Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Stark on Millwood, Schuerholz
I usually like Jayson Stark's work. I don't mean to be antagonistic here, and I'm trying to identify with the situation Stark is in when he's writing an article like this. Presumably, he has to talk to John Schuerholz on a semi-regular basis to get information and, as such, he's anxious to maintain a decent relationship with him, something that ripping him in an article published to the entire world might preclude.

But you can't put out an article like this and maintain your credibility. Stark actually says: "Johnny Estrada could look like a steal -- in the long run, anyway." Does he actually believe this? Based on his previous work, which indicates that he knows more than a little bit about baseball, the answer is no. This was not a good trade for the Braves and, pretty clearly, it never will be. If, as Stark speculates he might, Millwood walks at the end of the year, the Phillies still got a year of excellent pitching out of him in exchange for what? Estrada is a guy they'll never miss.

I know this is has been discussed to death elsewhere, so I'll keep it brief. Stark chooses to include Schuerholz's "excuses" for the trade again in this piece (they've been printed before), noting that he didn't want to trade Millwood to the Phillies, that he tried every other team in baseball first and no one would take him off their hands because he was due in the ballpark of $10 million for 2003. I don't know that I buy this, but for the sake of argument, let's say that's true. Of course, Schuerholz had the option to non-tender him (and to miss out on Estrada), but he doesn't think that would've helped: "People say, `Why didn't you just non-tender him, to keep him away from Philadelphia?'" Schuerholz said. "And my answer is this: Don't you think, if we'd non-tendered him and let him become a free agent, that the first team standing in line with $10 million would have been the Philadelphia Phillies?"

Maybe I'm mistaken, but if Millwood were non-tendered, that $10 million figure doesn't exist anymore. He doesn't go to arbitration at all and instead becomes a free agent. At that point, a bidding war ensues with no team likely to bid up to this $10 million figure in the current market. And there are teams that would've bid on a pitcher the quality of Kevin Millwood that are not the Phillies. And we don't know that Millwood would've wanted to go to Philadelphia given the choice. Whatever. Anything would've been better than handing him directly over. But you know this and Schuerholz knows this and Stark knows this. It's a shame to see a guy who is usually a quality writer play those who don't know for fools.
posted by VZW Watcher at 10:06 PM -