal carries risk for both clubs. The Yankees might miss the 200-plus innings Johnson provided the last two seasons, especially if Clemens follows his 2006 schedule and doesn't come back until June.

Clemens, in any case, would likely see his statistics worsen by returning to the American League, just as Johnson figures to benefit from going back to the NL. And without Johnson, the Yankees will be leaning heavier on Japanese lefthander Kei Igawa, youngster Jeff Karstens and the perennially injured Carl Pavano.

Arizona, meanwhile, might discover that Johnson doesn't have much left, if the future Hall of Famer can't find new strength from his back surgery.

But right now, in January, everyone is on the verge of being very happy. Even the moody Johnson, who wants to come home so badly that he took a pay cut for 2008.
 

Diawsome

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There seems to be a new rumor coming from one of the several NY media outlets that completely contradicts the others every half hour or so that makes it hard for me to believe any of them. That said if Byrnes could land RJ w/ the 08 extension at only 10 million for just Vizcaino and Nippert or possibly Ohlendorf (though I would really like to see them hold onto him if they could) you could put a "W" on his record for this trade. :thumbup:
 

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseb...104b,0,1001758.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

Quote:


It has been established, furthermore, that the Yankees will receive veteran reliever Luis Vizcaino in the deal. As of last night, however, it had not yet been determined which highly regarded young pitcher -- most likely either Dustin Nippert, Ross Ohlendorf or Micah Owings -- would join Vizcaino in heading to New York.

As long as they don't include Owings and instead give someone like Nippert, I will be happy. The Yankees have to trade RJ now, there is no going back. The Diamondbacks need to play hardball and tell them take it or leave it.
 

devilfan02

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ESPNNews bottom line is reporting the same thing thats in the above article. Said AZ/NYY/RJ have agreed in principle on a contract extension through 2008 and there are a couple minor details to work out
 

Stallion

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Webb just won the Cy Young if RJ thinks he should be #1 over Webb he needs serious therapy. He could be #2 if he outperforms Livan.

I'd put him at 4 right now. Webb, Livan, Davis, Johnson.

If we go through all this to overpay for him, he'd better be a good soldier.
 

devilfan02

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Johnson could return to D-Backs by weekend
By Jack Magruder, Tribune January 3, 2007

The Diamondbacks appear close to welcoming Randy Johnson home. Johnson, who won four Cy Young awards during his previous six-year stay in Arizona, could join the D-Backs as early as this weekend in a trade that would send reliever Luis Vizcaino and at least one young starting pitcher to the New York Yankees, a major league source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Wednesday.The Yankees and D-Backs were still discussing the minor league pitchers Wednesday evening, with the same names circulating as possibilities — Dustin Nippert, Micah Owings and Ross Ohlendorf.

The Yankees could get two of those pitchers, depending on what portion of Johnson’s $16 million contract they would cover in 2007, sources said.

When the D-Backs traded Johnson to the Yankees in 2005, the Yanks agreed to pick up $9 million of Johnson’s scheduled $16 million salary from the final year of his contract in Arizona.

Johnson would join a D-Backs rotation with Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez and newcomer Doug Davis that could rank among the best in the NL West.

Los Angeles signed Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf this winter to go with Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley, and San Diego has a front four that includes Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley and newcomer Greg Maddux.

The Giants signed Barry Zito to add to Matt Cain, Noah Lowry and Matt Morris.

While the trade could take three or four days to finalize, another step appeared to have been cleared when Johnson informally agreed to add another year to his contract, according to sources cited by Newsday.

The D-Backs need a two-year deal to make their budget work and have about $10 million to spend in 2007.

Impetus remains on all sides to make it work. The deal would provide the D-Backs a 34-game winner over the last two seasons and give Johnson a desired return to his Valley home, where he also would be nearer his mother in northern California.

Johnson’s departure would free up money that the Yankees could use to pursue free agent Roger Clemens, an apparent target.

After the players are agreed upon, the D-Backs would seek a negotiating window with Johnson, who has a full no-trade clause, to discuss contract terms.

“When the window opens, that’s a key time,” a source said.

The final step would be a physical evaluation. Johnson underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back in October, and the Yankees have said they are unsure if he will be ready for the start of the regular season.

While the medical seems straightforward enough, the D-Backs had two trades fall through last season because of medical red flags.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=81692
 

devilfan02

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NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees are still trying to trade Randy Johnson, hoping to get a tentative deal in place that then would allow the Big Unit's agents to get him a contract extension.



A return to the Arizona Diamondbacks still appears to be the most likely destination for the five-time Cy Young Award winner, but the Yankees also have been talking to the San Diego Padres. New York hasn't been able to agree on players and money involved in a trade with the Diamondbacks, a baseball official familiar with the negotiations said late Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing.

Newsday reported Thursday that Johnson has agreed in principle through "back-channel conversations" to a $10 million contract extension for 2008 that would lead to a trade with the Diamondbacks, citing two people familiar with the situation. The paper said finalizing a trade could take two or three more days and that Arizona reliever Luis Vizcaino would be sent to New York in the swap.

The Diamondbacks and Johnson's agents, however, have said they won't negotiate an extension unless a tentative trade is in place first.

Johnson was 17-11 with a 5.00 ERA last season, and the 43-year-old left-hander is coming off back surgery on Oct. 26. Although he has gone 34-19 during the regular season in two years with the Yankees, he is 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA in three postseason appearances.
Johnson is owed $16 million this year in the final season of his current deal, and the Yankees have focused on obtaining some of Arizona's top prospects.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2719896
 

Diamondback Jay

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Meh, I can deal with Nippert or Ohlendorf and Viz going to Arizona for Johnson. Could do worse :)
 

devilfan02

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Just reported..... Looks like deal can be done very soon if the reports that RJ has already agreed on a 2008 extension are true. Doesn't look like Owings will be traded

Structure of Unit deal agreed upon

D-backs likely to get 72-hour window to open extension talks

PHOENIX -- The D-backs and Yankees have agreed on the structure of a deal that would send Randy Johnson back to Arizona, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said.


The D-backs are likely to be granted a 72-hour window at some point Thursday to begin negotiations with Johnson on an extension that would keep the 43-year-old in Arizona through the 2008 season.

Johnson has a no-trade clause but has expressed a desire to pitch closer to his Phoenix-area home, and indications are that the two sides would be able to reach an agreement on an extension.

Once that happens, Johnson, who underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back following the 2006 season, would have to undergo a physical and the D-backs would review his medical file.

The D-backs will send veteran reliever Luis Vizcaino and a pitching prospect in exchange for Johnson. It's believed that the Yankees will include some money in the deal to help Arizona defray the cost of Johnson's $16 million salary for 2007.

The pitching prospect will likely come from a group of Ross Ohlendorf, Micah Owings or Dustin Nippert. It's unknown whether the D-backs will include another lower-level Minor Leaguer in the deal.

The D-backs would rather part with Vizcaino than young reliever Brandon Medders because the 32-year-old Vizcaino is set for a raise from the $1.7 million he made last year and he is one year away from becoming a free agent.

The Yankees, who have not commented on the potential deal, are willing to trade Johnson because they have a surplus of starting pitchers and would like to continue to restock their farm system with pitching prospects.​

Johnson was originally dealt to the Yankees from the D-backs after the 2004 season. In two years with the Yankees, he is 34-19 with a 4.37 ERA.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/...ontent_id=1773022&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp
 

Phill11

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Byrnes is one hell of a GM if he can get the Yankees to accept Nippert and Vizcaino.

It makes me feel so much better about our rotation knowing we have Webb, Hernandez, Davis and Johnson 1-4. Rather than having to depend on a rookie. I'd rather have a rookie as insurance is Johnson doesn't pan out.
 

devilfan02

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Byrnes is one hell of a GM if he can get the Yankees to accept Nippert and Vizcaino.

It makes me feel so much better about our rotation knowing we have Webb, Hernandez, Davis and Johnson 1-4. Rather than having to depend on a rookie. I'd rather have a rookie as insurance is Johnson doesn't pan out.

Not to mention the above 4 starters all are notorious for pitching 200+ innings every season. Our bullpen is shaky and those 4 will instantly take pressure off. Keeping Medders over Vizcaino is huge IMO and trading Nippert over Owings would be awesome. Lets hope those are the players agreed upon.
 

devilfan02

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Not sure if anyone noticed that Dbacks President Derrick Hall is doing a fan chat at MLB.com. I'm watching it now and he just said the deal has been structurally agreed upon and that there are 2 steps left- the 72 hour negotiation window (that supposedly has already been agreed upon) followed by a physical.

If indeed RJ and the Dbacks have already agreed on a contract extention then I would imagine both parties would use the 72 hour window to restructure the deferred payments. It seems like that's the only obstacle to hurdle. KTAR just reported that they agreed on players- RJ for Vizqaino and 1 young pitching prospect
 

Phill11

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Not to mention the above 4 starters all are notorious for pitching 200+ innings every season. Our bullpen is shaky and those 4 will instantly take pressure off. Keeping Medders over Vizcaino is huge IMO and trading Nippert over Owings would be awesome. Lets hope those are the players agreed upon.

Exactly. And if those guys can pitch 200+ innings this season, it'll be huge.

Then I think we'll be able to actually see our bullpens capabilities. I think that if well rested players like Valverde, Lyon, Medders, Julio and Cruz can thrive.

If this deal goes down, how does everyone see the rotation playing out?

I'd like it be this:
1) Brandon Webb (16-8, 3.10 ERA, 235 IP)
2) Livan Hernandez (13-13, 4.83 ERA, 216 IP)
3) Randy Johnson (17-11, 5.00 ERA, 205 IP)
4) Doug Davis (11-11, 4.91 ERA, 203 IP)
5) Juan Cruz (5-6, 4.18 ERA, 94 IP)

If we leave that rotation, and don't mess around with it throughout the season, it has potential to be amazing.

With this rotation we should win the West. Cruz is a guy who I don't think has been given a fair shot at the rotation. He's been inconsistent thus far, but I think could be a 10-15 game winner in the fifth spot.

Predictions from the above rotation:
Webb - 18-5
Hernandez - 15-8
Johnson - 16-8
Davis - 15-9
Cruz - 10-7

That's my guess on how things would pan out. A very solid rotation from top to bottom.
 

devilfan02

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^ I agree. While RJ had a down year, I think a return to a pitcher friendly NL will do him good (also hoping his back surgery will help as well).

It's early but I would open the battle for the 5th spot to Cruz, Enrique Gonzalez, and Dana Eveland. Cruz and Enrique are both very intruiging but are both horribly inconsistent. Eveland is an interesting lefty and could be a great #5, however he is young and inexperienced. I would give the edge to Cruz but alot can happen between now and April. If Eveland doesn't get the rotation spot, I think he'd be a great lefty out of the bullpen. Many will disagree but I think it's def worth a shot
 

Alan

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Wait, so all the experts who said the D'backs were giving up 20 top prospects - and freaking all of you out - were wrong? Can't be.
 
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